El Jannah has earned cult status for its Lebanese-style charcoal chicken and finger-lickin'-good garlic sauce, but for inner-city folk, it's never been all that easy to get your mitts on. Sure, the legendary chicken joint has an impressive six outlets under its belt, but — if you've lived east, north or south — you've had to trek out west to get to any of them. Until now. The inner west will finally have all of that chook goodness right at its fingertips, after the company announced it's opening an El Jannah store in the heart of Newtown. Which means Sydney's 'chicken curtain' may need some urgent adjustments. Details are still vague, but El Jannah has confirmed the rumours and revealed a glimpse instead the new store, saying: "The secret is out! We are so excited to announce that our next El Jannah store will be located in Newtown! Stay tuned for more!" Over one thousand excited Sydneysiders have already commented on the Facebook post. https://www.facebook.com/ElJannahChicken/photos/pb.624930250853870.-2207520000.1568947800./2940023156011223/?type=3&theater The store, which will called El Jannah Express, is slated to open at 156–158 King Street, across the road from cocktail bar Corridor and The Marlborough Hotel, sometime in the next three–six weeks. We'll update you when we know more. El Jannah has won plenty of fans for its offering of charcoal chicken matched with that famed garlic sauce, along with hot meat-stuffed rolls, grab-and-go meal packs, burgers, salads and Middle Eastern skewers. Following stores in Blacktown, Campbelltown, Punchbowl, Granville, Kogarah and Penrith, this Newtown outpost will be the group's first 'express' offering. No word yet on exactly what that means, but as long as there's some of that chicken involved, we're on board. El Jannah Express is slated to open at 156–158 King Street, Newtown sometime in October or early November.
If you’ve been teetering on the brink of comic book and superhero fatigue, meet the movie that just might push you over the edge. In the case of the latest version of Fantastic Four, it’s not just the fact that every month seems to see a new film in the genre reach cinemas (or the knowledge that this particular content was translated to the screen just last decade). It's also the feature's embrace of cliché, grim tone and a complete lack of energy that causes it to grate, and then some. Fantastic Four is yet another gritty reboot of a superhero origin story. In case you can’t remember the 2005 film of the same name and its 2007 sequel Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (or in case you’ve willingly forgotten them), the series mythology concerns a quartet of friends who get genetically altered and gain superpowers — stretchy limbs, rock-like skin, bursting into flames and invisibility. The characters first created in 1961 by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby are now brought back to the big screen by Chronicle writer/director Josh Trank. Reed Richards (Miles Teller), Ben Grimm (Jamie Bell) and Johnny Storm (Michael B Jordan) travel to another dimension and come back changed, with the latter's sister Sue (Kate Mara) also caught up in the fallout. Their one-time friend Victor Von Doom (Toby Kebbell) goes with them...but doesn’t fare quite so well. With X-Men: Days of Future Past writer Simon Kinberg and The Lazarus Effect's Jeremy Slater helping on the script, Trank’s take is as stern and serious as his cast are young and fresh-faced — think Fantastic Four filtered through the template of a teen drama, even if the actors are slightly older than that. Outcasts come together, trouble ensues, and everyone tries to come to terms with their trauma in a manner not unlike many after-school specials. Yes, life lessons are also learned, including the all-important “never drink and teleport” and “don’t touch the green, glowing goo”. It all makes for as low-key, downbeat affair as comic book adaptations have seen, with the cast the saving grace. The presence of the five key players — plus Reg E Cathey as Johnny and Sue's father — is a welcome one, although their performances hardly live up to the great work they've delivered in the past. Bell's version of the Thing is the feature's highlight, though we hear much more of the actor than we see. In his brooding brute of boulders, a glimpse of the emotion Trank is aiming for is apparent, albeit only briefly. That Teller and co. hardly shine could be a reflection of the stilted dialogue they’re spouting, (including a blatant one-line rip-off of Ghostbusters) as well as the unengaging series set-up they're immersed in. When all the lab scenes, messy action and cheap-looking special effects ultimately build up to the bestowing of the group’s name (aka the movie’s title), disappointment isn’t the only emotion you'll be feeling. As a concept, there’s plenty of interest in Fantastic Four — and yet filmmakers keep floundering in bringing it to the screen. A sequel is already slated, of course, and here's hoping that it tells a new tale with a smattering of enthusiasm, rather than blandly rehashing familiar territory.
In 2020, the pandemic forced international sport come to a halt for months, Australian football seasons to be played in condensed blocks and the AFL Grand Final to be held in Brisbane for the first time ever. In 2021 so far, it has also seen parts of the Australian Open played without spectators. Now, COVID-19 is affecting the Aussie leg of this year's World Surf League Championship Tour, too, with the WSL announcing that it's making some big changes to its upcoming stint Down Under. Usually, WSL's annual Australian events include high profile stops in Bells Beach and on the Gold Coast, but they've both been cancelled in 2021. Instead the sporting body will head to New South Wales, and over to Western Australia for two events as well. From April 1–11, the Rip Curl Cup will take over Newcastle's beaches, while the Rip Curl Classic will hit Narrabeen in Sydney's northern beaches from April 16–26. Then, Margaret River will become the centre of the surfing world from May 2–12, before the tour will head over to Rottnest Island from May 16–26. Announcing the change, WSL advised that it would concentrate on NSW and WA this year "following approvals for pre-approved quarantine bubbles" for surfers and staff. In a statement, it explained that it "could not achieve these bubbles in Victoria and Queensland in the short amount of time it needed to do so". https://twitter.com/wsl/status/1361449251172061185 Victorian surf fans — and anyone who has memorised the final Bells Beach-set scene from Point Break — can rest assured that WSL will be returning to town from 2022. Earlier this month, it announced that it had signed a deal for a three-year stint in the Surf Coast Shire until 2024. Regarding the Gold Coast event, its future hasn't been revealed; however, WSL advised that the decision to "cancel this event was based on the genuine possibility of multiple risks attached to sudden public health measures in reaction to COVID-19 such as lockdowns, state border restrictions and event cancellations". Under an agreement with the NSW Government, international competitors heading Down Under for the Australian leg of the 2021 World Surf League Championship Tour will board a chartered flight in Los Angeles that'll fly to Sydney, which is where all traveling athletes and support staff will then undergo 14 days of hotel quarantine. They'll also need to obtain a medical clearance from public health officials before they can enter the general community and start preparing for competition events. The Australian leg of the 2021 World Surf League Championship Tour will head to Newcastle and Narrabeen, plus Margaret River and Rottnest Island in Western Australia, between April 1–May 26. For further details, head to the World Surf League website.
If you're looking to expand your palate, enhance your culinary skills and be inspired by idyllic natural wonders, look no further. Taste Port Douglas is back this year with a four-day festival of the senses. From Thursday, August 11 to Sunday August 14, a dynamic program, curated by founder and culinary director Spencer Patrick, will showcase local produce and industry-leading chefs at the Sheraton Grand Mirage. If feasting on unforgettable culinary delights isn't enough to get you excited, you can't look past the location. Between meals, you can explore all this tropical paradise has to offer, including incredible access to two of Australia's best natural gems: the Great Barrier Reef and the Daintree Rainforest. The full lineup is expected to drop this month, so stay tuned for more info. You can register your interest here to receive more information on early bird releases.
A simple and sweet romance disguised a crime-fighting superhero flick, Griff the Invisible is a film to fall in love with. This elegant feature debut from writer-director Leon Ford stars True Blood's Ryan Kwanten as the eponymous masked crusader, though one who might spend a little more time practicing his lines in front of the mirror than actually protecting the streets. As a painfully awkward recluse, Griff bears all the hallmarks of a misfit: he's mercilessly harassed by office bully Tony (Toby Schmitz), while at home his sole visitor is his caring, if exasperated brother Tim (Patrick Brammall). But this all changes when Tim brings by Melody (Maeve Dermody), a delightful eccentric who spies the superhero behind Griff’s shy façade. Shot through with enchanting magical realism and chock full of heart, Griff the Invisible needs to take its place in your DVD collection alongside films like Amelie, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Lars and the Real Girl. Though Ford's fable is more modest in scope, these titles provide a handy primer for the appeal and tone of his marvellous creation. Because to truly appreciate this film, the audience needs follow Melody and let themselves be sucked into Griff’s oddball world; a leap of faith which ultimately prove utterly charming. For True Blood fans, Kwanten will be almost unrecognisable as the sociophobic superhero. His performance is so expertly restrained (in fact one briefly wonders if there isn't a more insidious pathology at work), yet he also infuses Griff with such earnest enthusiasm, that the audience is quickly rallied to become his champions. Leading the charge is of course Melody, who is brought to wondrous life by the ever-impressive Dermody. Her performance is as bright and colourfully quirky as Melody's wardrobe, and she provides a perfect compliment to Kwanten's quiet reserve. After stealing scenes from Ben Mendelsohn in Beautiful Kate as well as making a name on the Sydney theatre scene, Dermody again proves herself a talent to watch. Another stand out are Sydney band Kids at Risk, who have leapt from Triple J Unearthed discovery to pen the film's soundtrack. Though Ford also makes bold use of silence, the indie-rock trio hit it out of the park, crafting such a striking soundtrack, you’ll want to head straight from the cinema to buy the album (though, for now you'll have to make do with downloading the single Doing the Best that We Can). As a writer and director, Ford playfully eschews the wiz bang trappings of both the superhero and romantic comedy genres to craft a disarmingly honest and guileless love story. But Griff the Invisible also succeeds in acting as a heart-warming reminder to celebrate your idiosyncrasies, as well as having the courage to embrace love when you’re lucky enough to find someone who truly sees you. And much like the film, these are lessons worth taking to heart.
To be a character in a Luca Guadagnino film is to be ravenous. The Italian director does have a self-described Desire trilogy — I Am Love, A Bigger Splash and Call Me By Your Name — on his resume, after all. In those movies and more, he spins sensual stories about hungry hearts, minds and eyes, all while feeding his audience's very same body parts. He tells tales of protagonists bubbling with lust and yearning, craving love and acceptance, and trying to devour this fleeting thing called life while they're living it. Guadagnino hones in on the willingness to surrender to that rumbling and pining, whether pursuing a swooning, sweeping, summery romance in the first feature that put Timothée Chalamet in front of his camera, or losing oneself to twitchy, witchy dance in his Suspiria remake. Never before has he taken having an insatiable appetite to its most literal and unnerving extreme, however, but aching cannibal love story Bones and All is pure Guadagnino. Peaches filled with longing's sticky remnants are so 2017 for Guadagnino, and for now-Little Women, Don't Look Up and Dune star Chalamet. Biting into voracious romances will never get old, though. Five years after Call Me By Your Name earned them both Oscar nominations — the filmmaker for Best Picture, his lead for Best Actor — they reteam for a movie that traverses the American midwest rather than northern Italy, swaps erotic fruit for human flesh and comes loaded with an eerie undercurrent, but also dwells in similar territory. It's still the 80s, and both hope and melancholy still drift in the air. Taylor Russell (Lost in Space) drives the feature as Maren, an 18-year-old with an urge to snack on people that makes her an unpopular slumber-party guest. When she meets Chalamet's Lee, a fellow 'eater', Bones and All becomes another sublime exploration of love's all-consuming feelings — and every bit as exquisite as Guadagnino and Chalamet's last stunning collaboration. First seen newly arrived in a small Virginia town, Maren sneaks out to attend that aforementioned sleepover, which there's zero chance her strict single dad (André Holland, Passing) would've allowed her to attend. Following a swift, grisly chomp on a freshly manicured finger, it's clear why, and evident why Maren's exasperated father doesn't want to stay around in the aftermath. He moves her to Maryland first, leaving her with a cassette spouting backstory, including that her bloodthirsty tastes date back to her toddler days, and to munched-on babysitters — plus a birth certificate bearing her mother's (Chloë Sevigny, Russian Doll) name. So springs a road trip to Minnesota, searching for that estranged mum and more answers. Then, travelling through Ohio brings Maren to the creepy yet earnest Sully (a memorable Mark Rylance, The Phantom of the Open), who shares her hankerings and says he could smell her from blocks over. Next, in an Indiana supermarket, she crosses paths with Lee. Sporting confidence aplenty — "when you weigh 140 pounds wet, you gotta have a big attitude," Lee tells Maren — Chalamet makes an imprint from his first scene. Indeed, that initial moment with Russell leaves an imprint itself, too, resembling Andrea Arnold's American Honey as much of Bones and All does. Inverting the dynamic that worked so well for him in Call Me By Your Name, the internet's boyfriend isn't the thirsty newcomer. Instead, he's the seasoned hand, one half of Bones and All's dreamy but dangerous couple, and always second to Russell's astonishing work as Maren. Both actors turn in subtle, evocative and rousing performances that sting with rawness, naturalism and deeply stomached pain while soothing through their chemistry amid the gristle. As a result, whenever they're together, they're as inviting a treat as the feature serves up. Still, in yet another powerful performance, Russell repeatedly shows why her exceptional breakout turn in Waves wasn't a one-off. As Guadagnino and his now three-time screenwriter David Kajganich (A Bigger Splash, Suspiria) adapt Camille DeAngelis's award-winning 2015 novel, Russell and Chalamet also navigate a coming-of-age search for belonging — an outsider story with actual teeth, and one that isn't afraid to use them. When Maren first gets chewing, she's making a rare friend, only for her world to dissolve by being herself. After her meat-cute with Lee, then seeing his unapologetic approach needing to eat, she finally starts to feel like she fits in. Yet whether she's facing the reality of killing to feed or getting queasy over a fireside encounter with a perturbing eater (Call Me By Your Name's Michael Stuhlbarg) and someone who has willingly chosen the cannibal life (Halloween Ends director David Gordon Green), she keeps grappling with who she is. Maren yearns to connect — and does with Lee, although unsurprisingly shies away from Sully's too-keen offer of companionship — but also has to learn to deal with her appetite, the stark realities of her situation, and the line between predator and prey, none of which she can ignore. If 70s classic Badlands met teen vampire tale Let the Right One In while driving across middle America under the magic-hour sky — and with Duran Duran, Joy Division and New Order as a soundtrack — Bones and All would be on that exact road. Visually, it adores the former, as gorgeously and expressively lensed by cinematographer Arseni Khachaturan (Beginning). The atmospheric score by Nine Inch Nails' Trent Reznor and his film-composing partner Atticus Ross (Academy Award-winners for The Social Network and Soul) has a nervy and layered feel reminiscent of the latter, however. Combining such sumptuous imagery with the affecting score might seem like a stark contrast. Mixing the feature's aesthetics with the narrative's innate horrors, because there's no escaping the gruesome subject matter, blood and all, might appear the same, in fact. But Bones and All's pieces always swirl together in a vivid, affecting, like-you're-there fashion. That's another Guadagnino trademark, as seen most recently in his teens-in-Italy series We Are Who We Are. Bones and All's precise premise hardly matches anyone's lived experience but, even with the film rippling with a tense and disquieting air that never subsides at its headiest and most lyrical of moments — yes, a movie can be tender, a thriller and queasy at once — its underlying feelings couldn't be more relatable. Guadagnino and his committed cast consistently make their decisions with that in mind, tearing into the universal, unavoidable truth that to be human is to wrestle with primal needs and wants. Raw, Fresh, Yellowjackets and The Neon Demon have all sunk their gnashers into cannibalism on-screen in recent years, and well, but Bones and All proves the kind of picture that truly makes you understand the term haunting. Intense, impassioned, frantic and fragile all at once — because teenage love always is, and life in general — it's a flick so rich, lingering and piercing in its emotions, characters and ideas that it gnaws on you after viewing.
Everyone knows that farmers do it pretty tough even at the best of times, but, recently, 100 percent of NSW has been declared in drought, making conditions even harder. But city folk have been quick to lend a hand — Bunnings recently held nationwide sausage sizzles to raise money for the Buy a Bale campaign, and pubs around Sydney have been donating a dollar or two from all parmas sold to the cause. And now, Circular Quay's Custom House Bar is hosting an Aussie BBQ fundraiser in support of the agricultural community. From 12.30–2.30pm on Wednesday, August 15, the bar's sun-drenched courtyard will be hosting a good ol' barbie, giving you both a delicious lunch and an easy way to chip in a few dollars to a worthy cause. It'll have some fancy sausage options — including the British Cumberland, South African Boerewors, chorizo and chicken — each served on a roll with onion, sauce and bread for five bucks a piece. There will also be beef, lamb or mushroom burgers sizzling away for $10, plus buttery corn on the cob for a gold coin. With 100 percent of proceeds (that is, all the money you hand over) going directly to Buy a Bale and its drought assistance campaign, you'll be helping the organisation support Australian farmers by delivering hay and other essential items to those who are struggling to provide feed for their cattle. So round up your workmates together and get them outside for a snag on Wednesday — it's meant to be a sunny 24 degrees.
It's 'The One Where They Get Back Together' — and, after more than a year of teasing, it's finally about to hit screens. First hinted at in 2019, officially confirmed in 2020, releasing its initial teaser last week and now dropping a full trailer, Friends: The Reunion is exactly what it sounds like. If you know everything there is to know about orange couches, smelly cats and whether a couple is on a break, you'll be more than a little excited. It has been 27 years since the TV sitcom about six New Yorkers made audiences a promise: that it'd be there for us. And, as well as making stars out of Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Matthew Perry, Matt LeBlanc, David Schwimmer and Lisa Kudrow, Friends has done just that. Sure, the hit series wrapped up its ten-season run in 2004, but the show has lived on — on streaming platforms, by sending an orange couch around Australia, by screening anniversary marathons in cinemas and in boozy brunch parties, for example. Friends: The Reunion promises to take pop culture's lingering affection for the show to another level, though, by reuniting its cast for a big dose of nostalgia. And, for trivia, too. That's the first thing that Aniston, Cox, Perry, LeBlanc, Schwimmer and Kudrow do in the new trailer for the special, which is slated to hit HBO's streaming platform HBO Max on Thursday, May 27 in the US. During the unscripted special, the actors behind Rachel, Monica, Chandler, Joey, Ross and Phoebe all chat about their experiences on and memories of the show — all on the same soundstage where Friends was originally shot, so expect to see some familiar faces and some recognisable decor. Aniston, Cox and the gang also have a few other famous pals for company, with the hefty guest lineup spanning folks with connections to the show and others that must just love it. On the list: David Beckham, Justin Bieber, BTS, James Corden, Cindy Crawford, Cara Delevingne, Lady Gaga, Elliott Gould, Kit Harington, Larry Hankin and Mindy Kaling, as well as Thomas Lennon, Christina Pickles, Tom Selleck, James Michael Tyler, Maggie Wheeler, Reese Witherspoon and Malala Yousafzai. The special was initially set to air in America last May, but those plans delayed due to the pandemic. For friends of Friends Down Under, just when and where Friends: The Reunion will surface hasn't yet been revealed; however, it's bound to be here for us sooner or later. Check out the full trailer below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRXVQ77ehRQ Friends: The Reunion will be available to stream in the US via HBO Max on Thursday, May 27. It doesn't currently have an air date or streaming date Down Under — we'll update you when one is announced.
In March 2022, the annual Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade will return to the Sydney Cricket Ground, bringing its pageant of costumes, puppetry and props to the venue for the second year in a row. But it isn't the only beloved part of Mardi Gras that's making a comeback next year — with everything from the annual flag raising, Fair Day and the Paradiso Pool Party to the Sissy Ball and Laugh Out Proud also back on the program. While the full 2022 Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras lineup hasn't yet been announced, the festival has revealed a stack of returning favourites that you can pop in your diary right now. First up: the Progress Pride flag-raising at Sydney Town Hall, which'll kick off the event on Friday, February 18. The flag will then fly all throughout the fest. With Mardi Gras running through until Sunday, March 6, it'll also welcome back Fair Day at Victoria Park on Sunday, February 20; the Kaftana Pool Party at the ivy Pool on Wednesday, February 23; and Laugh Out Proud at the Enmore Theatre on Friday, February 25. Yes, that means picnics, stalls, music and celebrating LGBTQI+ artists, as well as poolside partying and giggling at Australia's rising queer comedy stars. Also returning: the Sissy Ball on Saturday, February 26, this time bringing its glam ballroom shindig, house battles, DJs and live tunes to Sydney Town Hall; the Paradiso Pool Party on Monday, February 28, giving the ivy Pool and Changeroom a Mediterranean feel to farewell summer; the parade party across Hordern Pavilion, Max Watts, Watsons and Entertainment Quarter on Saturday, March 5; and the Laneway recovery party the next day, on Sunday, March 6, at The Beresford and Hill Street. And, both the Queer Screen Mardi Gras Film Festival and Queer Art After Hours are back, too — the former from Thursday, February 17–Thursday, March 3, and the latter at the Art Gallery of New South Wales on Wednesday, March 2. Specifics in terms of exactly who'll be playing and what'll be showing where haven't yet been revealed, so watch this space. But we already know one thing for sure: 2022 is going to kick into gear in Sydney with quite the dazzling showcase of queer art and culture, all celebrating the theme 'United We Shine'. The 2022 Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras will take between Friday, February 18–Sunday, March 6, with pre-sale tickets launching at 11am AEDT on Friday, November 11 and general sales kicking off at 12pm AEDT on Monday, November 15. For more information, head to the Mardi Gras website. Top images: Anna Kucera.
As one big HBO series came to an end, another signalled its return, with the US cable network dropping the first trailer for Westworld's third season during the Game of Thrones finale. Say goodbye to dragons, fighting over a fancy chair and living in a medieval-looking fantasy realm, and hello to robots, flying cars and stepping outside of everyone's favourite futuristic amusement park. Say hello to Aaron Paul, too, with the Breaking Bad actor not only joining Westworld for the next batch of episodes, but also starring in the initial trailer. His new character was promised a better world, but this dream hasn't come true, so he's now searching for something real. Given how Blade Runner-esque everything is around him, he's probably channelling Jesse Pinkman and exclaiming "yeah, science!" more than once, too (at least internally). As the teaser makes plain, this season steps beyond the confines of the titular amusement park and into the world around it. That's as far as it goes, plot-wise, for the moment, but it's still revealing. While the show has always been futuristic, with its Old West-themed attraction featuring robots who are virtually indistinguishable from normal people, the third season appears to be dialling the sci-fi — and accompanying technology — up a few notches. Here, robots actually look like robots, except when Evan Rachel Wood's Dolores pops up. Now, the bad news: although Westworld's second season aired in 2018, the third season won't hit until 2020. HBO hasn't announced an exact airdate as yet, so watch this space. If a year seems like a long time between android dramas, remember that the first season of the show arrived 43 years after the Michael Crichton-directed movie that it's based on, and 40 years after the film's sequel Futureworld. If you haven't done so already, both are worth viewing while you're waiting for the TV series to return. Check out the first trailer for Westworld's third season below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=deSUQ7mZfWk Westworld's third season will air in 2020. We'll keep you updated with an exact airdate when it comes to hand.
Fancy infusing your usual Aussie Christmas with a touch of enchantment? Well, you'll find magic aplenty at The Grounds Of Alexandria over the coming weeks, as it's transformed into an immersive fantasy playground inspired by soon-to-be released Disney flick, The Nutcracker and the Four Realms. The already gorgeous setting now plays host to an other-worldly oasis, made up of a series of realms referencing those in the film. There's the wintery white Land of Snowflakes, where fresh snowfall three times a day coincides with the chimes of Drosselmeyer's grandfather clock. Explosions of colourful blooms grace the Land of Flowers, while a sugary experience — along with plenty of edible treats — awaits you in the Land of Sweets. Still to be announced is a program of themed workshops for young and old, though if you venture in now, you'll find an array of exclusive Nutcracker menu additions already available. Cap off a visit with one of the Drosselmeyer's Scrolls, featuring wild blueberry sponge rolled with blackcurrant, blueberry and violet confit, and vanilla buttercream, or perhaps a Land of Flowers Pink Pavlova, teaming rosewater meringue with mascarpone, jasmine and pistachio cream, mango confit and turkish delight jelly. The Grounds of Alexandria will also be functioning as normal during the Nutcracker pop-up, and the Garden Bar, Potting Shed and cafe will be open. Disney's Nutcracker at the Grounds is open 7am–9pm Monday–Thursday, 7am–10pm Friday, 7.30am–10pm Saturday and 7.30am–9pm Sunday.
It's Nineteen Seventysomething and the world is changing fast — or is it? The news has yet to reach the small town where Charlie sits around listening to The Best of Bread on vinyl and pondering which singer to lose his virginity to. It's not Cat Stevens or Carol King, by the way. It's Neil Young. It's fairly safe to assume that Barry Divola's short stories are at least semi-autobiographical, not least because he's a music critic. Divola started writing for the free music press in the mid-80s and is known for his sharp, sardonic writing style. Chances are you've read his work in Rolling Stone, the music section in Who, or in the Sydney Magazine. He also features regularly in The Sydney Morning Herald and The Herald Sun, and is delighted by writing that is forthright and personally inspired. Divola has published three non-fiction books and thrice won the Banjo Patterson award for his short stories. In Nineteen Seventysomething, Divola depicts the fumbly awkwardness of adolescence so sharply it's slightly unsettling. A cleverly rendered time capsule, the book captures a period of resistance, turmoil and change through innocent, unblinking eyes. Divola will be signing copies and serving up astute social insights at Surry Hills Library this Thursday from 12 – 1pm. Ride your old Dragstar down and whistle a Neil Young song for him.
Regularly screening plays and musicals held by Sydney University students, this venue is the place the get your culture fix for a bargain price (and grab some autographs before the actors become famous).
Co-founder of the controversial and tendentious Oz Magazine Richard Walsh is celebrating the publication's 50th Year Anniversary by appearing at Customs House as part of the Late Night Library initiative to give a detailed account of the magazine's comic, thrilling, and contentious past. Published in the tame and docile era of the '60s, during which heavy censorship was rife, Oz Magazine stood out starkly from other publications. Not only did the forward-thinking team cover issues others wouldn't dare broach upon, they also included shocking covers, and the editors even went to trial for 'obscenity and corrupting public morals' not once but twice. Mr Walsh said “reading is becoming a sociable activity and writers festivals and reading circles are thriving. The Late Night Library program is fulfilling this need in an exciting and innovative way.” Share Walsh's entertaining and unashamedly truthful accounts of his Oz Magazine experiences at the special late-night discussion, which will be complemented by the smooth jazzy pop tunes of Bossa Baby Duo from 7.30pm. Tickets are free yet limited and are running out fast so get in quick to ensure your spot at this unique opportunity.
Sarah Blasko’s live shows have proven to be precious gems, as she successfully offers unique and heartfelt folk pop songs combined with energetic theatricality.In October Blasko will perform at the Enmore Theatre where, with help from her touring band, she will introduce audiences to material from her newest album; and add new textures such as string instruments and percussion to augment her previous work.On her third album, As Day Follows Night, the songs are more mature-sounding and are the perfect slice of pop introspection. Recorded in Sweden with producer Björn Yttling (Peter, Björn & John) the sessions resulted in a warm sounding collection of angelic songs.Special guest support will be Swedish singer-songwriter El Perro del Mar on what will be her first tour of Australia. https://youtube.com/watch?v=ADm41Aw3LXo
You know it's almost that time of year again when advent calendars, tinsel and Santa stockings start to line the supermarket shelves. Before you freak out, head to the shops in a flurry and try to knock out all of your Christmas shopping in one fell swoop (while still getting each person something unique and special), we've found a solution that'll make things a little less painful. Coming to Sydney for the third time this December, The Big Design Market is a three-day independent designer extravaganza featuring more than 200 stallholders. They'll be selling everything from homewares and ceramics to clothing, jewellery and stationery. With such an eclectic mix of exhibitors, you're sure to find a stall to suit your needs and procure presents for even the pickiest people on your list. Should you grow hungry or thirsty mid-shop, there's a smorgasbord of tasty fare on offer from local Sydney favourites like Shortstop, Smoking Gun Bagels, Gelato Messina, Welcome Dose Specialty Coffee, Archie Rose, Mary's and Young Henrys. You'll also have the chance to peruse a specially commissioned large-scale installation by author and illustrator Marc Martin — expect to be wowed. If you want to grab a gift for numero uno — hey, you've worked hard — treat yourself to a showbag. The exclusive goodie bags are filled with amazing pieces from Melbourne and Sydney's best designers, including Dana Kinter, Erika Harder, Leif, Karmme and Red Parka, to name a few. A limited number will be available to purchase for $20 ($100 value), with a different selection available each day. Another hot tip: if you're visiting on the Friday, try to track down one of the free 'gold books' which hold secret, special deals for over 90 of the stalls. So, prepare your list and bank account and get ready to shop till you drop. The market will be open from 10am till 8pm on Friday, 10am till 7pm on Saturday and 10am till 5pm on Sunday. Entry is $2 per person.
On the stage in London's West End since 2019, in Toronto as well, and finally in Australia since 2023, jukebox musical & Juliet has let theatre and Shakespeare fans play a game of "what if?". What if Romeo and Juliet didn't wrap up with such woe? What if Juliet lived to love again? And what if her experiences from there, after thwarting theatre's greatest tragedy, involved a whole heap of earworm tunes from the last couple of decades? They're some of the queries posed by the Olivier Award-winner, which blends classic tales, pop songs and a sensational musical into one package. Here's another "what if?" game to play, too: what if you could see & Juliet when it hits Sydney for just $45? The answer arrives via TodayTix, which is doing another of its popular ticket lotteries for the Harbour City's season of this remix of the Bard's iconic love story. Wicked, Tina — The Tina Turner Musical, Moulin Rouge! The Musical, Hamilton, Mary Poppins and Beauty and the Beast: The Musical are among the other stage smashes that've scored the same cheap-ticket treatment in the past around the country. As a result, you might be familiar with how trying to score discounted seats works. To take part in the lottery, you will need to download the TodayTix app, which is available for iOS and Android. The first chance to head along at a significant discount opened on Friday, February 16, and will close at 1pm AEDT on Thursday, February 22 — with winners advised each Thursday for the coming week's performances. After the first round, the lottery will open on Fridays at 12.01am weekly. And if your name is selected, you'll have an hour to claim your tickets from when you receive the good news. Yes, that $45 price is accurate. Tickets will be made available for all Sydney shows. And if you need a reminder, you can also sign up for lottery alerts via TodayTix, too. & Juliet's Shakespeare-meets-pop spectacle will play Sydney Lyric Theatre from Tuesday, February 27–Sunday, June 2, 2024. If you're now thinking "wherefore art thou?" about the production's setup, it picks up after the ending we all know doesn't eventuate. And, it muses on what might happen if Juliet could choose her own fate instead. That scenario involves Anne Hathaway — no, not that one — and her husband William Shakespeare, and features songs by Britney Spears, Backstreet Boys, Robyn, Katy Perry, The Weeknd, Kelly Clarkson and more. Tunes that get a spin: 'Larger Than Life', 'I Want It That Way', '... Baby One More Time', 'Show Me Love', 'Oops!... I Did It Again', 'As Long As You Love Me', 'Stronger', 'I Kissed a Girl', 'Since U Been Gone', 'It's My Life', 'It's Gonna Be Me' and a whole heap of others. The common factor between them all is Swedish songwriter Max Martin, who penned or co-penned every track on the musical's soundtrack. As well as Martin's involvement — including as one of & Juliet's co-creators — the musical features a book by the Emmy-winning Schitt's Creek writer and The Big Door Prize creator David West Read. And if you're wondering about the show's shiny Olivier Awards, it was nominated for nine for its West End debut season, and nabbed three: for Best Actress in a Musical, Best Actor in a Supporting Role in a Musical and Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Musical. Check out the trailer for & Juliet below: & Juliet plays Sydney Lyric Theatre from Tuesday, February 27–Sunday, June 2, 2024, which includes preview performances from Tuesday, February 27–Wednesday, March 6. To enter the Today Tix $45 lottery, download the company's iOS or Android app, and head to the company's website for more information — and to set up an alert. Images: Daniel Boud.
Set up in 1904 by eccentric businessman Mark Foy as a glamorous health retreat, the heritage-listed Hydro is famous for its unusual blend of art deco and Edwardian architecture. It's also pretty well known for its high tea offering, with views of the Megalong Valley. Everything about the hotel is a throwback to more glamorous times. During the past decade, a $30-million revamp by the Escarpment Group has restored much of the hotel's former fanciness. The Wintergarden restaurant, where expansive windows look over Megalong Valley, is where most visitors spend their time. Alternatively, pop into the Boiler House Restaurant for pizzas and burgers or sink into a plush couch in the Salon du The for a cuppa. [caption id="attachment_772674" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Destination NSW[/caption] The hotel rooms here range from 19-square-metre Heritage Rooms decked out in the hotel's signature black and white decor to the opulent Executive Valley suites complete with valley views and crystal chandeliers. However much space you require, all rooms come with free wifi, LED TVs with Foxtel, plus coffee and tea making facilities and the usual appliances like hairdryers and irons. If you're here for romance, there are accommodation packages that include a three-course dinner in the Wintergarden and a bottle of sparkling wine on arrival. Images: Destination NSW.
Delving into the mysterious deep blue is a journey not all of us can take. It takes time, licences, money and, most of all, guts. If you want to know what it's like in the deep, deep ocean but don't actually want to venture deep, deep down, then the Australian Museum has the perfect exhibition for you. Deep Oceans explores and unveils the secrets of the world's largest habitat and gets up close to the extraordinary creatures it offers. Great for group hangs, taking your cousins out or just going on a solo expedition, Deep Oceans has a lot going on. Escaping anglerfish (like in Finding Nemo) seeing glow-in-the-dark sea creatures or a fathead found more than 1000m deep in the Tasman Sea. Even getting to look inside a Bathysphere replica, the first submersible to descend beyond light. Feel what it's like to experience enormous water pressure at deep ocean depths and play chicken with a five-metre model of a Giant Squid, the largest invertebrate on Earth. Image: Giant squid. Photo © Brian J Skerry/National Geographic Stock.
As a serial collector of 'the commonplace', artist Koji Ryui works with objects that might appear banal on the surface. But, in his studio, Ryui repurposes the materials into creative statements that are far from ordinary. Originally from the cultural hub of Kyoto, Ryui will activate a dilapidated warehouse on Cockatoo Island for the 21st Biennale of Sydney with a unique installation and sound demonstration entitled Jamais Vu. The installation is named after the phenomenon of 'jamais vu' – a sensation that's often described as the opposite of déjà vu – involving the eerie feeling of recognising a commonplace event, and yet being totally unfamiliar with it. A site-specific work, Ryui has taken poly-coated wiring from the average clothing rack, alongside several colourful glass spheres, to create a suspended installation resembling an interwoven cosmic map or complex molecular structure. Below, a carefully configured collection of homely glassware and crystal allows Ryui to generate a ghostly soundscape throughout the space using only reverberation and resonance. On Sunday, June 10 from 11am–2pm, Ryui is teaming up with artist and musician Anna John for an eerie sound demonstration held within his installation. Entry to the sound show is free.
It's been a rollercoaster of a decade for one of Sydney's best pubs. After The Lansdowne closed its doors due to the lockout laws, it was revived by the Mary's team in 2017, re-cementing itself as a pillar of Sydney's live music scene. When Mary's stepped away in 2022, it looked like it was set to close again — however, the Oxford Art Factory crew then jumped in. Now, the storied corner hotel is facing more uncertainty, with the property currently up for sale. If you head over to the HTL Property website, you'll find the Chippendale stalwart listed — and the property management group is expecting interest upwards of $25 million. While its place as a neighbourhood pub and live music hub has persisted through many ownership changes over the years, this latest move could see the building utilised for other operations, with HTL shopping it around on multiple fronts. The pub's proximity to Central Staton, Central Park and Tech Central have been named as major selling points — as well as its capacity for budget accommodation, 5am liquor license, rooftop beer garden and the possibility of a gaming room being introduced to the venue. "Whilst institutionally popular as a live entertainment venue, the unmistakable scale of The Lansdowne Hotel lends itself favourably to the further and regular activation of multiple other levels," said HTL Property's Sam Handy. "The size of the site, in combination with the floorplates of the building and the planning approvals, mean that The Lansdowne Hotel presents with some very obvious alternative-use options," added IB Property's Steffan Ippolito. Concrete Playground reached out to the Oxford Art Factory team but they did not reply in time for publication. Expressions of Interest for the Sydney institution are scheduled to close at 4pm on Wednesday, August 16. The Lansdowne Hotel recently reopened its rooftop bar and unveiled a new NYC-inspired menu filled with loaded deli sandwiches, and continues to host live music almost every night of the week. There are six different gigs you can catch across its two different spaces before the end of this week, including its weekly late-night music program Graveyard Shift; Splendour in the Grass sideshows from Kaycyy and Royal Otis; and a free showcase on Thursday night featuring fast-rising Irish rapper Kojaque, plus local talents Kavi and Glass Boys. You can find more information on The Lansdowne's sale at the HTL Property website.
Kaiju: Japanese word meaning, literally, 'strange creature'. Jaeger: German word for "hunter". Del Toro: Spanish for "of the bull"; a creative visionary and comic-book-loving movie director. Pacific Rim is a big movie. Really big. Big across the board. As a blockbuster it had a budget of just under $200 million, and as an experience it's practically off the scale. It's one of those films where IMAX almost seems too small a screen. That's because Pacific Rim is, in simplest terms, a giant battle royale between robots (Jaegers) and monsters (Kaiju) that in size both easily dwarf earth's largest structures. To give an example, during one especially destructive rock 'em sock 'em session, a Jaeger uses something akin to the Exxon Valdez as a baseball bat. Written and directed by by Guillermo del Toro, this is a film far closer to his Blade II and Hellboy days rather than his dark, art-house fantasy pieces like Pan's Labyrinth and The Devil's Backbone. Set in the 2020s, earth finds itself united against a common enemy: an alien race known as the Kaiju. Instead of coming from the skies, the Kaiju have opened a portal deep within an ocean trench and periodically emerge from within to lay waste to our cities. In response, humans built the Jaegers: enormous weaponised robots standing 100m tall — an unwieldy juggernaut not unlike Iron Man, except, well, 100m tall. They're Robert Downey Jrs with some serious platform lifts and, just like the Iron Man, are piloted from Rangers within. The difference is that two (and sometimes three) pilots are required to handle the enormous strain placed on the brain, with each pilot responsible for one of the Jaeger's cerebral hemispheres. They're literally 'left brain/right brain' people and, to complicate things further, must 'meld' their minds so that they act as one. That's why the best teams are comprised of relatives: brother to brother, father to son. Del Toro openly acknowledged that he wanted Pacific Rim to be more of a fun spectacle than the recent spate of dark and gritty blockbusters, but in this case that's an explanation not an excuse. Yes, it's more pop than penetrating, but unlike Transformers there's some substance behind the pop. Chiefly responsible for this is The Wire's Idris Elba, whose performance as the Jaegers' commander Stacker Pentecost imbues the film with a touch of class and a touching backstory. The film's hero is played by Charlie Hunnam of Sons of Anarchy fame, and while he seems a little out of his depth as the lead, he's surrounded by a strong supporting cast that includes Ron Perlman, Charlie Day and Rinko Kikuchi — the latter bringing some much needed gender equality to end-of-the-world heroism roles. There are also two Australian pilots, played by British actor Robert Kazinsky and American Max Martini. Apparently in Hollywood, Aussie actors represent the Kaiju and everyone else has to band together to defeat them with accents so laughable even the Simpsons cast would wince. Visually, Pacific Rim packs a massive punch and the design of both the Kaijus and Jaegers is spectacular. It does at times suffer from the Transformers 1 problem of frenetic action to the point of confusion, with the entangled scrappers merging into a singular incoherent mess of metal and skin. On the other hand, though, the direction of the action is far more consistent than Michael Bay's epileptic-fit-inducing approach, allowing you to at least track where the action's going even if you can't immediately see who's got the upper hand. And when the clarity does find its way into the battles, the experience is surprisingly exhilarating. Seeing a giant lizard get an upper-cut from a skyscraper-sized happy meal toy is far more satisfying than you'd think. This is a big, fun (and pretty dumb) movie, but it's hard not to feel that the most compelling part of Pacific Rim is dispensed with during the film's prologue, detailing how, when the first Kaiju arrived, earth's conventional military might was exposed as blunt and ineffectual. Because of this, the entire film feels like the climactic final battle of a story that's yet to be told. It's perfect fodder for a prequel, but begs the question why Del Toro skipped the 'pre' and jumped straight to the quelling. https://youtube.com/watch?v=5guMumPFBag
As any Sydney seafood aficionado should know by now, The Morrison has a constant focus on the not-so-humble oyster. But in August, when the month-long Oyster Festival takes over, that focus turns into an overwhelming obsession. From Thursday, August 1 through to Saturday, August 31, the Sydney bar will become a shucking shrine to the freshest oysters around. And one of the major drawcards is Oyster Hour. Between 6pm and 7pm every single day, you'll be able to eat as many oysters as you can handle at just $1.50 a pop. This deal is available for walk-ins only, so we suggest getting there a little early. Throughout the month, Head Chef Sean Connolly will be conjuring up his favourite oyster dishes, from fried oyster sliders, oysters with slow-cooked pork belly (also known as pearls and pig), oyster carbonara, oyster and leak chowder served with duck fat fries and oyster-stuffed steak. Plus, there'll be oysters paired with bottomless bevs on weekends during the month. Rock up on Saturday and Sunday and you can down a dozen oysters with two hours of bottomless bubbles for just $55 a head. Bookings are recommended for this.
The Late Night Library is setting up camp in Kings Cross, screening a beloved 1954 horror classic, Creature from the Black Lagoon in 3D. It's the first time the program, one of the City of Sydney's flagship night-time cultural activities, has branched out to the Darlinghurst Road-located library. Squeezed in between an adult club and a backpackers', it'll be working double time to provide a savoury alternative. This film showing is the perfect way to enjoy Kings Cross in a cultural way after the sun has set. Gasp as a group of adventurous scientists journey into the unknown depths of the Amazonian to retrieve a mysterious 'Gill-man' beast and bring him back to civilisation; be amazed by the real-life monster popping out from the screen with your 3D specs; pop popcorn into your mouth as you wait in suspense... And the best part about the night is that it's all free. Reserve tickets now to secure yourself a spot for this thriller of a night.
We all like ice cream, but sometimes, the occasion calls for something other than everyone's favourite sweet treat. Maybe it's too cold? Maybe you already have an ice cream headache? Maybe Gelato Messina is closed, or just not in the immediate vicinity? Enter the food mashup that had to happen, really — and a concoction straight out of every gelato and biscuit lover's dreams. If you're a fan of Tim Tams smashed, crushed or placed atop scoops of creamy goodness, then you're sure to be fond of their exact opposite: those iconic chocolate rectangles in Gelato Messina flavours. Due in stores around the country from February 6, the Gelato Messina Tim Tam range will come in four styles: choc mint, salted caramel and vanilla, coconut and lychee, and black forest. The collaboration came about after Arnotts, the folks behind the bikkies, got in touch with the ice cream makers. ""It was a new challenge for us — making a gelato is one thing — and making a biscuit that tastes like that gelato is another," said Gelato Messina co-founder Declan Lee. Making this tastebud-tempting news even better is the fact that, like all Tim Tams, they'll be sold in supermarkets everywhere. Yes, that means more Messina goodness more often. The biscuits are expected to set hungry shoppers back $3.65 per packed. Come on, you know you're going to buy more than one.
UPDATE, Friday, January 12, 2024: Killers of the Flower Moon streams via Apple TV+ from Friday, January 12, and via Google Play, YouTube Movies and Prime Video. Death comes to Killers of the Flower Moon quickly. Death comes to Killers of the Flower Moon often. While Martin Scorsese will later briefly fill the film's frames with a fiery orange vision — with what almost appears to be a lake of flames deep in oil country, as dotted with silhouettes of men — death blazes through his 26th feature from the moment that the picture starts rolling. Adapted from journalist David Grann's 2017 non-fiction novel Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI, with the filmmaker himself and Dune's Eric Roth penning the screenplay, this is a masterpiece of a movie about a heartbreakingly horrible spate of deaths sparked by pure and unapologetic greed and persecution a century back. Scorsese's two favourite actors in Leonardo DiCaprio (Don't Look Up) and Robert De Niro (Amsterdam) are its stars, alongside hopefully his next go-to in Lily Gladstone (Reservation Dogs), but murder and genocide are as much at its centre — all in a tale that's devastatingly true. As Mollie Kyle, a member of the Osage Nation in Grey Horse, Oklahoma, incomparable Certain Women standout Gladstone talks through some of the movie's homicides early. Before her character meets DiCaprio's World War I veteran Ernest Burkhart — nephew to De Niro's cattle rancher and self-proclaimed 'king of the Osage' William King Hale — she notes that several Indigenous Americans that have been killed, with Mollie mentioning a mere few to meet untimely ends. There's nothing easy about this list, nor is there meant to be. Some are found dead, others seen laid out for their eternal rest, and each one delivers a difficult image. But a gun fired at a young mother pushing a pram inspires a shock befitting a horror film. The genre fits here, in its way, as do many others: American crime saga, aka the realm that Scorsese has virtually made his own, as well as romance, relationship drama, western, true crime and crime procedural. Although this chapter of history has hardly been splashed across the screen with frequency, its new place among the iconic director's filmography helps him to continue making a statement that he's been beaming at audiences for most of his filmmaking life. The specifics differ from flick to flick, but Scorsese keeps surveying the appallingly corrupt and violent deeds done in the pursuit of power, wealth and influence. He constantly peers into humanity's souls, seeing some of its worst impulses staring back. Indeed, there's no doubting that Killers of the Flower Moon hails from the same person as Goodfellas, Casino and Gangs of New York, or The Wolf of Wall Street and The Irishman, too. It also easily belongs on a filmography with entries as varied as Raging Bull, The Age of Innocence, Kundun, The Departed and Shutter Island. Between them, DiCaprio and De Niro have starred in most of those movies. Now, they combine for the first time in a Scorsese feature to basically rekindle their This Boy's Life dynamic from three decades back, all while plumbing the depths of money-coveting men chasing land rights, aka Osage headrights, through a cruel, brutal and disarmingly patient plan. "The finest, the wealthiest and the most beautiful people on god's earth" is how Hale describes the Osage Nation to Ernest when the latter is freshly back on US soil, off the train in Fairfax and getting reacquainted with his uncle. Those riches stem from being pushed out of Kansas, resettled, then striking black gold in a stroke of good fortune that brings more misfortune. Hale wants a piece and more, and gets seemingly every other white man in Oklahoma joining his pursuit. In an extraordinary performance, De Niro gives Hale quietly formidable potency — the kind that doesn't need raised voices or a weapon to command a room, evoke unease and enforce his might. Scorsese lets the outwardly supportive, not-so-privately manipulative town anchor become the open villain almost instantly. Killers of the Flower Moon isn't a whodunnit, but rather a living-with-knowing-who's-doing-it film. It tells its atrocity-filled tale about evil in plain sight carefully, exactingly and unhurriedly — earning each and every one of its 206 minutes — with narrative inevitably breeding suspense and emotional tension. Sporting an injured gut from combat, Ernest turns to chauffeuring to make a living under Hale's wing. When he begins driving the graceful and stately Mollie, his uncle has already laid out his scheme to get Osage property and wealth gushing their family's way. Still, everything about Ernest and Mollie's romance is genuine. DiCaprio and Gladstone are exquisite, including when their characters are flirting over cab rides and storm-backdropped sips of whiskey, resting their foreheads together in a gesture that gets them saying everything without saying anything, and stealing other silently happy moments. But the bodies keep mounting, with many of Mollie's nearest and dearest — such as her sisters Minnie (Jillian Dion, Alaska Daily), Anna (Cara Jade Myers, Rutherford Falls) and Reta (Janae Collins, Reservation Dogs), plus their mother Lizzie Q (Tantoo Cardinal, Three Pines) — in Hale's way. While the gangster-film label mightn't fit Killers of the Flower Moon as neatly as Mean Streets and company, this is still a gangster film. Scorsese is in his element, not that he's ever been out of it on any feature that isn't a gangster flick — but that's never the only place that he wants to be. As cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto (Barbie) lenses both the eye-catching landscape and dark interiors, editor Thelma Schoonmaker (who has done his splicing since Raging Bull) gives the movie its meticulous pacing and the now-late Robbie Robertson (who starred in Scorsese music documentary The Last Waltz as part of The Band) imparts a slinkily propulsive beat amid a pitch-perfectly anxious score, this is also a movie of blistering anger and interrogation. As the saga of Ernest, Mollie, Hale and pervasive death always thrums at its core, so does a reckoning. Killers of the Flower Moon carves into the injustices of America's past, plus their impact upon the present, to stress the blood and bones that the US was built upon. It sees how much about today ties back to its tragedy of oppression and slaughter, how distressingly familiar this situation is around the world and, in a stunner of a coda, how such realities are regularly exploited rather than addressed. Bold and brilliant, epic yet intimate, ambitious and absorbing, as meaningful as it is monumental, a quintessential Martin Scorsese movie: every single one applies to Killers of the Flower Moon. It's also rich and riveting in each touch and instant, from building its lived-in portrait of the 1920s midwest to the magnificent cast that also spans Jesse Plemons (Love & Death) as a federal investigator — even if the Birth of the FBI part of the feature's source material is scaled down — and both John Lithgow (Sharper) and Brendan Fraser (The Whale) as lawyers. Three and a half hours almost doesn't seem long enough to spend revelling in this superbly complicated film, or to confront the many difficult truths explored. It definitely isn't long enough with its three outstanding key players, who each turn in shattering portrayals whether playing it slick, nervy or soulful. Killers of the Flower Moon is steeped in so much heartwrenching death, and unforgettably so, yet it could't have been better brought to on-screen life.
Wine — a four-letter word that can open up a whole world of possibilities. Yep, learning about wine (and, of course, drinking it) brings up fun facts about travel, food, agriculture, history, science and more. But, if your eyes glaze over when you peruse the shelves at your local bottle-o — or you think carbonic maceration is the name of a heavy metal band — we've got five easy (and not boring) ways for you to up your vino knowledge. To do so, we've teamed up with online wine retailer Vinomofo. If you've ever felt out-of-place when your uncle talks about terroirs and tannins, you'll soon be sneaking "did you know that the pressure in a bottle of champagne is about the same as in a semi-trailer tyre?" into everyday conversation. [caption id="attachment_787704" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Klook[/caption] GO ON A GUIDED TOUR IN AN AWARD-WINNING WINE REGION Let's start with a fun one: wine tours. In Australia, we have over 100 different grape varieties grown across 65 distinct regions. So if you prefer hands-on learning, there are plenty of incredible and award-winning vineyards right on your back doorstep. Klook's big red bus tour of the Hunter Valley in NSW and Daylesford Wine Tours, which runs day tours of Victoria's wine regions, are both great ways to experience wine with the winemakers in an up-close setting. Not to mention they're a good excuse to get out of the city for a weekend getaway. GET SCHOOLED BY THE EXPERTS Thanks to last year's unprecedented times, there are now many options available to people who want to learn about wine, either online or in person. Sydney Wine Academy (TAFE) hosts online wine courses that are accessible nationwide, including wine sensory evaluation bootcamps and courses on mastering wine from Australia and New Zealand. Or, you can opt for a 25-minute private virtual wine tasting with Handpicked, where you'll be guided through three to six of its drops in the comfort of your own home. Otherwise, join in a Wine School event with legendary Sydney sommelier and owner of Fix Wine Bar, Stuart Knox. [caption id="attachment_768003" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Bibo[/caption] HEAD TO A WINE-THEMED EVENT Even when the source material seems a little dense, learning about wine should be fun. Enter Grapes of Mirth by way of comedian and radio personality Merrick Watts and event manager Jason Nikolas. The comedy and wine festival travels around the country and is designed to bring conversation, laughter and fun into wine regions. We also recommend keeping an eye on what's happening in your local area for specialised wine events, such as like Sydney restaurant Bibo's wine trivia nights, The Ugly Duckling's Wine and Cheese Sundays in Melbourne and a bubbles and oyster pop-up at Brisbane's Cloudland. READ, READ AND READ SOME MORE Even professional wine lovers need help sometimes. Thankfully, there's no shortage of fantastic resources you can turn to when you want to know what's going on in the world of wine. Wine Grapes by Jancis Robinson, Julia Harding and José Vouillamoz is considered a staple for any wine nerd, while Madeline Puckette and Justin Hammack's Wine Folly is a fantastic book for beginners wanting to understand the ins and outs of where, when and how wine is made (the infographics are second to none). More recent titles like Wine All the Time by Marissa A. Ross and Which Wine When by Bert Blaze and Claire Strickett are excellent resources to have on hand when you want to know what wines work with burgers or when to use a decanter. GET YOURSELF A PERSONALISED WINE SERVICE For those who have no idea where to start, Vinomofo has your back thanks to its curated selection of wines. The in-house buying team carefully chooses the wine to guarantee quality and exciting vino across the website. The online wine slinger also has a superb selection of mixed cases to help you go on an adventure to find out what wine styles you might like. For those wanting a little extra hand-holding, you can jump online or on the phone to have a one-on-one chat with Vinomofo's wine dealers, who'll guide you to your next drop. And, not that you need anymore convincing, but right now Vinomofo is celebrating its tenth lap around the sun with its biggest giveaway ever. From Monday, April 12 through to Tuesday, April 20, you can buy any wine online and go in the running to win $1000 wine credit, with one winner drawn every day over the course of the promotion. That's a lot of dollars to put towards your wine knowledge journey. Vinomofo's Birthday Week runs from Monday April 12–Tuesday, April 20, 2021. Head to the website and buy any wine and you'll go in the running to win a $1000 wine credit. See terms and conditions here. New to Vinomofo? Enter code VINO to get $30 off your first order plus free shipping.
Get ready to toss a coin to your witcher, again. Two years after Netflix aired the first season of The Witcher — and got that song stuck in everyone's heads in the process — the fantasy series is finally returning. It was always going to, given that it was renewed for a second season before the initial one even aired, but thanks to the current state of the world, the next batch of episodes has taken some time to turn up. Come Friday, December 17, you'll be able to settle in for a weekend binge to see what happens next in the Henry Cavill (Zack Snyder's Justice League)-starring series — and to check out how his icy locks look this time around. You can nab a sneak peek at both right now, actually, with Netflix also dropping the first trailer for the show's second season to help tide fans over until the end of the year. Need a refresher? Haven't watched the first season yet? If the series' name sounds familiar, that's because The Witcher is based on the short stories and novels of writer Andrzej Sapkowski — and, as well as being turned into comics, it was adapted the video game series of the same name. A Polish film and TV show also reached screens in the early 2000s, although they were poorly received. In the Netflix show, Cavill plays the witcher of the title: Geralt of Rivia, a monster hunter who prefers to work — aka slay beasts — alone in a realm called The Continent. But life has other plans for the lone wolf, forcing him to cross paths with powerful sorceress Yennefer of Vengerberg (Anya Chalotra, Netflix's Wanderlust) and young princess Ciri (newcomer Freya Allan). In the first season, the latter harbours a secret, because of course she does, with the series blending plenty of fantasy staples such as magic, royalty, fighting factions, battling hordes, fearsome creatures, a heap of sword-swinging and many a scenic location. After stepping into Superman's shoes and facing off against Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible — Fallout, The Witcher marked Cavill's return to TV a decade after starring in regal period drama The Tudors. As well as Chalotra and Allan, the first season also featured Jodhi May (Game of Thrones), MyAnna Buring (Kill List), Lars Mikkelsen (House of Cards) and Australian actor Eamon Farren (Twin Peaks). Based on the just-dropped trailer for the season season, viewers can expect a homecoming, more all-round eeriness, and more time spent with both Geralt and Ciri. He's bringing her to his childhood home of Kaer Morhen, where he'll need to keep protecting her — from her powers, and from The Continent's kings, elves, humans and demons, who are battling for supremacy. Check out the trailer for The Witcher's second season below: The Witcher's second season will hit Netflix on Friday, December 17. The show's first season is currently available to stream. Top image: Susie Allnut.
Interesting individuals and modern historical settings are just what the doctor has ordered for Australia's opera industry — Sydney Chamber Opera (Owen Wingrave, Exil) are dutifully doing their bit to inject some oxygen back into the cultural form. Sydney composer Michael Smetanin and librettist Alison Croggon combine brainpowers for Mayakovsky, their third opera together. Staying true to their taste for tales with an artistic protagonist (previous figures under the duo's microscope have included Franz Kafka and Paul Gauguin), Mayakovsky tells the turbulent but brief life of Russian revolutionary and poet Vladimir Mayakovsky. Mayakovsky, dubbed Stalin's favourite poet, will be played by English National Opera regular Simon Lobelson, as part of an all-Australian cast. This world premiere is Sydney Chamber Opera's main production for 2014 and is the only new opera by a living composer that you'll be able to catch in Sydney all year. With the versatile walls of Carriageworks as a backdrop, there's no better time than now to dip your toes into Australian opera.
Based on Eric Lomax's bestselling memoir, The Railway Man is the story of a former prisoner's struggle to come to terms with the horror of his time being forced to work on the Thai/Burma railway during World War II. Set to be released in Australia on Boxing Day, The Railway Man boasts a stellar cast, including Colin Firth, Nicole Kidman, Stellan Skarsgård and Jeremy Irvine and is directed by Australian Jonathan Teplitzky, who's 2011 film Burning Man made a big impression. After the war, Lomax returned home and fell in love with Patti. However, he continues to be haunted by the memories of torture at the hands of a particular Japanese officer who discovers the radio that Lomax has built. When, years later, Patti discovers that her husband's tormentor is still alive, she must decide whether or not she should tell her husband, and what the consequences of her decision might be. Thanks to Transmission Films, we've got five double passes to a special preview screening of The Railway Man at the newly renovated Palace Cinemas Norton Street on Monday, December 16, at 6.45pm to give away. To be in the running, subscribe to the Concrete Playground newsletter (if you haven't already), then email win.sydney@concreteplayground.com.au with your name and address. https://youtube.com/watch?v=px04904hm88
If anyone was due for a Shakespearian adaptation it's Tarantino. The razor sharp wit, the conniving, the blood — he has it all. Now, as the Bards Bastards prepare to reimagine some of today's most famous stories, the moment has arrived. They're about to turn Quentin Tarantino's classic Reservoir Dogs into a Shakespearean tragedy. Written for the stage by Steven Hopley, their debut parody show is said to include excessive amounts of blood and death. Something that should come as no surprise for fans of either Shakespeare or Tarantino. To get you in the spirit, The Vanguard are offering a number of ticketing, dinner and cocktail packages. Nothing says macabre mashup like dinner and a show.
Skip the gym tonight and get your endorphin rush with one of the incredible dance classes at Sydney Dance Company. Whether your skills end at a little two-step or you can channel your inner Beyoncé with ease, you'll be sure to find a class that suits. Choose from over 65 options — including ballet, jazz, Latin funk and hip-hop — and get ready to shake that bod for a good hour. While classes ($24) are run on a drop-in basis, they're understandably pretty popular, so make sure to book your space online beforehand. You can also become a member which gives you unlimited classes for $55 a week. And if you're feeling shy, there are intro short courses in a number of styles to get you dance floor ready.
After spending almost four months in lockdown, heading out of the house is finally back on the agenda for double-vaccinated Sydneysiders. And, as announced today, Thursday, October 14, the New South Wales Government is giving everyone an extra incentive to hit up hospitality, arts and recreation venues — by adding two extra vouchers to the Dine & Discover program. It's been almost a year since the $25 voucher scheme was first announced, with the initiative giving the state's residents access to vouchers to use at at restaurants, cafés, bars, wineries, pubs and clubs, cultural institutions, and live music and arts venues. Over that time, the program has been forced to change and adapt multiple times, especially since it initially rolled out statewide from mid-March. The scheme's end date has been pushed back again and again, and the initiative also widened to include takeaways in response to Greater Sydney's lockdown. Now, with NSW's roadmap to reopening kicking into gear, Premier Dominic Perrottet has announced that Dine & Discover will add two more $25 vouchers — which, just like the existing four vouchers, will be valid until June 2022. They'll be available via the Service NSW app, as part of an additional $250 million in funding for the program. Exactly when they'll be accessible hasn't yet been revealed, other than that they'll be on offer in time for summer. "We know that Dine & Discover vouchers have been incredibly successful, incredibly positive, and used by close to five million people right across our state. So today, we are doubling down on Dine & Discover. We're offering two additional $25 vouchers. We know that these vouchers have injected close to $500 million into the New South Wales economy. They have been incredibly successful and popular, from Ballina to Balmain, from Byron to Broken Hill," said the Premier. "People right across the state have gone out and used the voucher, and importantly, spent more. It's driven economic activity in New South Wales. It's got people back into work. We know that they're popular. We said as we were going through the economic recovery period that we'd look at those programs that worked and we would expand them if we could. That's exactly what we've done in relation to this," Perrottet continued. If you need a refresher on how the vouchers work, the Dine & Discover program hands out the $25 food and entertainment vouchers to NSW residents — all in an effort to boost patronage at hospitality businesses and cultural institutions that've suffered during the pandemic. Across the entire life of the scheme, six vouchers will now be available to everyone in NSW over the age of 18 — three $25 vouchers to use at restaurants, cafes, clubs and other food venues, and another three $25 vouchers specifically for performing arts, cinemas, amusement parks and the like. The vouchers can be used at a hefty number of participating COVID-safe registered businesses, with the full list available on the Service NSW website. That said, you can't use them on tobacco, alcohol or gambling, and you can only use each voucher once, including if your transaction totals less than $25. Also, you'll need to use all of your vouchers separately. To access the vouchers, you'll need a MyServiceNSW account — and the corresponding Service NSW app, so you can use the vouchers digitally. The NSW Government's Dine & Discover scheme runs until Thursday, June 30, 2022. For more information, visit the government's website. Top image: Kitti Gould
There's the parade, yes. But before that, nearly a month of cultural and celebratory events of all stripes makes up the festival of Sydney Mardi Gras, and there's something for everybody, even Straighty McStraight-Straight. Who relates absolutely and 100 percent to the social expectations of their gender and sexuality? Nobody, probably. And that's something to love, savour, and take away from this most iconic of Sydney events. This year, there's a push to establish a Mardi Gras Museum, starting off with a temporary exhibition of Sydney's queer history. Then there's family-friendly fair day, art, roller derby, and one of New York's premier cabaret artists, among all the parties between February 8 and March 3. With gay marriage rights so firmly on the agenda at the moment, 2013's Mardi Gras will definitely be one that's remembered. Have a look at our picks of the ten best things to do this Mardi Gras season.
Australia is getting its first Pride Centre. About time. After announcing the idea as part of the 2016/17 budget, the Victorian Government has revealed the centre's location: St Kilda. 79-81 Fitzroy Street will become a community hub dedicated to highlighting queer art and history; bringing together advisory, health and support services; providing community spaces and offering a safe environment. It'll be modelled after San Francisco's LGBTI Community Centre, though that's just a starting point. In fact, the government is thinking bigger than its US predecessor when it comes to size. The St Kilda spot was chosen after extensive consultation with the LGBTI community to find the right site, although, given that the suburb has played host to the annual Pride March since 1996, it shouldn't come as a surprise. Currently vacant, it has been secured for at least the next 20 years. The government has pledged $15 million towards what'll be called the Victorian Pride Centre, with work expected to begin in the next 12 months. "We will own this site in perpetuity — and march by it every Pride March knowing it is ours," offered Victorian Pride Centre Board Jude Munro AO. "The Pride Centre is long overdue — it is exciting news for the LGBTI community and yet another welcome addition to St Kilda," said Victorian Minister for Equality Martin Foley. "Our LGBTI community has a lot to be proud of, I congratulate everyone involved and we looking forward to see the site come to life."
I remember seeing one of Liam Finn's first solo Australian gigs at the Crown Hotel a few years back. He was then fresh from his main songwriting duties in his band Betchadupa and was showcasing new pop tunes experimental but intensely personal. A performance on David Letterman would follow and elevate his popularity, leading to support slots with Eddie Vedder and a hectic overseas touring schedule to promote his debut album I'll Be Lightning. Finn uses different effect pedals to sample and loop bass, guitar and drums, layering these with live elements. Eliza-Jane Barnes also performs with him, offering an amazing voice and sweet Autoharp flourishes. "I think that doing this looping, one-man-band sort of thing really keeps you on your toes and keeps it fresh," says Finn. "The more you mess up, the more you’re forced to turn it into a good mess and people seem to respond more. I find it really stimulating, I just love the danger of it."Finn and Barnes have teamed up to write and record Champagne in Seashells, a five-track collection that dabbles in '80s power pop, softer ballads and Finn’s inspired brand of songwriting, and the pair will launch it at the Gaelic Club in September.https://youtube.com/watch?v=oGZ-1d2rH_w
"I saw discharge. It's on the table." These seven words, spoken by one Dr Waterman, go a long way toward summing up Griffin Theatre's Quack. It's a gross-out fest of the sort that has a long history in theatre but is rarely seen in these days of restrained living-room dramedy. For inspiration playwright Ian Wilding clearly watched Deadwood and judged it to be missing some zombies (of the Shaun more than Dawn of the Dead mould). He has both veins intersect in an outback mining town, where debased old Dr Littlewood (Chris Haywood) and young overachiever Dr Waterman (Charlie Garber) are battling approaches to treating the sickness that has overcome the town. Soon, symptoms progress to telltale shuffling, brain-eating and rapid contagion, and the uninfected doctors are joined in panic, plotting and occasional battle by cooped-up scribe and suffragette Fanny (Aimee Horne), her shrill guardian Nancy (Jeanette Cronin) and the all-round-offensive newspaper editor Gunner (Cronin again). It's hard to build tension without the physical imposition of lurching zombie bodies, but the four frantic actors, groaning sound design (courtesy of David Heinrich) and fake blood, guts and fluids get you part of the way there. The performers are hilarious and brilliant at bringing to life their contrasting characters. They grapple on a set that's built askew (by designer William Bobbie Stewart), a burlesque, pirateish deck that slopes towards the audience, absorbing you in its wonder and facilitating the free flow of fluids in your direction. Framing it, curtains that emulate red velvet deserve to be looked at askance: they're thin, crusty and patchily dyed blood-red. It's the perfect set; it even smells discomfiting. The focus and great success of Wilding's script is its language, with dialogue as fast as a zombie isn't (unless you're talking 28 Days Later zombies — possibly as fast as those), unrelenting slapstick, thick puns and wordplay furnished by the fullness of the Victorian era, the modern age and the made-up in-between. There's satire in it, but it's painted in the broadest of brushstrokes. Quack is fun, but for a play that's entire purpose is to entertain, it's not quite fun enough. It lacks for plot and poetry and drags in a couple of places — before being saved by its secretions. Sit in the front row at your own peril. Add another dimension to your theatre-going experience: Go Between the Lines at Griffin. https://youtube.com/watch?v=bvdUqYDTJDY
This is Not Art, Newcastle's independent arts festival, will once again descend on the NSW city for the October long weekend. The festival — which will this year run from Thursday, September 29 until the Sunday, October 2 — sets its focus on experimental art and blurring the lines between artistic mediums. An umbrella sheltering a number of festivals, this year TiNA is home to the Crack Theatre Festival, National Young Writers' Festival and Critical Animals. The National Young Writers' Festival has managed to net over 100 writers from all over the country and New Zealand for a series of panels, workshops, readings and debates. Rapper and poet Omar Musa, Jennifer Down, whose Our Magic Hour took the 2014 Victorian Premier's Literary Award, and Stella Prize shortlisted Ellen van Neerven are just a few of the featured writers expected to storm Newcastle throughout the four-day fest.
There’s a lot I love about literary classics. The language, the traditions, and yes, the adaptations. District 01 in Darlinghurst is home to the Sydney debut premiere season of Polly Teale’s adaptation of Jane Eyre,, with a talented young cast under the direction of NIDA graduate Fiona Pulford. There are a lot of things that the crew got right about this production, and only a few that didn’t sit quite as neatly. The story, if you don’t know it, is of course about love. Jane Eyre, an outspoken and hard-skinned orphan, lives with her spiteful aunt. From here, she moves on to boarding school, then becoming a governess in Thornfield Hall, owned by the one and only Mr Rochester. Charlotte Bronte’s literary classic is held dearly by most, and Fukunaga’s 2011 film adaptation satisfied many. Teale’s adaptation takes a different angle on the original, and whether it holistically pleased me I’m not quite sure. For one thing, Jane has an embodied subconscious onstage who, confusingly enough, is played by Coralie Bywater who also plays Rochester’s lunatic wife. A strange device that seemed to confuse a couple of audience members throughout. Another device that didn’t quite sit well with me was transforming Ryan Gibson, who played multiple characters very well, into Rochester’s dog. Some laughed at its frivolity, while others furrowed their brow at its inconsistency with the rest of the piece. I was a bit of both, but felt it sort of cheapened an overall great production. The costumes were great, the hair was wonderful, each performer was strong and consistent: whether they played one role or five. Laura Huxley, as Jane Eyre was beautiful, and her chemistry with Eli King as Mr Rochester was palpable at times. Shame about the space’s sight lines, however, with their first kiss being hidden behind a pole from where I was sitting. The space is great though; stark white, with minimalist props. Cheryl Ward as Bessie was a great choice, it was almost as if she walked out of a period ABC series. Tallay Wickham as Adele was sweet, if not distracting at times with the almost-there French accent. Coralie Bywater was strong but sometimes her screaming was a teeny tiny bit too shrill for the space. And finally Beth Aubrey as Bertha and Lady Ingram was great. At times it felt a tad bit slow, and the running time seemed a bit long, but overall it's a wonderful independent production that injects Bronte’s work with fervour and heart.A classic tale, a modern twist and a strong cast – Polly Teale’s Jane Eyre brought together by Pulford is a compelling production.
Theatre lovers, prepare for a busy 2017. Belvoir has revealed their next season — and whether you're keen to see the newest productions, witness welcome returns once again treading the company's boards or check out a few old favourites, there's something in the lineup for all stage aficionados. When it comes to the former in Artistic Director Eamon Flack's second year in charge, his own directorial efforts rank among the most exciting announcements. Based on a 1677 play by Aphra Behn, a contemporary of Shakespeare who is widely considered the first woman to make a successful career from playwriting, The Rover is a battle of the sexes comedy that also brings actor Toby Schmitz back to Belvoir. And for something completely different, Ghosts revives Henrik Ibsen's revered work, as well as the creative team behind 2014's acclaimed The Glass Menagerie. Next on the must-see list is Anne Washburn's Mr Burns, a Post-Electric Play — and yes, the title of the post-apocalyptic musical extravaganza is a reference to The Simpsons' character. It follows a troupe of wanderers acting out classic episodes of the animated sitcom we all know and love, and comes to Sydney from New York's Playwrights Horizons, as does performance artist Taylor Mac's new take on a dysfunctional family play, Hir. Falling into the reunions category is Mark Colvin's Kidney, which is set in the world of phone hacking and marks the long-awaited re-teaming of Holding the Man's Tommy Murphy and David Berthold. As far as new stagings of beloved productions are concerned, prepare for an encore of The Dog / The Cat, the rom-com two-parter penned by Brendan Cowell and Lally Katz that's not just for pet owners. And that's not all, with all-ages fave Jasper Jones returns after opening the 2016 season. Given that a film based on Craig Silvery's best-selling novel is also due to hit cinemas next year, the timing couldn't be better. For audiences keen to experience the rest of the program, 2015 Brisbane Festival thriller Prize Fighter aims to knock out crowds down south, actor and playwright Katie Beckett embarks on a road trip in Which Way Home, and Guru of Chai tells the tale of a tea-seller in a story that's loosely based on an Indian fairytale. Tom Ballard will also be stopping by to give a comedic lecture about the history, cost and future of Australia's asylum seeker and immigration policies, former Australian Idol winner Casey Donavan stars in Barbara and the Camp Dogs, and Lally Katz pops up again with the personal exploration Atlantis, as directed by Girl Asleep helmer Rosemary Myers. Yep, expect to spend a whole heap of the next year at Belvoir. To see the full Belvoir 2017 program and to book tickets, visit the Belvoir website. Images: Daniel Boud.
For all those word worms, stellar spellers, and puzzle fanatics out there, the Surry Hills Late Night Library is hosting an event that you should be sure not to miss: their Inaugural Adult Spelling Bee. After a huge success last year, the 2013 competitors will be returning with their swords drawn and ready to spell their way to the top, letter by letter. As the only official Spelling Bee held in Sydney (they prefer to claim it as the most official), the Late Night Library (LNL) will host the most nail-biting and tense competition this city has seen yet. The Spelling Bee is one of the larger events of the LNL initiative and will certainly attract a sizable crowd. The competition is being held at the Surry Hills Library next Thursday and is free for both spectators and competitors, so you've got no excuse not to drop on by and put your wordsmith skills to the test. Image by Howard County Library System.
Gelato Messina, nostalgia and limited-edition desserts: that's the sweet-treat holy trinity. The cult-favourite ice creamery not only loves making one-off specials in general — it adores whipping up delights based on the dishes you loved as a kid. The latest: a honey joy version of its bake-at-home sticky scroll. Scrolls — or snails, as Messina calls them — are no strangers to the brand's range. Neither are honey joy treats, after it made a honey joy cookie pie in 2022. But combining the two is indeed a new development. Yes, it'll take you all the way back to your tuckshop days, and ensure that you can skip your next cereal breakfast. So, what exactly is a honey joy sticky snail? It's a scroll-like dish that's made to feed several people — four-to-six is Messina's recommendation — as filled with vanilla crème pâtissière. On top, you'll find honey joy clusters and honey caramel. And to go with it, because Messina is all about frosty desserts, is cereal milk gelato. Yes, this is another of the chain's Frankenstein's monster-style indulgences — and the entire pack includes the snail and a one-litre tub of gelato. If you're keen to get yourself a piece, they're available to preorder online on Tuesday, September 19. And, because Messina's specials always prove popular, the brand staggers its on-sale times. Accordingly, folks in Queensland and the ACT are able to purchase at 9am, Victorians at 9.15am, and New South Wales customers are split across three times (between 9.30–10am) depending on the store. You'll then need to head to your local Messina store to collect your order between Friday, September 22–Sunday, September 24. You can preorder Gelato Messina's honey joy sticky snail pack from Tuesday, September 19, to pick up from all stores in New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland between Friday, September 22–Sunday, September 24.
Spring has only just begun, but Sydneysiders can be forgiven for thinking that it already feels like summer. An unseasonably warm day was predicted for Saturday, September 15 — and it has not only come to fruition, but seen the day rank among the hottest temperatures ever recorded in early September. Some parts of the Sydney area reached 34 degrees, with the airport topping out at 33.3 degrees and Penrith hitting 33.2. As Weatherzone noted on September 12, Penrith and Richmond had already recorded their earliest September day when temperatures hit 30.2 and 30.7 respectively — figures they've now both beaten. And the Sydney Morning Herald reports that these widespread 30-plus figures mark just the tenth time in 160 years that the city has exceeded 30 degrees prior to or on September 15. The hottest September day on record actually reached 34.6 back in 1965; however to put that and today's temps in context, the average for the month is a very mild 21.2. It seems that the weather is starting this warm season as it finished the last, with autumn seeing a wave of late heat take the March mercury past 40 degrees. And, of course, the 2017–18 summer saw the city experience its second hottest day ever, so sunny, sultry days have been proving a trend. At present, this scorcher will be short-lived. While it's still over 30 degrees at the time of writing, a cool change is expected, with temperatures plummeting sharply. On Sunday, September 16, the sun will be out but a maximum of just 17 degrees is forecast, with the coming week climbing up to 25 degrees before dropping down to a top of 18 on Friday. Via Sydney Morning Herald / Weatherzone.
The third Heaps Gay party hits the Gladstone Hotel this Saturday, February 15, bringing together artists and DJs from across Sydney to celebrate the day of love no matter who you are or how you identify. Beginning as a fundraiser for ACON, with a philosophy of cheap beers, good music and innovative art, this now monthly party (held every third Saturday) is guaranteed to draw a crowd of heteros, homos, girls, boys and anyone else who fancies a night of sweaty dancing, sans the stereotypical gay scene drama. This particular Valentine’s-inspired shindig will feature DJs Power Suit, Cunningpants, Smithers and Chrisa K, while the Gladstone itself will be transformed by Joe Po’s video projection Be Better, body-painting artist Olusenka, designer Neil McCann, as well as visual performer Matt Format both serenading you with love songs in the laneway and marrying you in the Vegas-style wedding chapel that once was the pokie rooms. Heaps of fun? You bet.
Matteo Downtown will bring negroni week's namesake cocktail back to its Italian roots. To start, the CBD restaurant is slinging some seriously unusual takes on negroni, including the signature Double Negroni, which combines two cocktails in one. It's a white negroni (that's gin, French vermouth and Cocchi Americano), topped with a negroni-injected ice sphere that slowly melts into cocktail round two. The menu also features a parmesan version — it's washed with Sicilian green olives and the rim is garnished with a parmesan crust and basil dust. All of the negronisare $15 during the venue's weekday aperitivo hour from 4–6pm, and will be served with free Italian-style bar snacks, created by head chef Chef Orazio. The entire negroni menu is available from June 3–28, with proceeds going toward the Fondazione Telethon, an Italian charity that aids children with a rare-immunodeficiency called ADA-SCID.
"From little things, big things grow". If ever there were a film saga to take up Paul Kelly's mantra, the Fast and Furious juggernaut would surely be it. Beginning all the way back in 2001 with a Point Break knockoff about street racers moonlighting as crims, the franchise now boasts eight movies and a combined box office of close to $4 billion. The latest installment, The Fate of the Furious, could not be further from the film that began it all. The cast is bigger, the locations more exotic, the cars more expensive, and the explosions much, much more frequent. Far from a story about living life a quarter mile of a time, the plot is now about saving the entire planet from nuclear devastation. The rules of franchise cinema are well established. Each subsequent film must honour those that preceded it by including any signature shots, iconic lines or beloved characters that haven't yet been killed off. To that end, The Fate of the Furious knows its history well. The opening shot, in fact, tracks a barely-clothed female derriere as it snakes its way through a collection of vintage Cuban cars. Moments later, series stalwarts Dom Toretto (Vin Diesel) and wife Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) come to the aid of family and challenge a local to an illegal street race for pink slips, all to the tunes of a thumping trap, electro and hip hop soundtrack. This, more than anything else, is the lifeblood of these films. But long gone are the days where such scenes receive anything more than lip service, replaced by action set-pieces so ridiculous that you can't help but go along for the ride. The Fate of the Furious kicks into gear via the sudden emergence of a computer hacker named Cipher (played by series newcomer Charlize Theron). From there, all it takes is a little bit of blackmail to convince Dom to turn on his extended family, betraying everyone in his life as he helps Cipher carry out a series of increasingly brazen attacks around the world. The rest of the movie tracks the efforts of Dom's crew to hunt him down and stop him. Naturally, a few hundred cars get obliterated along the way. The returning cast members – including Dwayne Johnson, Jason Statham, Tyrese Gibson, Chris 'Ludacris' Bridges, Nathalie Emmanuel and Kurt Russell – give the intensely silly material everything they've got, though this time there's only a brief reference to the late Paul Walker. Director F. Gary Gray also lands the mother of all cameos, which we won't reveal here, other than to say damn. The vehicular cast is similarly impressive, and includes a 1971 Plymouth GTX, a 2017 Subaru BRZ, a Lamborghini Murcielago LP 640, and a Russian Akula Class Attack Submarine. Ultimately, and despite the major departure from its origins, The Fate of the Furious still delivers in spades when it comes to entertainment. If anything, the film actually rises above other brainless blockbusters by being, almost paradoxically, extremely clever in its stupidity. For example: any movie can crash dozens of cars into one another, but it takes a special kind of inventiveness to have a hacker assume control of their onboard computers, essentially turning them into zombies on wheels. The action sequence that follows proves utterly exhilarating, and makes clear that the folks behind this franchise still have a few tricks up their sleeve. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwMKRevYa_M
Get your fill of the best vegan food in town at the Vegan Day Out. Come September 8 and 9, The Cruelty Free Shop is putting together a walking tour of vegan cafes, restaurants and retailers, many of which will be offering discounts, deals and free samples to anyone who stops by. For Saturday and Sunday, socially conscious eaters can stop by The Cruelty Free Shop on Glebe Point Road, and grab a map outlining their route. From there, it's all about making your way to to plant-based delights aplenty — and making a day (or two) of it. Whether you're a dyed-in-the-wool vegan or just curious to give it a go, you'll find a whole world of retailers catering to animal-free eating, offering meal deals, two-for-ones, coffee, wine tastings and savings on vegan groceries. The Cruelty Free Shop will also be running its own tastings throughout the day, as well as offering discounts on some of its 3000+ products.
Earlier in 2020, when social distancing and public gathering rules were in place across the country, KFC did everyone a solid by offering up free home delivery for the first time ever Down Under. Life is slowly returning to normal now, but the fried chicken chain is bringing back the deal anyway — so you can round up your housemates again and tuck into those 11 secret herbs and spices. The reason this time: State of Origin. KFC's free delivery will be available across the next three Wednesdays to coincide with this year's postponed games — so on November 4, November 11 and November 18. The great news is that you don't have to care about the matches, or watch them, to get that chicken brought to your door without paying extra. The free delivery is simply available all day on each of those three days, from open till close at your local store. The limited-time offer is available nationwide, too — and there is no minimum spend required. To get your hands on some finger lickin' good chook with no added cost, you'll just need to head to Menulog's website or use the Menulog app. And while your food is on its way, you can meditate with KFChill, a wellness website that lets you unwind to the sound of chicken frying, gravy simmering or bacon sizzling away in a pan. Yes, it'll make you hungry. KFC is offering free delivery across Australia on all orders via Menulog, with the special available on Wednesday, November 4, Wednesday, November 11 and Wednesday, November 18. To order, head to the Menulog website and or use the Menulog app.
Whisked from her idyllic farm with the promise of a job cooking for a high-level government official, it is only when Hortense Laborie (Catherine Frot) gets to Paris that she learns the position will actually involve being the private chef for French president Francois Mitterand. She has a moment of faint surprise, but only a moment. The job offer is a bolt from the blue, but she knows she's up for it. Based on the true story of the first woman to be the president's chef, Haute Cuisine alternates between Hortense's time in the palace and a later spell as the inscrutable but beloved head chef on an Antarctic research station. In a clunky plot device at odds with the rest of the film's unhurried feel, an Australian journalist (Arly Jover, doing a deplorable accent) is making a documentary about the station and tries to unravel the enigma of Hortense, including why she left her high-profile role for such an unlikely and isolated outpost. Not unlike last year's similarly foodie-friendly Step Up to the Plate, Haute Cuisine is almost defiantly low-key, offering little in the way of revelation but instead opting for a detailed, quiet character study and a wealth of lovingly filmed food preparation scenes. Initially feeling isolated in her position, Hortense finds herself ill at ease in the rarified surrounds of the Elysse palace, all cavernous rooms and chilly stylishness. She is unsure of the tastes of who she is cooking for, is eyed suspiciously from the chefs in the much larger public kitchen and has running battles with bean-counting bureaucrats who can't understand the time and money she pours into sourcing the finest truffles and foie gras. Eventually she does meet Mitterand (played with sparkly eyed verve by Jean d'Ormesson, making his film debut at age 86) and the pair bond over the heartfelt, rustic food of his childhood. Working with the timid but capable sous chef Nicholas (Arthur Dupont) she becomes a favourite of the ageing president, only increasing the jealousy of her male counterparts. Haute Cuisine is a small story but it is an interesting historical vignette, and it is to the film's credit that it does not overstay its welcome a minute.
