A 90s-style thriller that'd sit comfortably alongside Single White Female, Greta boasts one major attraction. It's never a chore to watch the great Isabelle Huppert on screen, and it's hardly unusual to see the 2017 Oscar nominee dive into unsettling territory, but this stalker tale adds more than just another title to her resume. For anyone who's ever wanted to witness the French acting icon being wheeled out of an upmarket New York restaurant in a straightjacket, spit gum menacingly at Chloë Grace Moretz or dance gleefully in stockinged feet while waving a gun around, this is the film for you. And while Greta never lives up to its star's efforts, or to its twisty, pulpy, trashy potential, it's just unhinged enough to mostly entertain — as long as you're willing to go along with it. As co-written by director Neil Jordan (Byzantium) and screenwriter Ray Wright (The Crazies), Greta's story is simple, involving a new NYC resident, a green handbag and a good deed gone wrong. When Frances McCullen (Moretz) spots an abandoned purse on a subway seat, she does the right thing and tracks down its owner. "Where I come from, that's what we do," the Boston native tells her incredulous roommate Erica (Maika Monroe), who suggests pocketing the contents instead. Serving up a fresh pot of coffee as a thank you, the eponymous Greta Hideg (Huppert) is immensely grateful for Frances' efforts, and a surrogate mother-daughter relationship springs between the two women. All's fine and well when they're rescuing a stray dog from the pound, catching up in the park and eating dinner together. But when Frances starts to doubt Greta's motives, the situation gets creepy very quickly. The loneliness of 21st-century city living is a fascinating and endlessly relevant topic — we've never been more crowded physically and more connected virtually, yet feeling isolated has hardly been relegated to the past. A thematically slight film, that's not Greta's main concern, even as it follows two characters who are well acquainted with the aforementioned sensation. Greta and Frances' general emotional wellbeing barely troubles the movie, and nor do their backstories, other than giving the duo absent family members that they're clearly trying to replace with each other. Here, what's happening is more important than the reasons behind it. Indeed, why the titular character behaves the way she does is given much less attention than her crazy actions and reactions — and let's just say that she doesn't respond nicely to discovering that her new friendship is under threat. As a result, Greta favours the mechanics of its cat-and-mouse narrative over any potential meaning. Really, the latter is straightforward: don't trust strangers. No really, don't. Not every film needs to overflow with depth, and there's a valuable truth in the movie's refusal to justify its craziness — sometimes horrible things happen without a satisfactory or extraordinary explanation, and sometimes seemingly ordinary, benign people are anything but. Still, the effect can be distancing. Although Huppert and Moretz both put in committed performances, there's very little reason to get invested in Greta's characters, their fight or their fates. Seasoned horror fans know this predicament well, with plenty of routine scary movies simply fine to journey from point A to point B without worrying about much of substance. To go through the motions, in other words. What makes Greta engaging isn't the film's story, which is sparse overall while also proving off-kilter and even preposterous at times. Rather, it's the fact that Jordan knows exactly what he's doing. A standard handbag that's made well still catches the eye, after all, as Frances learns and Greta uses to her advantage. With genre flicks such as The Company of Wolves and Interview with the Vampire to his name, the Irish filmmaker is happy to make the most of genre conventions, executing the expected twists and slick, moody style with a confidence that occasionally veers into winking at the audience. He's taking his cues from his antagonist: leaving something average yet alluring enough in plain view and tempting audiences to try their luck. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IK5pUVT-Sy4
The natural wine trend is bigger than ever, but getting into these rare drops can be a pricey endeavour. If you're looking for a bang-for-your-buck way to explore the world of funky wines, head to Annandale Cellars on Saturday, March 16 from 1–5pm. The family-owned bottle-o is hosting the Artisan Wine Fair, and it's offering up over 50 tastings of small-batch bottles for just $20 bucks. Like the bottle shop, the festival is all about independently-operated small producers. They'll be slinging the whole range of those natural styles that seem to be everywhere nowadays. Expect plenty of organic, skin contact, orange, pét-nat, wild, minimal intervention and bio-dynamic wines up for grabs. Both Australian and international winemakers are on the docket, and many of the producers will be on hand for a chat. These include Adelaide Hills' BK Wines and Leko, Tasmania's Two Tonne, Hunter Valley's Thomas Wines and Margaret River's Dormilona. Hailing from Europe, there's cider from Switzerland's Ciderie du Vulcain and raw wines from France's Fond Cypres, whose secluded vineyard is set in the Escales region. There's also quite a few drops from France's Jura wine region — which is known for its out-there varieties — including Domaines des Marnes Blanches, Tony Bornard and Michel Gahier. And this is to name just a very few. Apart from all the tastings, your incredibly well-priced ticket also includes a complimentary Riedel tasting glass to take home and access to an all-day grazing table provided by The Grazing Co — think charcuterie, cheese, olives and pickles to snack on while you sip. The event will take place under the marquees just outside the cellars, so be there rain or shine.
Come Friday, March 22, it's time for a night at the museum — but you won't find Ben Stiller roaming the halls here. Rather, given what'll be on display at Queensland Museum at the time, the revelry will feel a little out of this world. Walking, talking, drinking and partying like you're on the moon is on the agenda at QM's latest After Dark shindig, which is all about soaring beyond the earth as part of the museum's NASA — A Human Adventure showcase. There'll be music, drinks and demonstrations — plus attendees will get free reign, peering not only at the a whole host of exhibits about space featuring more than 250 items, including pieces that have actually been to space, but also feasting your eyes on the rest of the joint's displays. You'll be knocking back beverages; examining rocket engines, space food, space suits, lunar cameras and moon boots; and pondering life beyond our pale blue dot — and the fun coincides with this year's World Science Festival Brisbane, so there'll be plenty of science (yeah!) coming your way. A word of warning: these shindigs often sell out so you'll want to nab a ticket quickly.
Most musicians avoid day jobs like the plague. But not singer-songwriter Gregory Alan Isakov. Back home in Colorado, he's a full-time farmer, who hits the touring circuit in between sowing seeds, harvesting crops and wandering around the land he loves. But he's carved out some time to come our way this autumn, armed with his fifth studio album (seventh in total), Evening Machines. Up until this release, Isakov was an indie musician with his own label, Suitcase Town Music, and a recording studio on his farm — and he managed to sell 370,000 records all on his lonesome and share stages with the likes of Iron & Wine, Ani DiFranco and Passenger. This time, though, he's teamed up with Dualtone, simply because he was curious to see how working with a bigger label would unfold. Hitting the Factory Theatre on Saturday, March 16, Isakov will play a bunch of new tunes, plus a selection of the tracks that have won him his loyal following, like 'The Stable Song', 'Big Black Car' and 'If I Go, I'm Goin''. To purchase tickets to Gregory Alan Isakov's only Sydney performance, head to the Factory Theatre's website. Plus, you can go in the running to win a trip to Denver, Colorado to see Isakov perform at Red Rocks Amphitheatre. To enter, head this way. Images: Israel Nebeker/Rebecca Caridad.
The 33rd annual Taste of Manly is a weekend celebration of all things food, drink and culture in the northern beaches suburb. The festival takes over the Manly beachfront and The Corso for a two-day extravaganza where patrons can enjoy the beachside surroundings while enjoying snacks and drinks from some of NSW's best venues. Local restaurants — like The Herring Room, Manly Wine, Fika Swedish Kitchen, El Camino Cantina, The Bavarian and The Artisan Cheese Room — will put on special menus, so expect everything from tacos and smelly cheeses to Swedish meatballs and giant schnitzels. To drink, NSW wineries and northern beaches breweries, including 4 Pines, Modus Operandi and Dad & Dave's Brewing, will showcase their locally made beers and wines. The festival also includes wine and beer stalls, live music and activities, a sustainability hub and a pop-up restaurant on the sand. Yep, this year, Havana Beach will set up shop right on the beach, serving up nachos, snags and Cuban-style bowls. It's expected to be busy, so you can reserve your spot here. Taste of Manly runs from 11.30am–5pm daily.
When it comes to space, there's never a bad night to peer at the heavens; however this July might just be a better time than most. Unless you've been trapped under a lunar rock, you'll know that this month marks 50 years since the Apollo 11 mission landed on the moon, heralding humanity's first small steps and giant leaps on the Earth's only natural satellite. To celebrate — and to just get Sydneysiders staring at the sky anyway — Australian Geographic is hosting stargazing nights at various stores. When you're done with the 9–5 grind on Thursday, July 11, just head to Westfield Warringah Mall, Penrith or Miranda, or Rouse Hill Town Centre, and prepare to look up. Prefer to mosey along Thursday, July 18? Then Hurstville has you sorted. Some stores require bookings. Otherwise, simply make your way to your closest spot, take a gander through a few telescopes, chat to experts, and learn more about everything from space photography to star guides. Times and locations vary at each shopping centre — you'll be staring up from a site outside, obviously, including from the rooftop if you're going to Miranda.
Earlier this year, the Ambarvale Hotel reopened with its own on-site microbrewery after a massive 12-month renovation. Since then, it has begun pumping out its own Pete's pacific ale and Woodhouse lager — and, to celebrate, it's hosting its first-ever beer festival. Dubbed South West Beer Fest, it'll see 13 of the best breweries from around the country (and beyond) descend on the pub for one afternoon. Panhead Brewery, Six Strings, Stone & Wood, Feral, Willie the Boatman, Stockade, Hop Nation and Akasha are just some of the labels that'll be on site slinging their wares on Sunday, August 18. While entry is free, you will need to purchase some (very reasonably priced) drink tokens. You can pre-purchase eight for $25, or snag eight on the day for $30. As well as many, many beers, the pub will be serving up eats from Goodtime Burgers, El Topo Cantina and its own smoker, and there'll be live music from the Sweet Jelly Rolls from 2–5pm, followed by a DJ. South West Beer Fest runs from midday–6pm.
Dust off your best flapper dress or pinstriped suit, because a monthly prohibition party is headed to Sydney shores. The Blind Barber is a speakeasy-style pop-up by the Beyond Cinema folk — who also brought The Greatest Showman circus soirée to a secret Sydney location, an extravagant Great Gatsby party to a mansion in northern Sydney, the Mad Hatter's tea party to the Botanic Gardens and recreated Titanic on Sydney Harbour. Now, the group will throw its first non-film-inspired party, and it'll go down every month starting on Friday, November 1. There will be casino tables to gamble at, bootleg cocktails to sip on and dancing all night long — with live bands playing jazz and throwback 1920s hits. And you can expect to bump into some of the period's most notorious characters, gangsters and crooks while you're at it. As with all Beyond Cinema events, lavish dress-ups are a must — for this one, think flapper dresses, bob hairdos, feather boas, pinstriped suits and suspenders. While the party's exact location will be kept under wraps (as usual), we do know that it'll be near North Sydney in an underground space, with plenty of secret rooms and tunnels to explore. Entry is $30 per person, or you can nab a spot at a three-course feast at secret underground chamber for $100. The November edition of the Blind Barber will be the first in a monthly series of these secret parties.
International headline acts are fun and all, but if you like your festivals with a little more adrenaline, this one's for you. The inaugural Seal Rocks Adventure Festival is crashing onto the mid-NSW coast later this month. Descending on Seal Rocks Treachery Camp, about 90 minutes north of Newcastle, it's set to deliver a weekend of hands-on blood-pumping fun over the weekend of May 17–19. The program of this boutique BYO camping festival is jam-packed full of activities, balancing out an after-dark schedule of live tunes and film screenings. By day, you'll have the chance to battle your mates in an interactive game of Archery Attack, learn some new moves in a circus skills workshop, go deep with a free-diving short course, and flit between rock climbing, surfing, slacklining, yoga and zorbing — yep, this one involves crashing around a field in a giant bouncing bubble. There'll be a disco-themed 'doofercise' workout class to kick things off each morning, classes to teach you how to start fire with just a couple of sticks, and an ongoing challenge to see who can fit the most humans on a giant stand-up paddleboard. Booze is BYO, but vendors like The Perfect Paella, Dr Drool and Tim's on Treach will have pop-ups to help fuel your adventures — and a restaurant will pop-up on the Saturday night for a four-course Saturday feast. Or, you can boost your own cooking skills at a pizza making class. By night, there'll be moongazing tours and campfires, while the stage heats up with local acts like Thunder Fox, The Regime, Elaskia and Belle Badi. And if you're after more inspiration, there's the Adventure Film Festival, emceed by Alice King in the Talking Tent each night. Adult camping tickets clock in at $340, which gets you an entry pass, a campsite and access to as many of the weekend's activities as you can handle. Groups of mates and families are welcome, and capacity is capped at 500. There are glamping and cabins options, too, for those who want a little more comfort at the end of a long day of adventuring (and have extra cash to spare).
Autumn might be mushroom season, but we bet you've never seen fungi quite like the ones that have just sprouted at Cockle Bay Wharf. The towering three-to-six metre tall 'shrooms are glowing in all colours of the rainbow. The 12 LED structures are the work of Aussie light sculpture artists Amigo & Amigo — a crew with a penchant for infusing public spaces with their playful, colourful creations. The monstrous mushies are gracing Darling Harbour as part of this year's Vivid festivities, and while you can't eat them, you will find a special menu of glowing cocktails to enjoy while you're there exploring. There are ten limited-edition drinks to choose from, each clocking in at $12 and served in a keepsake LED martini glass. Try Blackbird Cafe's peach, raspberry and elderflower Blue Heart Bliss, the triple-rum Smoked Zombie from Hunter & Barrel, or maybe Pontoon Bar's Star Wars-inspired take on the Sex On The Beach, the R2D2. The mushrooms light up from 6pm each night and the majority of bars are open from 11am–11pm. To check individual opening times, head to the Cockle Bay Wharf website.
With winter starting to set in, you'll probably be searching for ways to ward off the chills on a night out. Well, how does eating and drinking your way through four courses of gourmet eats and top-notch whisky sound? That's what Glenmorangie had in mind for its collaboration with Kingsleys Woolloomooloo. The special set menu, Grain to Glass, will take you on a culinary journey — with a harbourside view to boot. The special menu, which kicked off on May 18 (International Whisky Day) and will run until the end of June, begins with the mellow original Glenmorangie whisky served with tonic. You'll then make your way through four dishes — each paired with a signature Glenmorangie drop. Every course represents a stage of the whisky making process, from malt — think 12-year-old Quinta Ruben alongside Sydney Rock oysters with Ovaltine sauce — to distillation, with caramelised brioche, date ice cream and hazelnut brittle with the world's first whisky made from a unique 'chocolate' barley malt. The Grain to Glass menu costs $130 per person. To make a reservation, visit the website. Images: Jasper Avenue.
September 16 marks the anniversary of Mexican Independence — and while the holiday generally doesn't get as much attention (read: margarita parties) as Cinco de Mayo, this year you can celebrate it with a taco feast. Potts Point's Chula is hosting an all-you-can-eat taco and bottomless margarita brunch on Saturday, September 14 — so best start making room in your stomach now. You'll be able to tuck into as many tacos and down as many margaritas as your tum can handle. There'll be five different tacos — filled with fish, barbecued chicken, pork, stewed beef and veggies — and two types of margaritas. The festivities kick off at noon and will continue until 2pm. The tacos and margs will cost you $99, so make sure you rock up early and get your fill. Image: Kai Leishman.
A Christmas-themed bar is setting up shop in The Rocks this month when the Christmas in July Village rolls into town. Here, you'll be able to sip boozy hot chocolates, karaoke to Christmas classics and dance to electro takes on carols from Thursday, July 11 through Sunday, July 14. The hot chocolate cocktails will include the Mont Blanc (white chocolate spiked with vodka and topped with whipped cream and candy) and the Gingerbread (milk chocolate and Grand Marnier topped with cream and gingerbread crumble). Mulled wine will also be up for grabs (of course). Every night from 6–8pm, 'Santa' will be on the decks spinning electronic takes on Christmas tunes. And, from 8–10pm, the bar will turn into a karaoke den, with all of your favourite Christmas carols to choose from. The pop-up bar will be located on Atherden Street — right next to the Christmas in July Village, so you can head over to eat freshly roasted chestnuts and heart-warming snacks when you're done. Santa's House pop-up bar will be open from Thursday–Saturday 11am–11pm and Sunday 11am–9pm.
We've passed the winter solstice and the temptation to hibernate is growing ever stronger — so, you probably need a little something extra to tempt you off the couch. Handily, online reservation platform The Fork has a winning idea up its sleeve: it's offering a huge six weeks of dining specials nationwide. Kicking off on Monday, July 1, The Fork Festival will see over 250 top restaurants across the country offering sit-down meals for half the usual price. Yep, 50 percent off your total food bill, folks — think of it as the proverbial carrot luring you out of the house. To snag a half-price meal, you just need to make a reservation through The Fork website or app at one of the participating eateries for any service (breakfast, lunch or dinner) during the six weeks. There are some great venues coming to the party, too. In Sydney, you'll find discounted eats at the likes of Pilu at Freshwater, Queen Chow Manly, Potts Point wine bar Monopole, Din Tai Fung (Chatswood, Central Park, Miranda), waterside spot Berowra Waters Inn, Fratelli Fresh (Alexandria and Crows Nest) and Surry Hills' Caffe Bartolo. Find the full list here. You might want to revisit an old favourite or you could get a little adventurous and road-test somewhere new. Either way, there's ample time to squeeze in a fair few discount feasts before the festival wraps up on August 11. Image: Caffe Bartolo by Kitti Gould.
Once a year, Alliance Française brings the best of French cinema to Sydney — the latest and greatest, the flicks that won't make it to our shores otherwise, and a smattering of classic fare as well. If you're particularly keen on the latter, it also runs a second festival, too, which is completely devoted to stellar movies from years gone by. Returning for its fourth year, the 2018 Alliance Française Classic Film Festival will hone its focus on the inimitable Jeanne Moreau. A shining light of French cinema since the 1950s, she starred in such as Louis Malle's Elevator to the Gallows, Luis Buñuel's Diary of a Chambermaid and Joseph Losey's Eva — and the iconic Jules and Jim by Francois Truffaut. With Moreau sadly passing away in 2017 at the age of 89, the festival will showcase six of her best features across its four-day Sydney program, with French New Wave highlight Moderato Cantabile also on the lineup, alongside The Old Lady Who Walked in the Sea from her work in the 90s. The fest hits Palace Norton Street and the Hayden Orpheum Picture Palace at Cremorne between Thursday, September 6 and Sunday, September 9.
This is not a single event, but rather a collection. The Regional Centre for Culture is an initiative from Creative Victoria aiming to celebrate the land and culture of which the Dja Dja Wurrung and Taungurung peoples are traditional custodians. Across an entire year, it's highlighting local events and experiences throughout the region so you can fill almost every day with a cultural adventure. Among the plethora of offerings are special events, such as a day dedicated to sustainable housing; exhibitions, including the Paul Guest Prize for contemporary drawing at Bendigo Art Gallery; and the magnificent BendArts Festival, a week-long affair of shows, workshops and performances. There's also Demolish, a theatrical performance exploring the intangible connection between landscape, life and the future. The show will take place at Bendigo Showgrounds from December 11–15. Rosalind Park is the hub for many of Bendigo's program highlights including Yapenya, a free ceremonial song and dance event on Saturday, November 17; and Poppet, an interactive performance on Rosalind Park's poppet head, using light projection, shadow puppetry and aerial dancing on Saturday, October 20. But these are very much the tip of the iceberg. The Regional Centre of Culture invites you to meander through its many, many happenings. You can plan ahead using one of the pre-designed itineraries.
When the end of October rolls around, the Hayden Orpheum will be asking quite the iconic question: do you like scary movies? And, if you don't, don't worry. They'll also be pondering another query: if frightening flicks aren't for you, do you like like horror-themed comedies? From the sinister and unnerving to the amusing and quirky, the northside cinema's Halloween lineup has everyone covered, even those that aren't fond of jumps and bumps. Across three days in the lead up to the spookiest time of year, they'll be unleashing an anarchic zombie sequel, an unsettling 60s classic and an amusing 80s great as part of their Halloween Special. Army of Darkness gets things started with a chainsaw and some comedy on October 26, for those keen on some Evil Dead fun 25 years after this third instalment's initial release. Then October 28 sees Rosemary's Baby hit the big screen again, fifty years after it first premiered. Finally, rounding it al out on All Hallow's Eve itself is the zany antics of Beetlejuice in a 30th anniversary session. Hitting up all three nights is a nostalgic movie buff's idea of Halloween heaven.
Thanks to the advent of the mighty Internet, talented people all over the planet are turning their gifts into jobs. But, even if you're the cleverest cookie the world's ever seen, you'll struggle to succeed without a decent dose of business nous. These days, that means understanding a bunch of new and rapidly evolving mechanisms — from coding and design to UX (user experience) and content marketing. That's why Samsung has put together Days of Note, a month-long series of free (yes, completely free) workshops dedicated to you. All in all, you can benefit from more than 130 hours of instruction from experts and industry leaders, without paying a cent. In partnership with General Assembly, the initiative is organised in three stages. Week one covers beginnings, with sessions like Success in the Digital Age and Design Thinking 101. In week two, you'll kick into gear with workshops that take you from Problem to Prototype and show you How to Win at UX. Come week three, you'll be ready to dive into selling your idea with a Content Marketing Workshop and an Introduction to Coding. Along with the free workshops, there's also a free event series. On Thursday, September 20, get tips to boost your mobile productivity from the likes of Fingerprint for Success CEO Michelle Duval and Dropbox Head of Sales APAC Dean Swan. A week later, prepare to scale and grow your business, thanks to advice from The Iconic co-founder Adam Jacobs and Finder.com co-founder Fred Schebesta, among others. Online registration is essential for all workshops and events — head here to sign up.
Sydney's famous late-night venue Cheers Bar is the perfect spot for sports of every kind. Along with huge daily discounts on food and drink, Cheers offers an upstairs mezzanine area with loads of pool tables, high tables and lounge seating. It all makes for a killer bookable venue for functions and events. Cheers Bar has gone through many interpretations over its storied history. Originally a single-level bistro in the basement of the Westminster House Building, the Harvey family purchased the upper two levels (then an amusement parlour) to create the current venue. In 1997 with the Sydney Olympics on the horizon, its identity as a premier sports bar was cemented – providing the impetus for Cheers to live up to its motto: "Where Good Sports Meet". The sports venue remembers its bistro days with its versatile menu featuring modern Australian classics alongside Asian fusion dishes. Think pan-seared salmon with Asian greens, nasi goreng, pizzas and, pork bangers and mash. Keep an eye out for the daily specials. Never a day goes by without some sports on the schedule. From international leagues to local sports matches, there's always action on the massive screens throughout the venue.
There's no need to try to understand it: John Farnham's 1986 anthem 'You're the Voice' is an instant barnstormer of a tune. An earworm then, now and for eternity, it was the Australian song of the 80s. With its layered beats, swelling force and rousing emotion, all recorded in a garage studio, it's as much of a delight when it's soundtracking comedy films like the Andy Samberg-starring Hot Rod and the Steve Coogan-led Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa as it is echoing out of every Aussie pub's jukebox. Making a noise and making it clear, 'You're the Voice' is also one of the reasons that Farnham's 1986 album Whispering Jack remains the best-selling homegrown release ever nearing four decades since it first dropped. But, as John Farnham: Finding the Voice tells, this iconic match of track and talent — this career-catapulting hit for a singer who'd initially tasted fame as a teen pop idol two decades prior — almost didn't happen. Whispering Jack also almost didn't come to fruition at all, a revelation so immense that imagining Australia without that album is like entering Back to the Future Part II's alternative 80s. Writer/director Poppy Stockwell (Scrum, Nepal Quake: Terror on Everest) and her co-scribe Paul Clarke (a co-creator of Spicks and Specks) know this, smartly dedicating a significant portion of Finding the Voice to that record and its first single. The titbits and behind-the-scenes anecdotes flow, giving context to a song almost every Aussie alive since it arrived knows in their bones. Gaynor Wheatley, the wife of Farnham's late best friend and manager Glenn, talks about how they mortgaged their house to fund the release when no label would touch the former 'Sadie (The Cleaning Lady)' crooner. Chris Thompson, the English-born, New Zealand-raised Manfred Mann's Earth Band musician who co-penned 'You're the Voice', chats about initially declining Farnham's request to turn the tune into a single after the latter fell for it via a demo. A whole documentary about 'You're the Voice' might've been indulgent even for the biggest Farnham fans — a short doco about its role in the aforementioned Hot Rod needs to be made ASAP, however — but that's not Finding the Voice from start to finish. Stockwell and Clarke take the birth-to-now approach, although they're really building towards Farnham finding that smash, and exploring why it was such a jolt of lightning for the musician's life and legacy. With editors Scott Gray (Mortal Kombat) and Steven Robinson (The Endangered Generation?) stitching together a wealth of archival material, the journey begins in earnest with the plumber's apprentice with the impressive pipes, the novelty track he was never all that fond of, and the immediate success and screaming girls that followed. Pop music history is littered with teenage sensations who didn't enjoy more than one hit song or two, which might've been Farnham's fate; through several pivots and comeback attempts, it did indeed appear his destiny. Finding the Voice doesn't take the pressure down, or avoid the lows before the highs: the singles that charted but couldn't shake the 'Sadie' vibes, the mismanagement before Wheatley, the RSL gigs with bandmates who couldn't play, the lack of interest in the UK and the frequent rejection at home. It doesn't avoid the frustrations before 'You're the Voice' and Whispering Jack gave Farnham more than a touch of music stardom paradise, either, or the yearning to be something other than 'The Cleaning Lady' guy. The film weaves in the then-Johnny's time doing stage musicals, including 1971's Charlie Girl, which started his romance with dancer and his now wife-of-five-decades Jill. It steps through his Little River Band era, and the passion and statement of intent resonating in their Farnham-sparked tune 'Playing to Win'. In addition to its ode to its namesake, Finding the Voice was always going to double as a trip through Aussie rock history as well as a homage to former The Masters Apprentices bassist Glenn Wheatley, who died in 2022 due to COVID-19 complications ‚ and it's a balancing act that's handled expertly. Many a music biodoc has mined untold treasures from bygone footage and the shared memories that go with them, a format that Finding the Voice doesn't challenge. The unearthed clips also survey a glorious range of hairstyles — the famous golden flowing 80s mullet is merely one, the five-time TV Week King of Pop era gifting others — while context comes via family, friends, colleagues and admirers offering their thoughts and recollections. After Glenn's passing, Gaynor proves a key source, also illuminating her role in both Farnham and her husband's careers. Jill Farnham and sons Robert and James assist with fleshing out the man behind the mane and music, with Farnham's children noting how sheltered they were from his tough times. And singing his praises? Jimmy Barnes and Daryl Braithwaite, neither voicing any envy — yes, this is briefly a Farnsy-and-Barnsey flick — plus everyone from Celine Dion and Robbie Williams to Richard Marx and Olivia Newton-John. The one that Farnham always wanted professionally — and wanted to emulate the Grease star's overseas triumphs — Newton-John joins Finding the Voice's chorus via voiceover only. Given her death in 2022 as well, the documentary is also a tribute her way without stealing the spotlight from its main figure. With Farnham's own recent health battles with cancer and a respiratory infection well-documented, he too is only heard recently and seen via materials from across his career. That might've left a gaping hole at the movie's middle, but Stockwell ensures that it never feels like a lost opportunity. Cannily, not pointing the camera the 'Age of Reason', 'Two Strong Hearts', 'Chain Reaction' and 'Burn for You' singer's way helps the filmmaker be judicious with her talking-head interviews, and find freedom beyond merely making a hagiography or a glossily authorised bio. It also reinforces two core contrasts: that great music is eternal, but even superstars are only flesh and blood; and that the tunes that last seem like easy hits, but so often spring from a lifetime of hard work. Accompanying the blast-from-the-past visuals, the adoring-but-never-fawning discussions and the exhaustive then-till-now chronicle is the expected stacked roster of Farnsy hits. Finding the Voice was never going to sit in silence, and nor has anyone who has ever heard 'You're the Voice'. Among its astute choices, the film also veers into concert footage — and seeing the power ballad performed by a leather pants-clad, sleeveless tank-wearing, unmistakably sweaty Farnham in pre-unification West Germany, one of the two countries beyond Australia where it reached number one on the charts (the other: Sweden), is a pure seeing-is-feeling moment. How long can we appreciate this Aussie icon? Always, as long as we're all someone's daughters and sons, as the triumphant and insightful Finding the Voice understands.
Put on your dancing shoes — it's time to tear up the floor. The Abercrombie is hosting a huge celebration for the trendsetters, trend chasers, music buffs, and simply for those who like to party. As part of Vivid Sydney, the renowned venue and the perpetually fresh record label NLV Records are teaming up to bring you a proper all-nighter. From 9pm til 5am on Saturday June 10, the Abercrombie will be pumping with back-to-back sets by NLV Records' artists, from recent signees to ones who know and love the stage. Founded by producer and DJ Nina Las Vegas, the aim of the exciting event is to promote the voices of marginalised voices, providing them with a platform to succeed. As one of the homesteads of hyperpop, the record label has been recognised as a trailblazing imprint since its initiation onto the scene in 2015 with a focus on diversity and inclusivity of artists. This year, the scope of genres and tunes is widening with Afrobeats, dancehall and forward-thinking rap all making an appearance. The stacked lineup will feature the likes of Anna Lunoe, FOURA, Big Skeez, Kota Banks and the event founder and curator herself: Nina Las Vegas. The full program of artists is yet to be announced so stay tuned. Stay up to date with any extra details or grab your tickets from the event's page.
Winter and comfort foods always go hand in hand, but fans of doughnuts should find the start of the frosty season particularly delicious. Each year, to kick off June, National Doughnut Day arrives. And, when the date hits, free round orbs are often on the menu. In 2023, on Friday, June 2, Donut King will be handing out freebies — and keeping Australians happy with their eponymous blend of sweets and carbs. The chain is known for its hot cinnamon doughnuts, and that's exactly what it'll be giving away at every store Australia-wide. Donut King hasn't advised exactly how many doughnuts are up for grabs, and it is a while-stocks-last affair. That said, the brand is intending to serve up a whole heap of its number-one treat to customers in exchange for zero cash, beginning at 1am AEST — if that's when your local store opens — and running through until 11.59pm AEST. The big caveat, other than the first-in-best-dressed rule: there's a limit of one free hot cinnamon doughnut per person. Also, you do have to hit up a Donut King shop in-person, with the giveaway not available for deliveries. To snag yourself a freebie, folks in Sydney can make a date everywhere from Chatswood and Top Ryde to Leichhardt and Hurstville. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Donut King (@donutking_au)
Making his latest body-horror spectacle an eat-the-rich sci-fi satire as well, Brandon Cronenberg couldn't have given Infinity Pool a better title. Teardowns of the wealthy and entitled now seem to flow on forever, glistening endlessly against the film and television horizon; however, the characters in this particularly savage addition to the genre might wish they were in The White Lotus or Succession instead. In those two hits, having more money than sense doesn't mean witnessing your own bloody execution but still living to tell the tale. It doesn't see anyone caught up in cloning at its most vicious and macabre, either. And, it doesn't involve dipping into a purgatory that sports the Antiviral and Possessor filmmaker's penchant for futuristic corporeal terrors, as clearly influenced by his father David Cronenberg (see: Crimes of the Future, Videodrome and The Fly), while also creating a surreal hellscape that'd do Twin Peaks great David Lynch, Climax's Gaspar Noe and The Neon Demon's Nicolas Winding Refn proud. Succession veteran Alexander Skarsgård plunges into Infinity Pool's torments playing another member of the one percent, this time solely by marriage. "Where are we?", author James Foster asks his wife Em (Cleopatra Coleman, Dopesick) while surveying the gleaming surfaces, palatial villas and scenic beaches on the fictional island nation of Li Tolqa — a question that keeps silently pulsating throughout the movie, and also comes tinged with the reality that James once knew a life far more routine than this cashed-up extravagance. Cronenberg lets his query linger from the get-go, with help from returning Possessor cinematographer Karim Hussain. Within minutes, the feature visually inverts its stroll through its lavish setting, the camera circling and lurching. As rafters spin into view, then tumble into the pristine sky, no one in this film's frames is in Kansas anymore. The couple's temporary home away from home boasts luxury extending as far as the eye can see, but affluent holidaymakers are fenced in by barbed wire and armed guards from the surrounding country. They're deep-pocketed westerners in an exclusive resort haven in an otherwise poor, religious and conservative country, and local protesters aren't afraid to interrupt their paid-for idyll. Still, James and Em are vacationing to hopefully cure his six-year stint of writer's block, after he's struggled to back up his debut novel The Variable Sheath — and that text, which was published thanks to Em's media-tycoon father, struggled to make a literary impact at all. Amid their languid stay, and as Em can barely tell if James is awake or asleep, neither are expecting fellow guest Gabi (Mia Goth, Pearl) to gush praise; "I loved your book," the outgoing stranger and actor tells him, then invites them to dinner with her husband Alban (Jalil Lespert, Beasts), then for an illicit drive and picnic beyond the gates the following day. An unsettling sensation hangs in the air as Gabi pushes her new pals to share her company, relishes being the centre of attention and steals an explicit moment with James on their forbidden jaunt. Writing as well as directing, Cronenberg mists uncertainty and menace in the air earlier, when the hotel hosts a festival celebrating the upcoming monsoon season — an event where masks resembling melted faces are a key costume choice. There's feeling unconvinced about another traveller, hesitant about diving into uncharted waters and anxious about breaking the rules in a foreign land, though, and then there's the ordeal that soon springs from a tragic accident, arrest, death sentence and wild get-out-of-jail-free situation. In Li Tolqa's criminal justice system, the well-to-do can pay to have doubles created to face their punishments. The two caveats: these doppelgängers will have the same memories and their originals must watch their grisly end. "Where are we?" isn't the only line of enquiry splashing through Infinity Pool; "what would you do?", "what will people resort to for self-preservation?", "how cheap is someone else's life?", "why does death frighten us?" and "what happens when there's truly no consequences for anything?" rain down just as heavily. So does the obvious: in this scenario, how does anyone ever know if they're the OG version of themselves or the copy? Em is shaken and can't wait to leave, but the smirk that spreads slowly across James' face while he's witnessing his likeness' demise betrays his intrigue. The movie itself is curious, too — and it, like its audience, knows that humanity's worst impulses are about to pour out. Indeed, in kaleidoscopic and hypnotic sequences overflowing with sex, drugs and violence, as body parts intermingle and bodily fluids flow freely, and while unthinkable cruelty becomes a tourism experience for those who can afford it, the younger Cronenberg showers his film in a sometimes-psychedelic, often-gruesome onslaught of can't-look-away chaos. In pictures both brilliant and brutal — and literally filled with pictures earning the same description — the uncompromising Cronenberg keeps bleakly cosying up to futility. When famous flesh is not just the pinnacle of a society but consumed ravenously and incessantly, as seen in Antiviral, how can existence be meaningful? When bodies are hijacked to do someone else's bidding, as Possessor explored, that same query is inescapable. And when the powerful and privileged treat living and dying as a game dictated by their wallets, what about humanity matters? Getting terrifying with the blood and guts of being alive is clearly in Cronenberg's genes, but his specific mutation also repeatedly ponders existing as a meat market. He isn't subtle about his off-screen parallels, but he doesn't need to be; his ideas and imagery have proven visceral, piercing and haunting not once, not twice, but three glorious times now, including in this dread- and tension-dripping feature that brings a twisted mix of The Prestige, The Forgiven, Dual, Triangle of Sadness, Battle Royal and The Purge to mind. Skarsgård is no newcomer to on-screen mayhem, with 2022's The Northman instantly cementing itself as one of his best-ever performance and films. He's equally magnetic as an initially unwitting participant in Infinity Pool's feast of carnal and primal desires, and more than one iteration of James at that; surrendering with bewilderment to hedonistic madness suits him, as does playing awkward, unsure and tentative alongside that. Fresh from such stunning work in X and Pearl, and with that slasher trilogy's third effort MaXXXine on the way, Goth's casting is just as crucial. If Gabi wasn't as mysterious and seductive as she is ominous — so, if she wasn't an alluring but sinister femme fatale — the whole movie would threaten to wash away. And, if she couldn't flip from enticing to merciless so suddenly and seamlessly, Infinity Pool wouldn't be the entrancing nightmare about soulless sound, fury, sex, bodies, life and death signifying nothing that it so deeply and intoxicatingly is.
If there's one thing that a film about Adam Driver fighting dinosaurs shouldn't be, it's average. Only ridiculously entertaining or ridiculously terrible will do, and those two outcomes needn't be mutually exclusive. The appeal of 65 is right there in that four-word premise, as it was always going to be, because getting the intense White Noise, House of Gucci, Annette and Star Wars actor (and BlacKkKlansman and Marriage Story Oscar-nominee) battling prehistoric creatures is that roaringly ace an idea. He should brood, and his dino foes should stalk, snap and snarl. That is indeed what happens thanks to writer/directors Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, who penned the first A Quiet Place, plus have horror movies Nightlight and Haunt on their past helming resumes. But for a flick that isn't required to offer anything else and knows it — well, other than laser guns to shoot at said dinosaurs, because not even the man who plays Kylo Ren can confront a Tyrannosaurus rex or pack of raptors barehanded — 65 doesn't possess enough B-movie energy. Beck and Woods have taken the very B-movie path story-wise, though. As 65's trailer made plain, this is a Frankenstein's monster of a film mashup, stitching together limbs from a stacked pile of other sources to fuel its narrative. The Jurassic Park and Jurassic World franchise, the Predator series, the Alien and Prometheus saga, Logan, The Last of Us, The Man Who Fell to Earth and, yes, A Quiet Place: they each earn more than a few nods, and never with subtlety. So too does Planet of the Apes, but the fact that 65 is set on earth all along isn't a late-picture twist. What else would the title refer to? That said, Beck and Woods begin their movie elsewhere, taking time-travel 65 million years backward out of the equation. Instead, Driver's pilot Mills ends up on our pale blue dot from a civilisation out there in space, and one more advanced during earth's Cretaceous period than humankind is today. Again, these aren't surprises. Text on-screen points all of this out from the get-go or close enough. When the title card arrives bearing the number-slash-moniker 65, that the film takes place all those years ago, and that Mills is now on the third rock from the Milky Way's sun, is written out on-screen as well. Kudos to the filmmakers for not focusing their movie on the tease; a lesser flick, and not in the so-bad-it's-good way, would've been fine with wholesale ripping off Planet of the Apes but just journeying in the opposite temporal direction. Rather, even with the Rod Serling-esque concept — The Twilight Zone creator and presenter also penned the OG Apes' screenplay, as loosely adapted from the page — 65 is about what happens next with full knowledge of where it's set. The narrative from there is obvious, with or without any other context. Whatever you think will happen in 65 sight unseen, or from the trailer, does. Mills tries three things: to survive, to fend off those pesky dinosaurs and to get home. But, he isn't alone. He's transporting others as part of a long-range mission when his ship crashes on what's to him an unknown planet, and young Koa (Ariana Greenblatt, In the Heights) also lives post-impact — after their vessel is hit by an undocumented asteroid, sending them plummeting in the first place, and then after it smashes into earth, tearing apart and scattering its two halves 12 kilometres apart. The piece that Mills and Koa are in can't blast off, of course, and the planet's most frightening-ever residents are keen on a meal as the duo of interlopers attempt to use their wits and weaponry while walking from one section to the other. If you know earth's basic history and how things turned out for the dinosaurs, as we all do, there's no prizes for guessing what else occurs in 65. With startling its audience off the cards, ample pressure falls on the film's ability to engage through character, chaos or both — too much pressure, it proves. Everything is passable. Everything is firmly by the numbers. Nothing is wild, weird or wonderful. That applies to the family thread that runs through the film, after Beck and Woods showed their fondness for the ties of blood, monsters and the end of the world with A Quiet Place. Mills' well-paying gigs have long spirited him away from his wife (Nika King, Euphoria) and daughter (Chloe Coleman, Avatar: The Way of Water), the latter of whom has serious health conditions, making 65's protagonist a Star Wars-esque absent dad. So, when he's tasked with caring for Koa out of proximity and necessity, that job sparks an emotional reaction and connection. Movies about crashing somewhere strange and scary, being ushered into new worlds filled with threats and endeavouring to adapt all work as birth metaphors — we've all been there — an idea that lingers in 65's quiet moments. What does it mean to be thrust into an unfamiliar realm, learn of its ever-present perils and try to endure? How do we learn resilience, resourcefulness, who we are and what's truly important? These questions aren't unrelated, and they're also at the core of this feature. 65 doesn't dig fossil-level deep, however. It's always a dinos-versus-people sci-fi thriller. Actually, make that dinos-versus-humanoid aliens, given that Mills and Koa hark from a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away (no, not the George Lucas-started ones) as they're grappling with beasts brought to the screen with standard-at-best (and never Prehistoric Planet-standard) CGI. 65 would be a far worse film without Driver; switching out its star wouldn't make it an extinction-level event, but the whole 'Adam Driver fights dinosaurs' concept is alluring for a reason. Since singing "please don't shoot me into outer space" in Inside Llewyn Davis, he keeps being shot there, or from there, on-screen — and approaches each instance, as he has everything from Girls and Frances Ha to Paterson and The Last Duel, with blistering commitment. If this was a grander, gorier or sillier movie with Driver's performance at its centre, it might've been something special. There's glimmers here, glistening like a dinosaur's teeth. The version that treads forth is watchable, but also the most basic version of what it is, what viewers want and why it exists: yes, Adam Driver fighting dinosaurs.
As part of the flurry of streaming services always competing for our eyeballs, FanForce TV joined the online viewing fold during the COVID-19 pandemic as a pay-per-view platform. The service runs all year round, of course, but it goes the extra mile for National Reconciliation Week, which is when it hosts the First Nations Film Festival (previously known as the Virtual Indigenous Film Festival). In 2023, that event will take place between Tuesday, May 30–Saturday, June 3, all solely online. The returning fest will focus on something different on each of the five days, starting with the Richard Bell-focused documentary You Can Go Now, then moving onto documentaries Alick and Albert and The Lake of Scars. There's also shorts by up-and-coming First Nations talent, plus anthology feature We Are Still Here as the fest's big finale. At this at-home screen celebration, you'll enjoy watching your way through an array of Aussie content focused on Indigenous stories, spanning both dramas and documentaries — and exploring race relations in the process. Viewers can tune in on a film-by-film basis, or buy an all-access pass to tune into everything. Movies screen at set times, running twice each day: at 1pm and 7pm AEST.
Sydney film buffs, you're in for a treat with the launch of the first-ever Inner West Film Fest. Held across multiple days from Marrickville to Newtown, Enmore to Leichhardt, film lovers will be spoiled for choice with this cinematic reflection of the Inner West community. The three-day festival lineup is jam-packed with documentaries, award-winning Australian films, international film premieres, a movie poster exhibition and much more. One of the many highlights is the 35mm retro screening of the Aussie gem Erskineville Kings at Dendy Newtown. Shot on location in Erskineville, Newtown and surrounds, it features of one the first silver screen performances of national treasure Hugh Jackman. The opener? A free outdoor screening of the Australian film Sweet As at the Marrickville Golf Club. This flick tells the story of Murra (Shantae Barnes-Cowan), a 16-year-old Indigenous girl, as she embarks on a journey of self-discovery. Palace Norton Street will play host to a short film competition and showcase, where many of the films have been created by Inner West residents and shot in the area — promising a reflection of the vibrant community. Love a talent contest or fancy yourself the director of the next film classic? Submit your film pitch for a chance to be a part of the "Australian Idol for filmmakers" — hosted by Australian production company Breathless Films. You could even walk away with a two-month residency at the Newtown studio. Grab your popcorn and choc top and celebrate the artistry of Aussie film at the inaugural Inner West Film Fest. Inner West Film Fest hits various locations from Friday, March 31 until Sunday, April 2. For more information, head to the website.
Everyone has a type of food that they just can't get enough off. We all have several if we're being completely honest. So, perhaps you adore sausages — or maybe you've never met a schnitzel that you can say no to. You could get salivating over meat platters, fancy feasting on ribs or get in a flap about chicken wings as well. If one of the above dishes is your favourite, so much so that you're keen to tuck into all that you can manage, The Bavarian has you covered Monday–Friday between Monday, March 20–Friday, March 31. Each weekday, it's serving up a different bottomless deal. Arrive hungry, whichever you pick — and especially if you opt for all of them. So, Mondays are all about non-stop snags (frankfurters, kielbasas and cheese kranskys with mash, rye bread and bier jus) for $28, while Tuesdays go all in on schnitties for $32 (with parmigianas, classic schnitzels and one with mushroom sauce to choose from). On Wednesday, the regular $35 all-you-can-meat platter special is still on — aka a glorious way to spend hump day. Come Thursday, there's ribs, ribs and more ribs (slow-cooked and coffee-and-spiced barbecue pork ribs, in fact, with coleslaw and fries) for $56. And on Friday, $20 gets you non-stop wings with either hot buffalo or barbecue sauce. In terms of caveats, you'll need to note a few, including the need to buy a full-priced drink to get each deal. The Bavarian also has a five-percent service fee, and you can't combine your chosen special with another offer, get it to take away or bring any leftovers home with you after your sitting. In New South Wales, you'll find The Bavarian at Charlestown, Rouse Hill, Castle Hill, Shellharbour, Tuggerah, Manly, Penrith, Miranda, Macarthur, Green Hills, Entertainment Quarter, York Street, World Square, Wetherill Park, Chatswood and Wollongong.
Watching a film by French writer/director Bertrand Bonello can feel like having a spell cast upon you. In movies such as 2016's Nocturama and 2019's Zombi Child, that's how magnetic and entrancing his blend of ethereal mood and dreamy imagery has felt. So it is with The Beast, too, another hypnotic feature that bewitches and also probes, because none of these three Bonello flicks ask their viewers to merely submit. Rather, they enchant while raising questions about the state of the world, whether digging into consumerism and anarchy, hierarchies of race and class, or the role of humanity in an increasingly technology-mediated society. The latter is the domain of the filmmaker's loose adaptation of Henry James' 1903 novella The Beast in the Jungle — a take that, as its author didn't and couldn't, perceives how the clash of humanity's emotions and artificial intelligence's data-driven analysis is fated to favour the cold and the calculating. In 2044, the very fact that people are guided by their feelings has rendered them unsuitable for most jobs in The Beast's AI-dominated vision of the future. Played with the mastery of both deeply conveyed expression and telling stillness that's long characterised her performances, Dune: Part Two, Crimes of the Future and No Time to Die's Léa Seydoux is Gabrielle, who is among the throngs relegated to drone-like drudgery in this new world order. To shift her daily reality, where she reads the temperature of data cores, she only has one path forward: a cleansing of her DNA. It involves spending sessions immersed in a black goopy bath to confront her emotions and past, a procedure that she's told will rid her of her trauma and baggage. Crossing paths with Gabrielle at the treatment centre, Louis (1917 and True History of the Kelly Gang's George MacKay) has the same choice. Bonello begins The Beast with the opposite of stolidness, with green-screen acting as Gabrielle reacts to directions uttered her way by an off-screen voice, and with her eyes widening and voice screaming at a monster who'll be added in the post-production process. It's a stunning introduction. Seydoux is transfixing from this moment onwards, but the entire range of her portrayal from cool and collected to uncertain and then terrified is captured in mere minutes. Bonello also thrusts fear, a key theme of James' book and this picture alike, to the fore — as well as the notion of being petrified of something intangible. The scene recognises that that which makes our blood run cold doesn't always exist, and queries how we make the panic in our heads and hearts feel real. It also turns Gabrielle into a doll behaving at someone else's behest, revealing a motif that'll continue to pop up while examining how much agency we have when imagined nightmares can so easily control us. The Gabrielle that starts off the movie isn't and is the Gabrielle going all Under the Skin-meets-Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind in 2044. Wafting around a surreal atmosphere that recalls David Lynch's Mulholland Drive and Inland Empire as well, The Beast flits between parallel Gabrielles in different times, as she does while submitting to purification. Sometimes she's the Gabrielle of the feature's present. Then, she's a past-life Gabrielle in France in 1910. Rounding out the trio: another prior version in 2014 in Los Angeles. In the 20th century, the character is a pianist whose husband owns a doll-making factory. In the early 21st century, she's an actor and model housesitting a gleamingly lavish mansion while doing the audition rounds to get noticed. Louis dwells in all three as well, orbiting around her — as a romantic option who isn't afraid of pursuing a married woman in the Belle Époque era just before the Great Flood inundated Paris, then a misogynistic 30-year-old virgin broadcasting his lifted-from-actuality diatribes online in the 2010s just as the La Habra earthquake hits, then a man drawn her way and facing the same haunting feel-or-thrive dilemma that has Gabrielle in a tub. In The Beast in the Jungle, the tale's namesake is the lurking belief pulsing through James' protagonist that calamity awaits. 1910's Gabrielle has confessed the same concerns. The novel and the film each plunge into a potential self-fulfilling prophecy, then: if we expect doom and gloom, and we base our decisions upon its arrival, do we destine ourselves for it? In response, a seize-the-day message washes through the two iterations of this story; however, the timing that Bonello uses for his triptych's chapters gives The Beast a telling push and pull. One person's catastrophising is another's being prepared — and, as existence today means grappling with the sci-fi dystopian notions of AI and climate change becoming real, the filmmaker, who co-scripts with Benjamin Charbit (Spirit of Ecstasy) and Guillaume Bréaud (Eat the Night), sees that seeming irrationally wary of the possible worst-case scenario doesn't preclude a life-altering disaster from happening. Bonello doesn't just want to observe The Beast's recurring loops — like dolls, pigeons and telling fortunes as well as 'Evergreen' by Roy Orbison repeat — but to make the emotions that spring, as well as the battle with even having them, seep into his viewers. Not just Seydoux but Mackay are excellent choices to make good on this aim, each gifted at a very particular task: relaying the full swell and swirl of feelings that comprises every variation of Gabrielle and Louis human for better and for worse, and also makes them distinct, while spying the echoes between them in each era. Around his two leads, production design, costume design, hairstyling and makeup are crucial. The film veers from period romance to psychological thriller and then sci-fi horror across its trio of intertwined parts, and every craft choice — Josée Deshaies' (Passages) lingering cinematography included — enforces the distinction. And yet, Seydoux and Mackay could've unleashed their potent performances solely against green backgrounds with the same look throughout and had the same impact. To watch The Beast is to experience the premonitory unease, and the back-and-forth between the hope of joy and the dread of the unknown, that colours its tales within tales and its hops from genre to genre. This is a film with chaos and change at its core, but that spots the anchors and emotions that remain the same no matter what portrait of life is unfurling. First with android doll Kelly (Saint Omer's Guslagie Malanda, also exceptional), 2044's Gabrielle frequents a hidden-away nightclub where the theme cycles between a specific year night by night. One evening, it's 1972. Another, it's 1980. On yet another, it's 1963. There Bonello goes, finding a way to distill his film down to its essence yet again, as his opening sequence does — because what is navigating being alive and falling in love if not never knowing what any given day or night will bring, regardless of the time or impending ruin, then trying to face that fact? If technology steals that truth away, The Beast posits, our nature is conjure up a way to take solace in it anyway.
A quarter of a century ago, M Night Shyamalan started coaching audiences to associate his surname with on-screen twists. Now that The Sixth Sense writer/director's daughter Ishana Night Shyamalan is following in his footsteps by making her first feature, decades of that viewer training across Unbreakable, Signs, The Visit, Split, Glass and more laps at The Watchers' feet. The question going in for those watching is obvious: will the second-generation filmmaker, who first worked as a second-unit director on her dad's Old and Knock at the Cabin — and also penned and helmed episodes of exceptionally eerie horror TV series Servant, on which her father was the showrunner — turn M Night's well-known and -established penchant for surprise reveals that completely recontextualise his narratives into a family trademark? Viewing a Shyamalan movie from The Sixth Sense onwards has always been an exercise in piecing together a puzzle, sleuthing along as clues are dropped about how the story might swiftly shift. It's no different with The Watchers, which Ishana adapts from AM Shine's novel and M Night produces. The younger filmmaking Shyamalan leans into the expectations that come with being her dad's offspring and picking up a camera, making a supernatural mystery-thriller horror flick and living with his brand of screen stories for her entire life. That said, while it's easy to initially think of The Village when The Watchers sets its narrative in isolated surroundings where the woods are filled with threats, and also of Knock at the Cabin given that its four main characters are basically holed up in one, Ishana demonstrates her own prowess, including by heartily embracing her source material's gothic air. This is a tale with a Mina at its centre, after all, because Shyamalan isn't the only name attached to The Watchers that means something in horror. As gothic stories in the genre long have told, it's also a tale of being haunted — here, by the monsters that lurk among the trees in a mysterious patch of western Ireland, and also by the kind of loss and sorrow that reshapes entire lives. As Ishana dials up the foreboding while dancing with fantasy, too, The Watchers proves a reckoning with identity as well. Yearning for the ability to define your own sense of self is another familiar gothic notion (Mary Shelley's Frankenstein puts it among the ideas at its centre), and also a fitting theme and statement for a person who's leaping into a field where they're immediately standing in someone else's shadow. Hours from Galway, shade also looms as The Watchers kicks off. As captured with a moody gaze by cinematographer Eli Arenson — and an eye for the claustrophobia that can simmer in expansive natural spaces, as he also splashed around in 2021's Lamb — warm rays barely filter through the forest even when the sun is high in the sky. In a state of near-perpetual twilight, the woodland possesses an otherworldly and ominous feel. A man (Alistair Brammer, Ancient Empires) is spied trying to flee its sprawling cover; however, the signs about not being able to turn back keep proving accurate. Birds flutter in a swooping and circling flock, the thicket buzzes with its own noise — both with unease as dense as the canopy above — and the picture advises that this location is absent from maps and a beacon for lost souls. A command of atmosphere bubbles through the movie from the outset, then, even before Mina (Dakota Fanning, Ripley) wanders through the same grove. She's entering rather than trying to leave — at first. An American artist working in a pet shop in a biding-her-time fashion, the 28-year-old is tasked with a normal albeit time-consuming delivery, but then her car breaks down and her phone dies shortly after driving into the greenery. Prior to Mina hitting the road, The Watchers dapples her everyday existence with a disquieting vibe. In her life in the Irish city, she's plastering literal wigs and metaphorical masks over her unhappiness while avoiding calls from her sister Lucy and grappling with the death of their mother 15 years earlier. En route to being stranded in a bunker called The Coop, which is sat in a tract where no one should go down to the woods by dark, she's also already feeling as caged as the parrot that she's about to try to ferry to a Belfast zoo. The Coop is no ordinary cabin in the woods, not that many on-screen are, with kudos deserved by The Watchers' production designers. Mirrored glass lines one of its walls, letting interested eyes peer in unseen (their audible reactions provide a soundtrack as well) as the motley crew that is Madeline (Olwen Fouéré, The Tourist), Ciara (Georgina Campbell, Barbarian), Daniel (Oliver Finnegan, We Are Lady Parts) and now Mina navigate their new routine. Each strangers going in and each trapped, they're all endeavouring to survive the creatures that demand to observe them eating, watching an old dating-style reality TV series and sleeping every evening — and, without their captors realising, to ascertain how to escape a place that appears impossible to exit. There are rules to enduring. There are grim consequences for not abiding by them. No one has made it out to seek help and returned, the stern Madeline cautions. When a reflective surface plays such a pivotal part, it's hardly astonishing when a film trades in parallels, including with an IRL world that's frequently becoming one giant online performance (to stress the point, one of The Watchers' most-striking shots shows how Mina and company inhabit a stage for their keepers). As well as absorbing her father's fondness for spinning unsettling tales, Ishana has inherited his ambition, clearly, as she also works in Celtic lore and the impact of colonialism. While it's one thing to aim big and another to thoroughly wrestle everything that you're eager to explore and touch upon into one movie, her directorial debut sports an instantly intriguing premise that draws viewers in effectively, a flair for imagery and tension, and an excellent lead. When Fanning is playing the feature's protagonist as someone who can't see anything but her own pain — who can't see the forest for the trees, aptly — she wears Mina's fragility and vulnerability like a second skin. When her character is forced to confront being put on display, she's just as mesmerisingly relatable.
If you're a fan of art that gives back, this is the event for you. Barnardos Australia — an organisation dedicated to brightening the futures of Aussie kids — is hosting a fundraising art show in Darlinghurst, and all of its proceeds will be donated to safety and prevention programs for children. Taking place at the National Art School's Cell Block Theatre from 6–10pm on Thursday, May 16, the mixed-media event is set to feature never-before-seen artworks from up-and-coming local artists and established creatives, with a lineup that includes Liz Payne, Sindy Sinn, Kitiya Palaskas, Mikael Lindeberg and Gemma O'Brien. [caption id="attachment_953139" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Fearless, oil on canvas, Nat Anderson.[/caption] The theme of the show is 'Fearlessly Optimistic', in relation to the work that Barnardos does to contribute to the future happiness of Australian children, and how we are all able to make an impact for the better. Expect to find sculptures, photography, painted canvas and prints among the pieces on display at the fundraiser, as well as performances by musical group Zaki Duo and a live artwork by artist Claudia Akole, which will be completed throughout the event. Tickets are priced at $50, which will include entry, canapes, beverages and live entertainment, and are available at the website. As for the artwork itself, if you're looking to purchase any of the exclusive pieces appearing at the art show, they'll be auctioned online. Bidding will open on Thursday, May 9 and will close at 10pm on Thursday, May 16. [caption id="attachment_953140" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Stars, Liz Payne.[/caption]
An unusually high number of hospitality venues have been shutting up shop in Sydney of late, which is all the more reason to celebrate the opening of a new one. The team at Madam Ji, Darlinghurst's colourful new contemporary Indian diner, is getting the party started on the restaurant's opening night with $5 cocktails, from 5pm until close on Friday, July 5. Eight marvellous mingles are on Madam Ji's signature cocktail list, including some theatrical showstoppers like the Smokin' Banana, which combines rum, banana liquor and cardamom and is served under a smoke-filled glass cloche, and the Miss Rebellious, which features a fruity mix of banana rum, mango purée and coconut cream, served in a mist-filled coconut shell. If you're peckish, you can also get your fill of delicious pani puri bombs — crispy shells of fried semolina with a spicy filling — for just $2 each all night. But if you can't make it for this debut shindig, you can also book a table for Madam Ji's bottomless brunch, which pairs a multi-course menu of the restaurant's top dishes with free-flowing house wines for two hours for $79 per person, or with free-flowing cocktails for $99 per person. Madam Ji is the passion project of lifelong friends and hospo veterans Rakshit Sondhi and Maninder Singh, who were born in India but learned the tricks of their trade in top Sydney venues and hotels. The restaurant's a la carte menu mixes tried-and-true favourites and radical fusions, ranging from classics like butter chicken and biryani to inventive riffs like creamy burrata spiked with spicy tadka and kingfish ceviche dressed with curry leaf oil. Images: Katje Ford
Horror franchises like their doors to stay open: years may pass, stars and filmmakers may come and go, but every popular series eventually waltzes back onto screens. That's been true of Halloween, Scream, Candyman, A Nightmare on Elm Street, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, Friday the 13th and more. It's also accurate of Insidious, which is up to five features in 12 years and returns after its longest gap to-date. For viewers, half a decade has elapsed since this supernatural saga last hit cinemas in 2018's underwhelming Insidious: The Last Key, one of two prequels alongside Insidious: Chapter 3 (because that was the only way to keep bringing back MVP Lin Shaye). For Insidious' characters, though, Insidious: The Red Door takes place nine years after the events of Insidious: Chapter 2. That flick was the last until now to focus on Josh (Patrick Wilson, Moonfall) and Renai Lambert (Rose Byrne, Platonic), plus their haunted son Dalton (Ty Simpkins, The Whale) — and it's their tale the franchise leaps back into. Not only starring but debuting as a director, Wilson makes Insidious: The Red Door an answer to the question that no one, not even the most dedicated horror fans, has likely asked: how are the Lamberts doing after their demonic dalliances? The portrait painted when the movie begins is far from rosy, with Josh and Renai divorced, Dalton resenting his dad, and something niggling at both father and son about their past. Neither the Lambert patriarch nor his now college-bound boy can remember their experiences with unpleasant entities in the astral plane, however, thanks to a penchant for handy hypnotism. So, Insidious: The Red Door poses and responds to another query: what happens when that memory-wiping mesmerism stops working? Seasoned Insidious viewers already know what's in store: ghosts and evil spirits jump-scaring their way back into Josh and Dalton's minds and lives, and also into Insidious: The Red Door's frames. In the saga's mythology, such beings hail from a form of purgatory known as The Further and can't easily be suppressed. Accordingly, when Dalton's university art professor (Hiam Abbass, Succession) encourages him to dive into his subconscious, then splash what he sees onto a canvas, it's obvious where Scott Teems' (Firestarter) script is going. When the snappy Josh tries to glean why his brain is so foggy and his mood so peevish, he too has an unpleasant awakening. For the elder and younger Lambert men alike, first comes snippets of creepy visions, then unshakeable sights, then astral projection to get the Lipstick-Face Demon and The Bride in Black to stop. "If only this portal had remained shut" isn't only something that Josh and Dalton are thinking in Insidious: The Red Door. Early, often, and until the weary and creaky film comes to an end, audiences share that wish. The picture keeps its central pair largely apart, one navigating his cursed chaos in his otherwise empty home, then endeavouring to reconcile with Renai (although Byrne is still woefully underused), and the other at school with new pal Chris (Sinclair Daniel, Bull). Splitting them up just plays like a quest to lengthen the movie's duration — extra running time that isn't put to good use. This isn't a meaningful exploration of trauma's lingering impact, the current genre go-to, as much as it wants to be. Similarly, it doesn't cause Wilson or Simpkins to turn in anything but workmanlike performances, either. Plenty of horror franchises are resurrected with by-the-numbers instalments — that's become as much of a horror convention as constantly reviving spooky series again and again — but this is dispiritingly routine and repetitive, and also rarely even barely scary. It doesn't help that the better Insidious fare, aka the first two that sported Aquaman and Malignant's James Wan behind the camera, weren't ever exceptional. What they boasted was effectiveness in executing their bumps, capitalising upon their uneasy sights, slowly building their suspense and tension, and ramping up the unsettling atmosphere. Wan did start both the Insidious and Saw sagas with The Invisible Man's Leigh Whannell, and The Conjuring Universe solo. Whannell has penned every Insidious screenplay until now, and helmed 2015's Insidious: Chapter 3. The duo produces this time around, while Whannell came up with the story behind Teems' script. As a filmmaker, Wilson is happy to go through the motions rather than try much new. He's also fond of closeups, which might stem from spending the bulk of his career in front of the lens. As a horror veteran — on-screen, he's a mainstay of The Conjuring movies as well, as last seen in The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It; he popped up in Annabelle Comes Home, the third feature in that series' spinoff series, too — he's reluctant to attempt to put a new stamp on one of his franchises. He knows where and how to sprinkle in unnerving figures and faces in the peripheries, and to elicit jumps, but only by sticking to the Insidious template. His best fright? It plays with and preys on medical anxiety, because anyone that's ever had an MRI has harboured fears about getting stuck in the claustrophobic machine — no forces from The Further needed. Although it also doesn't work, the biggest and most interesting swing that Wilson takes comes over the closing credits, when Insidious: The Red Door busts out a version of late-80s track 'Stay' by Shakespears Sister. Swedish metal band Ghost are behind the cover, and Wilson himself sings on it. That truly is something that no other Insidious chapter has offered. Wan and Whannell genuinely couldn't have foreseen inspiring it, unlike sparking a wave of post-Saw torture porn, or the many movies about sinister kids, jinxed items and paranormal investigations that the Insidious films have influenced. Still, that isn't what any Insidious chapter should be best known for, let alone justify keeping the franchise's hatch open — but sixth flick Thread: An Insidious Tale, which'll broaden out the Insidious Universe with Mandy Moore (This Is Us) and Kumail Nanjiani (Welcome to Chippendales) starring, plus Jeremy Slater (Moon Knight) writing and directing, is already in the works.
Think watching a movie under the stars is a summer activity? Think again. Braving the elements to catch a film in winter comes with its own rewards: snuggling up next to your nearest and dearest, enjoying the brisk night air and sipping hot mulled wine, for example. As part of the broader Bastille Festival, the Tallowoladah Lawn outside of the MCA will become a pop-up openair movie theatre again in 2023. That means settling in for a flick with a view not just of the screen, but vantages out over the Opera House and Sydney Harbour as well. Screening 11 sessions over four days between Thursday, July 13–Sunday, July 16 for $19 a ticket, Le Mulled Wine Cinema lets attendees get cosy in 100 chairs (with blankets, of course), and offers up a glass of mulled wine and some raclette to complete the outdoor film-watching experience. As for what you'll be watching, if the movies aren't French, they have ties to France in some way. Think: Wes Anderson's The French Dispatch, Sofia Coppola's Marie Antoinette, the Audrey Tatou-starring Amelie, Pixar's Ratatouille, Marion Cotillard's Oscar-winning performance in La Vie En Rose and La Famille Bélier, which was remade in the US as Academy Award Best Picture recipient CODA.
If you're a devourer of books and words, you can look forward to feasting on a hefty lineup of talks, workshops, panels and other literature-loving events when the Emerging Writers' Festival returns for 2023. While the days of all-digital instalments are behind us, the fest won't just be hosting a jam-packed program of IRL sessions — handily, especially for folks outside of Melbourne, a stack of them will also be accessible online. Running from Wednesday, June 14–Saturday, June 24, this year's edition has events for all varieties of lit-lover and writing enthusiast. Opening night features a session on truth telling by Naarm's Sofii Belling-Harding, Yaraan Bundle, Lay Maloney, Patrick Mercer and Elijah Money; the return of the National Writers' Conference will deliver a day of panels, workshops and pitching sessions; Voiceworks will celebrate its latest issue; and a dinner at Willows and Wine will get you sharing erotica prose and poetry. For fans of all things spooky, Scream Scenes will tell eerie tales with matching cinema projections at Thornbury Picture House. Sports writing, spoken word, writing TV, intergenerational stories, radical memoirs, the intersection of hip hop and literature: they all get their time to shine, too. You can also up your own writing skills with an array of masterclasses and workshops — and, for the online crowd, learn about digital ecologies, the ethics of drawing from real life, pitching, researching fiction, genre fiction and more.
The annual Sydney Whisky Fair is back pouring exclusive drams from September 8–9 2023 at the historic Australian Hall in Sydney's CBD. Hosted by independent purveyors of your favourite natural wines, whiskies and craft beers, The Oak Barrel, it's a chance for whisky enthusiasts to meet head distillers, whisky experts and spirit savants from Australia and abroad. The Oak Barrel, founded in 1956, was one of the first bottle shops in Australia to embrace premium whiskies. Today it focuses on top-notch tasting events, premium and rare whisk(e)y and wines as well as craft beers. Conceived in 2010, its Sydney Whisky Fair has grown in both popularity and size. This is its biggest year yet with over 30 exhibitors showcasing more than 200 whiskies from Australia, Scotland and around the world. Expect a focus on small batch, single cask and rare expressions — including whiskies that will only be available at the fair, specially procured from distilleries across the world. Not content to just pour epic drams, the Whisky Fair will also offer tastings of rums, armagnac, gin and absinthe. In addition to the tastings, there will also be masterclasses and seminars from the whisky experts themselves. Plus, attendees will also be able to purchase bottles at the event at discounted prices at a pop-up shop. There will also be an Old & Rare Whisky Bar pouring legendary whiskies at break-even prices. There will be plenty of tasty grub to go along with the whiskies with Smok'n Blues catering the fair. Every ticket includes a burger — choose between the brisket burger (16-hour chopped smoked brisket glazed in garlic butter served with grilled onions, pickles and herb mayo in a milk bun) or the smoked mushroom burger (button mushrooms smoked and glazed in barbecue sauce with crispy kale and slaw served in a milk bun). So if you love a dram and are keen to experience the spirits world — without having to pay the airfare to hop over to Scotland for a taste — get yourself a ticket before they sell out. Discover the wonders of whisky at Oak Barrel's Sydney Whisky Fair 2023 from September 8–9 2023 at the Australian Hall. With over 200 whiskies on pour, there's something for everyone. Purchase your ticket on the website.
If you're getting a tad sick of the winter chill in the air — then you're in luck, as the Museum of Contemporary Art is cranking up the heat in the form of Hustle Harder — a new choreographic piece by Berlin-based Australian artist Adam Linder. Running until Sunday, August 20, Hustle Harder explores how people prepare for the camera in a museum space, using art and architecture as their backdrop. Linder's choreography brings attention to a societal trend of constant image creation through a movement style he calls "virtuosic angling." The performance setup is influenced by the museum itself, with movable partitions resembling the museum's features. This setup shows how everything in the museum, from lighting to signs, affects how visitors behave. The performance runs all day with different dancers and contributors, highlighting how the exhibition's style merges with the interactive and collaborative aspects of live performance. Imagine dancers gracefully navigating through crowds and mirrors as they interact with invisible narratives, attempting to capture the essence of living in the modern world where we are not just observers, but content producers — by virtue of the magic rectangle we all carry with us. Expect a dazzling symphony of motion and technology, where bodies become conduits of storytelling. Linder's choreography takes full advantage of the space afforded at MCA. Unlike a theatre's fixed vantage point, here, viewers are active participants in crafting their experience. Every moment creates a unique tapestry, blending intricate dance with the ebb, flow, and unpredictability of an unmoored audience as Linder turns the museum itself into a canvas. In an age where images are all around us, Hustle Harder delves into how we interact with them, and in turn, modify our own behaviour. Hustle Harder is perfect for all who are interested in exploring the connection between art, technology and personal experience. Performances will run from 10am–5pm Monday, Wednesday and Thursdays; 1–8pm Fridays and 10am–5pm across the weekend. Images: MCA, supplied.
Out with the old, in with the new: that's a running theme at 2023's Sydney Underground Film Festival. The Harbour City's now 17-year-old celebration of weird, wild and wonderful cinema is saying hello to a fresh venue, moving from 2022's Event Cinemas George Street and its past home at Marrickville's Factory Theatre to Dendy Newtown. And, in one of its big program highlights, it's also farewelling Arnie as Conan the Barbarian, embracing an all-female cast instead. First, the change of location: Festival Director Katherine Berger and her team will be back in the Inner West from Thursday, September 7–Sunday, September 10, this time in King Street's resident picture palace. Now, the just-announced lineup: as well as Conann from French filmmaker Bertrand Mandico's (After Blue, The Wild Boys), which follows its eponymous warrior through six female guises and hits Sydney straight from Cannes, SUFF's 2023 bill overflows with past, present and future cult flicks. Kicking things off is opening night's Ukraine Guernica — Art Not War, George Gittoes' latest, about frontline artists challenging Russia's invasions of both Ukraine and Afghanistan. At the other end of the fest, comedy-horror Onyx the Fortuitous and the Talisman of Souls will close out 2023's event with a bit of satanic worship and black magic from The Weird Satanist Guy Andrew Bowser. Other must-sees include Werner Herzog: Radical Dreamer, an ode to the iconic and inimitable German director (and one-time Parks and Recreation star); Bob Byington's (Frances Ferguson) Lousy Carter, featuring David Krumholtz (Oppenheimer) as the down-on-his-luck titular character; Holy Mother, with Tokyo Gore Police's Yoshhiro Nishimura again splashing around gore, plus neon and laughs; and Poundcake, a slasher-comedy about a New York serial killer that's also a societal satire. Or, there's modern Frankenstein reimagining Birth/Rebirth; the delightfully named Hundreds of Beavers, about a cider salesman faced with plenty of hungry animals; and the post-apocalyptic vision of Welcome to Kittytown. Among SUFF's full documentary slate, viewers can check out the true crime-focused Citizen Sleuth as it dives into the ethics of the popular genre, enjoy Satan Wants You's look back at 80s-era satanic panic, and revel in Enter the Clones of Bruce's survey of the talents that endeavoured to replicate Bruce Lee after his death. And, as always, SUFF continues to showcase the most out-there shorts that the fest can find across four separate strands. Here, you might just see tomorrow's Aussie genre filmmakers getting their start — plus tales about possessed sex toys, Udo Kier's (Hunters) many on-screen deaths and curing zombie bites.
It's the most celebratory of all the drinks and there's no better way to enjoy it than waterside — it's sparking wine. If spending a day drinking the fizziest drops of vino in a harbour-front park sounds up your alley, then Sparkling Sydney is the festival for you. After a few rocky years of weather- and pandemic-related postponements, Sparkling Sydney will return in all of its glory from 11am–5pm on Sunday, November 26 with more than 60 sparkling wines on offer. And, to sweeten the deal, this year entry is free. If you're all about the bubbly things in life, prepare to be swept away by the city's most effervescent booze fest, descending upon Pirrama Park in Pyrmont. The 2023 edition of Sparkling Sydney not only gives guests access to myriad sparking wines, but you can also expect free frozen El Jimador margaritas plus stands from Finders Distillery, Small Mouth Vodka and Pickled Bear Seltzer. Of course, there'll be plenty of top-notch eats to match including Sydney rock oysters, gnocchi, cheese, cured meats and vegan snacks. If you want to make the most of the festival, you can purchase a tasting package, which includes a wine-tasting glass and five tastings for $37.50.
The art world's love affair with Andy Warhol has lasted far longer than 15 minutes. Australia's fondness for the iconic artist definitely hasn't been fleeting, either. In 2023 alone, not one, not two, but three different exhibitions Down Under have celebrated his work; however, only Instant Warhol is solely dedicated to his skills with a polaroid camera. On the Gold Coast in autumn, Pop Masters highlighted Warhol's pieces alongside works by Jean-Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring. In Adelaide around the same period, Andy Warhol & Photography: A Social Media honed in on the artist as a shutterbug. Obviously, Instant Warhol has the same idea as the latter, but it will only be filled with polaroid portraits — 59 of them. This time, Warhol's work is headed to Ballarat, displaying from Saturday, August 26–Sunday, October 22 at the Art Gallery of Ballarat during the Ballarat International Foto Biennale. The regional Victorian photography festival is never short on things to see, but Instant Warhol is quite the drawcard for the biannual event. [caption id="attachment_906816" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Andy Warhol self-portrait in drag, 1980. © Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. Artists Rights Society [ARS]/Copyright Agency, 2023.[/caption]The original snaps that Warhol himself took — when he wasn't painting Campbell's soup cans and images of Marilyn Monroe, of course — will be on display. Even if you haven't seen them before, some should be familiar. One of the reasons that the artist captured polaroids, other than loving them, was to turn some of the famous faces he snapped into his screen prints. Drawn from the thousands of photographs he took with the instant cameras between 1958–87, this selection of pictures will also feature images of Warhol himself. They're all coming to Australia thanks to The Brant Foundation, with founder Peter M Brant one of Warhol's early patrons, then a friend, and also the the producer of Warhol's films L'Amour and Bad. [caption id="attachment_906817" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Top image: Andy Warhol, Sylvester Stallone, 1980. © Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. Artists Rights Society [ARS]/Copyright Agency, 2023.[/caption]Top image: Photograph of Andy Warhol taking a polaroid picture while sitting with Jack Ford and Bianca Jagger on the Truman Balcony, U.S. National Archives and Records Administration courtesy Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library via Wikimedia Commons.
Before Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, Seth Rogen and his regular behind-the-camera collaborator Evan Goldberg had more than a few hands in Sausage Party. Lewd and crude isn't their approach with pop culture's pizza-eating, sewer-dwelling, bandana-wearing heroes in a half shell, however. Instead, the pair is in adoring throwback mode. They co-write and co-produce. Platonic's Rogen also lends his vocals — but to warthog Bebop, not to any of TMNT: MM's fab four. That casting move is telling; this isn't a raunched-up, star voice-driven take on family-friendly fare like Strays and Ted, even when it's gleefully irreverent. Rather, it's a loving reboot spearheaded by a couple of patent fans who were the exact right age when turtle power was the schoolyard's biggest late-80s and early-90s force, and want to do Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael and Michelangelo justice. Affection seeps through Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem as pivotally as ooze, the reason that there's even any adolescent marine reptiles that aren't at all like most of their species, and are also skilled in Japanese martial arts, within the franchise's narrative. Slime might visibly glow in this new animated TMNT movie, but the love with which the film has been made is equally as luminous. Indeed, the Spider-Verse-esque artwork makes that plain, openly following in the big-screen cartoon Spidey saga's footsteps. As it visually resembles lively high school notebook sketches under director Jeff Rowe (The Mitchells vs the Machines) and Kyler Spears' (Amphibia) guidance, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem feels exactly like the result of Rogen and Goldberg seeing Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, wondering how Leo and company would fare in a picture that aimed for the same visual flair, then making it happen. Computers did the animating, of course, but Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem's appearance may as well have smudgy fingerprints where someone has coloured in heavily with a texta, then accidentally slid a digit over the page before the ink was dry. While the TMNT realm has delivered good entries and bad, plus memorable and bland renderings of its core quartet — fittingly, these turtles have kept mutating — their current iteration is warm, retro and nostalgic while veering in its own aesthetic direction. So, the turtles aren't 80s-era slick like the OG cartoon series splashed across the small screen. They're not costume-wearing men (costumes by Jim Henson's Creature Shop, no less) as seen in the 90s live-action flicks, either. It's for the best that this Leonardo (voiced by Nicolas Cantu, The Fabelmans), Donatello (Micah Abbey, Cousins for Life), Raphael (Brady Noon, The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers) and Michelangelo (Shamon Brown Jr, The Chi) haven't been spawned in the likeness of 2007 picture TMNT, either, or the motion-capture efforts of 2014's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and its 2016 sequel Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows. Fun: that's how TMNT: MM looks with its scribbled-on, graffiti-leaning style, and it's also what Rogen, Goldberg, Rowe (also a co-scribe), Spears, Koala Man's Dan Hernandez and Benji Samit (the last of the flick's five screenwriters), and the Bad Neighbours movies' Brendan O'Brien (who gets a story credit) are overtly after. So were comic book artists Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird when they created the anthropomorphic crew four decades back to parody superhero tales — as are the adopted turtle children of mutant rat Splinter (Jackie Chan, Hidden Strike), too. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem's key group just wants to be teens, and the movie wants to hang out with them as they try. In addition to an updated take on their origin story, TMNT: MM sketches Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael and Michelangelo into a coming-of-age story. They practice ninjutsu. They bust out their fearsome fighting skills. They sneak out to watch Ferris Bueller's Day Off, the ultimate teens-just-wanna-have-fun film. They also just want to be accepted for who they are, because this is a Frankenstein story as well. Here, living below New York City's neon streets has become a drag for Leonardo who leads, Donatello who does machines, Raphael with the attitude and Michelangelo the party dude. Emotionally scarred from humanity's worst impulses, the protective Splinter forbids the turtles from venturing above ground for anything but supplies — which is where the stealth outdoor cinema trips come in. The ageing rat is certain that the world isn't safe for four slime-transformed humanoid critters. Unlike Ferris, though, his 15-year-olds would like to spend their days in classrooms and hallways, and with teachers and fellow pupils, a wish that they can only dream about. Then they meet April O'Neil (Ayo Edebiri, The Bear) as a high schooler who aspires to be a journalist and is investigating Big Apple crime for the school paper. She becomes a friend when the katana-, sai-, bo- and nunchuck-wielding brothers help her with the thugs who steal her scooter. Like slipping into toxic sludge when they were babies, crossing paths with April is just the beginning of the turtles' latest journey. All of those robberies link back to Superfly (Ice Cube, The High Note) — and soon there's a menagerie of mutants, including Bebop and his rhino pal Rocksteady (John Cena, Barbie), bat Wingnut (Natasia Demetriou, What We Do in the Shadows), alligator Leatherhead (Rose Byrne, Physical), manta ray Ray Fillet (Post Malone, Wrath of Man), and also Mondo Gecko (Paul Rudd, Only Murders in the Building) and Genghis Frog (Hannibal Buress, Spider-Man: No Way Home). Being a teenager is about yearning to fit in, and so is standing out because you're seen as a monster by everyone around you. Those Frankenstein nods are well-deployed, but then so is most of this turtle tale: cowabungas, Beyoncé love, jokes about both Ratatouille and Shrek, and a soundtrack that's catnip to 80s and 90s kids (think: Blackstreet's 'No Diggity', 4 Non Blondes' 'What's Up?' and A Tribe Called Quest's 'Can I Kick It?'). Getting Trent Reznor, the rock-god patron saint of angsty alternative teens of three decades ago, on score duties with his usual composing partner Atticus Ross (Bones and All) is a genius move, and always sounds that way. Who else can craft tunes to fight frenetically in sewers and slink through the street by? Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem caters expertly to millennial adults, clearly, but it doesn't forget that it's for today's young viewers as well. Although that mix of audiences requires a balancing act, Rogen and co know how to amuse themselves and still serve up TMNT for the next generations. All those famous names among the voice cast? Crucially, they always come second to Cantu, Abbey, Noon and Brown Jr in a lively, energetic treat of a flick — the franchise's equivalent of fresh-out-of-the-oven pizza and, yes a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles renaissance.
Handheld camerawork can be a gimmick. It can be distracting, too. When imagery seems restless for no particular reason other than making the audience restless, it drags down entire films. But at its best, roving, jittery and jumpy frames provide one of the clearest windows there is into the souls that inhabit the silver screen in 90-minute blocks or so, and also prove a wonderful way of conveying how they feel in the world. That's how Compartment No. 6's cinematography plays, and it couldn't be a more crucial move; this is a deeply thoughtful movie about two people who are genuinely restless themselves, after all. Finnish director Juho Kuosmanen (The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki) wants what all of the most perceptive filmmakers do — to ensure his viewers feel like they know his characters as well as they know themselves — and in his latest cinematic delight, he knows how to get it. How Kuosmanen evokes that sense of intimacy and understanding visually is just one of Compartment No. 6's highlights, but it's worthy of a train full of praise. With the helmer's returning director of photography Jani-Petteri Passi behind the lens, the film gets close to Finnish student Laura (Seidi Haarla, Force of Habit) and Russian miner Ljoha (Yuriy Borisov, The Red Ghost). It peers intently but unobtrusively their way, like an attentive lifelong friend. It jostles gently with the locomotive that the movie's central pair meets on, and where they spend the bulk of their time together. It ebbs and flows like it's breathing with them. It rarely ventures far from their faces in such cramped, stark, 90s-era Russian surroundings, lingering with them, carefully observing them, and genuinely spying how they react and cope in big and small moments alike. Pivotally — and at every moment as well — it truly sees its key duo. With their almost-matching names, Laura and Ljoha meet on a train ride charting the lengthy expanse from Moscow to Murmansk. She's taking the journey to see the Kanozero petroglyphs, ancient rock drawings that date back the 2nd and 3rd millennium BC, and were only discovered in 1997; he's heading up for work. Laura is also meant to be travelling with Irina (Dinara Drukarova, The Bureau), her Russian girlfriend, but the latter opted out suddenly after an intellectual-filled house party where mocking the former for her accent — and claiming she's just a lodger — threw a pall of awkwardness over their relationship. Making the jaunt solo is still sitting uneasily with Laura, though. Calls along the way, answered with busy indifference, don't help. And neither does finding herself sharing compartment number six, obviously, with the tough- and rough-around-the edges Ljoha. It's been 71 years now since Alfred Hitchcock gave cinema the noir thriller Strangers on a Train. It's been 27 years since Richard Linklater also had two unacquainted folks meeting while riding the rails in Before Sunrise, which started a terrific romance trilogy starring Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy. Accordingly, the idea behind Compartment No. 6 is instantly familiar. Here, two strangers meet on a train, a connection sparks and drama ensues. Kuosmanen, who nabbed an award at Cannes for The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki and then earned the 2021 competition Grand Prix, which comes second only to the prestigious Palme d'Or, for this, is clearly working with a well-used setup. But even though this isn't a movie that's big on surprises, it's still a stellar film. It's also a reminder that a feature that's personal and raw, also attuned to all the tiny details of life in its performances, mood and style, and firmly character-driven, can make even the most recognisable narrative feel new. Laura and Ljoha are a chalk-and-cheese pair. He gets drunk almost instantly; is crude and rude to his unimpressed fellow compartment dweller from the get-go; and his hunched, agitated, me-against-the-world posture seethes with boorish anger. But the duo are also virtually trapped in close confines — wandering the train's corridors and using its bathrooms are hardly escapes, even for a few minutes, on a trip that takes several days. They're both lost, lonely and yearning, too, in their own fashions but also in a more similar manner than they each initially expect. So, they rub each other the wrong way at first, then settle into chilly animosity, then begin to thaw. Schnapps plays a part, as does the dining car. Pitstops along the way, stolen possessions and language trickery do as well. Needing love and companionship, even just fleetingly, has the biggest influence. Kuosmanen cowrote Compartment No. 6's screenplay with Andris Feldmanis and Livia Ulman, co-scribes themselves on Estonian TV show Kättemaksukontor — and adapts Rosa Liksom's novel of the same name. In the process, the director and his collaborators move the story by around a decade from the end of the USSR to the end of Boris Yeltsin's time in power. That means that Laura and Ljoha follow in Before Sunrise's Celine and Jesse's footsteps by mere years on-screen (Titanic gets a mention, helping anchor the movie in time), but they're always roaming and locomoting through their own film. Compartment No. 6 is that lived in, that astutely drawn and that naturalistically played, as aided immensely by its meticulous production design. Just as the handheld camera places viewers in the characters' headspace with precision, the immaculate like-you're-there touches that fill every frame are equally as immersive. It's easy to see Hollywood wanting to hop on Compartment No. 6's tracks, riding its way to an English-language remake. If that happens — probably more like when — good luck to whoever's behind it in repeating such casting perfection. All of the expertly and expressively deployed cinematography in the world, or even just across a 35-hour-plus trip to the top of Russia, can't bond an audience to fictional characters if they don't already feel so real that you could be them; the latter springs from extraordinary performances, of course, which Kuosmanen guides out of Haarla and Borisov. In their time together, Laura and Ljoha shift, ruminate and open up, including to themselves. That's a delicate journey, as relatable as it is, and also immensely complex to portray with emotional resonance, honesty and nuance. Compartment No. 6's untethered imagery sees that. It revels in it. That's what two strangers on a train enjoying an unexpected bond en route do with each other's company, eventually — and, again, this unconventional love story has everyone watching share the same sensation.
Where would we be without movies during the pandemic? Even when cinemas were closed during lockdowns, we all still sought out the joy and escapism of watching a flick — and truly appreciated how cathartic it is. Still keen to queue up a big heap of movies, and a hefty dose of couch time? Enter Movie Frenzy, the returning week-long online film rental sale. From Friday, June 24–Thursday, June 30, it's serving up a sizeable lineup of popular flicks from the past year, all from less than $3 per movie. On the lineup: the OTT stunts of Jackass Forever, the Oscar-winning poignancy of Belfast, Joaquin Phoenix turning in another fantastic performance in C'mon C'mon and The Sopranos prequel The Many Saints of Newark. Or, bustin' can make you feel good (again) via Ghostbusters: Afterlife, and you can get some more sequel action via Venom: Let There Be Carnage and Sing 2. Female-led spy thriller The 355, Jennifer Lopez-starring rom-com Marry Me, ridiculous disaster epic Moonfall, Aussie zombie flick Wyrmwood Apocalypse and Liam Neeson's latest action effort Blacklight are also available, too. So are the oversized canine antics of Clifford the Big Red Dog, Cliff Eastwood glaring his way through Cry Macho and the literary world-set The Hating Game. (While some of these flicks are more worth your attention than others, we'll let you do the choosing.) You can nab the cheap movies via your digital rental platform of choice, including Apple TV, iTunes, Fetch, Google Play, Dendy Home Cinema, the Microsoft Store, the Playstation Store, Prime Video, Telstra TV Box Office and YouTube Movies — although just what's available, and the price, will vary depending on the service. And you won't need a subscription, unless you decide to join in the fun via the Foxtel Store.
After a sell-out season in 2014, Lachlan Philpott's shimmering odyssey M.Rock returns for a strictly limited 2022 season at the Australian Theatre for Young People. The harbourside venue welcomes Valerie Bader as the titular Mabel Mudge — AKA M.Rock (a character inspired by the true story of Mamy Rock, DJ Ruth Flowers). After her impulsive granddaughter Tracey (Milena Barraclough Nesic) embarks on a soul-searching Euro-trip and fails to return home as planned, the settled suburban granny adventures out to find her. Through Philpott's uplifting script and Fraser Corfield's fast-paced direction, the warm and heartfelt production examines intergenerational bias, the beauty and importance of new experiences (no matter your age) and the danger of a grass-is-always-greener mentality. Don't consider yourself thespian? Don't write M.Rock off (read: deny yourself a joy-inducing, thought-provoking, inspiring night out). The hard-hitting production delivers charismatic Berlin-based DJs, a set that'll transport you across the seas and live music courtesy of Sydney-based DJ Venus Guy Trap. Which, along with brilliant performances from the ensemble of three (who play over 20 characters), makes for an exceptional culture trip — and the start of a lifelong love of the theatre if you're new to the scene. 'M.Rock' is showing at The Rebel Theatre until Wednesday, July 20. Head to the website to secure your tickets. Images: Tracey Schramm
If you want to expand your knowledge of local wines in the most efficient way, Surry Hills bistro Porteño is here to help with a huge winter wine fair taking over the venue on Sunday, July 10. For just $52, guests will have the opportunity to taste their way through 50 different wines from around Australia. The Porteño team has pulled together a range of Australian winemakers who will be supplying top-quality drops for you to taste on Sunday — with makers, suppliers and industry professionals in attendance to walk you through what you're tasting each step of the way. The fair will kick off at midday and run until 4.30pm. Each attendee will be gifted a Riedel glass to use as you explore the vinos on offer and to take home at the end of the day. Also included in your ticket is the opportunity to taste all 50 wines. You can try as many or as little as you want, depending on how big a finish to your weekend you're plotting. [caption id="attachment_700879" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Porteño's Christmas Market[/caption]
Some days, the only way to break free from the 9-to-5 grind is with some wings and a drink. Winghaus hopes that you feel like that most days, actually — but from Monday, July 25–Friday, July 29, it's giving you an extra incentive to head into its Barangaroo and Circular Quay joints as soon as quittin' time hits. The occasion: National Wing Day, one of those dates that's all about a particular food, and is always jumped on by the places that serve them. Clearly, Winghaus fits the bill on this culinary celebration. While the day itself falls on the Friday, the bar chain is extending its wing-fuelled festivities across the entire working week. The more wings the merrier, naturally. Drop by between 5–7pm, which is when Winghaus does Wing Hour, and you'll be able to nab wings for just ten cents each. You do need to purchase a beverage, though, and there's a limit of ten per drink. Want more? Get sipping again. Winghaus is also doing six limited-edition special flavours, so you can expand your wing repertoire. On the menu, and included in the ten-cent offer: lemongrass and ginger, XO, Szechuan pepper and honey, honey mustard, satay and chilli beer varieties.
Call this 'The One with Familiar But Still Exciting News': Friends! The Musical Parody is bringing its comedic, song-filled take on a certain 90s sitcom to Sydney in 2022. Yes, this announcement has been made before, and more than once. The show has even opened its umbrellas in some parts of the country already. But we all know how the past two years have turned out — so the fact that the production is doing the rounds again should still make your day, week, month and even this year. This time around, Friends! The Musical Parody will be there for audiences at Riverside Theatres in Parramatta from Friday, June 10–Saturday, June 18. So, get ready to spend time with the show's versions of Ross, Rachel, Chandler, Monica, Joey and Phoebe — hanging out at their beloved Central Perk, of course, and sitting on an orange couch, no doubt. The musical starts with caffeinated catch-ups, but then a runaway bride shakes up the gang's day. From there, you'll get to giggle through a loving, laugh-filled lampoon that both makes good-natured fun of and celebrates the iconic sitcom. Yes, no one told you that being obsessed with the Courteney Cox, Jennifer Aniston, Matthew Perry, Matt LeBlanc, Lisa Kudrow and David Schwimmer-starring show about six New Yorkers would turn out this way — with on-stage skits and gags, recreations of some of the series' best-known moments, and songs with titles such as 'How you Doin?' and 'We'll Always Be There For You'. And no, no one told us that being a Friends aficionado would continue to serve up so many chances to indulge our fandom 17 years after it finished airing, either.
Even just watching on from Sydney, the past week's catastrophic wet weather across northern New South Wales and Queensland has been impossible to ignore. It's been a lot to take in, actually, thanks to record rainfalls in Brisbane, relentless deluges hitting from the the two states, and floodwaters destroying homes and businesses. Accordingly, it might've left you wanting to do your part to help out. In Sydney, getting involved can include having a few drinks, all by throwing your support behind a fundraising effort by Surry Hills' Bar Suze. The late-night Sydney haunt is helping the flood-relief cause in two ways: in-person at a big wine-fuelled five-hour event on Sunday, March 6, and online via a raffle. You'll want to swing by Foveaux Street between 1–6pm to sip rare natural wines, mix them up with Poor Toms gin and tonics, and tuck into Bar Suze snacks. Whatever you choose to eat and drink, all of the proceeds will go to flood-relief funds for folks impacted by the weather in NSW and Queensland. At the event, the venue will also be drawing a raffle, with more than 25 prizes on offer — and all of the proceeds from the $50-each tickets will also go to the flood relief fundraising effort, too. Prizes include a dinner for two at Bar Suze, as well as a one-night stay at the soon-to-open Ace Hotel Sydney in Surry Hills, a two-evening trip to a Byron hinterlands retreat that sleeps 12 — and boasts its own saltwater pool and outdoor cinema — plus an In Bed linen set, hair salon vouchers, a Coffee Supreme subscription, and a bar tab at Redfern's The Woolpack. There are also prize packs on offer from DRNKS, Cocktail Porter, Pepe Saya Butter, Worktones and Lo-Fi Wines — and the list goes on. The raffle is open to everyone, and tickets can be bought online, too — so that's how you can get involved if you can't make it along on Sunday. You just need to get buying before 5pm AEST on Sunday, March 6, with the raffle drawn live at Bar Suze that evening. As for all of those proceeds, they're going to on-the-ground initiatives in the Northern Rivers and Queensland. At the time of writing, Bar Suze is supporting Flood Relief Cook Up — Northern Rivers region, Bundjalung flood relief and Northey Street City Farm flood relief — with more worth initiatives likely to be added. Images: Nikki To.
When Flee won the World Cinema Documentary Grand Jury Prize at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival, it collected its first accolade. The wrenchingly affecting animated documentary hasn't stopped notching up deserving acclaim since. A spate of other gongs have come its way, in fact, including a history-making trifecta of nominations for Best International Feature, Best Documentary and Best Animated Feature at this year's Oscars, becoming the first picture to ever earn nods in all three categories at once. Mere minutes into watching, it's easy to glean why this moving and compassionate movie keeps garnering awards and attention. Pairing animation with factual storytelling is still rare enough that it stands out, but that blend alone isn't what makes Flee special. Writer/director Jonas Poher Rasmussen (What He Did) has created one of the best instances of the combination yet — a feature that could only have the impact it does by spilling its contents in such a way, like Ari Folman's Waltz with Bashir before it — however, it's the tale he shares and the care with which he tells it that makes this something unshakeably exceptional. Rasmussen's subject is Amin Nawabi, an Afghan refugee using a pseudonym. As his story fills Flee's frames, it's also plain to see why it can only be told through animation. Indeed, the film doesn't cover an easy plight — or a unique one, sadly — but Rasmussen renders every detail not just with eye-catching imagery, but with visuals that flow with empathy at every moment. The filmmaker's protagonist is a friend of his and has been for decades, and yet no one, not even the director himself, had ever previously heard him step through the events that the movie chronicles. Amin is now in his 40s, but he was once a kid in war-torn Kabul, then a teenager seeking asylum in Copenhagen. His life to-date has cast him in other roles in other countries, too, on his journey to house-hunting with his boyfriend as he chats through the ups and downs for his pal. That path — via Russia and Sweden — is one of struggle and acceptance. It's a chronicle of displacement, losing one's foundations and searching for a space to be free. It's also an account of identities fractured and formed anew, and of grasping hold of one's culture and sexuality as well. Flee explores how global events and battling ideologies have a very real and tangible impact on those caught in their midst, a truth that the feature's hand-drawn look underscores at every turn. And, it's about trying to work out who you are when the building blocks of your life are so tenuous, and when being cast adrift from your family and traditions is your status quo. It's also an intimate portrait of how a past that's so intertwined with international politics, and with the Afghan civil war between US-backed rebels and the nation's Soviet-armed government, keeps leaving ripples. Plus, Flee examines how someone in its complicated situation endures without having a firm sense of home, including when acknowledging he's gay after growing up in a place where that wasn't even an option. Clearly, Flee is many vivid, touching, devastating things, and it finds an immense wealth of power in its expressive and humanistic approach. There's a hyperreality to the film's animation, honing in on precisely the specifics it needs to within each image and discarding anything superfluous. When a poster for Jean-Claude Van Damme's Bloodsport can be spied on Amin's 80s-era Kabul bedroom, for instance, Rasmussen draws viewers' eyes there with exacting purpose. There's impressionistic flair to Flee's adaptive style as well, with the movie firmly concerned with selecting the best way to visually represent how each remembered instance felt to Amin. A scene set to A-ha's 'Take on Me' presents a fantastic example, especially given that the Norwegian group's pop hit is famed for its animated music video — something that Rasmussen happily toys with. Flee uses its music cues bewitchingly well across its entire duration. The sounds of Swedish duo Roxette are never unwelcome echoing from screens large and small, as everything from Pretty Woman and Long Shot to Euphoria have capitalised upon, and the use of 'Joyride' during a plane trip is a sublime masterclass in emotional juxtaposition. And, when the movie lays bare its most stunning sequence in a club where Amin wholeheartedly embraces his sexuality, it's immaculately soundtracked to Daft Punk's 'Veridis Quo'. Flee isn't the first feature to lean on that particularly enchanting song to such strong effect, after Eden did as well, but the tune's use here is nothing short of divine. Of course, any movie can whip up a killer soundtrack, but it's how these songs are deployed to so perfectly encapsulate exact slices of Amin's life that's repeatedly phenomenal. We all listen to music to help us process the world, and our traumas. We're all drawn to images to aid in doing the same, and we each have recollections of life-changing events that are tied to pop culture — the songs we heard, the movies we loved and the like. Flee is as skilful as films come at conveying this sensation, which is a coming-of-age staple. Yes, that's another genre that this animated documentary biography, which boasts actors Riz Ahmed (Sound of Metal) and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Game of Thrones) among its executive producers, also slots into commandingly. How astoundingly it achieves everything it sets its mind to is breathtaking, especially the feat that it its number-one aim: giving Amin's plight the attention, justice, respect and room to resound that it deserves, all while making it clear that this is just one of countless refugee stories with similar complexity. Evocative from its first glimpses to its last (including when it weaves in IRL footage from news clips and protests), Flee overflows with individual successes, be it scenes that glow with potency, animation choices that express a world of feeling, pitch-perfect needle drops or the pure details of Amin's life. Every description they earn applies to each second of this poignant and shattering feature, too, which manages something truly extraordinary overall. To peer into Amin's eyes, as painted here with nothing but lines, shapes, colours and pixels, is to feel like you're staring deeply at the flesh-and-blood Amin. Flee takes us home to him, while mirroring the reality that home has been a constantly shifting concept for its subject, and for everyone else who has shared even part of his journey. No wonder this film proves so innovative, sincere, heartbreaking, harrowing and poetic in tandem, and also simply astonishing.
Five Sydneysiders are in for a treat each Wednesday this month, with Hendrick's Gin's new Cucumber Concierge hotline helping juniper enthusiasts craft a cucumber-garnished gin and tonic at home. On each Wednesday in March between 4–5pm, gin lovers in one Sydney area can call the hotline — 1800 HG CUKE — for their shot at Hendrick's latest giveaway. The first five callers will speak with Hendrick's Chief Cucumber Officer (yes, that's a thing) and receive a free crate of cucumbers and Henrick's Gin delivered to their location. Hendrick's Gin hopes that their first ever end-of-summer Gin O'Clock promotion will help Sydney residents craft their own gin and tonics at home complete with a garnish of fresh cucumber, which they say is imperative to sipping Hendrick's Gin. The program began on Wednesday, March 9, and will continue on March 16 for Sydneysiders from Milsons Point to Oxford Falls, Dee Why and Manly. Gin O'Clock will then move to the northwest suburbs (from Ryde to Davidson and Hunters Hill) on March 23, and finally end with areas within Pyrmont, over to Earlwood, North Strathfield and Balmain, on March 30.
Summer is here and despite the wetter than usual weather, there are still plenty of sunny afternoons primed for soaking up some rays with a refreshing beverage in hand. All of the above combines at the latest iteration of Opera Bar's Rose All Day Festival, returning after a few years off and running until March 6. Throughout the now-extended festival, the harbourside bar with an incredible view of the Bridge will be thinking and drinking pink. Expect frosé, spritzes, pét-nat, cocktails and rosé still and sparkling, with varieties from Provence's AIX, Mojo, Days & Daze, Bandini and Nick Spencer all on offer. Opera Bar's seafood and pizza-focused menu will be on offer to pair with your pink fizzy beverages, and live music will be popping up across the ten days. Tickets cost $30, and include three pink drinks for you to claim at any point. After that, you'll have to purchase your drinks as you go.
