For fans of Adam Driver, 2019 was a movie-watching delight. When he wasn't tackling zombies in Jim Jarmusch's The Dead Don't Die, he was investigating CIA-sanctioned torture in The Report. He scored an Oscar nomination for his relationship struggles with Scarlett Johansson in Marriage Story, and fought the force in Star Wars: Episode IX — The Rise of Skywalker, too. Alas, after that welcome onslaught of Driver-starring flicks in such short succession — The Man Who Killed Don Quixote also released Down Under the same year, in fact — he didn't appear on our screens in 2020. But this year, he'll be back in cinemas in one of his most-anticipated films yet. In the works for half a decade — and reportedly initially delayed in part due to Driver's busy schedule — Annette tells the tale of stand-up comedian Henry (Driver) and his soprano opera singer wife Ann (Marion Cotillard). He's funny, she's famous, and their lives are happy and glamorous; however, when their daughter Annette is born, they're changed forever. Few other narrative details have been revealed, but their story plays out in a musical — and if the just-dropped first trailer gives any indication, viewers can expect a brooding, dreamy, sweeping and immensely gorgeous film to dance across the screen. Actually, movie buffs can expect all of the above simply based on Annette's director. It has now been nine years since Leos Carax's Holy Motors hit cinema screens, becoming one of the most memorable films of both the decade and the 21st century in the process, so his next project has been eagerly awaited for quite some time. Annette will also mark the French filmmaker's English-language debut. And, after being shot late in 2019 and initially expected in 2020, it'll open this year's Cannes Film Festival in July. Exactly when viewers elsewhere will get to see the film hasn't been announced, but whenever it surfaces locally, it'll be a certain big-screen event. Every director wishes that they made movies that no one else could even dream of, but Carax is genuinely one of those filmmakers. Here's hoping that we soon get to see what Carax's inventive mind has put together next. Check out the trailer below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=068aFF8fOIA&feature=emb_logo Annette will open the Cannes Film Festival on July 6. Details for the film's release Down Under are yet to be revealed — we'll update you with further details when they're announced.
Part of the packed lineup for AO Live 2026, Peggy Gou is making the most of her stint down under to perform an extra show in Sydney before heading to Melbourne. It's not her first time performing in Australia, she sold out venues nationwide in 2024, but her extra appearance — booked for Carriageworks on Saturday, January 31st 2026 — is still an exciting opportunity for the Sydney dance crowd to see her live. Presented by Untitled Group, she'll bring her electrifying presence and unique musical vision to the venue, complementing her forthcoming set at AO Live on February 1st. She features on the lineup alongside The Kid LAROI, Spacey Jane, The Veronicas, and Sofi Tukker, with more acts still to be announced. Gou is renowned for her live performances, each time bringing her signature blend of house, techno, and club culture to the audience. Her timeless DJ sets channel an open-ended musical philosophy, drawing from influences as diverse as J Dilla, Patrick Cowley, Yellow Magic Orchestra and DJ Sotofett. They are celebrated for their ability to create pure moments of dance floor joy. [embed]https://youtu.be/sCz5y84dwuA?si=aNKCDUzf78RN_UYp[/embed] Her catalogue of hits — "Gou Talk", "It Makes You Forget (Itgehane)", "Starry Night" and "I Go" to name a few — has earned her global acclaim. In 2023, Gou signed with XL Recordings and released "(It Goes Like) Nanana", a global phenomenon that topped charts and set the stage for her highly anticipated debut album. That record, I Hear You, arrived in June 2024 to widespread critical and commercial success. It landed at No. 5 on the ARIA Dance Albums Chart, No. 3 on the UK Dance Albums Chart, and No. 2 on the UK Independent Albums Chart. The album further cemented her reputation as a visionary artist able to straddle the underground and mainstream with ease, blending her distinct "K-House" sound with an infectious pop sensibility. From her roots in Korea to her formative years in London's club scene, Gou has always honoured electronic music's heritage while forging her own distinct path. As founder of the music & design label Gudu, and through her collaborative relationships with creatives across fields, Gou has built a personal artistic universe that bridges sound, style, and community. She has played major international festivals like Coachella, Glastonbury, Ultra, and Primavera Sound, as well as iconic Australian festivals Beyond The Valley and Wildlands. Presale to her Sydney show will begin at 12pm on Monday, October 13th, followed by general sale at 12pm on Tuesday, October 14th. Sign up for presale here.
Inspired by a lengthy trip through Latin America, Paddington's Tequila Mockingbird is an inspired marriage of the vibrant, bold flavours of that continent with top-shelf Australian produce. Designed by the prolific Luchetti Krelle (Bar Brose, ACME), the terrace has been refashioned into a skinny but stylish space, with a long bar leading into a warm space with wooden floors, hanging plants and gorgeous black and white line drawings of tropical fish and cacti. Often the menu comes across as a kind of delicious potted Latin American history lesson. Dishes that focus on freshness and flavour make up your starting course. Kingfish tiradito with bonito and shiso nod to the influence of Japanese flavour upon Peruvian cuisine, while the ceviche taco with charcoal salt is a creative reimagining that adds new depth to a more classic rendition of ceviche. From the grill, you'll find options like spatchcock with coriander, a big hitting lamb shoulder with house pickled guindilla peppers, and the comfort food of grilled zucchini with mole that was included on the menu to please co-owner Michael Fegent's mother. A tequila-heavy cocktail list complements the big flavours and Latin American accent of the menu. The house cocktail which shares a name with the restaurant is a spicy tequila-forward number with a Patron Silver base, recommended for its fresh, summery flavours and tajín-coated rim. The drinks program also boasts an incredibly comprehensive tequila list, with dozens of selections as well as a generous selection of mezcal. Flights are available for the equally indecisive and thirsty. Silly name aside, Tequila Mockingbird is a reliably good joint full of buzz and booze, pulling off a very good menu complemented by lively service and an expertly curated drinks list. Images: Byron Martin for PADDO(Collective)
With Australia's borders firmly shut, international travel has been relegated to the realm of dreams. And it looks like it'll be staying there for a good long while. But, at least, in those dreams you can be living it up in Business Class, channeling your best high-flying, jet-setting self. It's all thanks to Aussie airline Qantas, which is now delivering its pyjamas, amenity sets and other in-flight goodies straight to your door. With flights suspended and many of the group's planes grounded, the airline company has an oversupply of all those fancy business class items, including branded threads, premium plane snacks and toiletry packs stocked with Aspar skin products. We're talking printed eye masks, T2 tea bags, shea butter hand cream and sweet orange lip balm for days. And instead of going to town on all those extra smoked almonds and Tim Tams, Qantas has gathered the surplus and created a bunch of upscale care packages, available for shipping Australia-wide. Clocking in at $25 (delivery included), the limited-edition packs are an easy way to cheer up a glum mate in lockdown or that relative who's battling serious travel withdrawals. Or hey, just nab one for yourself, don those pjs and infuse your next couch session with some swanky business class vibes. You can send up to ten of the care packages to addresses anywhere in Australia, by heading to the website. You'll need to be a Frequent Flyer club member first, but Qantas is currently offering free sign-ups. And, if you want to save your dollars, packs can also be purchased using 4350 Qantas points a pop. After all, it's not like you'll be spending them on overseas flights anytime in the near future. You can buy Qantas' Care Packs online, using cash or points.
Sydney was almost there with Stitch. But the latest addition to Wentworth Ave brings a real slice of New York City to Surry Hills: The Soda Factory, in the old home of Tone nightclub, is our first bar to be hidden behind a fully functioning business. Owner Graham Cordery (Experience Entertainment)'s first thought was to have the place concealed by an NY-style pizza joint. Frankie's got there first, so what you're looking for instead is a kitschy neon sign reading 'Bobby's Boss Dogs'. Bobby's draws the comparison to New York's Crif Dogs, the entrance to clandestine East Village cocktail lounge PDT, and lives up to the latter's reputation. For just $9, the Johnny Drama (beef sausage topped with bacon, sour cream, avocado and tomato salsa) straddles the line between gourmet and good old-fashioned grub. The only thing fake in Bobby's is the Coke machine. Pull on the handle and you're inside The Soda Factory – a dimly lit industrial expanse lined with inviting booths and comfy mid-century sofas. Mitchell Warters of Richard Branson's members-only Rooftop Gardens in London is in charge of the drinks menu, so cocktails are the name of the game. In keeping with the factory theme there are boozy root beer floats ($14) and share siphons ($30 - $35) for groups, which will get you five or six sparkling old school cocktails plus some great Instagram opportunities. And for those who can't stomach the idea of alcohol and ice cream, the Chocolate Passionfruit Martinis ($17) is a potent blend of rich liquor with just a hint of sweetness that won't leave you wondering where your money went. The Soda Factory's other draw card is music. So far Cordery and his business partner Michael Chase have roped in some rather heavy-hitting acts (including the legendary Grandmaster Flash) and Electric Empire, but sound levels allow for both dancing and engaging in just-audible conversation. On school nights smaller bands play acoustic sets and local DJ's spin '50s rock 'n' roll. With a little grubbying up of the interior and a few smart additions to the food menu (Chase is trained chef from a family of food-loving Italians and plans to roll out a '50s-inspired share plate menu), The Soda Factory should really be able to make the most of its late-night trading license. As it stands the weekly specials are worth cabbing it for, with Tuesdays offering $1 dogs and Wednesdays featuring a $5 menu of carb-laden snacks inspired by Tarantino films. Whether you kick on here or elsewhere, there are few better ways to start a night off.
Huge news: Darlinghurst is set to become home to Soho House Sydney, Australia's first outpost for the ultra-exclusive membership club. The much-hyped global brand already has locations across the world from Berlin to Miami, and is now in the process of transforming a building on the corner of Crown and Foley Street above Shady Pines Saloon, with ambitious plans in the works to completely reshape the space. The five-storey development is currently subject to City of Sydney approval, but is set to feature a variety of spaces both indoor and outdoor that are designed to facilitate social gatherings, including multiple restaurants and bars across the various levels. Plans submitted to the city council also show a proposed gym, cabaret facilities, and a rooftop terrace and pool. The plans also reveal anticipated changes to the facade, replacing the building's fairly rundown exterior with a simple, sleek and modern cream and brown design in line with other Soho Houses around the world. Soho House is working with Tonkin Zulaikha Greer (The Old Clare Hotel, Bondi Pavilion) in creating the proposed design. "It's possibly one of the worst-kept secrets, but we're so excited to confirm that we will be opening a Soho House in Sydney in the future," says Soho House Membership Director Dominique Bellas. [caption id="attachment_900975" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Tonkin Zulaikha Greer architects[/caption] "While we don't have more details to share at this time, we continue to grow our Cities Without Houses community in Australia and are looking forward to bringing our members a week-long Soho House experience for Sydney's first South by Southwest." As Bellas stated, the Soho House Sydney announcement comes as the internationally renowned brand hits Australia for SXSW Sydney — taking over The Old Clare Hotel in Chippendale. The dreamy accommodation, pub and rooftop bar is being treated to a Soho House transformation for the eight-day festival. Soho House and Cities Without Houses members — whether they be travelling Down Under for the festival, or local jetsetters and creatives — will be treated to daily programming and events designed to be reminiscent of what you'd experience at Soho Houses around the world. Included in the events will be a performance curated by Secret Sounds, a one-night-only dinner from British chef Darren Robertson (Three Blue Ducks, Rocker), an art installation from Paul Davies and an industry event with the not-for-profit Women In Music Australia. If you want to join the Soho House community in preparation for the inaugural Australian outpost to open, you can apply for a Cities Without Houses membership, which will grant you access to the brand's SXSW Sydney takeover of The Old Clare. [caption id="attachment_706208" align="alignnone" width="1920"] The Old Clare Rooftop[/caption] Australia's first-ever Soho House was originally set to open on Domain Road in Melbourne's South Yarra, but developers were forced to ditch plans at the direction of VCAT after strong opposition from local councils and a residents' group. The Darlinghurst building earmarked for Soho House Sydney has a storied history, taking many forms over the years including Bolot's Embassy Dancing Academy between 1924–30, the Playbox Theatre and Stanley Twig's auction house in the 1930s and, most recently, housing several retail tenants throughout the 2000s including an espresso bar, convenience store and a nail salon. Now boasting over 40 houses across the globe, Soho House first opened in London in 1995 as a private members club for clientele in the creative sphere. It has since spread throughout Europe and North America, opening restaurants, cinemas, workspaces, spas and bedrooms alongside the traditional clubs. From New York to Istanbul, exclusivity is a common global denominator. [caption id="attachment_613704" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Darren Robertson and Cameron Northway[/caption] Soho House Sydney is set to open at 256 Crown Street, Darlinghurst — we'll update you with an opening date when one is announced. Top image: Soho House Sydney render by Tonkin Zulaikha Greer
In 2023, the Darling Harbour outpost of global hotel chain Sofitel (that also made our list of the best hotels in Sydney) unveiled its lavish new two-storey spa, delivering a fresh dose of relaxation high among the Sydney skyline. Joining the Harbour City's existing impressive supply of luxe spa experiences, and pairing its relaxation experiences with sweeping water views, the Sofitel SPA Darling Harbour offers an array of facilities and wellness journeys — all housed within a "quintessentially Sydney" space. Soft timbers, sandstone and marble finishes welcome guests into the latest addition to Sydney's wellness scene, which boasts seven roomy treatment spaces. Also on offer: a bespoke standalone bathtub with harbour views, an infrared sauna, a meditation zone and a contemplation deck sitting on level four of the hotel. While traditional experiences like massages, facials, body wraps and exfoliation are all available, the flagship offerings from the spa are its package deals — or wellness journeys. Take the signature half-day journey, for example, and you'll combine exercise, nutrition, treatment and introspection, getting a holistic experience that's meant to leave guests refreshed head-to-toe. French beauty brand Biologique Recherche and fast-rising Australian company Waterlily have been enlisted to provide the spa with its cosmetic treatment products, each of which will be personalised to every guest's needs. Plus, the spa sits alongside the hotel's previously opened level-four infinity pool. The swimming spot is heated year-round and offers guests the ability to enjoy a dip while soaking in panoramic views of Darling Harbour and the Sydney CBD skyline. Images: Anna Kucera
Australia has more than 47,000 kilometres of coastline and 11,761 beaches, according to those who've somehow managed to count them all. And there's no better way to get to know them than an adventure with your mates and a night within the thin walls of a tent. With the waves just a stumble away and surrounded by kangaroos, wombats and echidnas, beach camping is a great way to immerse yourselves in all the best Australia has to offer, the kind of serenity that's best enjoyed together. To get you started, we teamed up with Jim Beam to find the spots where we reckon you'll get some of the nation's optimum beach camping conditions. Recommended reads: The Best Beach Camping Spots in Victoria The Best Beach Camping Spots in Queensland The Best Beach Camping Spots in NSW The Best Glamping Sites in Australia [caption id="attachment_807772" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Tourism and Events Queensland[/caption] Noah Beach, Daintree National Park, Queensland Sir David Attenborough called the Daintree Rainforest "the most extraordinary place on earth" and Noah Beach sits right among it. Found about 80 kilometres north of Port Douglas, there are few places in the world where you can camp between a reef and a World Heritage-listed rainforest. Here in the Daintree, you'll find never-ending treetop canopies and animals found nowhere else in the world. The campground is just 50 metres from the beach, and facilities are basic, limited to tap water and composting toilets. With no mobile coverage, it's the perfect place to disconnect from the world. Advance bookings are essential for this beach campsite. [caption id="attachment_807796" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Discover Jervis Bay[/caption] Jervis Bay, Booderee National Park, NSW Residents of Lucky Bay, WA, might tell you that their sand is the whitest in Australia (if not the world), but Jervis Bay's locals will argue otherwise. Found 200 kilometres south of Sydney, Jervis Bay is home to bottlenose dolphins, fur seals, penguins and 20 kilometres of unspoilt shoreline, protected for the most part by Booderee National Park. There are three beachside campsites to choose from — and for still water, go for Green Patch; if you're taking your surfboard, opt for Caves Beach. Bookings, available online, are essential. And for things to do and places to eat (and, most importantly, drink), check out our weekender's guide to Jervis Bay. [caption id="attachment_807799" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Tourism Western Australia[/caption] Lucky Bay, Cape Le Grand National Park, Western Australia Forty minutes southeast of Esperance, in Le Grand National Park, sits five kilometres of sparkling shoreline known as Lucky Bay. And, with tent in hand, you can sleep just metres from its pristine, white sand. When you're done with sunbathing alongside kangaroos, conquer the 15-kilometre coastal track, which takes you to Rossiter Bay via Hellfire Bay — or the three-kilometre Frenchman Peak trail, which gives you epic panoramas. The campsite has 56 spots, as well as a camp kitchen, toilets and hot showers, but make sure to pack your own fresh water. Bookings are essential. [caption id="attachment_807803" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Mark Watson[/caption] Tidal River, Wilsons Promontory, Victoria Wilsons Promontory National Park covers more than 50,000 hectares of rugged mountains, empty beaches and rainforest at the southernmost point of the Australian mainland. One of the best campsites here is Tidal River, which puts you on the edge of both Norman Beach and the river, among wallabies, echidnas and wombats. The massive campground has nearly 500 campsites, toilets, hot showers and an open air cinema, which has been showing flicks since the 1960s. Campsites are divvied up via a ballot in the summertime, with advance bookings essential at all other times. [caption id="attachment_714492" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Robert Blackburn/Visit Victoria[/caption] Johanna Beach, Great Otway National Park, Victoria This is a popular one for hikers along the Great Ocean Walk, a 100-kilometre journey from Apollo Bay to Port Campbell. The site is nestled among sand dunes, behind spectacular Johanna Beach. Spend your days surfing, strolling and relaxing on the sand, and use your tent as a launching pad for day trips into Great Otway National Park. Its 103,000 hectares are home to lots of walks, koalas, pretty bays and spots for whale watching. Johanna Beach campsite has room for 25 tents and dogs on leads are permitted. [caption id="attachment_807805" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Brad Griffin Photography[/caption] Memory Cove, Lincoln National Park, South Australia You'll find this precious piece of wilderness about 50 kilometres southwest of Port Lincoln (across the Spencer and St Vincent Gulfs from Adelaide). The campsite looks directly over the white sand and turquoise water of Memory Cove, from the shade of coastal mallees, and is limited to 15 cars per day to maintain the wilderness. When you're not lazing about, go adventuring in Lincoln National Park, where you'll experience some of South Australia's most beautiful coastline. There's a bunch of lovely walks, from the 2.7-kilometre Stamford Hill hike, which gives you excellent views, to the 12-hour Investigator Trail, which takes in many bays and beaches on its way to Cape Donington. Bookings at Memory Cove campsite are crucial — you can't get in without a key. [caption id="attachment_807807" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Tourism Tasmania and Peter Bellingham[/caption] Richardsons Beach, Freycinet National Park, Tasmania Freycinet National Park, which covers a peninsula on Tassie's East Coast, is famous for its striking, pink granite and numerous tranquil beaches, including Instagram star Wineglass Bay. The campground stretches along a stunning coastal strip, behind Richardsons Beach and overlooking Honeymoon Bay. If you're heading during the summer season, a ballot is drawn in mid-August in order to nab on of the 52 spots, or else you can book through the visitor centre. If you find yourself feeling social or thirsty, there's a brewery and shops just up the road. Alternatively, if you want to experience this part of Tasmania in pure luxury — taking a break from the tent — then check out Saffire Freycinet. [caption id="attachment_807810" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Tourism and Events Queensland[/caption] Crayfish Beach, Hook Island, Whitsunday Islands National Park, Queensland If your idea of idyllic beach camping doesn't involve crowds, then pitch at Crayfish Beach, on Hook Island's eastern shore. The pocket-sized campground has space for only 12 people, the only way you can get there is by boat, and there's no mobile coverage. So, there'll be no way of telling the world you're surrounded by forest-covered mountains and snorkelling among some of The Whitsundays' best-looking underwater communities. Facilities are limited to composting toilets. Be prepared to carry in everything with you, including drinking water. [caption id="attachment_807811" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Jess Bonde[/caption] Cloudy Bay, Bruny Island, Tasmania Bruny Island is just a 40-minute drive and 15-minute ferry ride from Hobart, yet it feels like it's a million miles away. There are loads of camping spots (including many free ones) all over the island, but one of the loveliest is Cloudy Corner, in the eastern corner of Cloudy Bay in South Bruny National Park. Getting there involves a three-kilometre drive along the beach at low tide. No bookings are taken, with campsites being allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. Make sure to bring cash with you, too, as payment is taken via self-registration deposit boxes. While you're on the island, find the best whisky, oysters and outdoor activities via our 48 Hours on Bruny Island guide. [caption id="attachment_874853" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Sal Salis in Western Australia - the best glamping in Australia.[/caption] Ningaloo Reef, Cape Range National Park, Western Australia There are a few road trip-worthy campsites scattered around Cape Range National Park for those looking for access to Australia's lesser-known yet nonetheless extraordinary reef, Ningaloo. The UNESCO Heritage-listed wonder hugs the Western Australian coast 1200 kilometres north of Perth and contains hundreds of fish and coral species. Ned's Camp is tucked away behind dunes, right next to a calm, white-sanded beach, which is lovely for swimming, snorkelling and paddling — and is an affordable spot with just ten non-powered campsites. If you're looking to take your holiday up a notch, you could also head to Sal Salis' eco-luxe cabins. Just 15 minutes down the road from Ned's, they're not cheap, but they're located just by the reef and come with meals and drinks, as well as kayaking, paddleboarding and snorkelling gear. Like Jim Beam, surfing and other outdoor adventures are all about bringing people together, so get out there this summer and find your tribe in the great outdoors. Top image: Lucky Bay, Tourism Western Australia
This year, Australia's arts calendar is steadily making up for lost time, compensating for all of 2020's missed gigs, exhibitions and experiences with a slew of brand new large-scale festivals and events. And, plenty of them are arriving this winter — including Rising, Melbourne's latest addition; Sydney Solstice, which will take over Vivid's usual June slot this year; and Illuminate Adelaide, which has just unveiled its first program reveal. Kicking off on Friday, July 16 and delivering 17 jam-packed days of music, art and light, Illuminate Adelaide kicks promises to fire up all of the South Australian city's senses. On the bill: a diverse lineup of installations, collaborations, world-premiere works and tech-driven immersive experiences, which should help fill locals' calendars and also tempt folks across the rest of Australia to SA for a mid-year getaway. In total, there'll be more than 150 installations, performances and events, including 41 world premieres. Helping to launch the festival's inaugural Luminary Artists in Residence program, legendary electronic act The Avalanches will take part in five events throughout Illuminate Adelaide. They'll perform their debut album Since I Left You live with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, present an art exhibition exploring the works that influenced their most recent album We Will Always Love You and descend on the outdoor music stage for a massive DJ set to help soundtrack the closing block party. In between all of that, Robbie Chater and Tony Di Blasi will also chat about their career, and their residency will include Michaela Gleave and Fausto Brusamolino's sky-high Messages of Hope, Messages of Love as well. Innovative light shows and illuminated works feature heavily throughout the program, starting with Light Cycles — an Aussie debut from Canada's Moment Factory that's set to transform the Adelaide Botanic Gardens with two kilometres of light projections, lasers, sound and special effects across each night of the festival. Adelaide Zoo will come alive after dark with a series of enchanting interactive animal installations for Light Creatures, while Van Gogh Alive, a multi-sensory digital art immersion from the minds behind The Lume, will let you experience the works of Van Gogh like never before. And City Lights will see a range of acclaimed artists transform the CBD into an after-dark art trail, featuring over 40 free site-specific works from kaleidoscopic projections to a giant inflatable deconstructed rainbow in Rundle Mall. [caption id="attachment_806650" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Light Creatures, A Blanck Canvas[/caption] The Adelaide Film Festival has jumped on board, collaborating on two world premiere VR works to be screened in a specially designed dome inside Queen's Theatre. And Tandanya National Aboriginal Cultural Institute is set to team up with Music SA for Kinara — a free celebration of art and culture led by a cast of groundbreaking First Nations artists. You'll also catch freshly commissioned public artworks by the likes of South Australia's own Jason Sims, dig into unique music experiences from acts such as Paul Grabowsky AO and head to the reimagined Adelaide Festival of Ideas, too. And, on the final weekend, Illuminate Adelaide wraps up with a bang, dishing up a high-energy block party dubbed MAAD (Music & Art After Dark). Galleries and venues across the West End will come alive with gigs from a broad-ranging lineup of emerging and well-known talent, along with more exhibitions, short film screenings and light installations. The inaugural Illuminate Adelaide runs from July 16–August 1. Check out the festival's website for the full program and to grab tickets. Images: North Forest Lights at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Moment Factory; Airship Orchestra, ENESS.
My, my, Alexandria certainly is becoming quite the foodie hotspot. It seems now the locals here are spoilt for choice, much like their fellow inner-westies over in Marrickville. Keeping in harmony with Alexandria's business district and concrete jungle theme, the Copper Mill is a spacious and stylish spot, perfect for the locals to grab a coffee or some lunch to escape the suburban mayhem. Formerly serving at Chippendale cafe, Shortlist, Jake Thomas, Hugh Piper and Rebecca Keane have continued with their impressive set-ups and effortless appeal, with no small detail being overlooked. Walls are painted in grey slate and exposed brick and copper pipes are a reflection of the industrial area. The raw and casual appeal is maintained with wooden tables and benches that are adorned with help-yourself cutlery buckets and Young Henry flagons of water. Window seats are available too, where you can watch the daily thrum of dog walkers and fitness gurus en route to Sydney Park. These coffee pros are pouring a not-too bad Human Canonball, roasted by Golden Cobra ($3.50), as well as a rotating single origin from Moccamaster ($3.50). The real star of the show though is the simple, healthy, rustic menu that is served up quick smart from the open kitchen. Their culinary skills do not go amiss here: a sure-fire Peruvian influence evident with a bacon and egg roll spiced up with pork chicharron, egg, kumera, salsa criolla and lemon mayo ($10). Furthermore to this latino swinging, the ancient Peruvian grain quinoa is puffed up in a cereal topped with dates, coconut flakes, yoghurt and a sweet pear and cardamom milk ($9.50). More straightforward options such as sourdough toast, come courtesy of Brickfields bakery — thick slices with homemade jam ($4.50) are classic winners. The strength of the fare comes at lunchtime, when humble salads are assembled with fresh ingredients and unusual dressings drizzled over to complete the package. Beet-cured salmon with garden peas, quinoa, cherry tomatoes ($15) and chilli yoghurt is a beseeching option; but the real chart-topper is a delicious plate of broadbeans, chorizo and a sunnyside egg, with parsley and lemon zest adding a zing and a side of sourdough balancing it all out ($13). So tasty is this bread in fact, that it's also hard to overlook the daily sandwiches ($9). Who doesn't love Christmas ham, especially when gruyere cheese and an eggplant pickle are its companions? Speaking of eggplant pickle — let's hope this homemade condiment gets kept on rotation. Decidedly the champion in a vegetarian sarnie, it perfectly complements the roast cauliflower, butter lettuce and feta cheese. But we'd like a tad more on our sarnie please — actually no, the whole jar to lick clean the contents. Sweet-tooths will be pleased to see a small array of pastries on offer, otherwise an iced chocolate ($5) or a coconut hot choccie ($4.50) will seal the deal. The Copper Mill is offering up decent food and coffee, service with a smile, and an ideal opportunity for locals to avoid chaotic King Street or the exhausting queues at the Grounds.
In its entire concept, Sydney Opera House's All About Women has always pushed girls, ladies and women to the front. So, when the venue announced that the next version of its key feminist festival would feature riot grrrl pioneers Bikini Kill, it couldn't have been a more perfect way to start its lineup. That in-conversation event is just the beginning of the event's 2023 program, however, with the just-announced complete bill also going big on high-profile guests — such as child actor-turned-I'm Glad My Mom Died author Jennette McCurdy and human rights barrister Jennifer Robinson. Former iCarly star McCurdy will chat through her experiences, including growing up in the spotlight, finding her independence and the events that led to her New York Times best-selling memoir, in an Australian-exclusive conversation. After successfully representing Amber Heard in Johnny Depp's UK libel case, Robinson will feature in a panel called 'The War on Women', about fighting for both rights and lives, alongside Egyptian American journalist Mona Eltahawy, Pakistani author and journalist Fatima Bhutto, and Mununjali Yugambeh and South Sea Islander Professor Chelsea Watego. [caption id="attachment_885156" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Jennifer Robinson by Kate Peters[/caption] Running from Saturday, March 11—Monday, March 13, All About Women's 2023 festival marks its 11th, and sees the event held across three days for the first time ever — growing again after it only just expanded to two days in 2022, in fact. And, in another significant change for this year, the event's lineup is guided by four festival co-curators. Doing the honours: author, podcast presenter and gender equality advocate Jamila Rizvi; Gamilaroi academic and Tell Me Again author Dr Amy Thunig; feminist social commentator, novelist and writer Jane Caro AM; and Sydney Opera House's Head of Talks and Ideas Chip Rolley. Their full program includes 25 events featuring 60-plus international and Australian artists, thinkers, and storytellers, starting with an evening of storytelling, poetry, dance and music for the fest's Opening Night Gala, hosted by Clare Bowditch and featuring actor Eryn Jean Norvill (The Picture of Dorian Gray), "mother of African contemporary dance" Germaine Acogny, Iranian Australian singer and instrumentalist Gelareh Pour, and Fatima Bhutto. And, it also spans Cult Classic author Sloane Crosley chatting about modern dating with journalist Maddison Connaughton — and a romance and reality TV-focused discussion between Bachelorette Brooke Blurton, Just The Gist podcaster Rosie Waterland, and Gamilaroi and Torres Strait Islander writer and actor Nakkiah Lui. [caption id="attachment_885157" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Brooke Blurton by Jarrad Seng[/caption] In a session about neurodivergence in women and gender-diverse people, 2021 Australian of the Year Grace Tame, Heartbreak High's Chloe Hayden, and research psychologist and activist Dr Jac den Houting will talk with Thunig — and a panel examining trying to achieve justice in sexual abuse claims, and the trauma the process can bring, will feature sexual assault law reform advocate Saxon Mullins, criminal lawyer Katrina Marson, Yorta Yorta woman and survivor advocate Amanda Morgan, and lawyer and author Bri Lee. Or, attendees can look forward to Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies scholar Kylie Moore-Gilbert hosting a session on the women-led revolution in Iran, as joined by Pour, scholar and poet Dr Saba Vasefi, and author and journalist Shokoofeh Azar; plus a panel about the body positivity movement's struggles to be genuinely inclusive, featuring Wadjanbarra Yidinji, Jirrbal and African-American former model Sasha Kutabah Sarago, body love activist and podcaster April Hélène-Horton aka The Bodzilla, fashion editor and queer rights activist Deni Todorovič, disability rights campaigner Elly Desmarchelier, and comedian and broadcaster Tanya Hennessy. [caption id="attachment_844646" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Jacquie Manning[/caption] The list goes on, covering Clementine Ford exploring the history of demonising single women, a session on women's activism through a First Nations lens, diving into starting a family in a modern world, unpacking gendered emotions, and turning Eltahawy's FEMINIST GIANT newsletter into a panel. The Girlboss movement, making tough decisions, the shame often imposed on women and girls, leading movements, a Bikini Kill gig: they all get their time in focus, too. Just like in 2022, the festival will host its sessions in-person for Sydneysiders, and will also live-stream to viewers both around Australia and worldwide — which is ace news if you live outside of the Harbour City. [caption id="attachment_874299" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Debi Del Grande[/caption] All About Women 2023 will take place from Saturday, March 11—Monday, March 13 at the Sydney Opera House, with tickets on sale from 12pm AEDT on Thursday, January 19. Head to the festival's website for further details. Top image: Jennette McCurdy by Brian Kimskey.
The Sydney Symphony Orchestra is stacked with world-class talent, but they don't just perform Rossini overtures and Beethoven concertos. Instead, they regularly light up venues with symphonic screenings featuring cinematic classics, such as Toy Story and Home Alone, alongside scores by Hollywood's composing legends. In 2026, the Sydney Symphony Presents series is adding a little more adventure to the mix, performing film scores, gaming soundtracks and throwback hits like you've never heard them before. First up on Thursday, January 22, the Sydney Symphony Orchestra is taking the Hordern Pavilion back, way back, with Disco Never Dies. Putting out a call to all dancing queens and raining men, this sprawling venue will be transformed into a rhythmic paradise, complete with sequins, mirror balls and vintage fashion. Joined by powerhouse performers Timomatic and Paulini, carve up the d-floor as intricate spring arrangements and booming brass melodies offer new interpretations of ABBA and Earth, Wind and Fire classics. [caption id="attachment_832879" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Victor Frankowski[/caption] On Saturday, February 7, the tone shifts towards Tinseltown, as the Sydney Symphony Orchestra reunites with Art of the Score podcast hosts Andrew Pogson and Dan Golding for The Music of John Williams: Episode II. Taking a deep dive into the iconic composer's seven-decade career, the ICC Sydney Theatre combines surround sound and cutting-edge visuals to bring new meaning to Williams' musical work on films ranging from Superman and Star Wars to Happy Potter, Indiana Jones and Jurassic Park. Finally, gamers will be attending ELDEN Ring: Symphonic Adventure in their droves when it makes its official Australian debut on Thursday, March 12–Saturday, March 14. Conceived as a fully immersive performance, the Sydney Symphony Orchestra will join forces with the Sydney Philharmonia Choirs to bring the dramatic soundscape of the landmark video games to life. Surrounded by in-game visuals, atmospheric lighting and familiar sound effects, expect a performance befitting Malenia — one that has never missed a beat.
Across just four episodes so far, Wednesday's second season has filled its frames with everything from serial killers, multiple stalkers, zombies and vengeance plots to new characters and extra time around Nevermore Academy for familiar faces. There's more to come, and soon, with the season's second half dropping in September 2025. Wondering what else is in store? Lady Gaga (Joker: Folie à Deux) joining the cast, for starters — and a surprise return. In the just-revealed trailer for the second part of season two, a new spirit guide becomes part of Wednesday's experience. A voice whispers "beware — there will be a price to pay", too. The former comes courtesy of Gwendoline Christie (Severance) returning as Larissa Weems, with the character making a comeback from beyond the grave. As for the latter, Little Monsters will spot who's speaking. Tim Burton's (Beetlejuice Beetlejuice) TV dive into the world of the Addams Family unveiled the initial half of season two on Wednesday, August 6. The Netflix hit will close out its season with the final round of episodes on Wednesday, September 3. However the show's second stint pans out, there's even more on the way — Wednesday was renewed for season three before any part of season two even began streaming In the current run of the creepy, kooky, mysterious and spooky favourite, its namesake (Jenna Ortega, Death of a Unicorn) is back at Nevermore Academy and being heralded as a hero thanks to her efforts in season one. Wednesday is characteristically unimpressed by the attention. Swiftly, her focus is elsewhere, though, due to a premonition of her roommate Enid (Emma Myers, A Minecraft Movie) coming to a grave end, with Wednesday determined to do whatever she can to stop that from happening. Joanna Lumley (Amandaland), Steve Buscemi (The Studio), Billie Piper (Kaos) and Thandiwe Newton (Mufasa: The Lion King) are among the season two's other new cast additions. So are Evie Templeton (Criminal Record), Owen Painter (Tiny Beautiful Things), Noah B Taylor (Law & Order: Organised Crime), Frances O'Connor (The Twelve), Haley Joel Osment (Blink Twice), Heather Matarazzo (Paint) and Joonas Suotamo (The Acolyte) — plus Christopher Lloyd (Hacks), following Christina Ricci (Yellowjackets) among the stars of the 90s Addams Family films popping up in Wednesday. Fred Armisen (Fallout) remains Wednesday's take on Uncle Fester, however — one that Netflix is so keen on that there's been talk of a spinoff about the character. And Catherine Zeta-Jones (National Treasure: Edge of History) as Morticia, Luis Guzmán (Justified: City Primeval) as Gomez, Isaac Ordonez (Color Box) as Pugsley and Luyanda Unati Lewis-Nyawo (Dreamers) as Deputy Ritchie Santiago all have meatier parts than in season one. The trailer for season two's second part dropped just as Ortega, Myers and Burton arrived in Australia — along with Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, who created the show in the spotlight (and wrote the screenplay to 2024's Burton-helmed, Ortega-starring Beetlejuice Beetlejuice) — as well. They were all expected ahead of Wednesday Island on Saturday, August 16, which is turning Cockatoo Island / Wareamah in Sydney Harbour into a Wednesday haven for one day. Not anticipated: Christie joining them for a surprise appearance. Check out the trailer for Wednesday season two part two below: Part one of Wednesday season two is streaming now, and part two arrives on Wednesday, September 3, 2025 — both via Netflix. Read our full review of Wednesday season one. Images: Helen Sloan and Jonathan Hession/Netflix © 2025.
Mona has never shirked attention. Tasmania's Museum of Old and New Art has welcomed it, in fact, whether it's bringing in 80 tonnes of sand, is allowing music fans listen to the sole copy of Wu-Tang Clan's Once Upon a Time in Shaolin or is part of a TV show about potentially eating Australia's invasive animal species — and that's just in the past year. Also part of the venue's story over the past 12 months or so: the legal proceedings around Ladies Lounge, the feminist installation created by artist and curator Kirsha Kaechele, which was taken to court due to an anti-discrimination complaint. Two big developments impacted Ladies Lounge in 2024: first, in April, the Tasmanian Civil and Administrative Tribunal ruled that it must start letting men enter; then, a September decision by the state's Supreme Court upheld Mona's appeal, permitting it to reopen for women only to continue to make its statement about the lack of opportunity historically offered to ladies by such spaces. Kaechele did indeed relaunch the installation, but only briefly, while flagging that it could go on tour. So, after ending its run at its original home in January 2025, Ladies Lounge is now headed to the Gold Coast. Each year, the coastal Sunshine State spot turns over much of the city to Bleach*, its annual arts festival. This year, Ladies Lounge is on its lineup. This is the first time that it will pop up beyond Mona, and therefore also beyond Tasmania, with the Gold Coast's HOTA, Home of the Arts playing host to the feminist space. "Yes, some boys may be allowed in for domestic arts lessons and reparations," the fest advises. Bleach* 2025 runs from Thursday, July 31–Sunday, August 10, also covering music, opera, drama, food and more, all at festival hubs a HOTA, Kurrawa Park and Emerald Lakes. It has more big art names attached, too. Australian visual artist Michael Zavros is the festival's guest Artistic Director for the year, curating a program that spans 100-plus events. Among them, Patricia Piccinini's Skywhale and Skywhalepapa are on the lineup, and will float through the Gold Coast's skies. That's how Bleach* will kick off at sunrise on its first 2025 day. "It's such a thrill to come on board as guest Artistic Director and launch Bleach* 2025. We've been shaping this festival for some time now, and it's incredibly rewarding to see the program come to life and finally share it with our audiences," said Zavros, announcing this year's bill. "We've dreamed big this year — pushing for bold, ambitious moments — and it's exciting to see those ideas realised in such powerful ways. Bleach* continues to play a vital role in the Gold Coast's arts and culture scene, and this year's program is a true reflection of the city's creative spirit and growing artistic ambition." Among the festival's three world premieres of works created on the Gold Coast, plus five Queensland premieres and plenty of other must-sees, other highlights include opera, classical music and dancing horses taking over Kurrawa Beach; artist Jeff Koons getting chatting at an exclusive in-conversation event; and Selve's new album Breaking Into Heaven performed in full with lasers, Karul Projects dancers and the Australian Session Orchestra outdoors at HOTA. Or, there's also Drum As You Are, a family-friendly Nirvana tribute — one of the iconic band's albums is called Bleach, after all — that'll feature both professional and community drummers. Unsurprisingly given that he's steering this year's festival, you can also see Zavros' Drowned Mercedes, the sculpture that was first unveiled in Brisbane in 2023 and, yes, features a 1990s Mercedes-Benz SL convertible filled with water. Zavros is also taking part in life-drawing sessions, Melissa Spratt and Tal Fitzpatrick are teaming up to showcase how textiles can be comforting in public space, and Josh Cohen's Radiohead for Solo Piano II will be in the spotlight. Bleach* 2025 runs from Thursday, July 31–Sunday, August 10 at various locations around the Gold Coast. For further information, head to the festival website.
In the lead-up to new Hollywood-set satire The Studio premiering its first season on Apple TV+, the streaming platform kept doing something that's a well-established element of the entertainment industry: name-dropping. This is the latest project from long-time collaborators Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg after Superbad, Pineapple Express, This Is the End, Bad Neighbours and its sequel, The Interview, The Night Before and plenty more, with the pair co-creating, co-writing, co-directing and executive producing the series. Rogen (Mufasa: The Lion King) stars, with Catherine O'Hara (The Wild Robot), Ike Barinholtz (Curb Your Enthusiasm), Kathryn Hahn (Agatha All Along) and Chase Sui Wonders (City on Fire) rounding out the main cast. That's a starry group already. Across two trailers, however, a heap of guest parts and cameos were revealed — including for Bryan Cranston (Argylle), Zoë Kravitz (Blink Twice), Paul Dano (Fantasmas), Olivia Wilde (Don't Worry Darling), Charlize Theron (Fast X), Anthony Mackie (Captain America: Brave New World), Zac Efron (A Family Affair), Sarah Polley (Women Talking) Greta Lee (Past Lives), Ice Cube (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem), Rebecca Hall (Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire), Adam Scott (Severance), Ron Howard (Jim Henson Idea Man) and Martin Scorsese (Killers of the Flower Moon). A few days before the show's Wednesday, March 26, 2025 debut Down Under, the full list of well-known talents appearing on-screen arrived. Dave Franco (Love Lies Bleeding), Jean Smart (Hacks), Johnny Knoxville (The Luckiest Man in America), Josh Hutcherson (The Beekeeper), Quinta Brunson (Abbott Elementary), Ramy Youssef (Poor Things), Steve Buscemi (Transformers One), Zack Snyder (Rebel Moon), Aaron Sorkin (Being the Ricardos) and Parker Finn (Smile and Smile 2) are among them, too. It's clear through the roster of names, in The Studio's ten-part initial season itself, and from talking with a number of the show's cast and guiding forces: this is a series with the utmost of love for the art of making pictures, even as it savvily pokes fun at the whole business around movies. The task that Rogen and Goldberg have set themselves, and achieve winningly, is anchoring the act of parodying Tinseltown with details drawn from real-life experiences, assistance from that enviable lineup of Hollywood folks joining in and a celebratory insider spirit. Rogen plays Matt Remick, a film executive who has only ever wanted one job: to run the fictional Continental Studios. It doesn't take long for that dream to come true, or for the character to realise what being a studio head truly means. "I got into this because I love movies. But now I have this fear that my job is to ruin them," he tells his mentor and predecessor Patty Leigh (O'Hara). That line is indicative of The Studio's knack for turning reality into astute, acerbic but affectionate viewing — Rogen and Goldberg once heard it themselves, uttered by an IRL executive. "They're all really close to our experience in some way, shape or form," James Weaver — who co-runs Point Grey Pictures, the production company behind The Studio, with Rogen and Goldberg — tells Concrete Playground about the link between the series' characters and scenarios and actuality. That said, the team's own interactions across their careers were just the beginning. "We met with a lot of people in the industry who are friends of ours, who had run studios, et cetera, and tried to mine their experience for when we're not around. What do they say behind closed doors? And so I think we tried to have an understanding of what those conversations were like." Personal inspiration remains key across the show, though. "Giving a note to a filmmaker that you really respect, and a note that you know is not going to be popular, is something we've definitely had to do," Weaver continues. That 'been there, felt that' vibe is also crucial to the search for validation at the heart of The Studio. Everyone wants it, executives and megastars alike, whether by getting a gig, having their ideas heard, making a hit, leaving a legacy, winning awards, being thanked in public or being seen to have a worthy job. "Wanting to be thanked at an award show because that's the only evidence that you did anything on it is something that we've seen as well," Weaver advises. "I think we're hoping that that's coming through, that the authenticity of our experience is in the show, and that's partially, I think, what people seem to be liking." In Matt's Continental team, three fellow studio employees are rarely far from his side: Barinholtz's Sal Seperstein, another seasoned executive; Hahn's Maya Mason, the company's marketing head; and Wonders' Quinn Hackett, an up-and-comer. From their respective time in the business, each is familiar with the types of characters that they're portraying — and that knowledge played a part in their performances, sometimes directly and sometimes in a more general sense. "A lot of studio executives I've worked with over the years, some great, some not so great, but I pulled little moments from a lot of them and put them into Sal," Barinholtz notes. "I have not one specific person. What they wrote was what I basically followed. But as I was putting the costumes on, there's definitely some humans, one could say," Hahn says. For Wonders, "my best friend is an assistant to a director, and she is someone who's very precocious, very ready to take over the world, but definitely has to earn her stripes and bide her time, and I think lots of young, ambitious people can relate to that. So that's one person I had in mind." As Continental's execs weather everything from endeavouring to capitalise upon the intellectual property-driven movie trend by making a Kool-Aid flick to attempting to capture an expensive golden-hour one-take shot — plus missing footage, casting conundrums, trailer scandals, the Golden Globes and annual US movie theatre-owner convention CinemaCon — chaos is their baseline. Still, Wonders also sees the series as having "a big sense that if you love what you do and you do it with integrity, as sappy as that is, there is going to be something in it for you, some sort of goodwill that comes your way. I feel like these characters find they have sad lives where they just are so dedicated to this one thing, and at the end of the day they kind of find their family. So that's a nice universal message". [caption id="attachment_997078" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Photo by Eric Charbonneau/Apple TV+ via Getty Images.[/caption] And that oner? It isn't just a focus of a storyline within the show; long takes are also part of its own style. "It felt like every scene was a play, like you're doing a different play every scene — and just once you got dialled in, once we rehearsed and you knew what you were doing, it was really exhilarating to be in that zone," Barinholtz shares. "It's definitely more challenging, but then it's amazing how much you can accomplish," adds Hahn. "There's something heightened about doing it as a oner that I really, really love." We also chatted with Goldberg, Weaver, Barinholtz, Hahn and Wonders about the love that's baked into The Studio, that search for recognition that drives its characters, ensuring that the series is relatable far beyond Hollywood insiders, its visual approach, those cameos and more — including how Barinholtz and Hahn's past TV comedy roles on recent greats such as The Mindy Project, Parks and Recreation and The Afterparty came in handy. On How Everything in the Series, Jokes and Cameos Included, Filters Through the Show's Love for the Film Industry James: "At the beginning of the show, we really knew that this was going to be about having a show about how we love making movies. So I think it comes through the lens of that, everything that happens. So in terms of making jokes about A24 or some of the other companies that are in there, we've made movies with A24. They're great people. They do incredible work. And so I think the entire show is about our experience in Hollywood for the last 15 years, and I think we're trying to bring some truth and some sense of 'this is how it is', but also all through the lens of humour and fun. As far as the cameos, each of them came about in different ways. Some of them are people we've worked with in the past. Some people like Martin Scorsese or Zoë Kravitz, we met for the first time — and either through the script that Seth and Evan had written or through meetings, we talked to them about how we wanted to portray them in the show. And they were really excited and game. There is a history, whether it be The Player or The Larry Sanders Show, of Hollywood satirising itself. And so that was something that people understood, what we were going for, and people were really trusting and excited to be there. I think that we're not necessarily worried that people are going to see the show as some sort of takedown of Hollywood, because we love Hollywood and we love the fact that we get to make movies. It really is more of a presentation of our experience through the comedic lens than it is any takedown of the industry." On Barinholtz, Hahn and Wonders' First Impressions When The Studio Came Their Way Kathryn: "I mean, just to hear that these humans were involved. And I've never really worked with Seth and Evan together. And just the writing of it was just hilarious. And to think of these humans in those parts was really exciting. I couldn't wait to jump in." Chase: "They're telling very risky jokes, and I remember reading them on the page and thinking 'this is something I've heard behind closed doors, but never on television for all eternity'. So it's always good when you feel like you're doing something that's pushing boundaries." Ike: "I remember Seth called me and said 'hey, we're writing ...'. And I said 'I'm in'. And he said 'it's a show about Hollywood'. I said 'I'm in'. And he said 'Catherine O'Hara is going to be in it'. I said 'I'm in. I'm already in.'. It was the world's easiest 'yes'. It was just literally the world and the writing, and having them and Catherine — and Bryan Cranston, who is in really good physical shape. Beautiful body. It was the world's fastest and easiest 'yes'." On the Search for Validation That's at the Heart of the Show Evan: "I would say the nice thing about that element of the series is we set out not to make an aspirational version of Hollywood, but to make a real version of Hollywood. And that is the real version of Hollywood. People are very cynical and all that in the world today, but Hollywood is mostly people who are wildly passionate, care deeply and would rather do this than anything else in the world — no matter how high or low they are on the totem pole of success. People just are passionate in a way that most industries aren't. And so we get to tap into those hopes and dreams in making the show, merely by trying to replicate the real experiences we've had. And, of course, it doesn't always work out for people, and sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn't, but the passion is the thing that bleeds through it all." On the Importance of Balancing Satire and Affection for the Cast — and the Fact That The Studio Takes the Art of Filmmaking Very Seriously Chase: "I think it's important. And one thing Seth and Evan really tried to hit is the realism of the comedy, and comedy born of situations where people are just trying their hardest and it's just these doofuses who can't quite get it right. It also helps when our production design is impeccable, the way we filmed it is so high-level and it just naturally lends itself to a more elevated, smart type of comedy than just a slapstick sort of thing." Kathryn: "Because everything is so elevated, you really feel a certain responsibility to uphold the world around you and the filmmaking around you. And there is less opportunity for hamming around. So everything feels very focused in a way that keeps the energy legit and high and focused." Ike: "Could not say it better than they just did, so I won't." [caption id="attachment_997090" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Photo by Eric Charbonneau/Apple TV+ via Getty Images.[/caption] On How Barinholtz and Hahn's Past Work on Fellow TV Comedies Such as The Mindy Project, Parks and Recreation and The Afterparty Helped Them on the Path to The Studio Kathryn: "All good ensembles." Ike: "Yes, yes." Kathryn: "Great ensembles." Ike: "Great showrunners." Kathryn: "Yes." Ike: "Great writing." Kathryn: "Great writing." Ike: "We're lucky to have been through a lot of those and seen how they all work. And this was different than all those, just because they went about it a different way. But I think you learn every time you do a show, every time you do an episode of a show or whatever, you learn something, you learn a new trick. So it definitely makes it easier." On the Elements of the Series That Most Felt Real for the Cast and Crew James: "It all feels real to us. I mean, I think we day to day are in these conversations about what kind thing to get behind in terms of a movie or TV show — or who's a filmmaker or a performer that we really believe in. Then we have to have those conversations about 'how is this thing going to make people money?'. It's really this idea of art versus commerce that I think is at the centre of what the show is. But as Evan was just saying, I think then you put overlay that with characters who care deeply about doing something artistic, but also care deeply about not getting fired. And so I think those two ideas are butting up against each other at all times. And that feels very real. The executives that we've been working with for 15 years are friends of ours. We've watched them get married to each other and there's a lot of like, a lot of community, in terms of the people that this show is portraying. And so it all feels very real to us when it goes through that lens. Seth and Evan are also just very, very funny people. So when it comes to making the jokes and the scenarios out of the real thing, they're just very talented at making that funny and entertaining. But it comes from a real place, and I think that's why hopefully people like respond to the show." Ike: "I'm friends with a lot of people who are studio executives, and I think they like to drink a lot. And so I stole that, and I drink a lot in the show. In real life, moderation — but in the show, I have a problem." Kathryn: "Always moderation." Ike: "Always moderation. That's the takeaway." Chase: "I think also studio execs are people who wield a lot of power, but when they're put in front of actors, who are these big personalities, they can be very shy and kind of cower away. And that's something that's both really fun to play the comedy of and also show the humanity of these characters." Ike: "That's a good answer." Kathryn: "I definitely have been in things in which I've seen the mockups for the posters or the possible trailers, and clearly no one has seen the show or the movie. They're so wildly not what the movie's about." Ike: "Yes, yes, yes." On Making the Series Relatable Outside of Hollywood Ike: "I think that the guys, Seth and Evan, did a very good job — even though the show is undeniably set in this world of movies and studios and executives, I think a lot of the situations in each of these episodes are things that everyone has dealt with. We've all had a boss who's gotten too drunk. We've all wanted credit for something and we are afraid we're not going to get credit for it. We've all been jealous of a coworker at some point. So I think a lot of the themes that they deal with in the episodes are universal, and whether you are someone who works in entertainment or around entertainment, or you have nothing to do with entertainment, you'll recognise a lot of those themes and scenarios, and hopefully they'll make you laugh." Kathryn: "Chances are people watch entertainment, so they'll get an idea of what the situations are. But also it's made with love, and so I think that's a different thing, too. There's such care for these characters and there's such love for this business of making movies, and nobody's really tearing down anybody. And I think that that also feels fun for an audience, too." On the Visual Approach When You're Making a TV Series About Filmmaking Evan: "For our show, the method we filmed it came from two different sources. One was, directorially Seth and I have done a lot of improv comedy feature films where we do a wide shot, medium and we get cross coverage of closeups, and then in editing we mess with all the improv we did. And we just wanted to do something very different, so we thought long extended takes would be a great way to do that and to make it more directorial as opposed to written and edited. Then through that conversation, we talked about how it could impact the actual storytelling — and the thing we wanted to embrace was the panic that a lot of these people experience in these jobs. These studio heads, even though they're very powerful and very passionate and very intelligent, they're often panicking because they can just lose their job for one big disaster. One flop and their whole job, maybe even their career, could be done or messed up for a long time. So we thought it would good to anchor people in that mania, and in that intensity, and let them feel the panic — and the best way to do that is make it feel like you are a person, like you are the cameraman, like there's an individual there. So we used one lens with long takes, and it whips back and forth just like your own head would if you were in that room experiencing the scenario that our characters are." On Working with Seth Rogen in His Many Roles on the Series: Star, Co-Creator, Co-Director, Co-Writer and Executive Producer Ike: "Oh man, I'd worked with him a couple times but never as a director. And he's really incredible, I think, at acting and being present in the scene — but he's watching everything. So if there's a slight little problem in a take, if the camera operator accidentally bumps into someone and the camera shakes for half a second, Seth has seen it. And he will just start laughing and go 'let's go again'. But he's just very tuned in. I'm very impressed at how much. You would think, that for who he is and what he ingests, he would be just not — but he is so freaking tuned in. And he's also just an incredibly good-natured guy. I think a lot of times, if something goes wrong, I've seen directors or producers blow their stack and get mad — and I don't know, it's just they're nice Canadian boys who just don't get that upset." [caption id="attachment_997093" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Photo by Eric Charbonneau/Apple TV+ via Getty Images.[/caption] Chase: "Doesn't yell, doesn't get mad." Ike: "They don't yell." Kathryn: "You could see sometimes when you screwed up and you're trying to find a word, and then you see him, you see him basically shake his head and look at you." Chase: "Yeah, yeah, yeah." Kathryn: "And you're like 'well, save me'." On the Securing The Studio's Many, Many Cameos James: "Martin Scorsese was someone that we all admire and never thought we would have a chance to meet. Seth and Evan wrote a script with him as that character, and we sent it to him and he read it, and he was like 'yeah, I'd love to do it'. And then all of our heads exploded, basically. But then people like Charlize Theron or Zac Efron, they're all people that we have worked with in the past, so they were people that we could talk to directly and say 'hey, we have this idea for a character for you in our show'. And then there were some new people we got to meet, like Zoë Kravitz or Olivia Wilde. They were characters that we wrote for the show, and we just had to meet with them and get their ideas on that character. Seth and Evan were on a lot of zooms with each of them before they signed on. But it was nice, because I think once Martin Scorsese said yes, there were several phone calls that I started with 'so Martin Scorsese's doing the show — so can you do the show?'. And that was really nice, because people would generally say 'yeah, sure'." The Studio streams via Apple TV+.
The former women's only Chain Baths, known locally as Nuns Pool, is thought to be one of the first ocean pools in New South Wales and sits at the bottom of Wollongong's Flagstaff Hill. Established in the 1830s as a place for women of a certain social standing to bathe — the 'chain' in the original name comes from the iron chains, slung between the rocks for ladies to hold onto while bathing in this wavy ocean pool. Locals began referring to the baths as Nuns Pool after nuns from a nearby convent school started bringing girls there in the early 1900s. Another alternate name for the pool, Lovers Gully, hints at its popularity with romantic types over the years, too. These days, you don't have to have a petticoat or a corset to enjoy the natural beauty of the pool. Whether you feel like doing some laps or simply taking five with the water lapping around you, this hidden gem is definitely worth a visit. Images: Jasmine Low
This piece of tour news will get you smiling like you mean it: The Killers are returning Down Under before 2024 is out, announcing their latest stint on Australia's stages. The Las Vegas-born rockers were last here in November and December 2022 — including playing intimate midnight shows — and will head back across the same months this year to get local crowds singing 'Mr Brightside' and 'Somebody Told Me' again. Hot Fuss, the album that gave the world those two beloved tracks — and 'Smile Like You Mean It', 'Jenny Was a Friend of Mine', 'All These Things That I've Done' and more — is the reason for the tour. 2024 marks 20 years since it first released, so Brandon Flowers and company are celebrating. More than that, they're playing two types of gigs on their Aussie trip. Most will be Rebel Diamonds shows, pumping through the group's hits across their entire career. In Sydney and Melbourne, however, The Killers are doing an extra night to work through Hot Fuss in its entirety. [caption id="attachment_972411" align="alignnone" width="1920"] © 2022 Chris Phelps[/caption] Open up your eager eyes, Australia: destiny is calling you to those two concerts apiece in the New South Wales and Victorian capitals, at Qudos Bank Arena and Rod Laver Arena, as well as to single shows at Brisbane Entertainment Centre in the Sunshine State capital and Queensland Country Bank Stadium in Townsville. Sadly, the November/December timing means that The Killers won't be repeating their AFL Grand Final berth after stealing the show back in 2017. They will be in the country for the AFLW Grand Final, however, if you want to start crossing your fingers. Given the band's lengthy back catalogue, The Killers won't just be focusing on Hot Fuss tunes at both kinds of shows on their tour, but have plenty more songs to bust out. Also likely to get a whirl as well: 'When You Were Young', 'Bones', 'Human', 'The Man' and latest single 'Bright Lights', just to name a few. The Hot Fuss gigs have been receiving a workout in the group's hometown of late, where they played a soldout residency at Caesar's Palace from mid-August till early September. The Killers 2024 Australian Tour Dates: Saturday, November 30 — Rebel Diamonds — Queensland Country Bank Stadium, Townsville Friday, December 6 — Rebel Diamonds — Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney Saturday, December 7 — Hot Fuss — Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney Monday, December 9 — Rebel Diamonds — Brisbane Entertainment Centre, Brisbane Thursday, December 12 — Rebel Diamonds — Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne Friday, December 13 – Hot Fuss — Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne [caption id="attachment_831494" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Raph_PH via Wikimedia Commons[/caption] The Killers are touring Australia in November and December 2024. Pre-sale tickets go on sale at 3pm local time on Tuesday, September 10, with general tickets on sale from 4pm local time on Monday, September 12. For further details, head to the tour website. Top image: Raph_PH via Flickr.
Maybe you love nothing more than telling simulated people what to do. Perhaps a fantasy universe is your favourite place to escape to when you're mashing buttons. More than a quarter-century back, virtual critters might've been your go-to pastime. The Sims, World of Warcraft and Neopets have all made an impact on the gaming world, and on audiences. All three are also scoring plenty of love at Game Worlds at the Australian Centre for the Moving Image in Melbourne. For five months between Thursday, September 18, 2025–Sunday, February 8, 2026, this video-game exhibition is shining a spotlight on 30 iconic titles — and making attendees feel like they're stepping inside some of them, too. Expect everything from original concept art and never-before-seen designs to rare objects at the Federation Square site's Gallery 4. Expect to get playing, rather than just peering, as well. [caption id="attachment_997872" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Electronic Arts[/caption] Although the full lineup of games featured hasn't been revealed as yet, they'll span from the 70s until now, and 20 of them will be playable. Demos, games from years gone by, trying to break speed records: they're all part of the setup, which will include international hits, new Australian releases and everything in-between. ACMI has staged major video-game showcases before. This is its third, in fact, following 2008's Game On and 2012's Game Masters. Since the latter, the venue has also hosted smaller gaming exhibitions, such as 2017's Code Breakers — where women in the industry were the focus — and 2024's Honk! Untitled Goose Exhibition. Earlier in 2025, it celebrated 25 years of The Sims across one nostalgic weekend. As it regularly does with its showcases, the gallery will pair Game Worlds with talks, film screenings and other events, family-friendly activities among them. [caption id="attachment_997868" align="alignnone" width="1920"] World of Neopia[/caption] Top images: Blizzard Entertainment.
If you know anything about the Hotel Rose Bay, it's probably the pub's obsession with miniature trains — up until recently, it sported a model that would skirt around the venue every hour. But an extensive renovation and a few million dollars later, and the 90-year-old pub will choo-choo no more. It has reopened as a sleek new eastern suburbs venue. The heritage facade had been kept, but inside the space has undergone some serious work by Richards Stanisich Interiors, who raised ceilings, added more windows and doubled the interior space. It's now brighter and more airy and befits the venue's harbourside location. Rose gold finishes, terrazzo tiling and Australian spotted gum furnishings, along with an emerald granite bar, have replaced the pub's train track. As a result, there are now three distinct spaces on offer: the main bar and lounge with a cocktail list and share plates, the sports bar, and the 70-seat restaurant. The latter is helmed by ex-Flying Fish and Catalina executive chef Ian Royle, who's bringing his fine-dining background to pub grub. Sure, you'll find the usual fish and chips, cheeseburgers and steaks, but also a barramundi fillet with cauliflower and tamarind butter ($29.50) and soy spare ribs served with sriracha mayo ($29). Other menu specialties include the king prawns with burnt butter and native greens ($28), the free-range chicken with chilli coconut and peanut sauce ($28), and the salmon tartare with avocado, tomato ponzu and wonton crisps ($18.5). Having first opened its doors back in 1929, Hotel Rose Bay is also one of the few independent pubs around town — it's been owned and operated by the Auswild family from Bellevue Hill for over 20 years now. Food images: Oliver Minnett.
Cashed-up visitors to the Gold Coast will soon have a new upmarket place to stay, and the southeast Queensland getaway destination will score some more bragging rights in the process. In 2027, the Glitter Strip is already set to welcome the first Aussie outpost from luxury brand St Regis. Now, in the same year, it'll become home to Marriott International's debut Luxury Collection resort on the country's mainland as well. The Marriott International hotel chain is behind St Regis, too, plus The Ritz-Carlton, which will open its third Aussie location on the Gold Coast in 2026. Accordingly, it's set to be a huge few years for the brand Down Under, adding the Marina Mirage Gold Coast to its existing JW Marriott Gold Coast Resort & Spa and Sheraton Grand Mirage Gold Coast in the city. If your bank balance allows, your future holiday plans will also benefit. Boasting 110 spots to slumber around the globe, The Luxury Collection made its local premiere with The Tasman in Hobart back in 2021, and also spans everywhere from the Bellagio in Las Vegas and the Prince de Galles in Paris to the Suiran in Kyoto. The Gold Coast's addition to the list will feature 122 rooms as part of the new precinct planned for the site of the existing Marina Mirage on The Spit, transforming Seaworld Drive. As part of their stay, guests can get excited about hanging out at the rooftop bar and pool, eating a meal at the signature restaurant and chasing bliss at the day spa. There'll also be a jacuzzi, wellness and beauty centre, garden, and function and event spaces. Exactly what each will entail — menu items, cuisine styles, relaxing treatments and the like — hasn't yet been revealed. Marriott International Inc is working with Makris Group on the Marina Mirage Gold Coast, with the family-owned company owning the site since 2013. The full resort-style overhaul of the Marina Mirage will also include a new marina, restaurants and shops, and both villas and residences. "The reimagination of the iconic Marina Mirage precinct presents an inspiring opportunity to expand our luxury footprint on the Gold Coast — a market we know very well, after more than 35 years' experience operating the city's two leading resorts under our JW Marriott and Sheraton brands," said Richard Crawford, Vice President of Hotel Development for Australia, New Zealand and Pacific at Marriott International. "The destination's resilience during and post-pandemic has been remarkable, and we are very confident that proven demand for high-quality hotel experiences will be a strong foundation for the success of our first Luxury Collection property on mainland Australia." Find the Marina Mirage Gold Coast on Seaworld Drive, Main Beach from sometime in 2027 — keep an eye on the Marriott International website for further details in the interim.
Pearl Jam finally returning to Australia and New Zealand for the first time since 2014 was always going to be big news. Tickets to their shows were always going to get snapped up fast, too. So, it comes as no surprise that the Eddie Vedder-led band's Down Under leg of their Dark Matter tour has added new gigs on the day that tix went on sale — because Melbourne, Sydney and Auckland's concerts have proven that popular. In NZ, the group will now hit up Go Media Stadium in Mt Smart on Sunday, November 10 as well as the already-announced Friday, November 8. In Melbourne, Monday, November 18 joins Saturday, November 16 on Pearl Jam's trip to Marvel Stadium. And in Sydney, the band will play Giants Stadium on Saturday, November 23, after their first show there on Thursday, November 21. [caption id="attachment_940860" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Raph_PH via Flickr[/caption] At each of the new gigs, as well as the rest of the tour's stops in Sydney and on the Gold Coast, audiences will be treated to two hefty names in 80s and 90s music thanks to Pixies in support. Vedder and Black Francis taking to the same stage? That'll make you feel alive and ask "where is my mind?". Pearl Jam are the headliners, returning after last hitting our shores on a tour a decade back that included the final-ever Big Day Out. Dark Matter, the band's 12th album, will release in April — which gives fans plenty of time to know it by heart before the group take to local stages. [caption id="attachment_940849" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Wp72 via Wikimedia Commons[/caption] Expect to hear tunes from Dark Matter, plus past hits 'Alive', 'Black', 'Jeremy', 'Better Man', 'Last Kiss' and 'Daughter' from previous albums such as the iconic Ten, Vs and Vitalogy from the early 90s, plus No Code, Yield and more since. Pixies, who were last Down Under in 2022, are responsible for a helluva one-two punch with their first two albums: 1988's Surfer Rosa and 1989's Doolittle. The first gave the world the track that's been linked with Tyler Durden courtesy of David Fincher's Fight Club since 1999, aka 'Where Is My Mind?', as well as 'Gigantic' and 'Cactus'. The second is home to 'Here Comes Your Man', 'Monkey Gone to Heaven', 'Debaser' and 'Wave of Mutilation'. Tickets to the tour required registration first, which has already ended. But, if you have received a code as part of that process, it's now valid for the new gigs. [caption id="attachment_940844" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Danny Cinch[/caption] Pearl Jam Dark Matter World Tour 2024 with with Special Guests Pixies — Australia and New Zealand Dates Friday, November 8 + Sunday, November 10 – Go Media Stadium, Mt Smart, Auckland Wednesday, November 13 — Heritage Bank Stadium, Gold Coast Saturday, November 16 + Monday, November 18 — Marvel Stadium, Melbourne Thursday, November 21 + Saturday, November 23 — Giants Stadium, Sydney Pearl Jam and Pixies are touring Australia and New Zealand in November 2024, with ticket sales from Friday, February 23 — head to the Pearl Jam website for further details. Top image: Raph_PH via Flickr.
Steamy, sunny days are still upon us, making afternoons around the pool an enduringly high priority — and a surefire reason to leave the office inappropriately early. While swimming a few laps satisfies the large majority of water babies, there are those of us yearning for the playful days of yesteryear; when fighting your siblings on the back of inflatable dragons was the ultimate, when diving for sunken rings was the best of times, when blow-up alligator time had to be shared out and rostered by your tired-but-practical Aunty Jane. But pool toy companies haven't forgotten you. There's a huge market for pool toys to suit all ages, with plenty of stylish, weird and genius inflatable ideas on offer. From floating poker and ping pong tables to giant floating birds and watermelons, these are our favourite inflatables to make any pool party that little more Instagrammable — and your summer that extra bit more nostalgic. THE GIANT FLAMINGO/SWAN One of the most Instagrammable pool accessories around: the giant swan (or pink flamingo, if you're feeling more flamboyant). According to the Giant Swan website, the swans are "popular in fashion shoots", so for $99 you can nab your very own oversized aquabird and get yourself a perpetually summery profile picture. POOL SHOOTBALL If you like shooting hoops but find the asphalt a little too steamy in summer, this genius little game brings the court to the water. For just $40 with free shipping, this one's perfect for pool parties or sorting out sibling rivalries. AQUA ZORBS With the increasing popularity of Zorb Bumper Soccer and Human Zorb Bowling, Aqua Zorb water walkers could be of the most epic additions to home pool toy collection. One of the more exxy pool toys on the market, the Zorbs are $595 each — and obviously you're going to need two for battle reasons. One for the truly dedicated pool fiends. FLOATING POKER TABLE Now here's a truly grown-up pool toy. Bestway are responsible for the world's first pool poker set, complete with inflatable poker table, chairs, cards, chips and most importantly, drink holders. It's just $39.95 for the set, however a day of poker in the pool may end up costing you more. THE LAKE TRAMPOLINE You're going to need a bigger pool for this one, preferably lake-sized. Remember all those hours you spent as a youngster doing precarious trick jumps from your trampoline into your pool? Now your adult self can get some solid (and somewhat safer) air jumping off a giant lake trampoline, priced from a rather steep $1800 to $3700. With a price tag like that, might be worth getting your crew to chip in. MOTORISED BUMPER BOATS Yep, motorised bumper boats. Longtime aquatic toymakers Hammacher Schlemmer have created these floating vehicles for long afternoons spent crashing into your loved ones at four kilometres per hour. For $100 each, these bumper boats can also be used to ferry your summer snacks from one end of the pool to the other, or could be used as a flimsy excuse for a jetski in a lake situation. FLOATING POOL PING PONG Never chase ping pong balls around your garage again. Yours for around $60-90, depending where you buy it, this floating ping pong table is as summery an activity you can get. You're going to want to take this to the shallow end though; treading water and playing ping pong sounds like one hell of an exercise. AQUAGLIDE REVOLUTION If you're looking to make other people jealous (or highly confused) of your toys, this'll do the trick. Priced at $4500, the six-foot-high Aquaglide Revolution has it all: slides on one side, some form of extreme seesaw on the other, climbing walls aplenty. The Revolution allows up to ten people on board at once, and will have you outrageously exhausted and immeasurably happy by the end of the day. URBAN OUTFITTERS POOL FLOATS Another much more realistic and adorable option to brighten up any pool party. From watermelons, Monaco bars, snakes, suns, smiley faces to floating beer pong, American retail giants Urban Outfitters have a variety of novelty pool inflatables on offer for just $25 to $50 each. By Tommy Codling and Shannon Connellan.
The Royal Botanic Garden Sydney sure is something special. Boasting phenomenal views of Sydney Harbour, this stretch of parkland can be just about anything you want it to be. It can be a picnic spot for you and your pals, a quiet respite from the city hustle and bustle or a place to don your horticulture hat. For something more active, attend one of the free daily guided tours highlighting some of the gardens' best and most unique features. The gardens' bicentenary in 2016 welcomed the newly-built Calyx, an impressive UFO-shaped public space that hosts a busy roster of innovative exhibitions and workshops. As well as many plant-themed events such as the current colourful floral display Pollination, the Calyx also runs yoga in the garden on weekday mornings and lunches. Throughout the warmer months, visitors can partake in high tea from Friday to Sunday among the beautiful botanics. The RBGS has also recently reopened the Victoria Lodge, a historic building which sits in the Lower Garden Precinct. The building has been restored with a view to incorporate it into the gardens mix of venues for use starting with a summer pop-up bar. Visitors also have the opportunity to take a piece of the park home with them — the Growing Friends Nursery has a range of native and exotic plants available for purchase. If you're after something more on the edible side, pick up a jar of raw honey collected from the garden hives. Images: Destination NSW
All That Jazz isn't one of Damien Chazelle's films. It hit cinemas in 1979, six years before the Whiplash and La La Land filmmaker was born, so it can't be. But the Oscar-winning writer/director sure has taken those three words to heart. With the exception of his last flick until now, 2018's Neil Armstrong biopic First Man, Chazelle adores all that jazz — and he adores pumping it through his movies, too. So, returning to the big screen after making jazz club drama The Eddy for Netflix in 2020, of course he's heading back to an era in history known as the jazz age. Babylon dances through Hollywood's Golden Age with a jazz (what else?) soundtrack, following Margot Robbie and Brad Pitt as they wreak havoc throughout Tinseltown. Robbie (The Suicide Squad) plays Nellie LaRoy, a 1920s actor. After winning an Oscar for Once Upon a Time in Hollywood — set in a different era of Los Angeles' past — Pitt (Bullet Train) plays Jack Conrad, an industry veteran. As the decade comes to an end and Hollywood changes, the two characters have much to grapple with in this tale of ambition and excess. As the just-dropped first trailer makes plain, they have plenty of parties to attend, too — decadently staged affairs that look right out of The Great Gatsby, or at least as if Chazelle is channelling his inner Baz Luhrmann. And if you weren't already thinking that anyway, up pops Tobey Maguire in only his fifth movie role since The Great Gatsby. (Also on his resume since then: the wholly unrelated 2014 TV series The Spoils of Babylon). Since capturing Hollywood's attention back in 2014 with Whiplash, Chazelle hasn't been known for holding back — and in a trailer that opens with Robbie and a table of drugs, ends with her fighting a snake, gleams with golden sights in-between, and splashes around so much alcohol that you're forgiven for feeling a little boozy while watching it, that's clearly the case with Babylon. The official plot synopsis promises to "trace the rise and fall of multiple characters during an era of unbridled decadence and depravity in early Hollywood" — and if that's your tempo, the end result hits cinemas in January 2023. Also among the cast: a massive who's who of Hollywood today, including Diego Calva (Narcos: Mexico), Jean Smart (Hacks), Jovan Adepo (The Stand), Li Jun Li (Sex/Life), PJ Byrne (The Boys), Lukas Haas (Widows), Olivia Hamilton (First Man), Max Minghella (The Handmaid's Tale), Rory Scovel (Physical), Katherine Waterston (The Third Day), Red Hot Chili Peppers' Flea (Obi-Wan Kenobi), Eric Roberts (The Righteous Gemstones), Ethan Suplee (Dog), Samara Weaving (Nine Perfect Strangers) and Olivia Wilde (Don't Worry Darling). Check out the trailer for Babylon below: Babylon releases in cinemas Down Under on January 19, 2023. Images: courtesy of Paramount Pictures.
Come with us now on a journey through time and space, as Matthew McConaughey takes the top spot as heroic protagonist in the new Christopher Nolan film, Interstellar. The brand new (awesome) trailer can only be watched at Interstellar's newly launched website. Once you get there, you'll need a special passcode — '7201969' — the date Apollo 11 landed on the moon. Badass. The film sees McConaughey and fellow astronaut Anne Hathaway travel through a wormhole with the simple goal of saving humanity. The newly-released trailer gives a tiny insight into McConaughey’s character — an engineer and widowed father with two children — as well as vast landscapes of alien worlds and a spaceship hurtling through empty space. We can tell this is not going to be a smooth-sailing intergalactic ride, as McConaughey philosophises in the opening lines, "We used to look up at the sky and wonder at our place in the stars. Now we just look down and worry about our place in the dirt." Cue goosebumps. The highly-anticipated film also stars Jessica Chastain, Casey Affleck, Michael Caine, Wes Bentley, John Lithgow, Ellen Burstyn, Topher Grace and Matt Damon. That’s one stellar Interstellar line-up right there (#sorrynotsorry). This is Nolan’s first film since wrapping up the Batman trilogy with The Dark Night Rises. Interstellar will be in cinemas November 7 and has a pretty killer poster lurking around: Via The Verge.
Marrickville locals and Sydneysiders who love sweet treats, we've got devastating news: Donut Papi has announced that it'll be shutting its doors at the end of July. Renowned for its inventive flavours and extremely high turnover rates, the Marrickville Road spot will no longer be slinging its coveted Asian-leaning doughnuts, which have secured a spot on our best doughnuts in Sydney list many a time. Kenneth Rodrigueza, the man behind the spot, and the Donut Papi crew announced the heartbreaking news on Thursday, June 13 via Instagram. View this post on Instagram A post shared by DONUT PAPI SYDNEY DOUGHNUTS & COFFEE (@donutpapi) "To be completely honest, it's a tough game out there," said Kenneth via Instagram. "I am very proud of Donut Papi for making it to nine years and for obvious reasons why we are closing, I think we want to celebrate this little donut business of ours." Including from its former home in Redfern, the beloved eatery has made its way into the hearts of Sydneysiders since 2015. Its wide-spanning doughnut selection — which isn't afraid to be bold, raunchy and boundary-pushing — stars flavours from calamansi poppyseed to pandan coconut and Thai milk tea, as well as the classic cinnamon-dusted variety and an original glazed option. Plus, Donut Papi's energetic social media presence has catapulted its popularity, with weekly flavour launches gathering further excitement among its fans. To honour its final days, Donut Papi will continue to drop its weekly specials, but will bring back popular flavours from the graveyard. This range will include the likes of its Indomie-starring creation, and has been titled as the dessert eatery's greatest hits. Find Donut Papi at 139 Marrickville Road, Marrickville, open from 10am–5pm Wednesday–Sunday, until the end of July 2024.
Little in cinema gets bigger than Godzilla, even if the iconic kaiju's size can change from movie to movie. Soon, little on streaming will be as giant as the famous creature, either, with new American series Monarch: Legacy of Monsters on its way. Slotting into the Monsterverse — aka the US franchise that also includes 2014's Godzilla, 2019's Godzilla: King of the Monsters and 2021's Godzilla vs Kong, with Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire joining in 2024 — Monarch: Legacy of Monsters arrives in November. If you're a fictional movie or TV character facing a towering critter, any amount of Godzilla is usually too much Godzilla. If you're a creature-feature fan, however, there's no such thing as too much Godzilla. Monarch: Legacy of Monsters not only expands its own saga, but comes just as Japanese film Godzilla Minus One is about to hit as well, although the latter doesn't yet have a Down Under release date. In Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, which stampedes onto Apple TV+ from Friday, November 17, the Monsterverse is going the episodic route via a story set across generations and 50 years. It's also expanding its kaiju story with help from Kurt Russell (Fast and Furious 9) — and Wyatt Russell (Under the Banner of Heaven), too. The IRL father-son pair play older and younger versions of the same figure, with army officer Lee Shaw drawn into the series by a couple of siblings attempting to keep up their dad's work after events between Godzilla and the Titans in San Francisco in the aforementioned 2014 film. Monarch: Legacy of Monsters also involves unpacking family links to clandestine outfit Monarch, events back in the 50s and how what Shaw knows threatens the organisation. So, there'll be monsters and rampages, and also secrets, lies, revelations and mysteries. Giving audiences two Russells in one series is dream casting, as both the just-dropped first teaser in September and the newly released full trailer now shows. Also appearing on-screen: Anna Sawai (Pachinko), Kiersey Clemons (The Flash), Ren Watabe (461 Days of Bento), Mari Yamamoto (also Pachinko), Anders Holm (Inventing Anna), Joe Tippett (The Morning Show), Elisa Lasowski (Hill of Vision) and John Goodman (The Righteous Gemstones). Behind the scenes, Chris Black (Severance) and Matt Fraction (Da Vinci's Demons) have co-developed Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, while Matt Shakman (The Consultant, Welcome to Chippendales) helms the opening pair of episodes — and all three are among the series' executive producers. Check out the full trailer for Monarch: Legacy of Monsters below: Monarch: Legacy of Monsters streams via Apple TV+ from Friday, November 17, 2023.
The sun is shining, you're out of office is on and you've already spent a good amount of time curled up streaming TV shows. Now's the chance to catch up on your reading — so, find a shady spot on a beach, next to a pool or by a waterfall and start making your way through our favourite books of 2020. Even if the unexpected amount of time spent at home this year has provided you with ample reading opportunities, we're sure you'll find something on the list to fill your days. It's a mixed bag this year — we've been turning the pages of novels about First Nations languages, Nick Cave and bars in Spain. Some of them are hopeful, some are relatable and some are heartbreaking, which makes them perfect for mulling over during the holidays, and providing flavourful fodder for dinner conversations. Take your pick. THE YIELD BY TARA JUNE WINCH Awarded the 2020 Miles Franklin Literary Award, Tara June Winch's The Yield is a book at odds with itself. It's about language lost as much as it's a celebration of tongue; the beauty of the land, the blood in it and its unearthing; and a culture dispossessed as well as a homecoming. It's about both Indigenous and colonial Australia. A connection to — and raw look at — Ngurambang/Country. When August returns home after her grandfather's death, she learns that the land she grew up on is being repossessed by a mining company. What ensues is a reaping of time, secrets, storytelling and blood. Split into three interlinking narratives — Albert 'Poppy' Gondiwindi and his passing on of his language, the Reverend's tales of starting a mission in Massacre Plains and August's quest to save her ancestors' land — it shows how tied Australia's future is to its past. The Yield is stunningly astute. It's a book worthy of attention; worthy to be placed on every Australian bookshelf. It rips at your heart, but also sings of hope. Cordelia Williamson, Branded Content Producer NEW VOICES ON FOOD A timely and personal look at how we connect through food, New Voices on Food makes room for a diverse collection of voices. Edited by writer, radio presenter and Sydney gem Lee Tran Lam, New Voices on Food is the first edition of a community-oriented anthology that offers new perspectives on our collective love of food. After taking public submissions back in August, the book showcases stories of individuals from underrepresented communities and celebrates the power of diversity. Contributions come in the form of written word, comics, photo essays and sketches. Each piece exudes a deep connection with food and its relationship with family, identity, memory and our tastebuds. Together, the stories demonstrate the importance of difference and promote what will hopefully be a more diverse future culinary landscape. Ben Hansen, Staff Writer HUMANKIND: A HOPEFUL HISTORY BY RUTGER BREGMAN If you hand-counted all the good things that happened in 2020, you would probably struggle to make it past your pinky finger. "Not me," you say? Good on you — go buy a yacht or something. If that statement is accurate, read on — literally. Danish author and historian Rutger Bregman has offered up his latest enlightening view on the world, and it's the most uplifting read you'll come across this year. Humankind: A Hopeful History argues against 'veneer theory': the idea that human compassion is cosmetic, and that underneath our thin layer of kindness lies our true, savage, violent and uncaring selves. Bregman uses the Lord of The Flies scenario as a common anecdote throughout the book, backed up with real-world social experiments that show just how horrible us humans are. But the historian in Bregman digs deeper, a lot deeper, and discovers that most of these 'scientific' social experiments were fuelled by ambition, hypocrisy and self-fulfilling prophecies. It's so satisfying to read through a criminologist's pessimistic magnum opus and have Bregman break it like a matchstick. The book leaves you feeling lighter — it's an absolute joy. Reuben Gibbes, Video Producer KOKOMO BY VICTORIA HANNAN You've probably seen Victoria Hannan's Kokomo in someone's hands on the tram, at the beach or at your local cafe; it's been receiving a bit of traction since its publication in July this year. Set in Melbourne, Kokomo feels familiar. Like Helen Garner's Monkey Grip but without the heroin, it celebrates the city and its ordinariness. In this way, it is far from the tropical paradise of the eponymous song by The Beach Boys. But, at its heart, Kokomo is about relationships and the building and tumbling of them. Mina, living her so-called best life in London, gets a call from her best friend Kira. Mina's mother has left the house — something she hasn't done in 12 years. Wanting answers, Mina returns to Melbourne and, after wading through her past, gets them. Hannan's tender storytelling drives her debut novel, with moments of heartbreak and hilarity and all shades in between. Cordelia Williamson, Branded Content Producer HONEYBEE BY CRAIG SILVEY Craig Silvey established himself as a force to be reckoned with in Australian literature with Rhubarb before following it up with the exquisite Jasper Jones. This year, he returned with another tour de force coming-of-age story. Set in Perth, Honeybee opens with its protagonist, Sam, leaning over the side of a bridge ready to jump. Sam is a transgender teenager and is struggling with self-hatred and the ill-treatment of others. Sam is confused and devastated. As it happens, an elderly man named Vic is also out on the ledge, and that chance meeting changes the trajectory of both of their lives forever. At times heart-breaking, tender, wild and woolly, funny and outrageous, this book is brimming over with luminous language and characters that burrow their way into your heart and stick with you. Your heart breaks repeatedly for Sam on such a difficult journey to find self-acceptance, self-love and to accept love; and ultimately this becomes a heart-warming story of becoming. Susi Reed, Business Development Director ALL OUR SHIMMERING SKIES BY TRENT DALTON In his award-winning debut novel Boy Swallows Universe, Trent Dalton shows you the gritty underbelly of 80s Brisbane through the eyes of 12-year-old Eli Bell. In his second novel All Our Shimming Skies, the gravedigger's daughter Molly Hook takes you on a journey through outback Northern Territory in 1942. Both novels have an undeniably dark undercurrent, with war, death and domestic violence setting the scene for Molly's adventure, but they both have an air of magic. Stone hearts, gifts from the sky and 'sorcerer' Longcoat Bob all buoy Molly and her companions, sharp-tongued aspiring actress Greta and fallen Japanese fighter pilot Yukio, as they navigate greed, grief and can after can of Campbell's Condensed Oxtail Soup on their journey. All Our Shimmering Skies is a dreamlike coming-of-age novel, following Molly on her quest to find buried treasures and secrets alike. It's a novel that'll captivate you with descriptions of big fat orange caterpillars and storms that shake pennies from the clouds, and have you booking in a road trip to explore Australia for yourself. Samantha Teague, Editor INTOXICATING: TEN DRINKS THAT SHAPED AUSTRALIA BY MAX ALLEN In his latest treatise on the history of booze in Australia, lauded wine writer Max Allen describes his experience eating an apple from a 180-year-old tree in southern NSW: "It was a ravishing, moving experience: I felt for a moment as though I was travelling through time and space, from now, back through colonial Australia, all the way to Elizabethan England." The same could be said of his book. Intoxicating: Ten Drinks That Shaped Australia takes you on a journey, from gum trees on the edge of a boggy Tasmanian frost plain to the Victoria Bitter brewery in inner city Melbourne; from a Port Phillip Bay shipwreck in 1841 to a natural Margaret River vineyard in 2019. It's a history lesson — an engaging one, told by a teacher that's charming, witty and honest — a recipe book and social critique all in one. And it touches on an important not-oft-discussed topic: pre-colonial Indigenous-made alcohol and the myth of a 'dry continent'. It's a read best paired with a home-brewed peach cyder — and followed up with Bruce Pascoe's groundbreaking Aboriginal agriculture deep-dive Dark Emu. Samantha Teague, Editor BOY ON FIRE: THE YOUNG NICK CAVE BY MARK MORDUE Mark Mordue's Boy on Fire: The Young Nick Cave offers an enthralling glimpse into the formative years of the mysterious dark prince of Australian music. It's a personal peek under the hood of Nick Cave, a gripping bildungsroman and a looking glass to the wild Melbourne post-punk scene of the 70s and early 80s. If you're a Cave fan, yes, this is probably more than enough for you to run and grab a copy, but the biography goes far beyond the skimming of surfaces. Boy on Fire is the making of ten years of interviews between Mordue and Cave, as well as a revolving cast of characters from Cave's early days and those close to the enigmatic artist, including Cave's late mother Dawn, boyhood mates from Wangaratta and members of The Birthday Party. Mordue's prose is worthy of its subject; it is at once poetic and gritty, humorous and heartfelt, painting a portrait of an uncompromising, ambitious and, at times, erratic musician who came from rural Victoria to take on the world. Ben Hansen, Staff Writer and Cordelia Williamson, Branded Content Producer COCO WAS PARADISE BY GARY BRUN Coco Was Paradise is Gary Brun's debut novel, which is surprising because it reads as if he's been writing for decades. It's a boozy, sun-drenched fable of lust, jealousy, romance and madness — a tale that could have only been set in Spain. 23-year-old Arthur Washington travels to San Sebastián in an effort to escape the rut of his inner city Sydney life. He spends a night on a stolen yacht with a mystifying woman who goes by the name of Coco. Then, after a month-long coma, Arthur wakes up in hospital before being told he had fallen off a cliff. Did he fall? Or was he pushed? Coco Was Paradise is a sensory journey. Brun seems to have drunk in every bar and visited every cultural monument in Spain in the way he writes with such accurate detail. It's the perfect summer read that will leave you with a tan and a hangover. Reuben Gibbes, Video Producer UNCANNY VALLEY BY ANNA WIENER 'Doomscrolling' may be Macquarie Dictionary's word of the year, but writer Anna Wiener will tell you the act of endlessly refreshing the news on your phone is entirely by design. This won't be surprising to anyone who watched The Social Dilemma on Netflix this year (or, let's face it, to any consumer of media), but what might pique your interest is just how toxic the workplace culture is and was at many of the Silicon Valley companies responsible for our daily addictions. Casual sexism? Check. Harassment? Check. Excessive surveillance? You name it. Uncanny Valley is Wiener's memoir of her time at unnamed tech start-ups, but really it's a reality check for all of us to take off the company-branded t-shirts and start tapping into what we're really supporting with every mindless scroll. Emma Joyce, Branded Content Editor THE ANSWER IS... BY ALEX TREBEK There are many reasons to watch Jeopardy!, the long-running TV quiz show that has been on the air in the US in its current form since 1984. Alex Trebek and his love of knowledge are chief among them, though. Yes, it's fun to play along and to see contestants notch up big wins. But none of that would strike such a chord if Trebek wasn't so passionate and dedicated to the cause — even when he's getting a little sassy with the competitors. In a book that's been decades in the making, The Answer Is… By Alex Trebek sees the beloved host reflect upon his life and career across a series of vignettes, touching upon everything from the moustache that earned so much attention when he shaved it off to Will Ferrell's famed Saturday Night Live impersonations. Backstage stories abound, of course, which are catnip for longterm Jeopardy! fans; however it's Trebek's willingness to get personal that unsurprisingly resonates. The candid memoir hit bookstores earlier this year before the television icon died from pancreatic cancer in early November, but it was always going to be a witty, engaging and moving read. And, a definite Jeopardy! clue one day, too. Sarah Ward, Weekend Editor
Murals don't have the best name for themselves. Instead of representing a vibrant and artistic community, they tend to conjure images of that fluoro abomination that donned the wall of your primary school hall; the one that featured fifty life-sized self-portraits of children with exceedingly long necks and circular eyes that stare at you with unblinking terror. Now, this amateur art form is being taken to the next level. Coupling with the community themselves, Spanish artist collective Boa Mistura are currently in the process of painting an entire town in Mexico (and the results are not at all cringeworthy). Taking inspiration from the art of the indigenous Otomie people, this group of painters, engineers and architects created designs that cover 30 buildings in the small town of Querétaro; with plans to expand to all 1,074 starting from September this year. Enlisting the help of young locals, Boa Mistura says the project is being carried out in an effort to rejuvenate and unite the community not only in the painting of the murals, but in their everyday lives too. "They are thinking in a different way right now," says a member of the group. "[They] have a new reality, a modified one. That's actually really good." This initiative comes after similar efforts in both Cape Town, South Africa and San Paolo, Brazil; and it's hard to say the pieces aren't a success. Bright colours pop from the landscape and energise the derelict surrounds; you can't help but smile at their simple charm. Similar groups are operating all around the world too. Much like Boa Mistura, Dutch street artists Haas & Hahn embarked on a huge project to reinvigorate Philadelphia's Germantown in 2012. Covering four city blocks, the Philly Painting project was carried out with the goal of "uplift[ing] the environment". The founding artists claimed "what feeds the eye also feeds the soul". If this is true, the citizens of Querétaro are in for some serious nourishment over the next few years. At the very least, the expression to 'paint the town red' will finally have a literal meaning. Via Design Boom and The Huffington Post.
Whether 2023 has been your best year ever, something far more average, completely life-changing or just cruisy business as usual, it has definitely been missing one thing: Spicks and Specks. Thankfully, 2024 won't have that problem. Announcing its lineup for next year, the ABC has confirmed that the beloved music game show will be back — and with Adam Hills, Myf Warhurst and Alan Brough, of course. Among everything that the ABC has broadcast — news, entertainment, after-school kids shows, oh-so-much Doctor Who and late-night music videos to keep you occupied after a few drinks all included — Spicks and Specks is up there among the favourites. Exactly how many more instalments are on the way in 2024 hasn't been revealed, but watching a heap of top Australian talent sit around and talk about music will be back on the agenda. So will watching them do all of the above while answering questions, competing for points and just generally being funny, too. That's the concept behind the series, which takes more than a few cues from the UK's Never Mind the Buzzcocks, pits Aussie musos and comedians against each other, and has proven a hit several times over. It was a weekly favourite when it first aired between 2005–2011 — and, as it keeps being resurrected. As fans will already know, Spicks and Specks has enjoyed more comebacks than John Farnham, although that has meant different things over the years. When the program was first revived back in 2014, it did so with a new host and team captains, for instance. And when it started to make a return with its original lineup of Hills, Warhurst and Brough, it first did so via a one-off reunion special. That 2018 comeback proved more than a little popular. It became the ABC's most-watched show of that year, in fact. So, the broadcaster then decided to drop four new Spicks and Specks specials across 2019–20 and, for 2021, to bring back Spicks and Specks in its regular format. In 2022, ten new episodes hit. Exactly when Spicks and Specks will start airing in 2024, and who'll be hitting buzzers among the program's guests, hasn't yet been announced. Still, you can add playing along with the show from your couch — yet again — to your plans before 2024 is out. Spicks and Specks will return to ABC TV sometime in 2024. You'll also be able to stream the series via ABC iView. We'll update you when an exact release date is announced.
Fine dining can drift into performance — more chef's narrative, less dinner. At Singapore's Marguerite, Chef Patron Michael Wilson has made a series of choices to dismantle that rigour: an open kitchen that reads like a row of domestic island benches, total accessibility to the pass, and a standing invitation to wander over, ask questions, or simply watch. The atmosphere is notably calm — no barked orders, no theatre for theatre's sake — which makes a long tasting menu feel less like a marathon and more like an unhurried, convivial evening. The setting is singular. Marguerite lives inside the city's famed Flower Dome at Gardens by the Bay — the world's largest glass greenhouse — and the restaurant leans into that sense of immersion. Plants thread through the room and curl around tabletops set with course-specific cutlery and crockery collected on Wilson's travels. In contrast, a ten-seat private room — inspired by mountain peaks and cumulus clouds — is wrapped in deep blue, burgundy, grey and dark forest green. Singapore's climate complicates strict seasonality. When your pantry can include Australian finger limes, New Zealand lamb and French cream for house-churned butter, "place" becomes a choice. Marguerite chooses freely — loosely French in spirit, but adapted for the tropics with lighter sauces, smaller bites and lucid riffs on classics. Steak frites becomes a bite-sized potato tart filled with tartare and crowned with a fried quail egg; ajo blanco appears as an ethereal foam; and New Caledonian prawn paste is transformed into delicate "tagliolini", glossed with clear spiced consommé and bright aromatics. Course after course arrives like edible sleight of hand — entire plates of flavour distilled into a mouthful. Pairings echo the kitchen's precision. Alongside a generous, far-reaching wine match, Marguerite's Temperance program offers non-alcoholic pairings — clarified juices and fermented jun tea — designed to deliver complexity without cloying sweetness. A mixed "demi" option straddles both. Service keeps the tone grounded and genuine throughout. Wilson's path explains the poise. Melbourne-born, he worked with Andrew McConnell and Guy Grossi before earning a Michelin star at Phénix in Shanghai just five months after opening. Marguerite followed in November 2021 and earned its own star within eight months, showcasing what he calls "creative cuisine" — craft, provenance and produce brought into clear focus. All bookings at Marguerite include a complimentary limousine buggy to and from the Gardens entrance and Flower Dome access for a pre- or post-meal stroll. Images: Supplied
Almost three decades ago, in a movie that's still as beloved now as it was then — and keeps throwing new franchise instalments at the big screen, too — Richard Attenborough uttered four iconic words. "Welcome to Jurassic Park," the actor said in-character as the dinosaur-filled theme park's owner John Hammond. That phrase has been repeated countless times since, and will always be linked to the Attenborough name. Of course, Richard Attenborough isn't the only famous figure in his family. The now-late actor and filmmaker's younger brother happens to be none other than David Attenborough — and now he's showing dinosaurs some love, too. No, you won't find him in the new Jurassic World flick; however, he will be lending his voice to a five-part natural history series about the prehistoric creatures right before Jurassic World Dominion reaches cinemas. If you'd listen to David Attenborough narrate anything and you're always fascinated by dinos — and yes, both of those apply to pretty much everyone — then Apple TV+'s Prehistoric Planet will be a must-see. With a name that falls in line with the broadcaster, biologist and natural historian's past shows The Living Planet, State of the Planet, The Blue Planet, Frozen Planet, Blue Planet II, Our Planet, Seven Worlds, One Planet, A Perfect Planet and Green Planet (as well as Planet Earth and Planet Earth II, plus documentary David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet), it'll look backwards at what the earth was like 66 million years ago. Obviously, CGI will feature heavily, but combined with wildlife filmmaking and paleontology learnings. Accordingly, get ready to discover little-known and surprising facts of dinosaur life, step through the environments of Cretaceous times, see how the Tyrannosaurus rex parented, and explore the ancient creatures of both the sea and sky. That's what Prehistoric Planet will cover across five episodes, which'll drop daily on Apple TV+ across Monday, May 23–Friday, May 27. While David Attenborough's voice is always music to anyone's ears, Hans Zimmer will be adding rousing score to the show — fresh from winning his latest Oscar for Dune. And if you're wondering about the photorealistic imagery that's bringing dinosaurs to life, filmmaker Jon Favreau is one of the Prehistoric Planet's executive producers, and the effects company behind his versions of The Jungle Book and The Lion King is doing the CGI honours. Check out Prehistoric Planet's first teaser trailer and a sneak peek video below: Prehistoric Planet will hit Apple TV+ across Monday, May 23–Friday, May 27, with a new episode available to stream each day.
People of Enmore, The Duke has reopened. This weekend, you can head along to the neighbourhood pub for crisp-yet-succulent porchetta or, if you're a vegan, perhaps a cauliflower steak — and stay until 2am. Now owned by James Wirth and Michael Delany, The Duke of Enmore — formally known as The Duke of Edinburgh — has had quite a revamp. You might be familiar with the duo's work — previously, they bought and made over The Norfolk, The Flinders, The Carrington and The Oxford Tavern, before selling them all in 2016. "Everything was gyprocked and painted white — it felt a bit like a shopping centre," says Wirth, explaining The Duke's pre-reno state. "So, we decided to rip it all out and see what we could find. I wouldn't say we gutted it, but we reskinned it, pretty seriously." Their efforts revealed layers of history. Built way back in 1870, The Duke has seen many a drinker and many a late night. "We found a 1940s ceiling, original timber, original brick and original tiling," says Wirth. After exposing and smartening up some of these elements, the duo added more timber, expansive windows, stained glass, a new bar and tartan carpet. They also covered the entire facade in 1960s-style tiles. "We just wanted to give it some love and make it feel like a good, solid, local pub," says Wirth. "It's not meant to be anything too wild or too fancy." The food, presided over by Head Chef Toby Wilson (Bad Hombres, Ghostboy Cantina), follows suit. The emphasis is on high-quality pub grub. Start off with fried salt-and-pepper enoki mushrooms with chilli soy dipping sauce, then tuck into a chicken parmigiana (or the equally great eggplant version) with fresh mozzarella, fries and salad, before finishing up with malt ice cream with toasted buckwheat and stout caramel. One of the stand-outs is the porchetta, first cooked at high temperatures to encourage extreme crispiness, then slow-cooked for five hours, to promote juiciness. It comes in a roll or on a plate, with white bean puree, salsa and greens. There are 12 taps at The Duke, offering old-school classics, like VB, Carlton Draught and Resch's, plus new classics, like Young Henrys. Wirth says the plan is "to play around" with the other eight, with a focus on local craft breweries. Meanwhile, Joel Amos (founder of natural wine retailer Drnks) is on the wines, bringing you — as you'd expect — a bunch of drops made with minimal interference. There are signature cocktails, too, including the Robert Mitchum: a concoction of Jack Daniel's, whole egg, orange juice and maple syrup, which, according to Wirth, tastes like a "boozy banana shake" and makes for a great "meal in a drink" at brekkie time. Find The Duke of Enmore at 148 Enmore Road, Enmore. Opening hours are Wednesday–Saturday, 11am–2am; Sunday, 11am–10pm; and Monday–Tuesday, 11am–midnight. Images: Kitti Gould.
So you've just finished a big day on the slopes and you're looking for a way to warm up. Luckily there's a bevvy of bars and pubs at your fingertips. In Queenstown at the bottom of New Zealand's South Island, the practice of après-ski ('after-ski') is as important as the time spent skiing or snowboarding — or spectating, if that's more your vibe. Perhaps you're after a quiet cocktail while enjoying mountain views, or maybe you're with a large crew and want to sink some cold brews by the fire — there will be something in this stunning alpine region that takes your fancy. But with over 150 bars and pubs to choose from, you need to make sure you're heading to a spot suited to your exact needs. We've put together some of our favourite spots for après-ski in Queenstown (and Arrowtown) so you're set to order the first all-important beverage of the evening — as well as the last one of the night. CARGO AT GANTLEY, ARTHUR'S POINT Built in 1865, this stone pub once catered to miners during the gold rush — now it caters to the many winter holidaymakers in the region. Head straight off the mountain and through the door of this cosy fireside spot, which is one minute from the base of Coronet Peak. That makes it an essential place to start your après-ski experience and suck down an extremely hard-earned beer — we're not here to waste any precious minutes. Don't just take our word for it — this historic spot pot also just won the Supreme Award at the Lion Hospitality Awards for Excellence. So yeah, you might say it's pretty high on the list. Find it: 172 Arthurs Point Road, Arthurs Point, Queenstown LODGE BAR, LAKEFRONT This might be a controversial inclusion due to its position alongside a Rodd & Gunn store, but we maintain Lodge Bar to be one of the best bars in Queenstown thanks to its warm wood ambience and picturesque views. You'll feel like you've stepped into an alpine retreat thanks to the strong supply of blankets, furs and rugs to wrap up in while you order a few apéritifs and catch up with a friend or loved one. On holiday in Queenstown alone? No problem. Park up in one of the single seats by the window and people-watch to your heart's content while watching an incredible sunset. Find it: 2 Rees Street, Queenstown RED'S BAR, QT HOTEL It's not often a hotel bar is the place to be, but when it comes to Queenstown's excellent QT hotel, it's no surprise this bar is a cut above the rest. You won't just find miscellaneous hotel patrons in this chic and colourful spot: Reds caters to tourists and locals alike, thanks to its cool decor and excellent service. The highlight has to be the jaw-dropping views. One long wall of floor-to-ceiling windows allows you to take in the mountains and Lake Wakatipu, which would probably heighten the taste of any drink — but these bevvies barely need it. If you like your spicy margaritas extremely spicy, get the crew to whip one up for you — it's exactly what you need to warm up from the inside out. Find it: 30 Brunswick Street, Queenstown LITTLE BLACKWOOD, STEAMER WHARF With a prime location on Steamer Wharf, this bar recently won Best Bar at the Lion Hospitality Awards for Excellence and we can see why. Fuel up after a big day on the slopes by making your own custom cheese and charcuterie boards — that means all the meats and cheese you love, and none you don't. This spot also has one of the best cocktail menus in the area, including a list of five (we say again, FIVE) different types of espresso martini — perfect if you need a pick-me-up. Get decision-making anxiety? Play 'Trust the Bartender' — the talented team behind the bar will do the hard yards for you. Chic and industrial cool, this cosy bar often plays host to some of the country's best live musicians, making the vibes 10/10. Find it: 88 Beach Street, Queenstown View this post on Instagram A post shared by The Fork and Tap Arrowtown (@theforkandtaparrowtown) THE FORK AND TAP, ARROWTOWN If you're more on the Arrowtown side of the region, head to this pub which gives all the wholesome winter vibes thanks to its open fire and historic stone building. It's one of those spots where everyone seems to know each other and the daily specials are chalked up on the blackboard, so nab a table near the fire and enjoy the great energy. If you're looking for the perfect winter warmer, opt for the mulled wine which comes in a cinnamon-sugar-crusted glass. It's like a hug in a mug. Find it: 51 Buckingham Street, Arrowtown SUNDECK, CENTRAL QUEENSTOWN Cocktails? Check. Open fire? Check. DJ spinning club bangers at 5pm? Check. A rooftop bar boasting epic views, you have to get in early to nab a table at this popular spot. Sure, you have to head up three flights of stairs to find it, but don't let that put you off. It's an absolute go-to if you feel you've gone a little bit too hard too early, and need somewhere to burn off the post-ski beers. With about five people behind the bar at any one time and constant hordes of patrons reaching for spare seats, it's chaos in the best way — but the staff won't baulk at making you a margarita or martini even when the line is six-deep and we love them for that. Find it: Top floor, 4 The Mal, Queenstown LITTLE AOSTA, ARROWTOWN From notable chef and restauranter Ben Bayly, this rustic Italian spot is serving up all the Euro-inspired cocktails, pizza and pasta to soothe the wounds of not being overseas for Euro summer with your friends. Order a Negroni Sbagliato ("Negroni by mistake") and cosy up by the open fire outside from 3pm — and no, no actual skiing experience required. Our tip? Stay for dinner, and warm up with an Italian feast, served family-style. Find it: 18 Buckingham Street, Arrowtown Top image: Steamer Wharf, Little Blackwood
In the entertainment world, 2020 is the year of the drive-in, with everything from gigs and parties to movies serving up some in-car action. In the culinary space, this is the year of the drive-thru, of course — and while picking up something to eat without venturing out of your car isn't new by any means, being able to collect El Jannah's beloved charcoal chook while remaining behind the wheel definitely is. Come Saturday, August 8, fans of tasty Lebanese-style chicken will be able to motor on over to El Jannah's new Smithfield digs, which marks the chain's first drive-thru store. Located on Smithfield Road, it'll give poultry fans exactly what they want: not only another place to nab their favourite dish, including in halves and quarters, on rolls and burgers, as part of a platter, and on skewers and in salads, but a spot to do so in a hurry. The Smithfield shop will also be open to walk-in customers, should you find yourself in the area sans wheels. It'll serve up not only charcoal chicken paired with chips and garlic sauce — aka the combo that has earned El Jannah quite the cult following over the years — but also the chain's recently launched fried chicken range as well. So, if for some reason you need some variety in your chook feasts, you'll have options. If you're already a fan, you might've spotted that the new El Jannah site is located in Sydney's west, where the brand first made its home. It joins stores in Blacktown, Campbelltown, Punchbowl, Granville, Kogarah and Penrith, as well as the Newtown venue — which heralded the chain's much-welcomed entry into Sydney's inner-west in 2019. And, although El Jannah moving into the drive-thru business is new, exciting and reason enough to head for a drive when your stomach next demands, you can be forgiven for thinking this sounds more than a little familiar. While we already noted that 2020 is the year of the drive-thru, it's specifically the year of the Sydney-based charcoal chicken drive-thru — with that other local fave, Frango, launching its own car-friendly joint in July. Find El Jannah's Smithfield drive-thru at 3/16 Smithfield Road, Smithfield from 10am on Saturday, August 8.
A beloved staple of the meeting point between Marrickville, Enmore and St Peters in Sydney's Inner West, West Juliett shut its doors in 2023. Luckily for all of the fans of this corner cafe, the original founders were already cooking up something big, opening Agnes a five-minute drive away. John and Kathryn Stavropoulos swung open the doors to their new cafe on Meeks Road and for the new venture the duo enlisted an all-star crew, with Agnes team members repping experience from Flour and Stone, Black Star Pastry and Cross Eatery. The cafe offers White Horse coffee, plenty of baked treats, and a hefty breakfast and lunch menu which can be taken away, enjoyed inside or paired with some Vitamin D out on the laidback al fresco tables. Pastry chef Etta Napier's focaccia features heavily throughout the menu. For breakfast, you can order it with a simple spread, stacked with avocado and feta, or as the basis for a loaded breakfast sandwich. Come 11am, there are five sandwiches on offer including a sensational charred miso eggplant with crunchy slaw and pickled red onion, or a classic crumbed chicken sambo partnered with nori and fermented chilli mayo. And it's only right to treat yourself to a little something sweet. Expect blueberry, lime and cheesecake tarts, plus West Juliett's famous pink salt chocolate-chip cookies that have made a comeback (or protests may have been arranged). The Agnes team is also committed to keeping things local and in-house, with the honey, jams, pickles and milkshake syrups all made right there at the cafe, or at John and Kathryn's apiary. Even the bacon is smoked locally.
Since a US remake of Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi's vampire sharehouse mockumentary What We Do in the Shadow was first hinted at back in 2017, and then confirmed in May 2018, fans have been waiting like a ravenous vampire for the end result. Over the past few months, three brief teasers have dropped, plus a full two-minute trailer — and now the show is headed to Australian TV screens in April. Created and co-written by Clement, and executive by the Flight of the Conchords star with Thor: Ragnarok's Waititi, the ten-episode American version will air weekly on Foxtel's Showcase channel from Tuesday, April 2. That's a few days behind the US run, with the show premiering on America's FX network on Wednesday, March 27 — hot on the heels of the film festival premiere of its pilot episode, which just screened at SXSW over this weekend. Despite the involvement of Clement and Waititi, the duo don't star in the new-look series (but may make guest appearances — we hope). Rather, this take on What We Do in the Shadows follows a group of vampire flatmates living in Staten Island, and features Toast of London's Matt Berry, Four Lions' Kayvan Novak, British stand-up comedian Natasia Demetriou, The Magicians' Harvey Guillen, The Office's Mark Proksch and Lady Bird's Beanie Feldstein. Novak plays the gang's self-appointed leader, 'Nandor The Relentless', who dates back to the Ottoman Empire days and is somewhat stuck in his ways. As for Berry's mischievous British dandy Laszlo and Demetriou's seductive Nadja, they've been likened to a blood-sucking Bonnie and Clyde. Guillén steps into the shoes Nandor's familiar, who'd do anything to join the undead, while Proksch's Colin has been described as an 'energy vampire'. And Feldstein's Jenna is a college student with a new craving. If you're keen for another taste before the series starts airing, here's three new teasers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=8&v=N0cCrfvCuZM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRiyeML2mnY https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=4dedH5GU9QU The US remake is just the latest addition to the What We Do in the Shadows universe, too. A follow-up, We're Wolves, is in the works, focusing on the undead bloodsuckers' Rhys Darby-led lycanthrope enemies. And television spinoff Wellington Paranormal, following the movie's cops (Mike Minogue and Karen O'Leary) as they keep investigating the supernatural, debuted its first season last year and has a second season in the works. What We Do in the Shadows will debut in America on FX on Wednesday, March 27, then air on Foxtel's Showcase channel weekly from 8.30pm AEDT on Tuesday, April 2.
When it comes to kicking back and relaxing, some people swear by a nice warm bath. Others prefer tapping their toes to their favourite tunes, having a boozy beverage or just switching off from their always-vibrating phone. And, for another group, there's nothing that induces bliss better than listening to the one and only Keanu Reeves. Actually, that last category should really apply to everyone. If you're someone who finds the actor behind John Wick, Neo, Johnny Utah and Ted "Theodore" Logan particularly soothing, then you'll want to make a date with HBO's new series A World of Calm. It doesn't yet have a release date but, when it does hit the channel's HBO Max streaming service in the US and hopefully make its way to audiences Down Under as well, it'll give the world exactly what we want: Keanu's voice reading a narrative that has been scientifically-engineered to induce a feeling of tranquility, as paired with music and footage that's also designed to do the same. Ideally he'll say "whoa!" more than once. In HBO's first leap into health and wellness-style content, the ten-episode series is based on the popular Calm sleep, meditation and relaxation app, with the US TV network pairing up with the folks behind the latter. Specifically, the two companies are aiming to bring Calm's Sleep Stories to the screen — which have been called "bedtime stories for grown ups", have notched up more than 250 million listens, and are all about calming and soothing listeners. Keanu will only be doing the honours on one of A World of Calm's half-hour episodes; however the rest of the series definitely doesn't slouch in the star-power stakes. Joining him is a cast that'd do any movie proud, spanning not only Idris Elba, Oscar Isaac, Nicole Kidman, Zoë Kravitz, Lucy Liu and Cillian Murphy, but also two-time Oscar-winner Mahershala Ali. As for what you'll be looking at while your ears soak in the dulcet tones of all of the above A-list stars — who'll basically be guiding you through a televised relaxation session — HBO advises that it'll be serving up "mesmeric imagery". Created with Nutopia, the folks behind National Geographic's One Strange Rock and Disney+'s The World According to Jeff Goldblum, that'll also include visuals from the company's global network of cinematographers and filmmakers. Intrigued? While you're waiting for A World of Calm, you can check out one of the audio-only Calm Sleep Stories — as read by Game of Thrones' Jerome Flynn — below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4x9ssJ0jfM A World of Calm doesn't yet have a release date — we'll update you with further details when they come to hand.
Usually, February is the month that gets hearts all aflutter. But if you're in the mood for romance this March and April, Sydney is about to welcome a new pop-up museum on that very topic. Called The Museum of Love, it's the latest venture from the folks behind the sweet-themed Sugar Republic. Expect the same kind of photogenic setup, but this time swapping out lollies galore for pink hues and oh-so-many hearts. Remember the cartoon way of representing romance, where animated figures see hearts in front of their eyes as they go weak at the knees? That's what you'll be seeing, too, if you head along to the three-level installation. Open from Thursday–Sunday each week during its seven-week season, The Museum of Love will fill a warehouse with words about love, tokens of love, neon signs to fit the theme, rosy-coloured streamers, teddy bears and more. Yes, there'll be a heart-shaped ball pit that you can hop into, because of course there will be. Among the pieces of art and lovestruck backdrops, plenty of different facets of types of love will be covered — including first crushes, weddings, platonic relationships with your mates, family bonds, self-love and heartbreak. From the 'rose-tinted glasses room' to the life-sized wedding cake, it has all been developed by Creative Nation, the aforementioned team behind Sugar Republic, in conjunction with emerging Sydney artists Jade Goodwin and Madeleine Golden. Other highlights span a wall filled with scents of romance, a mirrored room so you can adore your own reflection, a confetti shower, and a swing surrounded by flowers that's designed for attendees and their best mates. There's also a Las Vegas-style Chapel O' Love, and you can play the 'Perfect Pair' TV game show as well. Or, walk through the Teddy Bear Tunnel, take an awkward family portrait, then settle in at the Heartbreak Cafe. If you're keen to fall head over heels for the pop-up, each ticket gets you an hour inside the museum, and costs $35. Also, The Museum of Love is the first attraction as part a year-long Sydney program — so it seems that you can look forward to other yet-to-be-revealed Instagram-worthy pop-ups to follow. Find The Museum of Love at at 47 George Street, Sydney from Friday, March 5–Sunday, April 18, open Thursday–Sunday each week. For further details, head to the pop-up's website.
It has been said that describing Burning Man Festival to a person who has never been is like trying to explain what a particular colour looks like to a person who is blind. But perhaps this is no longer the case. Aerial footage has been released of the recent 2013 Festival, taken from a drone. Held two weeks ago, Burning Man was captured on camera by San Franciscan filmmaker Eddie Codel. Taken from a DJI Phantom Quadrocopter — a pilotless mini-aircraft with four propellers — fitted with a GoPro camera, the impressive HD footage is currently one of the best and fastest available introductions to the famous festival. This 360-degree tour pans slowly over the festival during the daytime, functioning to communicate a snapshot of the immense size and sparsity of the constructed city. It reveals close detail of the installations and artworks set up in the desert and at times comes very close to people. Held in the Black Rock Desert in northern Nevada, Burning Man draws in a crowd of approximately 50,000 each year. First established in 1986, the seven-day event welcomes attendees from all over the world, encouraging radical art and self-expression through the construction of a temporary community. The city is built the week before Labor Day, on an ancient lake bed, 100 miles north of Reno. Perhaps it's true that to truly understand Burning Man, one must participate. In the meantime, however, the drone tour certainly gets you very close. https://youtube.com/watch?v=m2ThTb6iffA Via Mashable.
This local institution made its way into the heart of Alexandria's community one strong brew at a time. Genovese Coffee House — a proudly family-owned business — serves up stellar cups of coffee from its Lawrence Street digs. You may recognise its name, though, as the renowned coffee brand has been creating top-notch brews since 1970. At the forefront of its ethos: truly Italian-style offerings. The history of this cafe is rooted in its founder Alfio Genovese's vision, and has since carried through three generations with the family's legacy now coming to fruition through Alfio's grandson, Adam Genovese. The Genovese coffee brand's rich heritage influences the cafe's fit-out. Designed by Alexander & Co., the 300-square-metre multi-functional space contains a training and espresso bar, indoor dining and a commercial kitchen, with mid-century- and industrial-inspired decor repurposed to accent the site. Wondering what's up for grabs should you mosey in (and you definitely should)? If you're an early bird, the breakfast selection spans a delicious menu of roasted porchetta paired with egg and a Pazza hot sauce rosetta, a creamy burrata with cherry tomato-topped conserva and ciabatta, and herbed mushrooms accompanied by truffle mayo, rocket and an egg rosetta. Those with a sweet tooth are treated to sensational pastries including the Italian-leaning strawberry and mascarpone croissants, crisp sour cherry & ricotta aragosta, a decadent torta caprese, flakey sfogliatelle and biscotti. For lunchtime, take your pick from porchetta, cheese and tomato, spicy nduja and mozzarella or mortadella and olive panini fillings, freshly-pressed and generously topped focaccia and excellent mattonella. Or, for a lighter meal, try the all-encompassing deli plate. The drinks menu contains the usual bouts of brews from a flat white to long black, as well as a select range of teas and juices. Plus, you'll also find Genovese's much-loved coffee blends served alongside an array of roti at Ultimo's Kafe Kooks. To top things off, Genovese Coffee House hosts a cinzano and cicchetti night every week. Head into the Alexandria outpost from 4pm to 8pm on Fridays to unwind while indulging in top Italian aperitivo — bite-sized snacks and premium vino — in a relaxed locale. Bellissimo.
Before the pandemic, when a new-release movie started playing in cinemas, audiences couldn't watch it on streaming, video on demand, DVD or blu-ray for a few months. But with the past few years forcing film industry to make quite a few changes — widespread movie theatre closures will do that, and so will plenty of people staying home because they aren't well — that's no longer always the case. Maybe you haven't had time to make it to your local cinema lately. Perhaps you've been under the weather. Given the hefty amount of titles now releasing each week, maybe you simply missed something. Film distributors have been fast-tracking some of their new releases from cinemas to streaming recently — movies that might still be playing in theatres in some parts of the country, too. In preparation for your next couch session, here are 13 that you can watch right now at home. Wonka Which cravings does Wonka inspire? Chocolate, of course, and also an appetite for more of filmmaker Paul King's blend of the inventive, warm-hearted and surreal. The British writer/director's chocolatier origin story is a sweet treat from its first taste, and firmly popped from the same box as his last two movie delights: Paddington and Paddington 2. Has the helmer used a similar recipe to his talking-bear pictures? Yes. Was it divine with that double dip in marmalade, and now equally so with creative confectionery and the man behind it? Yes again. While it'd be nice to see King and his regular writing partner Simon Farnaby (also an actor, complete with an appearance here) make an original tale again, as they last did with 2009's superb and sublime Bunny and the Bull, watching them cast their spell on childhood favourites dishes up as effervescent an experience as sipping fizzy lifting drinks. It's as uplifting as munching on hover chocs, too, aka the debut creation that Wonka's namesake unveils in his attempt to unleash his chocolates upon the world. Willy Wonka (Timothée Chalamet, Bones and All) has everlasting gobstobbers, golden tickets and a whole factory pumping out a sugary rush in his future, as Roald Dahl first shared in 1964 novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, then cinemagoers initially saw in 1971's Gene Wilder-starring all-timer Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory. Wonka churns up the story before that story, and technically before 2005's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory from Tim Burton (Wednesday) as led by Johnny Depp (Minamata) — but the less remembered about that most-recent adaptation, the better. There's no on-the-page precedent for this flick, then. Rather, King and Farnaby use pure imagination, plus what they know works for them, to delectable results. What they welcomely avoid is endeavouring to melt down Dahl's bag of tricks and remould it, and also eschew packing in references to past Chocolate Factory flicks like a cookie that's more chocolate chips than biscuit. Wonka streams via YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. Dream Scenario Gushing about Paddington movies, channelling Elvis, screaming about being a vampire, swooning over Cher, kidnapping babies, fighting cults, battling demonic animatronics, driving ambulances, flying with convicts, swapping faces, avenging pet pigs and milking alpacas, Nicolas Cage has gotten himself lodged in many a moviegoer's brain before. Dream Scenario takes that idea to the next level, not with the screen's most-inimitable star as himself — this isn't The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent — but in a film that works as well as it does, and as sharply, because he's its irreplaceable lead. Although writer/director Kristoffer Borgli didn't write his third feature (after DRIB and Sick of Myself) with Cage in mind, there's pure magic in matching his tale of pop-culture virality, fame and its costs to the man born Nicolas Kim Coppola. Who else could play someone so ubiquitous in the collective consciousness that everyone knows him, has deep-seated feelings and opinions about him, and can't stop thinking about him? Albeit for different reasons, it as much a stroke of genius as enlisting Being John Malkovich's namesake. Dream Scenario wears its comparisons to Spike Jonze (Beastie Boys Story) and Charlie Kaufman's (I'm Thinking of Ending Things) masterpiece better than anything else between 1999 and now, other than their subsequent collaboration Adaptation — as starring none other than Cage — and the Kaufman-penned, Michel Gondry (Kidding)-helmed Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. David Lynch (Cage's Wild at Heart director) and Ari Aster also come to mind while watching Borgli's film, which blends the surreal and satirical, and also spins a nightmare where dread paints every frame. Aster produces, lending a hand on a movie that pairs well with his own Beau Is Afraid, aka another flick where a schlubby, awkward and unhappy middle-aged man has his life upended in no small part thanks to his own anxiety. Dream Scenario isn't attempting to ape its predecessors, or Borgli's own Sick of Myself, another musing on celebrity, attention and the fact that almost everything about 21st-century existence has become a performance. Rather, the Norwegian filmmaker's latest plays like its title suggests: the product of slumbering while having all of the above swirling, twirling and dancing in your synapses — and with Cage always lurking, of course. Dream Scenario streams via YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. The Iron Claw The Von Erich family's second generation of wrestlers was born ready to rumble, regardless of whether they wanted to or not. After diving into a cult's thrall in Martha Marcy May Marlene, then the idea that money and status can buy happiness in fellow psychological thriller The Nest, writer/director Sean Durkin adds another exceptional and gripping film to his resume with The Iron Claw — a movie that draws upon elements of both, too, as it tells its heartbreaking true tale. Unpacking the weight carried and toll weathered by brothers locked into one future and way of life from the moment that they existed, this is a feature about the shadow cast by power and dominance by those caught in its shade, and the cost of doggedly chasing one concept of triumph and masculinity above all else. The Zac Efron (The Greatest Beer Run Ever)-voiced narration pitches it as a picture about a family curse as well, but the supernatural has nothing on an authoritarian force refusing to let anyone flee his grasp. The Iron Claw introduces the IRL Von Erich sporting dynasty with patriarch Fritz (Holt McCallany, 61st Street) doing the grappling, busting out the trademark grip that gives the movie its name, as his wife Doris (Maura Tierney, American Rust) and two of his boys wait outside. When they all come together after the match, it isn't just the pledge that Fritz will bring the National Wrestling Association's World Heavyweight Championship to their brood, which he's certain will fix their struggling plight, that lingers. Equally inescapable is the unyielding fixation burning in his steely glare, a look that will rarely falter in the film's 132-minute running time — and how his adoring sons (first-timers Grady Wilson and Valentine Newcomer) are already trained to see this world of rings, frays, throws and belts as their home, career path and destiny. With Harris Dickinson (A Murder at the End of the World), The Bear's Emmy- and Golden Globe-winner Jeremy Allen White, and Stanley Simons (Superior) joining Efron in the cast as grown versions of those two boys and two of their brothers, seeing how Fritz's obsession ripples through his family is crushing. The Iron Claw streams via YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. Ferrari Michael Mann makes movies like a man haunted. From his 1981 debut Thief to his latest release Ferrari, it's no wonder that his films linger with viewers. Mann's work whirrs with the pursuit of professional greatness, and with the pressures of balancing that relentlessly revving chase with personal ties and desires — quests and woes that aren't his own in his narratives, but always feel intimate. Heat, 1995's Robert De Niro (Killers of the Flower Moon)- and Al Pacino (Hunters)-led crime-thriller that the filmmaker will forever be known for, has proven a spectacular example for nearly three decades. While the skilled burglar and dogged detective caught in its cat-and-mouse game are both experts in their realms, that doesn't make juggling their on-the-job and at-home realities any easier, cleaner or less chaotic. Using that very notion as its road, Ferrari is clearly the product of the same director. Perhaps Mann is speeding down that exact path after all, then, navigating the complexities of getting a film onto screens — his last was 2015's underseen Blackhat — on a mission to master his favourite themes. Mann has helmed several model features already in Thief, Heat, The Insider and Collateral, with Ferrari a worthy addition to his resume. Wheels spin on and off the track in the elegantly and exquisitely crafted slice-of-life biopic, many literally but others via its namesake's personal life. Based on Brock Yates' book Enzo Ferrari: The Man, The Cars, The Races, The Machine, as adapted by screenwriter Troy Kennedy Martin (the OG The Italian Job) to cover events in the summer of 1957 only, Ferrari is always hurtling — even when it's as patient as cinema in Mann's hands has ever been. The collision between single-minded goals and the messiness of existing constantly gives his pictures urgency, no matter how steady the gaze and stoic the character. And make no mistake, Adam Driver's (65) gravitas-dripping portrayal of race car driver-turned-sports car entrepreneur Enzo Ferrari (and Italian-accented but speaking in English, just as he did in House of Gucci) is as serious and determined as Mann's protagonists get, too. Ferrari streams via YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. The Holdovers Melancholy, cantankerousness, angst, hurt and snow: all five blanket Barton Academy in Alexander Payne's The Holdovers. It's Christmas in the New England-set latest film from the Election, About Schmidt and Nebraska director, but festive cheer is in short supply among the students and staff that give the movie its moniker. The five pupils all want to be anywhere but stuck at their exclusive boarding school over the yuletide break, with going home off the cards for an array of reasons. Then four get their wish, leaving just Angus Tully (debutant Dominic Sessa), who thought he'd be holidaying in Saint Kitts until his mother told him not to come so that she could have more time alone with his new stepdad. His sole company among the faculty: curmudgeonly classics professor Paul Hunham (Paul Giamatti, Billions), who's being punished for failing the son of a wealthy donor, but would be hanging around campus anyway; plus grieving head cook Mary Lamb (Da'Vine Joy Randolph, Only Murders in the Building), who is weathering her first Christmas after losing her son — a Barton alum — in the Vietnam War. The year is 1970 in Payne's long-awaited return behind the lens after 2017's Downsizing, as the film reinforces from its opening seconds with retro studio credits. The Holdovers continues that period-appropriate look in every frame afterwards — with kudos to cinematographer Eigil Bryld (No Hard Feelings), who perfects not only the hues and grain but the light and softness in his imagery — and matches it with the same mood and air, as if it's a lost feature unearthed from the era. Cat Stevens on the soundtrack, a focus on character and emotional truths, zero ties to franchises, a thoughtful story given room to breathe and build: that's this moving and funny dramedy. Christmas flicks regularly come trimmed with empty, easy nostalgia, but The Holdovers earns its wistfulness from a filmmaker who's no stranger to making movies that feel like throwbacks to the decade when he was a teen. The Holdovers streams via YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. Anyone But You Greenlighting Anyone But You with Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell as its leads must've been among Hollywood's easiest decisions. One of the rom-com's stars has been everywhere from Euphoria and The White Lotus to Reality of late, while the other is fresh off feeling the need for speed in Top Gun: Maverick. They both drip charisma. If this was the 80s, 90s or 00s, they each would have an entire segment of their filmographies dedicated to breezy romantic comedies like this Sydney-shot film, and probably more than a few together. Indeed, regardless of his gleaming casting, Anyone But You director and co-writer Will Gluck makes his first adult-oriented flick in 12 years — since Friends with Benefits, with Annie and the two Peter Rabbit movies since — as if it's still two, three or four decades back. The gimmick-fuelled plot, the scenic setting, swinging between stock-standard and OTT supporting characters: even amid overt riffs on Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing, they're all formulaically present and accounted for. So is the fact that Anyone But You's story always comes second to Sweeney and Powell's smouldering chemistry, and that most of its obvious jokes that only land because the pair sell them, as well as the whole movie. Bea (Sweeney) and Ben (Powell) meet-cute over a bathroom key in a busy cafe. That first dreamy day ends badly the next morning, however, with more pain in store when Bea's sister Halle (Hadley Robinson, The Boys in the Boat) gets engaged to Ben's best friend Pete's (GaTa, Dave) sister Claudia (Alexandra Shipp, Barbie). Cue their feud going international at the destination wedding in Australia, then getting a twist when Bea and Ben pretend that they're together. They're trying stop their fighting ruining the nuptials, get her parents to back off from pushing for a reunion with her ex (Darren Barnet, Gran Turismo: Based on a True Story) and make his own past love (model-turned-acting debutant Charlee Fraser) jealous. Every expected narrative beat is struck, then, while nodding to other rom-com wedding flicks — My Best Friend's Wedding co-stars Dermot Mulroney and Rachel Griffiths play Bea's mum and dad, with the latter also a Muriel's Wedding alum — and getting cheesily Aussie via koalas, endless shots of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Sydney Opera House, and Bryan Brown (Boy Swallows Universe) and Joe Davidson (Neighbours) playing the stereotypical parts. And yet, Sweeney and Powell ace their performances and rapport, and also couldn't be more watchable. Anyone But You streams via YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. Bottoms The first rule of making a movie about a high-school lesbian fight club is that there are no rules, other than embracing the concept and giving it your all. So punches Bottoms, a film where the gleefully cartoonish energy is always as important as the plot, and a feature that knows it's entering a big-screen ring that wouldn't even exist if Heathers, Clueless, Bring It On, Mean Girls, But I'm a Cheerleader, Easy A and Booksmart hadn't hopped over the ropes first. Three years after Shiva Baby, writer/director Emma Seligman and actor Rachel Sennott (Bodies Bodies Bodies) reunite, with the pair collaborating on the script this time around. Also crucial: bringing in The Bear's Ayo Edebiri, a friend from the duo's student days, to co-star. In a picture that values being stronger together, Seligman, Sennott and Edebiri make a knockout team. Bottoms' vibe could only spring from IRL pals, too, playing it loose and ridiculous like this crew is simply hanging out. The setup: Sennott and Edebiri are PJ and Josie, who return to Rockbridge Falls High School after summer break keen to finally turn their love for popular cheerleaders Isabel (Havana Rose Liu, No Exit) and Brittany (Kaia Gerber, Babylon) into sex and romance. The best friends know that their social standing is anything but high — "gay, untalented and ugly" is how they describe themselves — but two queer girls can dream that this is their moment, then do their utmost to make their fantasies a reality. So, when the semester starts with PJ and Josie still stuck as outcasts, they conjure up a plan. Their gymnasium-based group is officially known as a women's self-defense class and is sold to their teachers as an act of female solidarity; however, no matter what they tell the principal (Wayne Pére, Your Honor), as well as the history teacher (Marshawn Lynch, Westworld) that they convince to be their advisor, there's really only one aim: not feminism and support, but getting laid. Bottoms streams via Prime Video. Read our full review. Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom The DC Extended Universe is dead. With Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, the comic book-to-screen franchise hardly swims out with a memorable farewell, hasn't washed up on a high and shouldn't have many tearful over its demise. More movies based on the company's superheroes are still on the way. They'll be badged the DC Universe instead, and start largely afresh; 2025's Superman: Legacy will be the first, with Pearl's David Corenswet as the eponymous figure, as directed by new DC Studios co-chairman and co-CEO James Gunn (The Suicide Squad). Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom ends up the old regime about as expected, however: soggily, unable to make the most of its star, and stuck treading water between what it really wants to be and box-ticking saga formula. Led by Jason Momoa (Fast X), the first Aquaman knew that it was goofy, playful fun. Its main man, plus filmmaker James Wan (Malignant), didn't splash around self-importance or sink into seriousness. Rather, they made a giddily irreverent underwater space opera — and, while it ebbed and flowed between colouring by numbers and getting entertainingly silly, the latter usually won out. Alas, exuberance loses the same battle in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. Having spent its existence playing catch-up with the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the DCEU does exactly that for a final time here. As with Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, there's such a large debt owed to Star Wars that elements seem to be lifted wholesale; just try not to laugh at Jabba the Hutt as a sea creature. 2018's initial Aquaman used past intergalactic flicks as a diving-off point, too, but with its own personality — no trace of which bobs up this time around. Wan helms again, switching to workman-like mode. He's co-credited on the story with returning screenwriter David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick (Orphan: First Kill), Momoa and Thomas Pa'a Sibbett (The Last Manhunt), but there's little but being dragged out with the prevailing tide, tonal chaos and a CGI mess on show. Now king of Atlantis and a father, Arthur Curry has another tussle with Black Manta (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Ambulance) to face, with his enemy aided by dark magic and exacerbating climate change. Only Aquaman teaming up with his imprisoned half-brother Orm (Patrick Wilson, Insidious: The Red Door) will give the world a chance to survive. Even with an octopus spy and Nicole Kidman (Expats) riding a robot shark, a shipwreck results. Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom streams via YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. One Life Nicholas Winton's "British Schindler" label wasn't invented for One Life, the rousing biopic that tells his story; however, it's a handy two-word description that couldn't better fit both him and the film. In the late 1930s, when the then-Czechoslovakia's Sudetenland was occupied by Nazi Germany, the London-born banker spearheaded a rescue mission to get children — mostly Jewish — out of the country. After being encouraged to visit Prague in 1938 by friends assisting refugees, he was so moved to stop as many kids as possible from falling victim to the Holocaust that he and a group of fellow humanitarians arranged trains to take them to England. The immense effort was dubbed kindertransport, with Winton assisting in saving 669 children. Then, in the decades that followed, his heroic feat was almost lost to history. In fact, it only returned to public knowledge in 1988 when his wife Grete Gjelstrup encouraged him to show his scrapbook from the time to Holocaust researcher Elizabeth Maxwell, who was married to media mogul Robert Maxwell. Smartly, One Life captures both remarkable aspects to Winton's story, flitting between them as it tells its powerful and stirring true tale. The film's jumps backwards and forward also allow room for two excellent performances, enlisting Anthony Hopkins as the older Winton and Johnny Flynn (Operation Mincemeat) to do the honours in his younger years. With The Two Popes, his Oscar win for The Father, Armageddon Time and now this, Hopkins has been enjoying a stellar run in his 80s. If matching one of Hopkins' great portrayals in a period filled with them — a career, too, of course — was daunting for Flynn, he doesn't show it. As with Kurt and Wyatt Russell on the small screen's Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, they're playing the same man but also someone who changes, as everyone does, through his experiences. Accordingly, a lively Flynn captures Winton's zeal and determination, while a patient Hopkins wears the haunted disappointment of someone who has spent half of their life thinking that he hasn't done enough. When he finally realises the full impact of his efforts, it's a devastatingly touching moment in a potent feature that looks the standard sombre part, but also knows that flashiness isn't what leaves an imprint in a story as important as this. One Life streams via YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Migration It mightn't seem like Migration and Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget should be twin films. The first is Illumination's latest non-Minions effort. The second is the long-awaited sequel to 2000 claymation favourite Chicken Run. But this pair of animated movies is definitely the newest example of the long-running cinematic déjà vu trend. Past birds of a feather have included Antz and A Bug's Life, Deep Impact and Armageddon, Churchill and Darkest Hour, and Ben Is Back and Beautiful Boy — and oh-so-many more — aka pictures with similar plots releasing at around the same time. The current additions to the list both arrived in December 2023, focus on anthropomorphised poultry, and initially find their clucking and quacking critters happy in their own safe, insular idylls, only to be forced out into the scary wider world largely due to their kids. Chaos with humans in the food industry ensues, including a life-or-death quest to avoid being eaten, plus lessons about being willing to break out of your comfort zone/nest/pond. Famous voices help bring the avian protagonists to the screen, too — Elizabeth Banks (The Beanie Bubble) and Kumail Nanjiani (Welcome to Chippendales) are the parents in Migration, for instance, and Thandiwe Newton (Westworld) and Zachary Levi (Shazam! Fury of the Gods) in Dawn of the Nugget — although that's long been the industry standard in animation in general. If you've seen Chicken Run's return, then, Migration will instantly feel familiar. This is an instance of two studios hatching near-identical films that both have their own charms, however. With Migration, a voice cast that also spans Awkwafina (Quiz Lady), Keegan-Michael Key (Wonka), Danny DeVito (It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia) and Carol Kane (Hunters) brings plenty of energy. As the key behind-the-camera talents, director Benjamin Renner (Ernest & Celestine) and screenwriter Mike White (yes, The White Lotus' Mike White) know how to enliven the narrative. That tale tells of mallards Mack (Nanjiani) and Pam (Banks), one nervous and the other adventurous, who follow another family from New England to Jamaica via New York City with their eager ducklings Dax (Caspar Jennings, Operation Mincemeat) and Gwen (first-timer Tresi Gazal), and cantankerous uncle (DeVito). But the Big Apple brings a run-in which a chef, after initially falling afoul of a flock of pigeons, befriending their leader (Awkwafina) and endeavouring to rescue the homesick parrot (Key) who knows the way to their sunny winter getaway. Migration streams via YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Wish Hitting cinemas in 2023, the year that Walt Disney Animation Studios celebrated its 100th birthday, shouldn't have meant that Wish needed to live up to a century's worth of beloved classics. And it wouldn't for viewers, even with the Mouse House's anniversary celebrations everywhere, if the company's latest film didn't bluntly draw attention to Disney hits gone by. Parts are cobbled together from Cinderella, Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs and Pinocchio. Not just fellow animated efforts get referenced; alongside shoutouts to Bambi and Peter Pan, Mary Poppins earns the nod well. Overtly elbowing rather than winking, directors Chris Buck (Frozen and Frozen II) and Fawn Veerasunthorn (head of story on Raya and the Last Dragon) plus screenwriters Jennifer Lee (another Frozen alum) and Allison Moore (Beacon 23) ensure that their audience has the mega media corporation's other fare in their heads. It's a dangerous strategy, calling out other movies if the feature doing the calling out is by-the-numbers at best, and it does Wish no favours. No one might've been actively thinking "I wish I was watching a different Disney movie instead" if they weren't pushed in that direction by the flick itself, but once that idea sweeps in it never floats away. While the importance and power of dreams is Wish's main theme, the film forgot to have many itself. If it hoped to be a generic inspiration-touting fairy-tale musical, however, that fantasy was granted. Ariana DeBose (Argylle) and Chris Pine (Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves) star as teenager Asha and all-powerful sorcerer Magnifico, respectively. The latter created the kingdom of Rosas as a sanctuary to protect people's wishes, which hover in his castle — but he's stingy with granting them. When Asha discovers that the land's sovereign isn't as benevolent as he seems, then wishes on a star that becomes her beaming friend (and makes her goat Valentino talk, sporting the voice of Peter Pan & Wendy's Alan Tudyk), she decides to topple his rule and free the deepest desires of her fellow townsfolk. West Side Story Oscar-winner DeBose brings her best to the movie's songs, which would've fallen flat and proven forgettable in anyone else's hands, but they're the most vivid part of a film that starts with the storybook cliche, leans too heavily on chattering critters and can't match its classic look with an instant-classic picture. Wish streams via YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Night Swim James Wan didn't direct Night Swim, nor write it. Instead, the Saw, Insidious, The Conjuring and Malignant filmmaker is one of its producers alongside Get Out, Five Nights at Freddy's, and the recent Halloween and The Exorcist revivals' Jason Blum. So, the pair haven't quite gone the M3GAN route given that Wan earned a story credit on that 2023 hit — but surely the Australian had a hand in one specific detail. Marking the feature helming debut of writer/director Bryce McGuire, the Baghead scribe who adapts his 2014 short film with Rod Blackhurst (Blood for Dust), Night Swim includes a school named after Harold Holt. It's a movie about a haunted swimming pool that namechecks the Aussie Prime Minister who disappeared and has been presumed dead since failing to return after a swim in the sea in 1967. The cheeky early reference is a portentous Easter egg, not that ocean paddles are a part of this tale. Other than stars Wyatt Russell (Monarch: Legacy of Monsters) and Kerry Condon (The Banshees of Inisherin) trying to do what they can with the predictable material, including the former nodding to his family's baseballing history (his father Kurt and grandfather Bing, each also actors, both played), it's one of the movie's most notable aspects. Russell steps into the shoes of Ray Waller, who has retired from doing the only thing he's ever loved due to illness. That move away from professional sports sends the ex-athlete, his wife Eve (Condon) and their children children Izzy (Amélie Hoeferle, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes) and Elliot (Gavin Warren, Fear the Walking Dead) in search of a new home — and Ray feels a particular pull towards one specific abode and its groundwater-filled pool, even after tumbling unexpectedly into it. The paddling spot is meant to be helpful for his ailments, too. As viewers already know before this big decision, courtesy of a girl (Ayazhan Dalabayeva, Miracle Workers) having a traumatic splash in the 1992-set prologue, this isn't just any old backyard place for a dip. The evening pool scenes are fittingly hauntingly shot, but this is a movie where close to every element wades in from other flicks — The Shining, Poltergeist and The Ring among them — and sparking a sinking feeling about how derivative it is isn't the same as being suspenseful or scary. Night Swim streams via YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. The Beekeeper In the Jason Statham cinematic universe, all that a movie needs is a profession as a moniker, its star scowling fiercely and the flimsiest of narratives propping up routine action scenes. So goes The Transporter, The Mechanic and now The Beekeeper (Crank doesn't quite fit, because the title doesn't describe Statham's character's job). The lead actor shared by all of these films can do and has done better. The Autopilot could be a name for his mode here, then. Directed by Suicide Squad's David Ayer, written by The Expendables 4's Kurt Wimmer and crediting Statham as a producer with them as well as a star, The Beekeeper doesn't attempt to get its main man doing anything that he couldn't do in his sleep, in fact — well, that and put him in a John Wick-esque scenario if it was written as a Gerard Butler (Plane) flick instead. Statham plays an ex-secret operative from a clandestine group called The Beekeepers, who is now literally keeping bees in his quiet life, but gets drawn back in after the kindly retired schoolteacher Eloise Parker (Phylicia Rashad, Creed III) that he rents a barn from is scammed by a ruthless operation. The Beekeepers are all about justice. In its pursuit, they're also not beholden to the usual law. In fact, their remit is swarming in to protect the hive when the legal forces that everyone knows about don't do their job. (Plenty of bee nods and puns are also The Beekeeper's remit, unsurprisingly, even as it manages never to be intentionally amusing for a second, or show any desire to want to). So when there's no satisfactory resolution to the swindle and its aftermath, including with Parker's daughter Verona (Emmy Raver-Lampman, The Umbrella Academy) an agent on the case, Statham's Adam Clay gets a-stinging. Wimmer has indeed scripted Gerard Butler movies before, but his lead here can't make this more than a woefully clichéd mess that screams to use his knack for comedy, yet doesn't. Looking grimly trashy aesthetics-wise, working in oh-so-rote conspiracies, roping in Josh Hutcherson (Five Nights at Freddy's) and Jeremy Irons (The Flash) as well as Minnie Driver (Uproar): none give this any trace of a buzz, either, or turn it into B- (or bee-)movie honey. The Beekeeper streams via YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Looking for more viewing options? Take a look at our monthly streaming recommendations across new straight-to-digital films and TV shows — and fast-tracked highlights from January 2024 (and also January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November and December 2023, too). We keep a running list of must-stream TV from across 2024 as well, complete with full reviews. And, we've also rounded up 2023's 15 best films, 15 best straight-to-streaming movies, 15 top flicks hardly anyone saw, 30 other films to catch up with, 15 best new TV series of 2023, another 15 excellent new TV shows that you might've missed and 15 best returning shows.
Not all that long ago, the idea of getting cosy on your couch, clicking a few buttons, and having thousands of films and television shows at your fingertips seemed like something out of science fiction. Now, it's just an ordinary night — whether you're virtually gathering the gang to text along, cuddling up to your significant other or shutting the world out for some much needed me-time. Of course, given the wealth of options to choose from, there's nothing ordinary about making a date with your chosen streaming platform. The question isn't "should I watch something?" — it's "what on earth should I choose?". Hundreds of titles are added to Australia's online viewing services each and every month, all vying for a spot on your must-see list. And, so you don't spend 45 minutes scrolling and then being too tired to actually commit to watching anything, we're here to help. We've spent plenty of couch time watching our way through this months latest batch — and, from the latest and greatest to old favourites, here are our picks for your streaming queue from September's haul of newbies. BRAND NEW STUFF YOU CAN WATCH IN FULL RIGHT NOW THE MAD WOMEN'S BALL Hitting streaming mere days after premiering at the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival, The Mad Women's Ball marks the latest thoughtful and enthralling stint behind the camera for Mélanie Laurent. The French actor who'll forever be known for Inglourious Basterds features on-screen in this, too, and turns in a layered and textured performance. But, behind the lens for the sixth time — and the first since 2018's Galveston — she transforms an already-gripping tale into a film that's vivid, passionate, empathetic and resonant. You could compare The Mad Women's Ball to One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest, although that's oversimplifying things. Both are primarily set within comparable facilities, with the Salpêtrière neurological clinic the key location here, and both hone in on the power imbalance between those admitted and those running the show. But the Salpêtrière's patients are all women, most have been checked in against their will, the word 'hysteria' is thrown around too often by the male doctors, and 19th-century Paris treats anyone who doesn't conform to to the placid, dutiful female norm with contempt. That's what Eugénie Cléry (Lou de Laâge, who also starred in Laurent's 2014 film Breathe) learns after she starts hearing spirits. When her wealthy family find out about her new ability to communicate with the dead, she's packed away despite her pleas and protests, and confined to a place where she's little more than an inmate for men to torture with ice baths and other supposed cures. Laurent plays a nurse who becomes sympathetic to Eugénie's cause, but the film has just as much time for the sense of camaraderie that springs between the facility's wrongly institutionalised charges. It also offers space for other on-screen women to make an imprint, and serves up not just a potent but a handsomely staged adaptation of Victoria Mas' novel Le bal des folles. The Mad Women's Ball is available to stream via Amazon Prime Video. SQUID GAME Exploring societal divides within South Korea wasn't invented by Parasite, Bong Joon-ho's excellent Oscar-winning 2019 thriller, but its success was always going to give other films and TV shows on the topic a healthy boost. Accordingly, it's easy to see thematic and narrative parallels between the acclaimed movie and Netflix's new highly addictive Squid Game — the show that's on track to become the platform's biggest show ever (yes, bigger than everything from Stranger Things to Bridgerton) less than two weeks since it released. Anyone who has seen even an episode knows why this nine-part series is so compulsively watchable. Its puzzle-like storyline and its unflinching savagery making quite the combination. Here, in a Battle Royale and Hunger Games-style setup, 456 competitors are selected to work their way through six seemingly easy children's games. They're all given numbers and green tracksuits, they're all competing for 45.6 billion won, and it turns out that they've also all made their way to the contest after being singled out for having enormous debts. That includes series protagonist Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae, Deliver Us From Evil), a chauffeur with a gambling problem, and also a divorcé desperate to do whatever he needs to to keep his daughter in his life. But, as it probes the chasms caused by capitalism and cash — and the things the latter makes people do under the former — this program isn't just about one player. It's about survival, the status quo the world has accepted when it comes to money, and the real inequality present both in South Korea and elsewhere. Filled with electric performances, as clever as it is compelling, unsurprisingly littered with smart cliffhangers, and never afraid to get bloody and brutal, the result is a savvy, tense and taut horror-thriller that entertains instantly and also has much to say. Squid Game is available to stream via Netflix. MIDNIGHT MASS No one can accuse Mike Flanagan of being lazy. In the past three years, he's made four different Netflix horror series, plus The Shining sequel Doctor Sleep. In the two years before that, he directed four other movies. Yes, he's prolific, and he also knows and loves his unsettling niche. Midnight Mass is the third of those aforementioned shows, and forgoes the ghostly setup of The Haunting of Hill House and The Haunting of Bly Manor — and it spins its musing on loss in multiple forms, faith in just as many varieties, and mortality and everything it means into a commanding seven-part miniseries. For Riley Flynn (Zach Gilford, Good Girls), the show's narrative begins with the biggest mistake of his life. After killing a woman while drunk driving, he spends four years in prison, haunted by her bloody face whenever he tries to close his eyes. Upon his release, he has no choice but to head home to Crockett Island, where his god-fearing mother (Kristin Lehman, Altered Carbon) is thrilled, his Ron Swanson-esque dad (Hill House and Bly Manor alum Henry Thomas) barely says a word, and his now-pregnant childhood sweetheart (Kate Siegel, Gerald's Game) has just made a comeback after her own absence. Also upsetting the status quo: the arrival of Father Paul (Hamish Linklater, Legion) to fill in for the island's ailing priest, and a wild storm that wreaks havoc. When he's spinning episodic stories, Flanagan likes to tease. He likes fleshing out his always-eclectic range of characters, too, and Midnight Mass is no different. Here, he adores monologues as well, but that's hardly surprising given the stellar cast he's writing for. It's been a great year or so for disquieting miniseries set on small, sparsely populated islands, thanks to The Third Day as well, and this is just absorbing. Midnight Mass is available to stream via Netflix. STRONG FEMALE LEAD When The Final Quarter opted to explore AFL footballer Adam Goodes' career purely using footage from the time — focusing on his stint on the field during its last stages, as the name makes plain — it weaved together media clips from his games, general AFL coverage, news stories, press conferences and interviews from the era. The result: a heartbreaking picture of the ex-Swans captain's experiences with racism that couldn't paint a clearer picture. Strong Female Lead does the same, but swaps sports for politics and discrimination based on race for prejudice predicated upon gender. Given that Australia has only ever had one female Prime Minister, that's where this fast-paced documentary heads, with director Tosca Looby (See What You Made Me Do) and editor Rachel Grierson Johns (Roller Dreams) letting existing media materials about Julia Gillard do all the talking. Anyone who can remember the headlines, news commentary, panel shows and talkback radio discussions from her 2010–13 spot in the nation's top job will know what they're in for, but seeing it all so deftly sliced together couldn't be more powerful. The sexism she faced at every turn isn't a relic of that not-at-all-distant past, of course. Indeed, Looby's approach makes all the horrendous words flung Gillard's way cut like a fresh wound, and simultaneously also sting like an old scar that won't heal. That's the cumulative effect of enduring the horrific things said, her overall treatment as PM, the odious behaviour of her parliamentary peers, and the belittling comments and placards, too. Strong Female Lead is a film to get angry with, as it's meant to be. It's also a celebration of Gillard's achievement in becoming Prime Minister, her work both along the way and in the role and other world leaders who've broken the glass ceiling. What lingers, though, is the fierce and formidable indictment of what women in positions of authority have been forced to navigate. Strong Female Lead is available to stream via SBS On Demand. EVERYBODY'S TALKING ABOUT JAMIE They're both underdog stories, they're both set in Sheffield in England's north, and they both have the accents to prove the latter. They each follow struggling locals trying to carve out a better life, and feature the entertainment industry prominently. And, they both chronicle characters breaking out of their comfort zones, shocking plenty around them, and working towards a big show, event or both. The movie that got there first: The Full Monty. The newcomer: Everybody's Talking About Jamie. That's about where the similarities between the two end, however, other than the inescapably feel-good vibe they both stir up. In this case, that crowd-pleasing sentiment springs from teenager Jamie New (first-timer Max Harwood), his quest to become a drag queen and his determination to chase that dream by first frocking up for his school prom. Already bullied, considered a disappointment by his soccer-loving father (Ralph Ineson, Gunpowder Milkshake), but adored by his mother (Sarah Lancashire, Yesterday) and best friend (fellow film debutant Lauren Patel), he isn't certain about showing his drag side to the world. He needs mentoring by a former drag icon (Richard E Grant, Can You Ever Forgive Me?), in fact, to even get the courage to do so. And, from there, the path to unleashing his inner queen is nowhere near as sparkly as the red heels his mum gives him for his 16th birthday. Where Everybody's Talking About Jamie isn't at all surprising, whether you're familiar with the stage production it's based on, or the real-life tale it's inspired by — or if you've just seen other against-the-odds British flicks such as Kes and Billy Elliott. Nonetheless, from its first frame to its last, this lively and sweet musical still shimmers, glows and charms. Everybody's Talking About Jamie is available to stream via Amazon Prime Video. NEW AND RETURNING SHOWS TO CHECK OUT WEEK BY WEEK SCENES FROM A MARRIAGE In the initial two episodes of Scenes From a Marriage, Mira (Jessica Chastain, IT: Chapter Two) and Jonathan (Oscar Isaac, Star Wars: Episode IX — The Rise of Skywalker) brush their teeth in front of their ensuite mirror. It's an everyday task in a familiar place, spanning something we all do in a space we all use, but this five-part HBO miniseries turns these two scenes into a complex snapshot of its central couple. It takes not just skill but feeling and understanding to turn such a mundane activity into a must-see; however, that's this weighty show's remit. Scenes From a Marriage gets viewers engrossed in cleaning teeth because it's ordinary, and because everything within its frames fits the same description. Its central relationship careens from happy to heartbroken, comfortable to distraught, and assured to messy, but it also charts a path that countless others have. Accordingly, Mira and Jonathan start the series cemented in their routine, but with each of its five episodes dedicated to a significant day over the course of several years, much changes. The ambitious tech industry executive to his ex-Orthodox Jewish philosophy professor, Mira drops a bombshell, their lives shift over and over, and yet plenty stays the same as well. As penned and helmed by The Affair's Hagai Levi — remaking the 1973 Swedish TV miniseries by iconic film director Ingmar Bergman — Scenes From a Marriage is a show about patterns, cycles and echoes, in fact. It ponders how they ripple through relationships and, when broken or changed, how their absence is felt. The result is devastating and powerful, shot and scored with intensity, and home to exceptional performances from Chastain and Isaac, who prove just as irresistible in their second collaboration in a stormy union as they did in 2014 also-stellar A Most Violent Year. The first three episodes of Scenes From a Marriage are available to stream via Binge, with new episodes dropping weekly. Read our full review. ONLY MURDERS IN THE BUILDING If you've ever listened to a true-crime podcast, decided that you'd make a great Serial host yourself and started wondering how you'd ever follow in Sarah Koenig's footsteps, then you should be watching Only Murders in the Building. The Disney+ series follows three New Yorkers who follow that same process. Actor Charles-Haden Savage (Steve Martin, It's Complicated), theatre producer Oliver Putnam (Martin Short, Schmigadoon!) and the much-younger Mabel Mora (Selena Gomez, The Dead Don't Die) are all obsessed with a series hosted by the fictional Cinda Canning (Tina Fey, Girls5eva), to the point of bonding over it as strangers. Then, when someone turns up dead in their building, they decide that they can sleuth their way through the case — by getting talking themselves, naturally. But being a true-crime podcast diehard and making a true-crime podcast clearly aren't quite the same thing, and turning amateur detective isn't clearcut either. Entertaining and exceptionally well-cast, Only Murders in the Building makes makes the most of its main trio's mismatched vibe. It's filled with hearty affection for everything it jokes about, resulting in an upbeat satire of true-crime obsessions, podcasting's pervasiveness and the intersection of the two. It adores its single-setting Agatha Christie-lite setup, it's always empathetic, and it also loves peppering in highly recognisable co-stars and guest stars such as Fey, Nathan Lane (Penny Dreadful: City of Angels), Amy Ryan (Late Night) and even Sting. The series is also written and acted with enough depth to pair relatable character insights with its bubbly, clownish fun. If Knives Out was a sitcom, and also a little goofier, it'd turn out like this — and that's a delight, obviously. The first seven episodes of Only Murders in the Building are available to stream via Star on Disney+, with new episodes dropping weekly. Read our full review. WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS How do you match a season of TV that introduced the world to yet another ace Matt Berry character? That's a question What We Do in the Shadows faced with its third season, after its last batch of episodes featured Jackie Daytona — the "regular human bartender" persona adopted by Berry's bloodsucker Laszlo Cravensworth. Thankfully, this vampire sharehouse comedy found an easy solution. It's still doing what it does best, which includes gifting the glorious Berry (Toast of London) and his co-stars Kayvan Novak (Four Lions), Natasia Demetriou (Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga), Mark Proksch (The Office) and Harvey Guillen (Werewolves Within) reams of witty and hilarious dialogue. Picking up where the last season left off, the show's vamps now have a new job running the local Vampiric Council; however, the mockumentary-style series still knows that it's at the best when its stars are riffing either together or directly to the camera. Obviously, the Staten Island-dwelling bloodsuckers' new gig comes with ample chaos and, as it dives into everything that follows, What We Do in the Shadows is still one of the silliest yet smartest horror-comedies that's ever been made. But as proved the case with the movie it sprang from — aka Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi's 2014 film of the same name — so much of the joy and laughs here come from watching exceptional comedic talents inhabit their characters' fangs, banter about undead tropes and bounce off of each other. That hasn't changed in season three, and the entire series is still a side-splitting gem in each and every episode. The first five episodes of What We Do in the Shadows' third season are available to stream via Binge, with new episodes dropping weekly. Y: THE LAST MAN On paper, Y: The Last Man sounds familiar, even if you haven't read the source material. Based on the 2002–08 comic book series of the same name, it steps into a post-apocalyptic time where an eerie illness wipes out everyone with a Y chromosome — humans and other mammals alike. Accordingly, it initially resembles a reverse version of The Handmaid's Tale and Children of Men. Thankfully, this dystopian tale heads in its own direction. First, it spends an episode plotting out the pre-plague status quo for Yorick Brown (Ben Schnetzer, The Grizzlies), his US Congresswoman mother Jennifer (Let Him Go) and his paramedic sister Hero (Olivia Thirlby, Goliath). Then, it dives deep into the world-changing event that sees males wiped out en masse. It isn't a spoiler to say that Yorick survives, because the title ensures that's clear. Also making it through: his Capuchin monkey Ampersand. As the globe's women react, adjust and endeavour to traverse a whole new way of life, Yorick endeavours to do the same — and, based on its first episodes, it makes for gripping viewing. It's the type of show that starts out with an obvious been-there-done-that vibe, especially at the moment. Anyone who has filled even part of the pandemic binge-watching movies about contagions, outbreaks and infections will recognise plenty of elements, but this is also the kind of series that takes its time to settle in, and to expand and grow. It's ongoing focus on what comes next, rather than simply exploring what happened, is also filled with possibilities — timely ones, too, given the current state of reality. The first five episodes of Y: The Last Man are available to stream via Binge, with new episodes dropping weekly. A RECENT MUST-SEE YOU CAN (AND SHOULD) STREAM NOW ANOTHER ROUND Even the most joyous days and nights spent sipping your favourite drink can have their memory tainted by a hangover. Imbibe too much, and there's a kicker just waiting to pulsate through your brain and punish your body when all that alcohol inevitably starts to wear off. For much of Another Round, four Copenhagen school teachers try to avoid this feeling. The film they're in doesn't, though. Writer/director Thomas Vinterberg (Kursk) and his co-scribe Tobias Lindholm (A War) lay bare the ups and downs of knocking back boozy beverages, and also serve up a finale that's a sight to behold. Without sashaying into spoiler territory, the feature's last moments are a thing of sublime beauty. Some movies end in a WTF, "what were they thinking?" kind of way, but this Oscar-winning Danish film comes to a conclusion with a big and bold showstopper that's also a piece of bittersweet perfection. The picture's highest-profile star, Mads Mikkelsen (Arctic), is involved. His pre-acting background as an acrobat and dancer comes in handy, too. Unsurprisingly, the substances that flow freely throughout the feature remain prominent. And, so does the canny and candid awareness that life's highs and lows just keep spilling, plus the just-as-shrewd understanding that the line between self-sabotage and self-release is as thin as a slice of lemon garnishing a cocktail. Another Round is available to stream via SBS On Demand. Read our full review. Need a few more streaming recommendations? Check out our picks from January, February, March, April, May, June, July and August this year — and our top straight-to-streaming movies and specials from 2021 so far, and our list of the best new TV shows released this year so far as well.
Something delightful has been happening in cinemas across the country. After months spent empty, with projectors silent, theatres bare and the smell of popcorn fading, Australian picture palaces are back in business — spanning both big chains and smaller independent sites in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. During COVID-19 lockdowns, no one was short on things to watch, of course. In fact, you probably feel like you've streamed every movie ever made, including new releases, comedies, music documentaries, Studio Ghibli's animated fare and Nicolas Cage-starring flicks. But, even if you've spent all your time of late glued to your small screen, we're betting you just can't wait to sit in a darkened room and soak up the splendour of the bigger version. Thankfully, plenty of new films are hitting cinemas so that you can do just that — and we've rounded up, watched and reviewed everything on offer this week. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBMS85Rii5A THE GODMOTHER With the inimitable Isabelle Huppert at its centre, and a premise that owes a debt to Weeds and Breaking Bad, The Godmother strikes a crafty balance between comedy, drama and thrills. The Greta and Happy End star (and Elle Oscar-nominee) plays Patience Portefeux, a translator who works with the Paris police on narcotics cases — a job that's routine until, thanks to a big decision, it isn't. During an otherwise straightforward assignment that tasks Patience with listening to and translating wiretapped phone conversations, she holds back a few crucial pieces of information. Instead of giving her boyfriend Philippe (Hippolyte Girardot, Marseille) the details he needs to make a big bust and enhance his career, she chooses to take matters into her own hands. She's never done anything like this at work before, but she's soon redirecting the cops' attention, stealing an enormous stash of hash and taking up a side hustle as a wholesaler to street-level dealers. Her motivation: money. A long-widowed mother of two, she's attempting to secure her financial future via the only viable means at her disposable. As her fellow widow-turned-dealer in Weeds also did, she's also attempting to navigate a world that's hardly accommodating to single, middle-aged women. Adapted from Hannelore Cayre's book of the same name by the author with director Jean-Paul Salomé (Playing Dead, Female Agents), The Godmother is unsurprisingly lifted by Huppert, as everything she stars in always is. Indeed, if the film earns an English-language remake — which, undoubtedly, it will — Hollywood will be doing itself a disservice if the filmmaking powers-that-be cast anyone but the veteran French star. She plays Patience as a slippery, enterprising everywoman with hopes, dreams and a unique opportunity. More than that, she never lets a single thing about the character feel like a collection of stock-standard tropes and traits. It's due to Huppert, in fact, that The Godmother never flounders even when its script does cycle through more than a few predictable crime film cliches. Nonetheless, this is a lively and engaging caper that's helmed with a light touch, as well as a keen awareness of the material's deeper moments. It'd make a stellar double feature with 2018 heist flick The World Is Yours, too, which similarly deployed the distinctive talents of one of France's enduring leading ladies (and someone Huppert has been compared with constantly throughout her career): Isabelle Adjani. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQz1Am56-GQ DEATH OF A LADIES' MAN Tales of men known for their romantic successes — or, to be more accurate, their luck between the sheets — might just have an expiration date in today's post-#MeToo world. We should've outgrown them earlier, really, although Death of a Ladies' Man smartly chooses to grapple with the fallout when a lifelong playboy is forced to face his own end. Taking its cues from Leonard Cohen's songbook (hence the title), this Canadian-Irish co-production also opts to interrogate the idea of the blissful womaniser and drunk, rather than simply let another suave, sauced-up lothario strut across the silver screen. Poetry professor Samuel O'Shea (Gabriel Byrne, Hereditary) is about to add another ex-wife to his tally when the film begins, actually, although this time he's the one who caught her being unfaithful. That's soon the least of his problems. After the hockey players at his son's (Antoine Olivier Pilon, Mommy) latest match appear to start singing and dancing on the rink, and he then returns home to hallucinate an entire boozy conversation with his long-dead father (Brian Gleeson, Hellboy), Samuel seeks medical attention. His daily drinking habit of anywhere up to 39 drinks isn't the problem, but rather a brain tumour — and the terminal prognosis that accompanies its diagnosis gives him just months left at best. For a film about cancer, death, addiction, lingering childhood trauma, several liquor cabinets full of regrets and taking stock of an unfulfilling life complicated by male fantasy, Death of a Ladies' Man is playful rather than bleak — welcomely so. The visions that cause Samuel to imagine women with tiger heads (and sometimes entire relationships) all add a surreal touch to a movie that knows it is wading through both weighty and familiar territory. Writer/director Matt Bissonnette (Passenger Side) doesn't endeavour to thwart or dispel tropes, but to unpack them. Confronting a fatal disease and looking back at all the mistakes made to that juncture is another oft-used narrative crutch, and usually the only time someone with cancer is treated like a real person in a feature, but here it also helps Death of a Ladies' Man expose just why Samuel has clung to his image for so long, what he's been hiding from in the process and what it has ultimately cost him. Byrne is excellently cast, as he usually is, bringing both charisma and waning hubris to the film's protagonist — and Cohen's songs do what they're meant to, adding insight, beauty and melancholy to this quietly potent blend of comedy and drama. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IuL_FSoMBU TWO OF US Early in Two of Us, Martine Chevallier sports a look of such utter devastation and heartbreak that it feels as if her pain will smash the camera peering her way. The French actress (Farewell, My Queen) plays Madeleine, a retiree finally free of the husband she abhorred — a fact that her adult children Frédéric (Jérôme Varanfrain, A Wedding) and Anne (Léa Drucker, Custody) ignore in vastly different ways — and now living with the woman, Nina (Barbara Sukowa, Gloria Bell), that she has secretly been in love with for decades. Given her kids' attitude towards their father, she hasn't been able to tell them. Indeed, when the aforementioned expression darkens her face, it's because Nina publicly admonishes her for hiding their relationship. But the German expat will soon sport the same look, too, after tragedy strikes. In the aftermath, neither Frédéric or Anne know her as anything more than just a friend of Madeleine. So, she spends her days peeking through the peephole in her own front door across the hall — one of the benefits of keeping a second apartment to maintain their ruse — and trying to sweet-talk her way into new carer Muriel's (Muriel Bénazéraf, Conviction) good graces in order to even see and snatch the smallest amounts of time with her lifelong love. Largely taking place within Madeleine and Nina's flats — one warm and inviting, the other sparse and hardly used — Two of Us is an intimate film several times over. First-time feature writer/director Filippo Meneghetti stares intensely at his characters as he steps into their complex lives and, slowly and patiently, watches as they inch towards revealing their true selves to the world. The central performances, especially by Sukowa, a German acting powerhouse dating back to Rainer Werner Fassbinder's Berlin Alexanderplatz and Lola, couldn't feel more lived-in. Nor could the rapport between Madeleine and Nina, even after illness robs the former of her words. And, the same applies to the predicament that Nina finds herself navigating, circumstances she shares (with a few minor tweaks) with the protagonist in Oscar-winner A Fantastic Woman. Deeply contemplating the historical treatment of queer relationships, and the struggles that still linger today, this is both an astutely judged and overwhelmingly heartfelt drama, and one that also simmers with tension and anger. It's impossible not to feel moved and infuriated by the behaviour directed Madeleine and Nina's way, and to be moved by this tender and impassioned story in general. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGDWckiZcj8 I BLAME SOCIETY She's fired by her manager after he finally reads one of her scripts, then deems the topic of Israel "too political". When his assistant wrangles her a meeting with a couple of indie film producers in the aftermath, she's asked to lend her perspective to stories about strong female voices, breastfeeding in public, and either intersexuality or intersectionality — when it comes to the latter two, they aren't quite sure which. So, as I Blame Society gleefully posits in its savage takedown of the film industry today, it's little wonder that Gillian (writer/director Gillian Wallace Horvat) decides to follow up a leftfield idea. Three years earlier, some of her friends told her that she'd make a great murderer, a notion that she took as a compliment and has been fascinated with to an unhealthy degree ever since. Indeed, at the time, she went as far asking her pal Chase (co-writer Chase Williamson) if she could hypothetically walk through the process of killing his girlfriend. The request put a long-lasting pause on their friendship, to no one else's surprise. Now, as she resurrects the project, her editor boyfriend Keith (Keith Poulson, Her Smell) keeps reiterating that it's a terrible idea; however, with no other avenues forward, Gillian is committed to doing whatever she thinks she needs to to kickstart her career. During a mid-film conversation, an increasingly exasperated Keith reminds Gillian that no "there is no movie that is worth hurting someone for". He's endeavouring to get her to agree, but "if it's a very bad person for a very good movie…" is her quick and firm reply. I Blame Society is equally direct. While Horvat plays a fictional character — and, the audience presumes, hasn't ever flirted with or committed murder in real life — she absolutely slaughters her chosen concept. Not every line or moment lands as intended, but this biting satire sticks a knife into every expectation saddled upon women in general and female filmmakers especially, then keeps twisting. The film's recurrent gags about likeability cleave so close to the truth, they virtually draw blood. Its aforementioned parody of supposed allyship among powerbrokers and gatekeepers is similarly cutting and astute. In their canny script, Horvat and Williamson find ample time to poke fun of a plethora of industry cliches and microaggressions, the treatment of marginalised voices both within filmmaking and in broader society, and even the current true-crime obsession, all without ever overloading the 84-minute movie. And, on-screen as well, Horvat is a savvy delight. She wants viewers to both cringe and nod, and everything about her performance and her feature directorial debut earns that response. I Blame Society is currently screening in Sydney and Melbourne cinemas. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WrZU_14cxE SONGBIRD If there are any words that absolutely no one wants to see when they're watching a COVID-19-inspired movie, it's these: produced by Michael Bay. The filmmaker who gave cinema the Bad Boys franchise and five Transformers flicks isn't behind the lens of Songbird, but writer/director Adam Mason and his frequent co-scribe Simon Boyes (Hangman) have clearly mainlined Bay's work, then decided to use its worst traits as a how-to manual. Set in 2024, when a virulent mutation of the coronavirus known as COVID-23 is on the loose, their tactless thriller is gimmicky and misguided at best. It's derivative, dull and has a plot that's so stale it really should also feature a tornado full of sharks, too. Wondering what might happen if the pandemic was even more horrendous and tragic than it is — and if America's handling of it, as based on 2020's response at least, was skewed even further towards corporate interests and the rich — the film decides to opt for quarantine concentration camps and a gestapo-like sanitation department. When it's not tastelessly taking cues from the holocaust to supposedly turn a shattering event the world is still experiencing into entertainment, it also attempts to tell a Romeo and Juliet-style love story about a couple separated by lockdown. And, if you've ever wondered what might happen if a Bay wannabe remade David Lynch's Blue Velvet, Bradley Whitford's (The Handmaid's Tale) role as an oxygen-huffing record executive preying on a young singer (Alexandra Daddario, Baywatch) answers that question as well. Bicycle courier Nico (KJ Apa, Riverdale) is resistant to COVID-23, and has an immunity bracelet to prove it; however, his girlfriend Sara (Sofia Carson, Feel the Beat) and her grandmother (Elpidia Carrillo, Euphoria) aren't so lucky. The coveted wristwear can be bought on the black market, though, which is why Nico is trying to make as much cash as he can working for delivery kingpin Lester (Craig Robinson, Dolemite Is My Name). The obvious happens, of course, sending unhinged sanitation head Emmett Harland (Peter Stormare, John Wick: Chapter 2) to Sara's building — and putting a deadline on Nico's quest, which wealthy couple William (Whitfield) and Piper Griffin (Demi Moore, Rough Night) might be able to assist with. The latter are also meant to be a picture of stay-at-home disharmony, all while trying to protect their immunocompromised daughter Emma (Lia McHugh, The Lodge) from anything outside their sprawling mansion. A PTSD-afflicted ex-veteran (Paul Walter Hauser, Richard Jewell) who flies drones to experience life beyond his walls also forms part of the story, although not a single character is given enough flesh to make viewers care about their plight. Even only clocking in at 84 minutes, this thoroughly unsubtle and exploitative film overstays its welcome — and the fact that it's shot and edited like Bay's glossiest and most bombastic action fare doesn't help. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzigvG55ImQ SON OF THE SOUTH A film can tackle an always-important subject, tell a true tale about a real-life figure and their hard-fought battle for a crucial cause, and also seem caught between an adoring celebration and an after-school special. It can boast Spike Lee's frequent editor as its director — with Barry Alexander Brown splicing together everything from Do the Right Thing and Malcom X to BlacKkKlansman — and also Lee himself as an executive producer, and still feel like the most simplistic version of its narrative. And, it can pay tribute to a crusader in the civil rights movement, and note the struggles involved for a southern-born and -bred white college student with klan ties so recent in his past that his grandfather remained a hate-spewing member, and also leave viewers wondering why someone like future US Congressman John Lewis is treated like a mere footnote. Yes, a movie can do all of the above because Son of the South does. Adapted by Brown from Bob Zellner's co-penned (with Constance Curry) autobiography The Wrong Side of Murder Creek: A White Southerner in the Freedom Movement, this by-the-numbers biopic proves both earnestly well-intentioned and blandly formulaic. Even viewers unfamiliar with Zellner will find themselves knowing what to expect at each and every turn. Son of the South introduces its Alabaman subject (Lucas Till, MacGyver) in 1961, with a noose around his neck and an angry white mob at his feet, before flashing back to explain his predicament. This early storytelling choice is designed to make a statement, and to show how deep the resistance to equality burrowed at the time, but it really just acts as a reminder that such violence against Black Americans still rarely garners the same attention. Zellner found himself facing a lynching for his inability to stand on the sidelines — after Rosa Parks (Sharonne Lainer, The Outsider) made history five years earlier, after being told not to go to an event at a Black church commemorating her actions, and then after facing threats of arrest and expulsion for attending. His fiancée (Lucy Hale, Fantasy Island) warns him, too, and his grandfather (Brian Dennehy, The Seagull) says he'll shoot him, but he's soon helping Freedom Riders during riots and volunteering for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. Till's performance is as sincere as anything in Son of the South. He's also joined by scene-stealing co-stars, including Dexter Darden (Saved by the Bell) as Lewis, Lex Scott Davis (The First Purge) as a young college professor and Shamier Anderson (City of Lies) as a fellow SNCC worker initially skeptical of Zellman's involvement. And yet, they're all just tasked with sticking to a template, much to the movie's detriment. If you're wondering what else is currently screening in cinemas — or has been lately — check out our rundown of new films released in Australia on January 1, January 7, January 14, January 21 and January 28; February 4, February 11, February 18 and February 25; March 4, March 11, March 18 and March 25; and April 1, April 8, April 15, April 22 and April 29; and May 6 and May 13. You can also read our full reviews of a heap of recent movies, such as Nomadland, Pieces of a Woman, The Dry, Promising Young Woman, Summerland, Ammonite, The Dig, The White Tiger, Only the Animals, Malcolm & Marie, News of the World, High Ground, Earwig and the Witch, The Nest, Assassins, Synchronic, Another Round, Minari, Firestarter — The Story of Bangarra, The Truffle Hunters, The Little Things, Chaos Walking, Raya and the Last Dragon, Max Richter's Sleep, Judas and the Black Messiah, Girls Can't Surf, French Exit, Saint Maud, Godzilla vs Kong, The Painter and the Thief, Nobody, The Father, Willy's Wonderland, Collective, Voyagers, Gunda, Supernova, The Dissident, The United States vs Billie Holiday, First Cow, Wrath of Man, Locked Down, The Perfect Candidate, Those Who Wish Me Dead, Spiral: From the Book of Saw and Ema.
If you've been perplexed, provoked or just plain pissed off by Shia LaBeouf's antics, you can now gain some insights. In an exclusive interview with Dazed, artists Luke Turner and Nastja Rönkkö open up about collaborating with the Nymphomaniac star on #IAMSORRY. "At its core, the most fascinating part of the performance was whether people would see Shia as a person, flesh and bones and soul, or as an object, a celebrity," says Nastja. "I also find it quite revealing that whereas in the past everyone wanted to become celebrities, today everyone wants to be an artist. For me, this opens up questions of whether our value systems are moving towards something more meaningful." Shia copped quite a bit of flak last year when Daniel Clowes fans made plagiarism accusations. As far they were concerned, LaBoeuf's new film Howard Cantour.com (2012) was far too close to Clowes' comic Justin M. Damiano (2007) for comfort. Previously, in an inflamed letter to Alec Baldwin, he'd passed off several paragraphs written by Tom Chiarella as his own. As if that wasn't attention enough — or perhaps because he sought to shift the focal point of the public eye — he turned up to the Berlin Film Festival wearing a paper bag bearing the statement, 'I am not famous anymore', quoted Eric Cantona at the Nymphomaniac press conference, and vanished. Some people were sympathetic; others expressed outrage. Either way, the stunt swamped arts headlines all over the globe. Then, like any good Matthew Arnold scholar, he sought refuge in art. For six days, a Los Angeles gallery hosted Shia's performance #IAMSORRY, which involved the either beleaguered or exceptionally publicity-hungry actor donning a tuxedo and paper bag and crying in public. Visitors reacted by losing their temper, taking selfies or offering congratulations. It was a multiplatform project that also played out on Shia's Twitter, in skywriting and a university seminar in which he read Guy Debord to students. In Nastja's view, Shia "made a genuine mistake during the process of trying to find his directorial feet" and has "undoubtedly regretted it deeply ever since". The actor approached the pair while the plagiarism controversy was going on. "Right from our very first meeting, I had been convinced of his commitment to his art and the trueness of his aim," Luke says. The artists both indicate that they intend to keep working with Shia, so expect to feel that vague annoyance towards him for some time yet. Read more about the history of Shia's new art form in our feature on ten crazy things done in the name of performance art.
The days are longer. The nights are getting balmy. Yep, that's right — we are in the depths of Aperol season. And we don't doubt that you've seen Sydney's pubs and bars flooded with rounds of that most summery of drinks: the Aperol Spritz. That's why we thought it appropriate to create a list of some of our favourite places to go for a sunset spritz this season in partnership with Aperol. First and foremost, these places all make a good Aperol Spritz — that's essential. But, beyond that, each spot offers a great way to experience sunset in Sydney — whether you're soaking it up from high up on a rooftop bar or enjoying it down by the water. THE NEWPORT, NEWPORT Few waterside drinking spots compare to The Newport. This huge waterside venue has been landscaped to the nines, with each outdoor drinking and dining area given its own unique style. It's perfect for group hangs with your mates and family nights out — and it's also very dog-friendly. So, there's no leaving your four-legged friend at home for the night while you're out sipping on spritzes, eating pizza and watching the sunset by the water. Dreamy. KASBAH, DARLINGHURST This is one of the newest additions to Sydney's rooftop bar scene, having opened just before summer 2023. And it's quickly shot up to be one of our favourites. From the top of the newly renovated The Strand, you feel as if you're sitting along the Mediterranean within the city's skyline as the sun sets over the surrounding apartments and office towers. DJs and live entertainment are also up on this sun-soaked rooftop on Fridays and Saturdays until midnight and on Sundays until 10pm, so you won't have any issues stretching out your evening up here as you lounge on the comfy sofas and sip on spritzes. THE COURTHOUSE, NEWTOWN The Courty is a Newtown favourite for so many reasons. The large and welcoming pub has a bunch of different rooms for drinking and playing weekly trivia — but the massive beer garden is arguably the greatest drawcard of this Australia Street institution. Wrapping around almost the whole pub, the expansive outdoor space is a super laidback spot where many an afternoon has stretched out to nighttime. There's also a heap of coverage, too, so if the weather takes a turn, you won't have to make a dash for the nearest exit. BONDI PAV, BONDI If an Aperol Spritz is what you're after this summer, then you'd be a fool to miss out on a visit to the revamped Bondi Pavilion. The ocean-facing promenade of the legendary beach has been transformed into the new Sydney HQ for all things spritz. Several hospitality venues line the walls of the Pav for any hungry passerby. During daylight hours, you can grab a meal at Glory Days (and Surfish cafe, which is due to open soon), and after-dark diners can get their fix at Promenade Bondi Beach or Upstairs by Glory Days a few floors above. [caption id="attachment_840752" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Steven Woodburn[/caption] BACKYARD AT THE ALEX, ALEXANDRIA This Alexandria watering hole has been given a total makeover by the Merivale team, who've made this a proper drinking and dining destination. But despite the dress-up, the bones of this historic pub remain the same, helping The Alex maintain the feel of an old-school boozer. And what they've done with the beer garden is masterful. There's an outdoor bar in an old shipping container, stacks of large communal tables, a basketball court for anyone wanting to shoot some hoops and an ever-changing selection of food trucks that rocks up each night. Perfect, in other words, for an afternoon sesh with mates. MANLY GREENHOUSE, MANLY Head right from the beach to the verdant sun-filled rooftop at Manly Greenhouse to get some epic sunset views. (Well, maybe wash off the sand and throw a top on first. We aren't savages.) Once you make yourself decent, grab a spritz from the central bar and enjoy uninterrupted views of Manly Beach while DJs set the mood. Don't skip the food while you're up here, either — share a plate of fresh ceviche and a round of freshly shucked oysters or get around a proper serve of fish and chips. You can even go down a level to the wine room for a slightly more sophisticated sunset viewing. For more ways to elevate your summer with Aperol, head to the website.
Grabbing everyone's attention with one shiny promise, then delivering something else as well: if you've ever watched Black Mirror, then you've seen that exact situation play out several times among its many tech nightmares. When the dystopian saga's seventh season arrives, that setup just might apply to the show itself, too. A sequel episode to season four's Star Trek-riffing USS Callister episode has long been promised, but a follow-up to choose-your-own-adventure movie Black Mirror: Bandersnatch also appears to be part of the six-instalment return. Black Mirror season seven now has a trailer, and Bandersnatch's Will Poulter (The Bear) and Asim Chaudhry (Industry) are part of it. The next chapter in Charlie Brooker's can't-look-away take on how humanity's use of gadgets and innovations can go devastatingly wrong also has an official release date. In excellent news, you'll be plugging in soon, on Thursday, April 10, 2025. The new episodes will drop two years after 2023's sixth season, which is a short gap in Black Mirror terms given that there was a four-year wait after season five. Season seven's batch of Black Mirror episodes is also bigger than the past two seasons, serving up six instalments — which only season three and four have done in the past. As teased by the trailer, the show's seventh season has artificial intelligence in its focus — and everything from a black-and-white realm and wearable tech to Peter Capaldi (Criminal Record) chatting about expanding minds on offer along the way. From USS Callister, Cristin Milioti (The Penguin), Jimmi Simpson (Pachinko), Billy Magnussen (The Franchise), Milanka Brooks (The Windsors), Osy Ikhile (All American) and Paul G Raymond (Deadpool & Wolverine) are all back. Across the rest of the season, the cast also includes Awkwafina (Jackpot!), Emma Corrin (Nosferatu), Rashida Jones (Sunny), Chris O'Dowd (The Big Door Prize), Issa Rae (American Fiction), Michele Austin (Hard Truths), Tracee Ellis Ross (Candy Cane Lane), Harriet Walter (Silo), Patsy Ferran (Mickey 17), Paul Giamatti (The Holdovers) and more. And if you're wondering whether Brooker took any inspiration from his headline speaker gig at the first-ever SXSW Sydney in 2023, you'll need to watch the new season to find out. Chatting with Netflix, he has promised "a mix of genres and styles". Also "they're all sci-fi stories — there's definitely some horrifying things that occur, but maybe not in an overt horror-movie way. There's definitely some disturbing content in it." Check out the trailer for Black Mirror season seven below: Black Mirror season seven will stream via Netflix from Thursday, April 10, 2025. Read our review of season six, and our interview with Charlie Brooker.
Move over Adelaide; according to The Economist Intelligence Unit's Global 2022 Liveability Index, Melbourne is now the most liveable city in Australia — again. While the Victorian capital spent much of 2021 under stay-at-home restrictions, it has beaten out every other city Down Under for this year in the annual list, placing first among Aussie spots and equal tenth worldwide. Melbourne has previously topped the rankings — for seven years running between 2010–2017, in fact, but that span came to an end in 2018. Back then, it was dethroned by Vienna in Austria, which again took out first place this year as it did from 2018–20. Vienna's 2022 victory came at the expense of 2021's top placeholder Auckland, which tumbled from first down to 34th. Last year's top ten was filled with Australian and New Zealand cities, including Adelaide, Wellington, Perth and Brisbane as well. They've all dropped significantly, with Adelaide moving from third to 30th, Wellington plummeting from fourth to 50th, Perth moving from sixth to 32nd, and Brisbane from tenth to 27th. Melbourne tied for eighth in 2021, so although it still made the top ten in 2022, it has also dropped two spots. The report explains that both Australia and New Zealand "benefited in early 2021, when COVID vaccines were scarce: their closed borders kept cases down, keeping liveability high... However, this changed as a more infectious covid-19 wave struck in late 2021, which made closed borders less of a defence." The Economist Intelligence Unit continued: "although New Zealand's lockdowns ended in December, before our survey period, its cities no longer have a COVID advantage over well-vaccinated European and Canadian cities. In Australia, some states were slower to lift restrictions than others. As a result, Perth and Adelaide have lost ground since last year, and Melbourne is once again Australia's highest-ranked city." As well as Vienna in first spot, Melbourne was joined in the top ten by Copenhagen at second, Zurich in third, Canada's Calgary and Vancouver in fourth and fifth, Geneva at sixth, Frankfurt at seventh, Toronto at eighth and Amsterdam at ninth — with Osaka sharing tenth position. The annual index ranks cities on stability, healthcare, education, infrastructure, culture and environment, giving each city a rating out of 100. Vienna achieved a score of 99.1 overall, and Melbourne received 95.1 — and, at the other end of the list, Damascus in Syria scored 30.7, ranking in 172nd spot. Narrowly missing the top ten for the second year in a row: Sydney, which came in 13th, after sitting at 11th in 2021. It had ranked third back in 2019. To read the full Global 2022 Liveability Index, head to the Economist Intelligence Unit's website.
Owner Aykut Sayan opened his popular cafe Circa Espresso, found less than five minutes walk from Parramatta Station on the other side to the Parramatta Square dining precinct, with one goal in mind: sharing his love of food and coffee with others. His approach fuses Middle Eastern influences with modern Australian fare, resulting in hearty, flavour-packed brekkies, brunches and lunches. The Ottoman eggs, for example, are a feast for the sandwiches, combining poached eggs with crumbed eggplant, garlic labneh, burnt chilli, sage butter and seeded sourdough ($26), while the baked eggs with beef sujuk come topped with danish feta, diced roma tomatoes, harissa gravy, a hint of chilli and house-made focaccia ($26). At coffee time, Circa encourages you to forget about your usual cappuccino or latte. Of course, they're here on the menu, but you also have the chance to try the cafe's signature batch brew ($4–5) or cold brew ($6). There's even an option to expand your caffeine palette with a coffee flight ($12) On clear days, the outdoor terrace is bathed in sunshine, while, in chilly weather, Circa's pendant-lit interior is one of Parramatta's cosiest spots. To really hide away, find the Chesterfield up the back, surrounded by books and artworks. Appears in: The Best Cafes in Sydney Where to Find the Best Breakfast in Sydney
