There are many things that are great about The Great, and the fact that it tells you what to exclaim whenever you're enjoying it, just received good news about it or simply can't stop thinking about it is one of them. For two seasons so far, this historical satire has bandied about "huzzah!" like it's the only word worth saying. And, come May, it'll do so again when its third season finally drops. The Great was renewed after its second batch of episodes arrived late in 2021, and now season three finally has a release date. Mark Saturday, May 13 in your diary for your next binge — following the rise and reign of Catherine the Great, including her marriage to and overthrowing of Emperor Peter III, with only the slightest regard for the actual facts, this show has a concept that's all killer, no filler, after all. [caption id="attachment_771188" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Ollie Upton /Hulu[/caption] Season three will once again feature Elle Fanning (The Girl From Plainville) as Catherine and Nicholas Hoult (The Menu) as Peter, and again step into their chaotic life together. Their nuptials have always been tumultuous, but season two threw everything from attempted murders to mass imprisonments at the couple — and kept disrupting their dynamic as Catherine continued to work towards the name that's a part of history, and also inspires the show's title. So, this time around, expect more of Peter figuring out what it means to play First Husband, and Catherine expanding her influence and reputation beyond just Russia. That, and visions of Peter's late father (Jason Isaacs, Mrs Harris Goes to Paris), life lessons, attempts to build a new country and the usual scheming. While the series has always been supremely confident in its blend of handsome period staging, the loosest of historical realities and that savage sense of humour (it does spring from Oscar-nominated The Favourite screenwriter Tony McNamara, after all), it felt even more comfortable in its skin during its second season. And smoother, too, yet just as biting. So, hopefully that will remain the case in season three as well, all while it keeps seesawing tonally and proving as sharp as a shot of vodka — or several. Fanning and Hoult will be joined by returning co-stars Phoebe Fox (The Aeronauts), Adam Godley (Lodge 49), Gwilym Lee (Top End Wedding), Charity Wakefield (Bounty Hunters), Douglas Hodge (I Hate Suzie Too), Sacha Dhawan (The Prince), Bayo Gbadamosi (War of the Worlds) and Belinda Bromilow (Doctor Doctor), too, because this is a show with a phenomenally great cast. There's no trailer for The Great season three as yet, but you can check out the trailer for season two below: The Great season three will be available to stream in Australia via Stan from Saturday, May 13.
UPDATE, March 11, 2022: Once Upon a Time In Hollywood is available to stream via Netflix, Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Every Tarantino film has one: an image that so impeccably captures its essence, it instantly symbolises the movie as a whole. In Reservoir Dogs, it arrived via a slow-walking crew of criminals. In Pulp Fiction, it came in the form of a twisting Uma Thurman and John Travolta. In Inglourious Basterds, it could only be Melanie Laurent's unflinching act of rebellion. They're the sights that blaze fiercely with the spirit of their respective pictures, all while burning themselves into viewers' retinas. Set in 1969, as the swinging sixties came to an end and Charles Manson altered Los Angeles forever, Once Upon a Time In Hollywood boasts one also. The honour goes to Margot Robbie's stellar portrayal of Sharon Tate as she sits in a cinema, watching 1968's The Wrecking Crew with a paying audience, and delighting at the crowd's response to her performance. Crosscut with the antics of Once Upon a Time In Hollywood's two other sublime leads — Leonardo DiCaprio in charmingly crumbling mode as fading TV star Rick Dalton, and Brad Pitt as his stunt double and best buddy Cliff Booth — the movie-going scene ranks among Robbie's longest in the film. The lack of dialogue she utters throughout the picture compared to her male co-stars has sparked some backlash, but it's unwarranted. This is a flick that cuts to the core of its leading lady again and again. Here, Robbie's version of Tate is excited and radiant as she soaks in her cinema experience. In a savvy touch, Tarantino uses genuine snippets from The Wrecking Crew to let everyone soak in the actual Tate, too. And, as we watch Robbie both playing Tate and watching Tate, we feel the character's nerves and exuberance, and understand what's running through her heart and mind. Moreover, we do so while knowing that her real-life fate couldn't clash more starkly with this moment. It's a startlingly layered scene — all the more so after seeing what comes next — but that's Tarantino's ninth stint as a director in general. It's also warm and thoughtful, in a movie that similarly earns that description. Although such a tone contrasts with the filmmaker's usual hectic, stylised, talky vibe, it shouldn't come as a shock. Once Upon a Time In Hollywood sports a fairytale title, and basks in the glow of Tinseltown from five decades ago. Tarantino fashions a love letter to a period that has definitely passed by, as lensed in sunny hues by his regular cinematographer Robert Richardson. However the picture's feel has another flavour and meaning, as does the energy emanating from Tate's time staring at the big screen. A film of hope, lament, farewell and recognition all in one, it realises that spying the past through rose-coloured lenses and yearning for its comfort amidst upheaval is inevitable. It also knows something just as important: that change is equally inescapable. Long past his prime-time heyday and only just beginning to realise it between drinks, Dalton isn't coping well with his own evolving status. When a producer (Al Pacino) tells him that he keeps being cast as television villains to bolster the next generation of heroes, and that he should get into spaghetti westerns instead, the actor doesn't take the blunt disclosure well. As Dalton tries to prove that he's capable of more (to himself, mainly), Booth rolls with the punches, despite his own bleak professional prospects. Lately, he's a driver, gofer and righthand man to his famous pal, rather than his stand-in, yet little fazes him. When Dalton starts bubbling with enthusiasm over his new neighbours, Tate and her husband Roman Polanski, Booth barely seems to care. And, when he picks up a hippie hitchhiker (a scene-stealing Margaret Qualley) who's part of Manson's (Damon Herriman) flower child entourage, he enters their unnerving world without breaking a sweat. History dictates where Once Upon a Time In Hollywood ends up, in a manner. In the revisionist mode that served Inglourious Basterds, Django Unchained and The Hateful Eight so well, Tarantino dictates the specific details within his admittedly slim narrative, as well as the time spent luxuriating in them. With no disrespect to his previous films, he's at his most intricate, mature and laidback, crafting a picture — and people within it — that audiences want to spend as much time with as possible. Filled as it is with movies within the broader movie, comic flashbacks and stars galore (such as Kurt Russell, Zoe Bell, Timothy Olyphant, Bruce Dern, Dakota Fanning, Lena Dunham, Luke Perry and Maya Hawke), it's easy to fall in step with the film's rambling pace, enjoying each moment as it arises. Incessantly keen to splash his affection for celluloid history across the screen as always, Tarantino is in his element recreating Hollywood's golden days, its big names and LA's gleaming sights, and nodding to westerns once again. But, befitting a flick about weathering seismic personal, cultural and societal shifts, Once Upon a Time In Hollywood is a glorious character piece first and foremost. Tate, Dalton and Booth remain the key to the film, and the driving force behind its hangout air. With the often dancing, smiling Tate, Tarantino presents a self-possessed woman content in her skin and life, yet at threat by the darkening tides around her. Through Dalton and Booth, a duo with as many grin-inducing gifts as firm flaws, he finds fractures — some glaring, some hidden — in their facades that mirror the world around them. Exceptional performances assist — including the overflowing delights of pairing up DiCaprio and Pitt for the first time — but perhaps Once Upon a Time In Hollywood's smartest move comes from building such compelling, revealing, deeply felt characters. The film has character, too. Roving leisurely and unravelling shaggily, it waits a beat to notice a woman's bare feet on a sun-dappled car dashboard. It peers down at an ostensibly abandoned ranch once used for western TV shoots, relishing its beauty even in a display of tension and menace. It revels in the humour of showing Booth jump onto Dalton's bungalow roof in just three bounds, and later during his face-off against Bruce Lee (Mike Moh). These types of flourishes give the movie a different kind of character to Tarantino's usual oeuvre. He's more assured and ambitious, less ego-driven and gimmicky, and more judicious with his expertly choreographed violence and witty banter. Again, that's no slight to a fantastic filmography that also spans Jackie Brown, Kill Bill and Death Proof, but the change of pace suits the writer-director, the era he's wading through and his chosen story perfectly. It also shapes what just might be his best work yet. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsL_spv4yEw
If Neighbours wasn't already famously taken as a title of an Australian TV series, it could've also fit Last Days of the Space Age. Set in the 70s in Perth, the eight-part Disney+ show incorporates everything from US space station Skylab and workers striking for their rights to the battle for gender equality, the nation's treatment of Indigenous Australians, grappling with trauma and the immigrant experience — plus Miss Universe and the Cold War as well. Navigating all of the above: three neighbouring families in the Western Australian capital's suburbs. Judy (Radha Mitchell, Troppo) and Tony Bissett (Jesse Spencer, Chicago Fire), Sandy (Linh-Dan Pham, Blue Bayou) and Lam Bui (Vico Thai, Total Control), and Eileen Wilberforce (Deborah Mailman, Boy Swallows Universe) are all good neighbours and good friends. The teenagers in the three households — aspiring astronaut Tilly Bissett (Mackenzie Mazur, Moja Vesna), her surf-loving sister Mia (Emily Grant, RFDS), her best friend Jono Bui (debutant Aidan Du Chiem) and new arrival Bilya Wilberforce (Thomas Weatherall, Heartbreak High) — also all go to school together. Those connections sit at the heart of the series — and, as almost everything that the Bissetts, Buis and Wilberforces know starts to change, their neighbourly ties couldn't be more pivotal. Mitchell and Spencer are more than a bit familiar with this type of situation on-screen. While their careers have taken them overseas for decades — Mitchell has Phone Booth, The Crazies, two Silent Hill films, Olympus Has Fallen and London Has Fallen on her resume; Spencer featured in 173 episodes of House before his Chicago Fire stint; both also co-starred with a 00s-era Dakota Fanning in Man on Fire and Uptown Girls, respectively — they share a past on Neighbours. Last Days of the Space Age is Spencer's big return to homegrown TV, in fact, and his first major Australian small-screen role since playing Billy Kennedy. Ramsay Street's antics aren't set in 1979, of course. Spencer can see the symmetry with the Aussie television role that brought him to fame in the 90s and his latest show, however, he tells Concrete Playground. "The writing quality is a little bit more involved, but that's up to you to decide," adds Mitchell. As Last Days of the Space Age's Judy and Tony, the pair play not just a married couple but also colleagues at the Doull Power Plant, where Tony has been leading the worker strike for six months. When Judy is promoted and tasked with negotiating an end to the union action, their family dynamic is unsurprisingly shaken up. Aided by directors Bharat Nalluri (Boy Swallows Universe), Rachel Ward (Rachel's Farm) and Kriv Stenders (Danger Close: The Battle of Long Tan), creator David Chidlow (Hidden, Moving On) unfurls the Bissetts' upheaval alongside the Bui family's efforts to build a new life after arriving from Vietnam. With the Wilberforces — and with 1979 marking 150 years since Perth was founded — the series also confronts the impact of colonisation. Game of Thrones fans will spot Iain Glen (Silo) among the cast as well, as Judy's father Bob. Also included in the clearly ambitious series, which enthusiastically embraces its era and its tonal rollercoaster: Tony's journalist brother Mick (George Mason, Exposure) covering the beauty pageant, where USSR contestant Svetlana (Ines English, Dead Lucky) is a frontrunner under close watch by her KGB minder Yvgeny (Jacek Koman, Prosper). With Last Days of the Space Age available to stream via Disney+ since Wednesday, October 2, we chatted with Mitchell, Spencer and and French Vietnamese actor Pham about what excited them about the show's bold mix of elements, the fight to be treated fairly that thrums through the series, balancing its tones, Mitchell and Spencer's homecoming, Pham connecting to her roots, Neighbours and more. On What Excited Mitchell, Spencer and Pham About Starring in Last Days of the Space Age Jesse: "I was in the States, I just had my first child and this script came across my desk — and I love period dramas. It was my first chance to play a father with two daughters, so I felt like I was looking into my future a little bit. I knew nothing really about unions or the history of unions, but my character's a very passionate union leader, so I researched that — and there's a whole pretty awful history of treatment of workers back in the day, and workers' rights. But the whole project felt like a really interesting ensemble. It was quite quirky, but it was ultimately about families, and families fighting for each other — and societal change and how they coped with that. And it was really well-written. Then I got to Australia and it was a great cast, and it was a great experience to bring it off the page and bring it to life on the screen." Linh-Dan: "I think when I choose projects, there's always something personal, somehow, unconsciously. And this one was very clear: it was about reconnecting with my roots, basically. Even though my parents didn't go through what the Bui family has gone through, I managed to talk to some of my relatives about it, and it reopened the conversation — and also discovering the hidden pain, the trauma, was my way to get into Sandy. The script was actually so amazing anyway, and period pieces are so interesting. To go back: first of all, Australia, I love traveling; 70s outfits, hello disco. So it was a no-brainer for me." Radha: "There's so much in all of the storylines, and this sense of community, and all different parts of the fabric of the Australian identity being reviewed, in a way, because we have an opportunity to have a bit of distance between now and 1979. I thought that was really an interesting mirror to history, how we've constructed our sense of identity and where we're going to go with it now. Looking through the lens of that period, I thought was really interesting. And I liked all the characters. I felt it was written with a really compassionate, kind perspective. There's so much snarky nastiness in the media lately, that it was nice to just be involved in a story that was trying to put something positive into the world. So I felt very aligned to all those aspects of the script." On Mitchell and Spencer's Homecoming — and the Joy of Not Needing to Imitate US Culture Radha: "It was a little bit of a sense of coming back home, maybe, for me and Jesse — that we were able to bring some of where we've come from to where we are now. It felt like a bit of a contribution for me, being able to come home and do something that I felt aligned to." Jesse: "Every Australian actor I know — because a lot of work is international, and for a lot of actors too — but every actor I know always loves to go home and try to do a project. Because you spend a lot of time learning about throwing yourself into other cultures, and more or less trying to imitate authentically who they are, and where they are in certain points in time and stuff. So to bring it back to something that's much more familiar is just a pleasure. Things are much, much more tangible. It's accessible. There's still challenges, but it makes it very, very fun. And especially when there's good writing and good casting — I know a lot of actors who are always trying to go back to their home countries and do it. And this was an opportunity to do that. So I grabbed it." Radha: "It's interesting — an imitation. That is true when you're working in the US." Jesse: "I mean, you don't think about it. You don't want to think about that." Radha: "Yeah, but you're imitating the culture, whereas here, I feel like this is our culture, talking about things that we're part of." On Whether Making a Show About Neighbours After Acting on Neighbours Feels Like a Full-Circle Moment Radha: "I think Jesse would say so." Jesse: "Yeah, a little bit. There was a little bit of that. Although, yes and no, because the dynamics, the themes that run through the show, the dynamics between the characters, is just a little different to Neighbours, but there is a similarity there." Radha: "We are neighbours in the show." Jesse: "I mean, we're next door to each other." On the Series' Resonant and Repeated Focus on Fighting to Be Treated Fairly Jesse: "I think it's a human trope. Everyone's fighting a hard battle against themselves and in society. It's something everyone can relate to. And it's enjoyable to watch, I think, characters have obstacles — to come up against them, sometimes fail, but sometimes find a way around that and breakthrough for a transformation. That's what this show is all about. It's about transformation, courage and ultimately hope." Radha: "But it's subverted, I guess, in a great way by this crazy stuff that's going on in history, and the crazy costumes. And all this stuff, there's a sincerity to it, but there's also an irreverence about the storytelling, which I think attracted me to it." On Balancing the Mix of Warmth, Tragedy, Humour and History Radha: "That's the challenge in the discovery. I think we were on set thinking 'what is this? Is this a comedy?'." Jesse: "Right. Right." Radha: "'Look at your outfit, man. I can't even look at you without laughing' — but here we are, we're doing this very serious scene." Jesse: "But that's life as well, when it's this tragedy but it's also kind of funny — a bit of black humour or quirky sort of humour. There's always a million shades of grey, which is better than just one colour. And yeah, that was a challenge. And we were always trying to figure out what the tone is in the scene and where you were with the character." Radha: "Even Bharat [Nalluri], who was the first director for the series, was like 'wow, okay, we're really going to create this together, the tone'. And we felt comfortable that he had recognised that that was part of what we were doing — that it couldn't be just taken for granted. I think that's what makes the series unique, that it's got its own tone, its own voice — and I think that was what we created." On How Pham Approached Playing a Character Caught Between Making a New Life and Grappling with Trauma Lin-Danh: "Well, you go deep. I think somehow what your parents instil in you, your family, your surroundings, you feed yourself from all of that, and it's the mystery also of acting, sometimes. Actually, my aunt had written a story about her side of the family, a book she self-published. I did read about that. And it was ups and down all the time, her first few years in France where she lost everything and she refused to go back to Vietnam, and had to fend for herself with her three kids. They were boat people, met some pirates. So, you just talk to these people and you feed off it. It feels a bit selfish and sometimes like I'm forcing a little bit. But they were very generous and we had great conversations with my family that I had not really had kept in touch with. So that's how I got through Sandy." On Mitchell's Take on Judy Being Pulled in Every Direction Both at Work and at Home — and Finding Herself in the Chaos Radha: "I just wanted to keep her really real. And I felt maybe what was charming about her is that she didn't want to do all these things. They were just happening and she was discovering her talents in action, but she wasn't ambitious at all. It was just happening, it was her nightmare that she was going to be doing all these things, and yet she was discovering herself in them. I thought that was really interesting about her. She wasn't this empowered woman — she was somebody discovering her power. And the conflict around that at home, and the challenges of having teenage daughters that just don't want to listen to you, I think it sort of played itself out. And maybe even my own personal bias against it — just feeling that I like these emancipated female characters, so to cut my own wings in the role was really interesting for me. I think those were the challenges, and I was lucky enough to be working with great actors, and we created this wacky little family together. And then the friendships around that, I think layered it with this — I think Linh-Dan was saying it was a feminist show in a way, and I don't think it is only, but it certainly celebrates the relationships between women and the details of women's lives in a kind of intimate way. I think that's one of the beautiful parts of the storytelling." Last Days of the Space Age streams via Disney+ from Wednesday, October 2, 2024. Images: Joel Pratley, Tony Mott and Mark Rogers.
"Superheroes, they're just like us" has been an unspoken refrain humming beneath what feels like millions of caped-crusader tales that've reached screens in recent decades. Possessing great powers doesn't mean inherently and instantly knowing how to wield power, or greatness, or how to navigate the daily elements of life that don't revolve around possessing great powers, as movies and TV shows in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the DC Extended Universe and beyond have kept stressing amid their planet-saving, evil-vanquishing, existence-defending battles. Even as it dispenses a much-needed antidote to superhero worship's saturation of big- and small-screen entertainment — even as it has made distrusting the spandex-clad and preternaturally gifted its baseline — The Boys has also told this story. Across the entire extent of human history, what's more recognisable than power and dominance bringing out the worst in people? As brought to Prime Video from Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson's comics series of the same name by showrunner Eric Kripke (Supernatural) since 2019 — with season two arriving in 2020, season three in 2022 and now season four streaming from Thursday, June 13, 2024 — The Boys has stared unflinchingly at the grimmest vision of a world with tights-adorned supposed saviours. This is a series where murder at the hands of supes, which is then covered up by the company profiting from elevating them above the masses, is an everyday reality. It's a dark satire. It's gleeful in its onslaught of OTT violence and sightings of genitals. But with what it means to grapple with the struggle to hold onto humanity firmly at its core since its first episode — and likely right until its last, which will hit with its fifth season, Kripke has announced — The Boys remains a mirror. It has never been hard to see where art imitates life in this account of its namesake rag-tag crew saying "enough is enough" to the US' downward spiral. With flying, laser-eyed, super-strong, supernaturally speedy and otherwise-enhanced beings commercialised by a behemoth of a company called Vought International, The Boys has never been subtle at pointing its fingers at the many ways in which pop culture and the corporations behind it hold sway. The show's parallels with American politics in its portrait of a factionalised nation torn apart over a polarising leader who considers himself above the law are equally overt. Of course, the series is just as blatant in unpacking the consequences of letting the pursuit of power run riot. In its narrative, in chasing supremacy above all else, humans and supes really are just like each other — a truth season four doesn't ever let slip from view. At the end of 2022's batch of episodes, Vought's invincible leader Homelander (Antony Starr, Guy Ritchie's The Covenant) — the chief of its prime superhero team The Seven, but also calling the shots everywhere — unleashed his fiery gaze upon a supporter of his ex-colleague Starlight (Erin Moriarty, Captain Fantastic). The watching world saw the fatal ramifications, as well as the shattered pretence that caped crusaders can do no harm. But in a culture war, most folks' downright murder is Homelander and his devotees' justified act and fuel for more horrors. While there's no humanity in the Captain America-esque figure's quest to rule — and to his son Ryan (Cameron Crovetti, Boy Kills World), who is just learning to use his abilities, the unhinged ringleader is scathing in his perspective of people as disposable toys — does battling back by Butcher (Karl Urban, Thor: Ragnarok), Hughie (Jack Quaid, Oppenheimer), MM (Laz Alonso, Wrath of Man), Frenchie (Tomer Capone, One on One) and Kimiko (Karen Fukuhara, Bullet Train) need to entail resorting to the same mindset? As it thrusts its reflection of IRL US politics even further into focus not just via Homelander's trial, but also a presidential election and the certification of its results, The Boys season four proves as bleak and brutal as the series can get (although this is a show that treats every season as a challenge to top the last, so expect season five to double down again when it surfaces). Can only oblivion await? Again, as The Boys tells of a fight for control where the media is weaponised, fascism threatens democracy, billionaires pull strings and an oligarchy is the preferred outcome for many — a dictatorship for some, too — the comparisons with today outside the screen couldn't be more glaring. There's also an urgency to this season above and beyond its predecessors. Taking Homelander's sadistic lead is the status quo within Vought, where the ultra-brainy Sister Sage (Susan Heyward, Hello Tomorrow!) and conspiracy theorist Firecracker (Valorie Curry, The Lost Symbol) are the fresh faces among The Seven. The former is charged with masterminding a new world order, and the latter is enlisted to corral the internet public to the cause. Among The Boys themselves, Butcher now has mere months to live and encouragement (via Jeffrey Dean Morgan, The Walking Dead) egging him on to take the most-drastic actions. For the whole gang, death, trauma and past mistakes haunt their every move. And if Hughie and co stick to the path that they're on, what they're rallying for — and against — could fade out of sight. If it sounds as if the fourth season of The Boys is as jam-packed as one of the series' orgies — with characters, including returning The Seven members A-Train (Jessie T Usher, Smile) and The Deep (Chace Crawford, Gossip Girl), Vought PR head-turned-CEO Ashley (Colby Minifie, I'm Thinking of Ending Things), and supe-in-hiding politician Victoria Neuman (Claudia Doumit, Where'd You Go, Bernadette); with storylines weaving them all in, too — that's because it is. And, it's that full to the brim before connecting to the events of college-set spinoff Gen V, which dropped its first season in 2023 and has already been renewed for season two, becomes part of the plot. The Boys has never been short on ambition, either, as is especially the case the bigger that the franchise and its stakes get. For all of its similarities with real life, the buzzing chaos pulsing through its scripts and vibe, and the feverish determination to emphasise the point with raucous, gross-out violence and comedy, The Boys as a show practices what it preaches: it doesn't forget the humanity coursing through its frames itself. Staring into a mirror is an empty gesture if you don't feel like you truly see a person staring back, after all. From the most-empathetic traits to the most-sociopathic, this cast takes its job of reflecting what makes us human — for better and so often for worse — seriously. Its two acting MVPs haven't changed, however, including as big names continue to make cameos. Starr and Urban are exceptional once more, still tussling to prove the idea beating at The Boys' heart: that Butcher and Homelander, and their respective crews and crusades, aren't fated to be two sides of the same coin. Check out the trailer for The Boys season four below: The fourth season of The Boys streams via Prime Video from Thursday, June 13, 2024. Read our reviews of The Boys season three and Gen V.
Setting our minds alight for another year, Vivid Ideas is the integral third part of the Vivid Sydney ethos. Dedicated to connecting industry with emerging talent and global leaders in over 100 events, the 18-day program will see events focused on discussion and creative collaboration. This year sees exiting keynote talks running alongside major industry events like Song Summit, X Media Lab and SPARC Design and partnerships with the Sydney Film Festival. While it's extremely difficult to pick and choose from this year's unique Ideas program, we've highlighted what are set to be some of the most exciting events of 2012. Check out the full program to see all the amazing things going down. 1. Bridging The Digital Divide When: May 28, 7.30-9pmWhere: The Vivid Ideas Exchange (The Forum)Price: $15 Grappling with some of the most complex ideas of the Festival, Bridging the Divide presents Young Australian of the Year and founder of Robogals network Marita Cheng alongside an expert panel discussing new systems for building an educated, imaginative workforce. Focusing on the importance of digital skill development, innovative thinking and how e-learning can change how and who has access to the creative economy, the panel's discussion looks to shed fascinating light on the future of creative ideas. 2. Etsy Success Sydney When: June 2, 9am-6pmWhere: The Vivid Ideas ExchangePrice: $100 Etsy Success is a full-day extravaganza engineered to help designers and creative entrepreneurs connect, learn new skills and make their businesses more sustainable. Featuring the much-touted keynote speech from Etsy CEO Chad Dickerson, the program also showcases a host of other awesome people including TMOD and Veggie Patch's Georgie Swift and Milenka Osen, panel discussions on online etiquette, DIY media and PR and workshops covering the basics of product styling and photography. The ticket also covers all-day catering and a cocktail reception for mingling purposes. 3. Awesome Soup When: June 2, 7.30-9.30pmWhere: The Vivid Ideas Exchange (The Forum)Price: $30 Dedicated to furthering the pursuit of awesomeness in Sydney, Awesome Soup helps turn vague, meandering thoughts into reality. Hosted by the Awesome Foundation, Awesome Soup awards a $1000 no-strings-attached grant to the best submitted application. Previous winners have included he Green Bans Art Walk and Exhibition, a project to develop the world's smallest patch synthesiser, and Physique, a weekly '80s themed aerobics night. Places are limited, but sure to be, well, awesome. 4. Portfolio Masterclass 1 When: June 3, 1-3.30pmWhere: The Vivid Ideas Exchange (The Forum)Price: $15 Having an impressive portfolio is vital for aspiring creatives. The Portfolio Masterclass is designed to provide insights and tips for those who've just finished study or are looking at taking a step up from a junior role, focusing on building your online presence and standing out from the crowd in some of the most fiercely competitive industries around. Developed by The Loop, the Masterclass sessions provide an invaluable opportunity for up-and-coming creatives to hear from leading figures in creative industries. 5. Shane Smith (VICE) Interview When: June 5, 9pmWhere: The Vivid Ideas ExchangePrice: $15 Shane Smith is the CEO and founder of the media behemoth that is VICE, which has been producing unique content across print magazines, books, films and online for the past decade. Shane joins Vivid via video link from New York to discuss the next chapter in the VICE story and his experiences in creating the Vice Guide to... series. 6. Conversation: Henry Holland and Jessica Fletcher When: June 6, 7-8pmWhere: The Vivid Ideas Exchange (The Forum)Price: $25 Designer, businessman and blogger Henry Holland is the golden boy of British fashion. Collaborating with intimidatingly well-dressed luminaries such as Agyness Deyn, Alexa Chung and Pixie Geldoff, he has gone on to launch his own fashion house and work with companies like Pretty Polly, Levi's and Superga. Alongside Henry, House of Holland's International sales director Jessica Fletcher will chat about the role of celebrity in fashion. 7. rage: Celebrating 25 Years When: June 6-16, 10am-6pmWhere: CarriageworksPrice: Free Australia's ever-steadfast hollering night-owl, rage has been beaming into living rooms across the country for 25 years. To celebrate, a large-scale installation of televisions is being set up in Carriageworks. The exhibition will pay homage to the legacy and influence of the world's longest-running music television program. Celebrating the advances in music video technology since the '80s, the exhibition will feature videos from at home and abroad, as well as archived footage of guest hosts such as Kylie Minogue, Nick Cave and the bedroom-eyed Tim Rogers. 8. FailCon When: June 7, 10am-4pmWhere: The Vivid Ideas Exchange (The Forum)Price: $99 Failure is a wonderful thing. That's the premise behind this year's FailCon, an event which celebrates the fact that people make mistakes and that it's important to learn about the stuff-ups and the miseries in order to ensure future success. Commencing in San Francisco in 2009, FailCon has created a global niche for itself, where technology entrepreneurs, developers, designers and investors can come together to learn from their mistakes. This year's speakers feature Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore, Tim Ross of radio's Merrick and Rosso, and Matt and Pip, founders of creative networking community The Loop. 9. Keynote: Jake Nikell (Threadless) When: June 7, 7-8.30pmWhere: The Vivid Ideas Exchange (The Forum)Price: $25 Threadless is the crazy-successful website encompassing an online community of 1.8 designers, design afficionados and T-shirt wearers. Jake Nickell, who co-founded the website back in 2000, has been instrumental in creating a platform for emerging designers and creatives to connect and gain international exposure, with over 1000 designs submitted, voted on and bought every week. Jake will be travelling from Chicago to chat about the Threadless story and explaining how to nurture high-quality user generated content. 10. YouTube Superstar When: June 7, 6-8pmWhere: CarriageWorksPrice: Free Presented by MusicNSW and Carriageworks, YouTube superstar is all about the art of making unforgettable music videos. Some of Australia's leading clip directors such as KROZM and SPOD share their advice to musicians, filmmakers and stylists, and Madeline Palmer, producer and programmer for ABC TV's rage, offers her thoughts on what makes a video a success and what stands the test of time.
Say 'aye' if you trust the word of the Chaser crew, and watch tumbleweed drift between our internet connections. The team have made us laugh, think and scoff all at once, and a quick look at the Museum of Words website — both puzzling and tongue-in-cheek — will tell you that this Charles Firth creation is no different. The two-week exhibition premieres on Saturday, November 16, at a Potts Point terrace hidden along Challis Avenue. Basically, Australian words and passages written by Australians will be mounted in a museum-style format (audio tours and all) with, err, "only the best words that Australia — and Sydney — has to offer". Supported by the City of Sydney in conjunction with Sydney Writers' Room, it will leave use punters to reflect upon the meaning of words taken out of context. Apparently. This writer can't help but think the website's pulling her leg. Is this a joke on the art world? A mock of the ridiculous things Australian faces have said (see: Alan Jones)? An actual linguistic study? An investigation into Australian and Sydney culture? No? Who can tell. Maybe we'll rock up to the Potts Point terrace come Saturday, November 16, to find we've been punk'd by one of the masters. https://youtube.com/watch?v=IKjxGMGH_LU
In Busted, artist Shannon Field continues his investigation of gender and what it is to be cast amongst that most problematic and misunderstood of tribes, the Australian heterosexual male. Using multiple mediums and a direct visual style akin to Outsider or Naïve artists, in Busted Field reconstructs the visages of a number of key characters from our colonial past and questions what role this past has played in the construction of the contemporary Australian masculine identity. Alongside a number of convict first-fleeters are well known figures such as Elizabeth Macquarie and Burke and Wills. That dynamic duo seems a particularly appropriate choice in a discussion of Australian masculinity. Nothing says ‘she’ll be right’ or ‘no worries’ like an impromptu trip from Melbourne to the Gulf of Carpentaria led by someone with little to no skills in exploration. The resulting images are by turns visceral, alarming and wryly humorous. The nature of masculinity is a fraught topic to take on, and those of us who have zero ability to produce a rugged crop of facial hair in the time between breakfast and smoko should go just to thank Field for his efforts and concerns for our plight. Everyone else should just go for the art. Image: Shannon Field, Lydia Munro 2011
Underground restaurant Spice Temple has been creating exciting new takes on traditional Chinese dishes for more than 15 years. And now, it's bringing its innovative approach to yum cha. Happening every weekend, this is brunch reimagined. While inspired by Hong Kong, where yum cha began, Spice Temple does away with bustling trolleys and focuses on big, bold, vibrant flavours. The menu travels through China's many diverse regions, from Sichuan to Hunan to Xinjiang. Start with raw yellowfin tuna with blackened chilli dressing, before moving onto steamed dumplings filled with Moreton Bay bug and scallop shumai. Among the boiled delights are prawn wontons and pork and white pepper dumplings with chilli vinegar sauce. Meanwhile, the fried selection offers prawn toast with sweet and sour sauce, and pork and garlic chive buns. Come dessert, try egg custard rolls and you tiao with condensed milk and cinnamon. Yum cha at Spice Temple is launching on Saturday, May 17. Bookings are available every Saturday and Sunday between 11am–3pm.
Something delightful has been happening in cinemas in some parts of the country. After numerous periods spent empty during the pandemic, with projectors silent, theatres bare and the smell of popcorn fading, picture palaces in many Australian regions are back in business — including both big chains and smaller independent sites in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. During COVID-19 lockdowns, no one was short on things to watch, of course. In fact, you probably feel like you've streamed every movie ever made, including new releases, Studio Ghibli's animated fare and Nicolas Cage-starring flicks. But, even if you've spent all your time of late glued to your small screen, we're betting you just can't wait to sit in a darkened room and soak up the splendour of the bigger version. Thankfully, plenty of new films are hitting cinemas so that you can do just that — and we've rounded up, watched and reviewed everything on offer this week. FANTASTIC BEASTS: THE SECRETS OF DUMBLEDORE What a difference Mads Mikkelsen can make. What a difference the stellar Danish actor can't, too. The Another Round and Riders of Justice star enjoys his Wizarding World debut in Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, taking over the part of evil wizard Gellert Grindelwald from Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald's Johnny Depp — who did the same from Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them's Colin Farrell first, albeit in a scripted change — and he's impressively sinister and engagingly insidious in the role. He needs to be: his fascist character, aka the 1930s-set movie's magical version of Hitler, wants to eradicate muggles. He's also keen to grab power however he must to do so. But a compelling casting switch can't conjure up the winning wonder needed to power an almost two-and-a-half-hour film in a flailing franchise, even one that's really just accioing already-devoted Harry Potter fans into cinemas. Capitalising upon Pottermania has always been the point of the Fantastic Beasts movies. Famously, this series-within-a-series springs not from a well-plotted novel, where the eight Boy Who Lived flicks originated, but from a guide book on magical creatures. That magizoology text is mentioned in the very first HP tome, then arrived IRL four years later, but it was only after the Harry Potter films ended that it leapt to screens. The reason: showing the Wizarding World's powers-that-be the galleons, because no popular saga can ever conclude when there's more cash to grab (see also: Star Wars and Game of Thrones). For Fantastic Beasts, the result was charming in the initial movie and dismal in its followup. Now, with The Secrets of Dumbledore, it's about as fun as being bitten by a toothy textbook. Nearly four years have passed since The Crimes of Grindelwald hit cinemas, but its successor picks up its wand where that dull sequel left off. That means reuniting with young Albus Dumbledore, who was the best thing about the last feature thanks to Jude Law (The Third Day) following smoothly in Michael Gambon and Richard Harris' footsteps. Actually, it means reuniting Dumbledore with Grindelwald first. And, it involves overtly recognising that the pair were once lovers. The saga that's stemmed from JK Rowling's pen isn't historically known for being inclusive, much like the author's transphobic statements — and it's little wonder that getting candid about such a crucial romantic connection feels cursory and calculating here, rather than genuine. The same applies to The Secrets of Dumbledore's overall message of love and acceptance, which can only echo feebly when stemming from a co-screenwriter (alongside seven-time HP veteran Steve Kloves) who's basically become the series' off-screen Voldemort. Referencing Dumbledore and Grindelwald's amorous past serves the narrative, of course, which is the real reason behind it — far more than taking any meaningful steps towards LGBTQIA+ representation. Years prior, the two pledged not to harm each other, binding that magical promise with blood, which precludes any fray between them now. Enter magizoologist Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne, The Trial of the Chicago 7) and his pals. Well, most of them. Newt's assistant Bunty (Victoria Yeates, Call the Midwife), brother Theseus (Callum Turner, Emma), No-Maj mate Jacob (Dan Fogler, The Walking Dead), Hogwarts professor Lally (Jessica Williams, Love Life) and Leta Lestrange's brother Yusuf Kama (William Nadylam, Stillwater) are accounted for, while former friend Queenie (Alison Sudol, The Last Full Measure) has defected to Grindelwald. As for the latter's sister Tina (Katherine Waterston, The World to Come), she's spirited aside, conspicuously sitting Operation Avoid Muggle Genocide out. Read our full review. AMBULANCE Michael Bay movies, Michael Bay movies, whatcha gonna do? Since the action-film director leapt from commercials and music videos to his big-screen debut Bad Boys more than a quarter-century back, there's only been two options. Slickly and unsubtly dripping with gleeful excess, his high-concept flicks embrace explosions, chases, heists, shootouts, jittery chaos and perpetual golden-hour hues with such OTT passion that you surrender or roll your eyes — having a blast or being bored by the bombast, basically. Too often, the latter strikes. That proved true of all five of his Transformers films, which are responsible for more cinematic tedium than any filmmaker should legally be allowed to crash onto screens. That his pictures are lensed and spliced as if lingering on one still for more than a split second is a heinous crime usually doesn't help, but it's what Bay is known for — and yet when Bayhem sparkles like it mostly does in Ambulance, it's its own kind of thrilling experience. Following a high-stakes Los Angeles bank robbery that goes south swiftly, forcing two perpetrators to hijack an EMT vehicle — while a paramedic tries to save a shot cop's life as the van flees the LAPD and the FBI, too — Ambulance is characteristically ridiculous. Although based on the 2005 Danish film Ambulancen, it's Bay from go to whoa; screenwriter and feature newcomer Chris Fedak (TV's Chuck, Prodigal Son) even references past Bay movies in the dialogue. The first time, when The Rock is mentioned, it's done in a matter-of-fact way that as brazen as anything Bay has ever achieved when his flicks defy the laws of physics. In the second instance mere minutes later, it's perhaps the most hilarious thing he's put in his movies. It's worth remembering that Divinyls' 'I Touch Myself' was one of his music-clip jobs; Bay sure does love what only he can thrust onto screens, and he wants audiences to know it while adoring it as well. Ambulance's key duo, brothers Will (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, The Matrix Resurrections) and Danny Sharp (Jake Gyllenhaal, The Guilty), are a former Marine and ostensible luxury-car dealer/actual career criminal with hugely different reasons for attempting to pilfer a $32-million payday. For the unemployed Will, it's about the cash needed to pay for his wife Amy's (Moses Ingram, The Tragedy of Macbeth) experimental surgery, which his veteran's health insurance won't cover — but his sibling just wants money. Will is reluctant but desperate, Danny couldn't be more eager, and both race through a mess of a day. Naturally, it gets more hectic when they're hurtling along as the hotshot Cam (Eiza González, Godzilla vs Kong) works on wounded rookie police officer Zach (Jackson White, The Space Between), arm-deep in his guts at one point, while Captain Monroe (Garrett Dillahunt, Army of the Dead), Agent Anson Clark (Keir O'Donnell, The Dry) and their forces are in hot pursuit. Everything from Armageddon, Pearl Harbour and The Island to 2019's Netflix flick 6 Underground has trained viewers in what to expect from Ambulance — plus the movies name-checked in Ambulance's frames, obviously — but Bay is also the filmmaker who gave cinema 2013's exceptional Pain & Gain. His latest doesn't reach the same savvy heights, and it's both boosted by its hearty embrace of Bayhem and occasionally a victim to it, but it's rarely less than wildly entertaining. As the director's best efforts have long shown, he boasts a knack for heist-style films. Capers about break-ins of various sorts, even into Alcatraz, suit Bay because they're typically about chasing hefty scores no matter the cost. Ambulance was made for only $40 million, which is a fifth of most Transformers movies and somehow around half of non-Bay-directed recent release Morbius' budget, but bold moves with eyes on a big prize aren't just fiction in Bay's orbit. Read our full review. MEMORIA When Memoria begins, it echoes with a thud that's not only booming and instantly arresting — a clamour that'd make anyone stop and listen — but is also deeply haunting. It arrives with a noise that, if the movie's opening scene was a viral clip rather than part of Thai filmmaker Apichatpong Weerasethakul's spectacular Cannes Jury Prize-winning feature, it'd be tweeted around with a familiar message: sound on. The racket wakes up Jessica Holland (Tilda Swinton, The Souvenir: Part II) in the night, and it's soon all that she can think about; like character, like film. It's a din that she later describes as "a big ball of concrete that falls into a metal well which is surrounded by seawater"; however, that doesn't help her work out what it is, where it's coming from or why it's reverberating. The other question that starts to brood: is she the only one who can hear it? So springs a feature that's all about listening, and truly understands that while movies are innately visual — they're moving pictures, hence the term — no one should forget the audio that's gone with it for nearly a century now. Watching Weerasethakul's work has always engaged the ears intently, with the writer/director behind the Palme d'Or-winning Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives and just-as-lyrical Cemetery of Splendour crafting cinema that genuinely values all that the filmic format can offer. Enjoying Memoria intuitively serves up a reminder of how crucial sound can be to the big-screen experience, emphasising the cavernous chasm between pictures that live and breathe that truth and those that could simply be pictures. Of course, feasting on Weerasethakul's films has also always been about appreciating not only cinema in all its wonders, but as an inimitable art form. Like the noise that lingers in his protagonist's brain here, his movies aren't easily forgotten. With Weerasethakul behind the lens and Swinton on-screen, Memoria is a match made in cinephile heaven — even before it starts obsessing over sound and having its audience do the same. He helms movies like no one else, she's an acting force of nature, and their pairing is film catnip. He also makes his English-language debut, as well as his first feature outside of Thailand, while she brings the serenity and magnetism that only she can, turning in a far more understated turn than seen in the recent likes of The French Dispatch and The Personal History of David Copperfield. Yes, Weerasethakul and Swinton prove a beautiful duo. Weerasethakul makes contemplative, meditative, visually poetic movies, after all, and Swinton's face screams with all those traits. They're both devastatingly precise in what they do, too, and also delightfully expressive. And, they each force you to pay the utmost attention to their every single choice as well. As Jessica, Swinton plays a British expat in Colombia — an orchidologist born in Scotland, residing in Medellín and staying in Bogota when she hears that very specific din. After explaining it in exquisite detail to sound engineer Hernán (Juan Pablo Urrego, My Father), he tries to recreate the noise for her, but only she seems to know exactly what it sounds like. At the same time, Jessica's sister Karen (debutant Agnes Brekke) is in hospital with a strange ailment. Also, there's word of a curse that's linked to a tunnel being built over a burial ground, and Jessica consults with an archaeologist (Jeanne Balibar, Les Misérables) before heading from the city to the country. Grief echoes as strongly through Jessica's life as the bang she can't shake, and she wanders like someone in a dreamy daze, whether she's roaming around an art gallery or crossing paths with a rural fisherman also called Hernán (Elkin Díaz, Besieged). Read our full review. NOBODY HAS TO KNOW Before Belgian actor and filmmaker Bouli Lanners started gracing screens big and small — writing and directing projects for the former as well — he trained as a painter. If you didn't know that fact, it'd be easy to guess while watching Nobody Has to Know. He helms and scripts, as he did 2011 Cannes award-winner The Giant, plus 2016's The First, the Last. He acts, as he has in everything from A Very Long Engagement and Rust and Bone to Raw and Bye Bye Morons. But it's the careful eye he brings to all that fills Nobody Has to Know's frames that immediately leaves an impression, starting with simply staring at the windswept Scottish scenery that provides the movie's backdrop. It's picturesque but also ordinary, finding visual poetry in the scenic and sweeping and yet also everyday. That's what the feature does with its slow-burning romantic narrative, too. On a remote island, Philippe Haubin (Lanners) has made a humble home. Working as a farmhand, he stands out with his arms covered in tattoos and his accent, but he's also been welcomed into the close-knit community. And, when he's found on the beach after suffering a stroke, his friends swiftly rally around — his younger colleague Brian (Andrew Still, Waterloo Road), who spreads the word; the latter's aunt Millie (Michelle Fairley, Game of Thrones), who ferries him around town; and her stern father Angus (Julian Glover, The Toll), who welcomes him back to work once he's out of hospital. But Phil returns with amnesia, which unsurprisingly complicates his daily interactions. He doesn't know what Brian means when he jokes about Phil now being the island's Jason Bourne, he has no idea if the dog in his house is his own, and he has no knowledge of any past, or not, with Millie. As a filmmaker, Lanners splits Nobody Has to Know's attention between Phil and Millie as they're drawn to each other — through natural chemistry, thanks to her kindness in helping him learn to navigate his life again, and courtesy of secrets and twists that speak to emotional truths even if they involve lying. And, it's due to finessed performances on both parts that the film always resonates with both tenderness and authenticity, befitting its restrained but still affecting tale of pain, guilt, regrets, isolation, identity and yearning. He plays a man who quickly made an imprint in a new place, but has a past he's been fleeing, and now finds himself facing them both anew. She plays a woman cruelly nicknamed 'the Ice Queen' because she's single, quiet and of a certain age, and remains just as eager to unearth her true self. Indeed, as she copes with Phil's new situation, she makes a bold leap to follow her heart. In lesser hands — with lead actors who weren't so adept at understatement, or didn't possess as convincing natural chemistry; with a writer and/or director more fond of leaning into melodrama; with a cinematographer other than the poised Frank van den Eeden (Patrick, Girl), too — Nobody Has to Know could've been relegated to a movie-of-the-week-style weepie. Thankfully, that isn't Lanners' film, which cannily eschews the easy for the deep and evocative. He takes as much care with the feature's sensitive pace, reflecting how tentatively his characters have been willing to embrace their real feelings, as he does with that painterly scenery that makes the utmost of the Scottish islands of Lewis and Harris, and with key performances that convey a lifetime of worries without uttering a word. His is a picture that builds in impact, quietly but unmistakably, like taking the time to truly stare at and soak in everything about a piece of art hung on a gallery wall. If you're wondering what else is currently screening in Australian cinemas — or has been lately — check out our rundown of new films released in Australia on January 1, January 6, January 13, January 20 and January 27; February 3, February 10, February 17 and February 24; and March 3, March 10, March 17, March 24 and March 31. You can also read our full reviews of a heap of recent movies, such as Ghostbusters: Afterlife, House of Gucci, The King's Man, Red Rocket, Scream, The 355, Gold, King Richard, Limbo, Spencer, Nightmare Alley, Belle, Parallel Mothers, The Eyes of Tammy Faye, Belfast, Here Out West, Jackass Forever, Benedetta, Drive My Car, Death on the Nile, C'mon C'mon, Flee, Uncharted, Quo Vadis, Aida?, Cyrano, Hive, Studio 666, The Batman, Blind Ambition, Bergman Island, Wash My Soul in the River's Flow, The Souvenir: Part II, Dog, Anonymous Club, X, River, Nowhere Special, RRR, Morbius, The Duke and Sonic the Hedgehog 2. Top image: ©Kick the Machine Films, Burning, Anna Sanders Films, Match Factory Productions, ZDF/Arte and Piano, 2021.
Acclainmed chefs Cuong Nguyen (Penelope's, Hello Auntie) and Jack Kulusai and Tanya Boonprakong (Porkfat) are joining forces for an exclusive two-night dinner series. Taking place on Monday, May 20 and Monday, May 27, Chu Fat marks the second iteration of Nguyen's Chef Series collabs. Diners can expect intense flavours and inventive combinations for $85 per person. [caption id="attachment_956129" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Image: Chad Konik[/caption] The menu begins with snacks and light bites such as tamarind wings with lime gel, garlic and chilli, and a Thai mortadella with toasted brioche 'pork toast'. Next, indulge in calamari noodles doused in a southern Thai-style curry sauce, and sweet pork and gkapi rice served in a clay pot, before moving to a main serve of dry-aged wagyu ribeye with smoked tamarind and a side of snake beans. You'll finish with a dessert of choux filled with a kaya sticky rice diplomat and pandan sherbet. Find out more about the collab at the Hey Chu website, and book your spot for either May 20 or May 27 via the reservations page. [caption id="attachment_956128" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Image: Chad Konik[/caption]
It's no secret that here at Concrete Playground, we love an event or two (hundred). Every single day, our fair city is buzzing with cool, classy and downright crazy happenings. Sure, the daily grind can often leave you wanting to crawl straight into bed at tools down, but that inner culture vulture of yours needs to be fed. So, we've teamed up with uberPOOL to round up the best things to do in Sydney after work tonight. Rather than heading straight home, check out a taco and tequila fiesta, a late night exhibition or a mini film festival and have something interesting to talk about at work tomorrow. And with Uber's newest service, which allows you to share rides with people heading in the same direction as you, getting to these events has never been easier — or cheaper (see: free). To celebrate the Australian launch, the ride-sharing service is giving you five free uberPOOL trips in select Sydney suburbs until Friday, May 11 (to be booked between 4pm and 8pm), so you can save your precious dollars for all the excellent events below. The day is still young, so figure out what you'll be doing tonight, order that uberPOOL at the closing bell and pat yourself on the back for not succumbing to the call of your usual mid-week Netflix and binge session.
Pensive and distant, the Hunter falls squarely into the stylistic tradition of Lantana and Look Both Ways, carrying a familiar thread of a domestic world threatened by the decisions that follow on from living a detached, professional life. Based on a novel by Sleeping Beauty's author-turned-director Julia Leigh, the story follows quiet professional Martin David (Willem Dafoe) as he hunts through Tasmania's wilderness looking for a rumoured last Tasmanian tiger, charged with returning tissue samples to a mysterious and powerful biotech company. Billeted with the family of a missing environmental activist, his priorities begin to shift, even while he keeps his distance from them. The family's eccentric dwelling is beautifully shot by cinematographer Robert Humphreys, and brought to life by the strong sound design of Liam Egan and Sam Petty. David's relationship with the children (played by Morgana Davies and Finn Woodlock) is the film's centrepiece, and life in this home owns to some of the most human moments in it. The landscape though, not the people, is really the main character here — moist, verdant and warm. Much warmer than any of the characters (grown-up, at least) who cross the screen. While the Hunter is ostensibly about a solitary man contemplating nature and the people around him, the film gives the sense throughout that it's actually the whole of solitary nature that's contemplating a single man. This town at the edge of the wilderness lives and dies on the whims of outsiders. Loggers dependent on timber firms, activists looking for government intervention, the activist's widow (Frances O'Connor) surviving with the support of their family friend (Sam Neill). And while the Hunter's loyalties shift — amongst his company, the wilderness and the residents of this small town — in the end, he makes a deal with the devil on behalf the tiny settlement. Just like everybody else. https://youtube.com/watch?v=l_ByVNMblbQ
Bringing even more stellar cuisine to Australia Street in Newtown, much-loved hospitality group Paisano & Daughters is ready to launch two neighbouring ventures, Flora and Mister Grotto. Joining the renowned Continental Deli, which opened in 2015, this family business has slowly revitalised more of the historic H. May building with side-by-side eateries, creating a like-minded culinary hub. Delving into the new additions, Flora is an all-day vegetarian restaurant with a sustainable edge. Guided by head chef Jude Hughes, his background working in eco-conscious venues like Byron Bay's Three Blue Ducks and The Summertown Aristologist ensures diners can expect inventive veggie dishes, where local and seasonal ingredients are pushed to their flavoursome limits. Think fermentation, house-made vinegars and wood-fired goodness on every plate. The drinks menu is an all-Australian affair, with a curated selection of wine, cocktails and coffee available from open until close. This new space is also wonderfully atmospheric, with modern vintage furnishings and charming accents creating a warm but refined ambience. Walk in from 8am to enjoy invigorating morning options or book for dinner to indulge in elevated vegetarian cuisine. Just one door down is where you'll encounter Mister Grotto. Conceived as an intimate 30-seat seafood restaurant, head chef Måns Engberg (Saint Peter, Kiln) leads the kitchen, adding to his impressive resume which features several innovative fish programs. Relying on close relationships with anglers across Australia, Engberg showcases what's special about Australian seafood, from Queensland's tropical waters to Tasmania's frigid estuaries. Honouring rather than avoiding the labour-intensive process that goes into catching and preparing exceptional seafood, guests at Mister Grotto can watch fresh oysters get shucked and raw fish grilled over charcoal. You can also expect a playful cocktail and wine list, where each sip complements the flavours of the sea on your plate. Founded in 2008 by brothers-in-law Joe Valore and Elvis Abrahanowicz, Paisano & Daughters' trio of venues will soon be joined by another exciting restaurant. Opening in early March is Osteria Mucca – an Italian restaurant in an old butcher's shop. More details will emerge soon, but the concept pays homage to the bounty of the cow through family recipes, handmade pasta, charcoal meats and rare small-production wines acquired from Italy's most respected producers. Flora and Mister Grotto will open at 206 Australia Street and 208 Australia Street Newtown respectively, from February 10. Check the website for opening times and more information. Images: Hugh O'Brien.
"I love it here. I fucking love it!" Same, Logan Roy, same. Those words are yelled with fiery passion by Brian Cox as Succession's patriarch, and they're part the first sneak peek that HBO has just dropped at the award-winning series' upcoming fourth season. "This is not the end. We're tearing the opposition. I'm going to build something better, faster, leaner, wilder," Cox also shouts. So, season four will clearly see Logan Roy doing what Logan Roy does, all while navigating the sale of his media conglomerate Waystar Royco to a tech visionary played by Alexander Skarsgård (The Northman). Unsurprisingly, that business move is going to cause some Roy family angst. It was back in 2021 when HBO announced that Succession would return for a fourth run, after its third season proved that exceptional — and popular. Set to arrive sometime in 2023, with an exact date yet to be announced, season four will also see the Roys working out how their lives will look after the Waystar Royco deal goes through. Given that the whole show has always been about Logan's children Kendall (Jeremy Strong, The Trial of the Chicago 7), Connor (Alan Ruck, Gringo), Shiv (Sarah Snook, Pieces of a Woman) and Roman (Kieran Culkin, Infinity Baby) trying to be named his successor, no one is going to adjust to the new status quo easily. For viewers, it'll mean more power struggles — aka more of what Succession has always done best. If you're a fan of twisty TV shows about wealth, privilege, influence, the vast chasm between the rich and everyday folks, and the societal problems that fester due to such rampant inequality, there's been plenty of ace examples of late, including The White Lotus and Squid Game. No series slings insults as savagely as this Emmy, Golden Globe, BAFTA, Critics' Choice, Writers Guild and Directors Guild Award-winner, however. No show channels feuding and backstabbing into such an insightful and gripping satire of the one percent, either. HBO's brief sneak peek at Succession season four, running for just ten seconds, can be found in the US network's latest promotional video to showcase its upcoming slate — and there's plenty more to get excited about. That includes The White Lotus' soon-to-release second season, which starts airing on Monday, October 31; game-to-TV adaptation The Last of Us; a four-part documentary about Shaquille O'Neal; and season four of Barry. And, there's The Idol, from The Weeknd and Euphoria creator Sam Levinson; more Perry Mason, Gossip Girl and The Sex Lives of College Girls; another season of Winning Time — The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty; Larry David's latest antics in the long-running Curb Your Enthusiasm; and the Elizabeth Olsen (Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness)-starring Love & Death. Also on the list: the return of Our Flag Means Death, Starstruck and Hacks, as well as Tokyo Vice and Minx — and newcomer Full Circle, which is directed by Kimi and Magic Mike's Steven Soderbergh. Check out the HBO clip below: I fucking love it here. New originals, returning series, and more are coming soon to HBO Max. pic.twitter.com/7P2oOSu7CD — HBO Max (@hbomax) October 17, 2022 Succession season four will arrive sometime in 2023, including via Foxtel, Binge and Foxtel On Demand in Australia and Neon in New Zealand — we'll update you with exact details when they're announced. Check out our review of season three.
Contrary to what the name initially suggests, Girls With Gems sells a lot more than fine jewellery (although, it does sell that, too). In addition to stocking gorgeous gold pieces from By Charlotte and Amber Sceats, this Double Bay boutique is also home to Australian staples like Faithfull the Brand and British imports like Hunza G. Girls With Gems is the place to head when you want to treat yourself to something special, need a new-season wardrobe refresh or need an update on your well-worn luxury basics. Images: Arvin Prem Kumar
No one wants to relive the worst experience of their life again and again, but Peter Greste has been doing just that for a decade. The Correspondent is the latest instance. In December 2013, while on assignment in Cairo with Al Jazeera to fill in for a colleague over Christmas, the Australian war correspondent answered a knock at his hotel room door. He wouldn't taste freedom again until February 2015. Over that period, he wasn't just detained and interrogated, as the new Australian film shows — the Sydney-born, Brisbane-raised journalist was arrested, refused bail, incarcerated, put on trial for reporting that was deemed "damaging to national security" by Egypt, barely afforded resources to mount a defence, found guilty and sentenced to seven years' imprisonment. New coverage came fast, flowing unsurprisingly furiously during Greste's 400-day ordeal. In 2017, then arrived The First Casualty, his memoir. More than a decade since Greste's Egyptian encounter began and exactly that since he was deported back to Australia from a country that still considers a convicted terrorist to this day, now The Correspondent brings it all to the big screen. Countless movies have made their way to cinemas by following a similar path, even if the specific circumstances at the heart of the nightmare differed. For the man at the centre of this powerful and empathetic one — who endured not merely a gruelling fight for his own freedom, but was caught up in the bigger ongoing battle for press freedom — how does it feel to see this chapter of his life flickering through picture palaces? The first time that he watched it, in the room with director Kriv Stenders (Last Days of the Space Age, Lee Kernaghan: Boy From the Bush), "was kind of weird. I walked out of that feeling a little bit shellshocked, I have to admit", Greste tells Concrete Playground. "After I got out of Egypt, I wrote the book. I've since given countless talks about the whole Egypt experience. I've built a career on it, in a way, and so I thought I was across all of it. I thought I've dealt with it. I mean, I don't suffer from PTSD. There's no sort of psychological fallout. And in a way, all of that talking has been a form of ongoing therapy, if you like," Greste advises. "But I don't think I was really quite prepared for what I saw on-screen. These guys managed to nail — obviously there are little details here and there that are different to what I went through in Egypt, and the story itself has been modified a little bit, not in any significant way — but in its essence, at its core, they managed to get the feeling of what it was like to be stuck in that concrete box, the kind of loss of control, the Kafka-esque nature of the trial, that sense of ongoing doom, if you like, and the real angst about whether or not this would ever come to an end. So in really essential ways, I walked out of there feeling as though I'd kind of been a little bit punched." By "these guys", Greste is referring to Stenders — the son of friends of his own family, with both his and the filmmaker's Latvian-born parents knowing each other for decades — and also actor Richard Roxburgh (Force of Nature: The Dry 2), who steps into his shoes on-screen. Stenders describes watching the film with Greste for the first time as "very nerve-wracking, obviously". He continues: "it was a funny screening because Marc Wooldridge, our distributor, was in the room at the same time. And the minute the film started screening, Peter was sitting right next to me and Mark was a few pews down, I realised 'this is actually a really bad idea to have Peter here in the same room, because what if Peter hates the film?'. And then the film finished and Peter didn't say a word. He went out, and I went 'oh my god'. And he came back five minutes later obviously quite emotional, and he hugged me and said 'that was amazing'. And just the relief was palpable. I just went 'thank you'. He then just proceeded to tell us how happy he was with the film, and how it was difficult for him but how he felt the film really, really captured his experience." Roxburgh's tension came at the beginning of the process, when screenwriter Peter Duncan (Operation Buffalo) suggested the Aussie acting great to Stenders to play Greste on-screen. Thanks to Rake, plus films Children of the Revolution, A Little Bit of Soul and Passion before the hit series, Duncan and Roxburgh are long-term collaborators; Stenders was the star's director on Danger Close: The Battle of Long Tan. "I guess I approached it with some trepidation, because it's not as if I'm a close match in any way, particularly to Peter. And because he was somebody," he shares with Concrete Playground about being canvassed for the part. "I remembered the story vividly. He was a journalist who I respected so much and respected the horrors of his experience." "Talking to Kriv early on helped to massage some of those fears, because he said that we were never going to try to make it an act of mimicry in any way — that it was going to be about the internal life of what that human went through in that environment. And so that helped me, in a lot of ways, to work my way into where it needed to be." [caption id="attachment_1001033" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Australian Human Rights Commission via Flickr[/caption] Also among the apprehension surrounding The Correspondent: for Greste, whether recounting his stint in Egypt would be as timely and topical as it undeniably proves to audiences now watching Stenders' intimate, immersive, like-you're-there recreation of it, which only ventures elsewhere to jump back to an earlier assignment in Mogadishu. For viewers, it feels as if this tale was always destined for the screen, and that it would always be relevant — the movie has released at a period when journalists still keep facing arrest and imprisonment for doing their jobs in some corners of the world, and when attacks on reporters have been spreading to nations where that once would've been unthinkable — but its subject wasn't always so sure. How involved was Greste, and how did that assist Roxburgh and Stenders? How crucial was the picture's tight focus on Greste's experience with the Egyptian authorities from arrest to release? Why was he uncertain about the movie's timeliness? We asked The Correspondent's key trio about the above, too — and about casting Roxburgh and his history of portraying real-life Australian figures (Bob Hawke twice in Hawke and The Crown, Roger Rogerson in Blue Murder, Ronald Ryan in The Last of the Ryans, Graham Ashton in Bali 2002, plus more), Greste and Stenders' childhood ties, how Stenders' mix of documentaries (including The Go-Betweens: Right Here, Brock: Over the Top and Slim & I) amid his features (such as The Illustrated Family Doctor, Lucky Country, Red Dog and Red Dog: True Blue, Kill Me Three Times and Australia Day) helped and other subjects. On Greste's Involvement with the Film, Including Giving Roxburgh a Resource to Drawn Upon — and Coming to Set, But Only Once Richard: "Peter and I met — well we brushed elbows a great many years before at some strange awards night." Peter: "Richard won't tell you that I got the award for Man of Chivalry." Richard: "He did. He was awarded the Man of Chivalry. I don't know what my award, I can't even remember what my award was for. But we met properly at the first read-through at Carmel Travers' [The Correspondent's producer] house. And I was quite nervous, again, about meeting Peter. But having him in the room — and seeing and feeling his support for the project — it was incredibly helpful, incredibly useful for me along the way. And a relief as well. So I was able to, I guess, quietly observe Peter and the way that he was up close and personal, which was obviously incredibly useful as an actor. But also to have somebody that I could message with irritating thoughts, questions and observations along the way." Peter: "I guess it's one of those choices that you make, either you abandon it and let them get on with it, or you engage with the process and hope by engaging with it, you can help nudge things in a direction that works for you — that worked for me. I was a little bit nervous at the beginning, because there's all sorts of stories of people who've given over their lives to filmmakers and come away fairly battered by the experience. But everyone involved from the moment I met Carmel to working with Peter Duncan and Kriv and then Rox, they all showed real curiosity, real empathy with the experience. And there was a real willingness to try to make something that was as authentic as possible. And as Rox said, he and I, it's not like we'd spend whole weekends together, but the communication was pretty free. And I realised that he was trying to do something that was really empathetic to the experience, and I was more than happy to help and support that." Kriv: "He wasn't on set very much. He only came to set once, only for one day, but he and Peter worked — Peter always ran, Peter Duncan, that is, always ran the drafts by Peter Greste, and Peter was very open to not censoring the story. And what I felt, even though we decided to make the perspective very much Peter's perspective in Cairo, the other story I think that was really important was Kate Peyton's story in Mogadishu [where the British BBC journalist was killed on an assignment with Greste]. And the idea of that coming in these fragmented flashbacks was something that Peter Duncan and I talked about, and I felt as well, from a formalistic point of view, the idea of being able to escape that unrelenting internal Cairo world, it would be great to open it up into Mogadishu. That was something we decided on, those two kind of colours, but what was great was that Peter Greste was very open to us going there — because it paints Peter in a kind of compromised light, and Peter was, I think, very brave. It's quite brave for him to allow us to tell that side of the story and what he went through, but it was also important, because I think it shows what these journalists sacrifice and how it's not a glamorous job — and how there is a price to pay for being a truth-teller." On the Importance of Starting The Correspondent on the Day of Greste's Arrest and Ending It on the Day of His Release to Take Audiences on an Immersive Like-You're-There Journey Peter: "From my perspective, I didn't really understand how Kriv was going to do it. It was very obviously a directorial choice, and I think Rox will probably have a lot more to say about it than for me, but I was actually feeling quite puzzled by how he was going to pull this off. How do you make a compelling movie about arguably the most-boring, tedious situation imaginable, where you're stuck in a concrete box ad nauseam? How do you turn that into something that's actually watchable? And so when I saw the finished product, that's one of the things that really astounded me — was how gripping the whole thing was, how it seemed to move quite relentlessly through this story, but at the same time by not going very far at all. That, I think, is a testament to Kriv's directing skills and experience, but also to Rox's acting." Richard: "I think it really speaks to Kriv's understanding of the craft, and also his daring as a filmmaker — because a script like this could go in any number of directions. You could tell this story in all kinds of ways, and go off on lots and lots of different pathways. Kriv's choice was pretty astounding and bold — that it starts with the knock on the door and it ends with walking out as a free man — and the kind of strictures and the discipline that that applied to the filmmaking itself was so strong. But he was so avowed and had such a great vision for how he was going to, and belief, self-belief, I think, in how he was going to bring that to the screen. As Peter was saying, as a story that in fact is surprisingly full of suspense and has a forward momentum, it's a testament to his filmmaking craft skills." Kriv: "Well, it was more of a reductive process. The book, Peter's book, obviously, it's chequerboard, the chapters of chequerboarded are between Peter's experience and his other assignments and other stories. And the initial draft [of the script] was quite, very different. It had a number of parallel storylines going on, or timelines going on. It had, I think, the family or people back in Australia. It had the consulate. It was a much more, I guess — it had more scale in terms of the other storylines and the other characters. And my connection was 'well, you know what, I'm really interested in what Peter went through'. And I felt that if we just reduced it to Peter's experience and made it a very first-person journey from the minute that he gets a knock on the hotel room door to when he's released, if we just scaled everything to that, then we've got a really interesting movie that can say more by the way, not so much doing less but by being less. It can be much more interesting. And as a director, your currency is form. I always think my job as a director is to really play with form, and that's my remit. So once I pitched my approach to Carmel and to Peter Duncan, the writer, they could see, I guess, the throughline, and we then just quickly — very, very very quickly — adapted the script just to be that one-person perspective. It's critical because I felt, I just thought 'well, what would it be like to be arrested?. What would that feel like? What would that sound like? What would it look like?'. And what I realised, it would literally be a series of corridors, prison vans, prison cells, courtrooms — and you wouldn't really see Egypt. You'd just hear it or you'd feel it. And to me, I wanted the audience to — and I wanted to — experience what it would be like to actually be thrust into that position. And therefore, being put into that, how would I feel by the end of the journey? And by the end of the journey, I think you really do get a sense of the hugely traumatic gauntlet that Peter went through and how lucky he was to escape it." On Whether There Was a Sense of How Timely The Film Would Be — and That It'd Feel Like It'd Never Not Be Relevant Peter: "Well, you say it was always going to be timely. I didn't think it was. I was actually really worried about that when I first wrote the book. I told the publishers to get the story out quickly because it would start to date pretty quickly. I trace back the origins of what I've come to think of as the war on journalism back to 9/11, when George W Bush declared the war on terror. And what that did was, it kind of liberated the language, the rhetoric around national security and terrorism, so the governments were able to use it to introduce all sorts of what I think have become pretty draconian crackdowns on freedom of speech, on the lot of civil liberties and freedom of the press. What happened to us in Egypt was a way in which the government had weaponised that definition of terrorism and used it to come after uncomfortable journalism. But I honestly thought that the further we moved away from 9/11, the more that that rhetoric would feel dated, would feel tired, that we'd grow up, we'd move past it, that journalism would recover its traditional role in our democracies. But as you said, quite the opposite has happened. The numbers of journalists that have been imprisoned are at record highs. The numbers of journalists that have been murdered on the job are at record highs. We're seeing assaults on media even in the United States from the White House — which is supposed to be the bastion of liberal democracy, the bastion of freedom of speech and press freedom. They've got the First Amendment, for christ's sake, that gold standard of press freedom, of a defence of press freedom. And so yeah, and in ways that I don't think I ever really anticipated and certainly wouldn't have wanted, it does feel more timely than it ever had ever before. It wasn't a plan, put it that way." Richard: "It feels like the film is coming out at a period of some real urgency. It's not that the film itself is a didactic work or that it's meant to be. Above anything else, it's an extraordinary piece of storytelling. But as Peter says, it couldn't be more timely given what's happened to journalism and to the role of journalists. And hopefully, if anything, if it opens a discussion about that with people who've seen the film or it brings some attention to that matter, then that's all for the better. Journalism used to be, up until very recently, something that was protected under the Geneva Convention. And so for that to have completely vanished, certainly in theatres of war; that journalists are now people who are essentially regarded as the enemy; and to have governments of leading democracies now talking about journalists as the enemy of the people — I think we are at a time where there's no more pertinent story to tell." Kriv: "I think when Peter wrote the book — and when it happened to him, then when he wrote the book — I think we were more than a decade on from September 11, and the idea that journalism was under threat was still, it was there, but it was nowhere near as acute as it is now. So the relevance of the story has, I guess, amplified over the last ten years — and that's the biggest takeout that I've got. And then the biggest motivation we had making the film is that this story is more important than it ever was. I was just thinking about this this morning — I was thinking, just looking, you're always aware of what's happening in the world, and we're heading into, I think, a very, very scary time. I mean, America is turning into — it's becoming a fascist state. It's a really terrifying time. And I think it's very important even if the film just reminds us what democracy is. Journalism is a basic foundation to any kind of functioning civilisation or democracy, and the minute you start eroding that — and even now, people are questioning universities. It's just like 'what?'. This is just absolutely insane. A new dark age is coming. And I think it's very important that films, journalism, politicians, all corners of society, start to remind each other and remind ourselves what's important and what's crucial that we don't lose." On Why Roxburgh Was the Right Actor — and Dream Pick — to Play Greste Kriv: "Because Peter Duncan told me that he's the one. Because Peter Duncan and Richard have a long working relationship. And I'd worked with Richard previously on my last film Danger Close, and I loved working with Richard. He's such a beautiful actor to work with. I liken him to like a Rolls-Royce: he's just beautiful to drive. It's just a pleasure to work with him. And when you're trying to cast a film, there's all these pressures to cast a name and whatever — but when Peter said 'look, really think about Richard', I did. And I went 'well, why not?'. It wasn't like Peter Greste is a well-known face or well-known voice. You could find an actor who could interpret Peter. It didn't have to be slavish. It wasn't like we're making a film about Elvis or Muhammad Ali. It wasn't a biopic in that respect. So you could have the license to have an actor interpret it. And when I thought about Richard, it just made so much sense on so many levels, because he just brings this wonderful humility and at the same time, this gravitas, that I think the role needed." On How Roxburgh Approached Conveying Greste's Emotional Journey, Through Shock, Exasperation, Determination, Bravery, Weariness and More — and the Kind of Direction Needed, If Any, to Help Richard: "It was a project that, in conversations with Kriv, we really wanted it to feel minute, so that it was about trying as much as humanly possible to just sit in the circumstance. And to that end, I think the exhaustion helped. I think it was a tough shoot, but that was a good thing because it helped. I think it helped to give, to have a sense of being more emotionally ragged, of being spent — of, I suppose, having some sort of proximity to the way Peter might actually have felt, through all of the exhaustion of the shoot. This one was very particular in the sense that, because it was 100-percent POV, it meant that I'm in every single frame of the thing, which was new territory for me. But I think the sheer exhaustion of doing that was a useful thing, because it strips everything away and it just leaves you closer to where you need to be to countenance what Peter actually might have gone through." Kriv: "I think really as a director, when you work with actors, the biggest direction you give them is really casting them. That's directing. Once you've cast them, that is really the biggest bit of direction you're going to give, because you've chosen them to play the role — and as a director, really, it's a matter of trust. I really believe that the actor should know more about the character than me, because all I am is just a sounding board. All I am is a pair of ears and a pair of eyes. And if it sounds right and looks right, we just move on — and I'm just there to tell the story, orchestrate telling the story, and the actor is there to actually bring the character to life. So there's really not much direction I give as a director — it's purely there to support and to make sure that we're getting the material we need in order to tell the story." On How Roxburgh Tackles Portraying Real-Life Figures, and Helping to Chronicle Very Diverse Aspects of Australian History On-Screen, as He Has Several Times Across His Career Now Richard: "I guess I don't really think about it in that way. There's obviously a huge, huge responsibility that comes with playing figures who are in the public consciousness, who are actual people. In this case, it was something very different altogether, because this was a man who was in the room, a man who had been through this terrible ordeal and somebody who I really respected. And so that came with its own particular set of concerns, and I guess a bigger sense of internal responsibility to the storytelling. I think for both Peter and myself, it was some relief to feel like I was not going to be doing a Peter Greste, in the sense that I wasn't going to be copying Peter's way of being — that, in a way, it was about embodying that experience, the kind of internal landscape of that experience, if you like, as much or as empathetically as I could." On Greste and Stenders' Childhood Connection — and Whether Stenders Ever Thought He Might Make a Film About Greste When He Was Seeing the Latter's Ordeal Play Out in the News Kriv: "Not at all. No, no. That's why it was very funny when — I mean when it happened, it was like 'yeah, wow, that's sounding really heavy'. And it was because, when it's happening, you don't see the end. You're in the moment. And at that point, when he first got arrested and then when he got sentenced, it felt really hopeless. Then when he was released, obviously there was relief, and I got on with my life and with other projects and things, that wasn't really something that was foreground for me. But when Carmel called me up out of the blue and said 'do you know anything about Peter Greste?', I just laughed and I went 'yeah, I do'. I told her the backstory and then she said 'look, I've got this idea' and suddenly it clicked. I went 'yeah, I'm onboard'. She didn't even have to pitch it to me, really. She just said, when she said 'I'm adapting it into a story', I just went immediately 'yes, I'm in' — because I knew what it was, and I knew I kind of had a personal connection to it immediately." Peter: "As you said, it had been many, many, many years since I'd met Kriv, and I think we barely remembered each other from that initial meeting. Although we did meet, we realised that we had crossed paths, we had played together as kids. And I think it's more the synchronicity of it that feels right somehow. I'm not the kind of person that believes in the universe planning things out and sending messages, but there just does seem to be something delightfully synchronous about having Kriv on this particular job. I remember when I was telling my father about how Carmel was hunting around for a director and we thought we'd found someone. And dad, I couldn't say anything more, dad jumped in and said 'oh well, listen, if you need some help finding a director then my friend Andy, his son I think is in the movie business and maybe he might be able to help'. I said 'dad, it's okay, it's under control. We've got Andy's son Kriv'. And that, I think, is delightful. Kriv also — Kriv gets it. He's the kind of director, at so many levels, he's obviously incredibly skilled at filmmaking, but he's also done a lot of documentary work. He understands not just the creative elements of really good nonfiction storytelling, but he also has a really good handle on how to tell a good true story. And I think all of those elements came in. He brought all of that into this narrative. And, of course, being Latvian as well brings a certain kinship and understanding, I guess, which is also really lovely." On the Sense of Responsibility That Comes with the Job for Stenders Given That Personal Connection Kriv: "I think even if I didn't know Peter, the responsibility and that same weight would have been there. The fact that I knew him, it just allowed the access to be a little bit more fluid, because there wasn't any of that guardedness that you had to break down. So we were already, we were able to get that out of the way. And I think the trust — I think what it did give us was a different level of trust than I would have normally had if I didn't know Peter." On Whether the Documentary Side of Stenders' Filmography Assisted with The Correspondent Kriv: "A little bit. Documentary and fiction are actually not that different. They're still storytelling. You're still editorialising everything, still making decisions about what to show and what not to show. There's a physical obvious thing about the handheld camera and the verite feel of it, that, I guess, comes from documentary — and that you don't, even though you labour a lot over the way it looks, you also try to make it look effortless, and documentary just does that by default. The difference, though, with this was that yes, it's based on a true story, but you still take dramatic license — which you can't in documentary. So you still stylise certain things, you still shorthand certain things, you still abbreviate certain things. But having a documentary background, I think all it does is — I call it cross-training. I do documentary. I also do features. I also do television drama. And those three disciplines, just oscillating between those three, they sharpen up your intuitive muscles and reflexes. So when the day's going difficult or when you're in a tight corner and you don't know what to do, another part of your brain, your documentary brain, goes 'well, we're just going to do this' — or your TV drama brain says 'look, we can shoot this in one hour if we do this'. So I just adapt to the situation or to the problem at hand." The Correspondent opened in cinemas Down Under on Thursday, April 17, 2025. Images: John Platt / Daniel Asher Smith.
What's your favourite thing about Twin Peaks? Other than the fact that it's back and just as damn fine as ever, of course. We know, we know, there's just too much to choose from. Any list would have to include Kyle MacLachlan as Agent Dale Cooper, cherry pie and coffee, and David Lynch's inimitable approach on screen and off — as well as the haunting music. From those first distinctive notes of composer Angelo Badalamenti's theme tune, to the ethereal sounds of Julee Cruise's Falling — a number one hit in Australia at the time — the show's soundtrack keeps echoing through our minds. That's not going to change for the next four months, or ever. In fact, Xiu Xiu will ensure the series' score gets permanently lodged in your brain when they return to Australia. As The Giant would say, it is happening again. After wowing Brisbane crowds back in 2015 during the gallery's mind-bending, once-in-a-lifetime David Lynch: Between Two Worlds exhibition, the American experimental group are back and heading to Sydney to once again interpret the iconic music through their mix of post punk and synth pop for a final time. Prepare to amazed, delighted and even a little disturbed by this new take on Twin Peaks' chaos, drama, fear, noise, sidelong leering glances, arms turned into trees, mysterious glass boxes and Mr Jackpots. Performing live at Carriageworks at 8pm on June 29, Xiu Xiu's show also comes with a serious warning: BOB (or is it Cooper?) will be conducting. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rrK6UvAkLs
Anyone in the arts knows that getting projects off the ground is a notoriously difficult task. From finding the time to create outside of paid work to simply keeping a roof over your head, following your dreams isn't always easy. Melbourne-based director, animator, and stop-motion specialist Sammy Lewis knows this reality all too well. "I'd been struggling to find work for most of last year and was on the verge of a career shift or at least finding a day job outside of animation," they told Concrete Playground. Over three and a half months in their studio, Sammy created Garbologist, a stop motion short film inspired by Specsavers' iconic "Should've Gone to Specsavers" ad format. Garbologist was submitted as part of Specsavers' annual competition in partnership with the leading short film festival, Flickerfest. A judging panel selected five finalists before the public voted on their favourite. The creativity and dedication of Garbologist stood out and Sammy was crowned the winner, scoring a $70K cash prize as well as a screening of their film at Flickerfest. "The prize has changed everything, and now I'll be able to focus on my own ideas full-time and hopefully develop a short film or series concept," they said of the career-changing prize money. We spoke with Sammy from the UK, where they're working at famed animation studio Aardman (the team behind Wallace and Gromit and Shaun the Sheep), to learn more about their prize-winning animated short film and what's next for the artist. Concrete Playground: Your winning entry reimagines the Specsavers ad through stop motion animation. What was the original creative spark behind Garbologist? Sammy Lewis: The idea for Garbologist came from a mix of things and is actually quite nostalgic for me. I was a truck-obsessed kid who would wait on the footpath to watch the bins get collected. My life peaked at three years old when I got to sit in the driver's seat and operate the claw. The first bin that gets collected in Garbologist is 22, which is the number of my childhood home. I also grew up with classic stop motion shows like Fireman Sam and Postman Pat and wanted to pay homage to their influence on my animation career. How did you get started in your career? A childhood obsession with plasticine turned into studying a Bachelor of Animation at The Queensland College of Art. That then led to moving from Meanjin/Brisbane to Naarm/Melbourne to find anyone else who was doing stop motion. That seems to have worked out, and I've animated on music videos, commercials, short films, kids' television and two feature films. How did you approach balancing brand storytelling and constraints with your creative voice? My whole aim for this ad was to tell a good joke, and I kept refining ideas until I thought I'd landed on a solid visual gag. Time was my biggest constraint, as stop motion is a notoriously slow process. I tried to keep things as simple as possible at every stage, but unfortunately, this meant cutting out a bin chicken character from my original draft. Tell us about the production process for this film. How long did it take, and what were the challenges? From initial idea to final export, the whole process took about three and a half months. My studio at the time was very small, and I had to fit everything on a set that was only 1.2 metres wide, and the scale of the puppets had to be about half the size of what I usually work [with]. I didn't have much of a budget and tried to recycle and reclaim as many materials as I could. 90% of Garbologist is cardboard and acrylic paint. The puppets have oven-bake clay heads with plasticine hands, the grass is made from two painted bath towels, and the garbage truck is a toy I bought second-hand and added the claw. Building all the puppets and sets took two months. Animation was two weeks and I outsourced music and sound design at the last minute so I could focus on editing and compositing. Everything is real, handmade and full of hot glue. What do you love about working with stop motion and animation? I love how stop motion and animation in general force you to collaborate or otherwise be lonely and sad and take four times longer to complete anything. I had a wonderful little crew of creatives in Lucy (Art Department), Mack (Art Department / Crochet Artist), Goldy (Colour Grade), Ryan (Sound Design/Music) and Seamus Spilsbury (Development). Check out their work. Flickerfest has long been a launching pad for emerging filmmakers. How important is this platform to you? I've been incredibly lucky to have worked on some amazing productions in my career, but it feels like I'm still searching for my own voice as a filmmaker. Flickerfest is such an important festival in providing a platform to do this, as well as opportunities like the Specsavers competition. I really hope to come back in the next few years with a film in competition. Often, creators don't want to touch commercial work for fear it's not "real" art. What do you say to these people, and what are the pros of commercial filmmaking? I understand why some people would feel that way about commercial gigs, and it can be stifling to work for brands when they give you minimal creative freedom. As a freelancer, I've never really had the luxury of picking and choosing what I work on and just try to catch the next thing that falls out of the sky. I've certainly learnt a lot from working on commercial jobs, and it's improved my communication, problem-solving and decision-making skills. What's your advice for filmmakers wanting to break into the industry? I'm not really one to give career advice, as everyone's path will be different. For me, it was finding my people, persistence and quite a bit of luck. What's next for you? What are you working on at the moment? I'm currently in the UK at Aardman, working on the new Shaun the Sheep movie, The Beast of Mossy Bottom, which is a dream come true, and after that, I'll be back to my default of making it up as I go. Image Credit: Supplied
There's a reason they call it movie magic: when the lights dim, the projector starts flickering and cinematic dreams dance across the silver screen, a darkened theatre is one of the most enchanting places you could possibly be. Anything can happen in a film. Any fantasy can play out, any world can come to life and any chapter in history can return to the present — and in 2022 so far, in cinemas Down Under, all of this has occurred and more. For anyone who's made a movie date with the biggest screen near them so far this year, 2022 has been exceptional — and, yes, it's only halfway through. It's been a top year for films about modes of transport, whether driving leisurely or feeling a need for speed. Actually, it's been notable for shoulder rides in movies, too. It's been ace for jumps back into the past as well, including surveying famous figures and and peering at Vikings. It's also been phenomenal for flicks with a sci-fi spin, especially when time travel, multiverses and robotic futures have been involved. The list goes on, spanning movies that debuted elsewhere last year but only made their way here this year, films that've already won gleaming accolades in the last awards cycle, blockbuster Bollywood behemoths and what's certain to be the biggest box-office hit of the year. Indeed, 2022 has been so packed with ace flicks at the cinema so far, even whittling the best of the best down to 15 was a tough task. Here are the results — aka the silver-screen releases from this year you need to see ASAP, or rewatch just as quickly if you've basked in their glory already. DRIVE MY CAR Inspired by Haruki Murakami's short story of the same name, Drive My Car's setup couldn't be simpler. Still recovering from a personal tragedy, actor and director Yusuke Kafuku (Hidetoshi Nishijima, Silent Tokyo) agrees to helm a stage version of Chekhov's Uncle Vanya in Hiroshima — but the company behind it insists on giving him a chauffeur for the duration of his stay. He declines, yet they contend it is mandatory for insurance and liability reasons, so Misaki (Toko Miura, Spaghetti Code Love) becomes a regular part of his working stint in the city. Friendship springs, slowly and gradually, but Murakami's name is one of the first signs that this won't follow a standard road. The other: Japanese filmmaker Ryûsuke Hamaguchi, who makes layered, thoughtful and probing reflections upon connection, as seen in his other efforts Happy Hour, Asako I & II and Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy. Drive My Car doesn't hurry to its narrative destination, clocking in at a minute shy of three hours, but it's a patient, engrossing and rewarding trip. It's a gorgeously shot and affectingly performed one, too, whether taking to the road, spending time with its central pair, or chronicling Yusuke's involving auditions and rehearsals. Another thing that Hamaguchi does disarmingly well: ponder possibilities and acceptance, two notions that echo through both Yusuke and Misaki's tales, and resonate with that always-winning combination of specificity and universality. Drive My Car is intimate and detailed about every element of its on-screen voyage and its character studies, and also a road map to soulful, relatable truths. Read our full review. PETITE MAMAN Forget the "find someone who looks at you like…" meme. That's great advice in general, but it's mandatory if you've ever seen a film by Céline Sciamma. No one peers at on-screen characters with as much affection, attention, emotion and empathy as the French director, with her talent for truly seeing into hearts and minds shining again in Petite Maman. In Sciamma's latest delicate and exquisite masterpiece after Tomboy, Girlhood and Portrait of a Lady on Fire, she follows eight-year-old Nelly (debutant Joséphine Sanz) on a trip to her mother's (Nina Meurisse, Camille) childhood home. Nelly's grandmother (Margot Abascal, The Sower) has just died, and the house needs packing up. While her parents work, the curious child roves around the surrounding woods — and discovers Marion (fellow newcomer Gabrielle Sanz), who could be her twin. Sciamma is exceptionally talented at many things, creating richly detailed and intimately textured cinematic worlds high among them. She doesn't build franchises or big fantasy realms, but surveys faces, spaces, thoughts and feelings — exploring them like the entire universes they are. That approach pulsates through every frame of Petite Maman like a heartbeat. The film itself resembles a gentle but soul-replenishing breeze in its rustic look and serene pacing, but it thrums with emotion and insight at every moment. It's a modern-day fairy tale, too, complete with a glorious twist, with this radiant, moving, smart and perceptive movie musing deeply on mothers, daughters and the ties that bind. Read our full review. RED ROCKET It might sound crazy, but it ain't no lie: Red Rocket's *NSYNC needle drops, the cost of which likely almost eclipsed the rest of the film's budget, provide a sensational mix of movie music moments in an all-round sensational picture. A portrait of an ex-porn star's knotty homecoming to the oil-and-gas hub that is Texas City, the feature only actually includes one song by the Justin Timberlake-fronted late-90s/early-00s boyband, but it makes the most of it. That tune is 'Bye Bye Bye', and it's a doozy. With its instantly recognisable blend of synth and violins, it first kicks in as the film itself does, and as the bruised face of Mikey Saber (Simon Rex, Scary Movie 3, 4 and 5) peers out of a bus window en route from Los Angeles. Its lyrics — "I'm doing this tonight, you're probably gonna start a fight, I know this can't be right" — couldn't fit the situation better. The infectiously catchy vibe couldn't be more perfect as well, and nor could the contrast that all those upbeat sounds have always had with the track's words. As he demonstrates with every film, Red Rocket writer/director/editor Sean Baker is one of the best and shrewdest filmmakers working today — one of the most perceptive helmers taking slice-of-life looks at American existence on the margins, too. His latest movie joins Starlet, Tangerine and The Florida Project on a resume that just keeps impressing, but there's an edge here born of open recognition that Mikey is no one's hero. He's a narcissist, sociopath and self-aggrandiser who knows how to talk his way into anything, claim success from anyone else's wins and blame the world for all his own woes. He's someone that everyone in his orbit can't take no more and wants to see out that door, as if *NSYNC's now-22-year-old lyrics were specifically penned about him. He's also a charismatic charmer who draws people in like a whirlwind. He's the beat and the words of 'Bye Bye Bye' come to life, in fact, even if the song wasn't originally in Red Rocket's script. Read our full review. EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE Imagine living in a universe where Michelle Yeoh isn't the wuxia superstar she is. No, no one should want to dwell in that reality. Now, envisage a world where everyone has hot dogs for fingers, including the Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon icon. Next, picture another where Ratatouille is real, but with raccoons. Then, conjure up a sparse realm where life only exists in sentient rocks. An alternative to this onslaught of pondering: watching Everything Everywhere All At Once, which throws all of the above at the screen and a helluva lot more. Yes, its title is marvellously appropriate. Written and directed by the Daniels, aka Swiss Army Man's Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, this multiverse-hopping wonder is a funhouse of a film that just keeps spinning through wild and wacky ideas. Instead of asking "what if Daniel Radcliffe was a farting corpse that could be used as a jet ski?" as their also-surreal debut flick did, the pair now muses on Yeoh, her place in the universe, and everyone else's along with her. Although Yeoh doesn't play herself in Everything Everywhere All At Once, she is seen as herself; keep an eye out for red-carpet footage from her Crazy Rich Asians days. Such glitz and glamour isn't the norm for middle-aged Chinese American woman Evelyn Wang, her laundromat-owning character in the movie's main timeline, but it might've been if life had turned out differently. That's such a familiar train of thought — a resigned sigh we've all emitted, even if only when alone — and the Daniels use it as their foundation. Their film starts with Evelyn, her husband Waymond (Ke Huy Quan, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom's Short Round and The Goonies' Data) and a hectic time. Evelyn's dad (James Hong, Turning Red) is visiting from China, the Wangs' daughter Joy (Stephanie Hsu, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings) brings her girlfriend Becky (Tallie Medel, The Carnivores) home, and IRS inspector Deirdre Beaubeirdra (Jamie Lee Curtis, Halloween Kills) is conducting a punishing audit. Then Evelyn learns she's the only one who can save, well, everything, everywhere and everyone. Read our full review. AFTER YANG What flickers in a robot's circuitry in its idle moments has fascinated the world for decades, famously so in Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, Blade Runner and Blade Runner 2049. In writer/director/editor Kogonada's (TV series Pachinko) After Yang, one machine appears to long for everything humans do. The titular Yang (Justin H Min, The Umbrella Academy) was bought to give Kyra (Jodie Turner-Smith, Queen & Slim) and Jake's (Colin Farrell, The Batman) adopted Chinese daughter Mika (Malea Emma Tjandrawidjaja, iCarly) a technosapien brother, babysitter, companion and purveyor of "fun facts" about her heritage. He dotes amid his duties, perennially calm and loving, and clearly an essential part of the family. What concerns his wiring beyond his assigned tasks doesn't interest anyone, though, until he stops operating. Mika is distressed, and Kyra and Jake are merely inconvenienced initially, but the latter pledges to figure out how to fix Yang — which is where his desires factor in. When a feature so easily recalls other films and television shows, and so emphatically — Ex Machina and Black Mirror also come to mind here — it isn't typically a positive sign. That isn't the case with After Yang. Adapting Alexander Weinstein's short story Saying Goodbye to Yang, Kogonada crafts a movie that resembles a dream for the overwhelming bulk of its running time — it's softly shot like one, and tightly to focus on interiors rather than backgrounds — and that makes it feel like a happily slumbering brain filtering through and reinterpreting its wide array of influences. Another picture that leaves an imprint: Kogonada's own Columbus, his 2017 wonder that also featured Haley Lu Richardson (The Edge of Seventeen), who pops up here as a friend of Yang's that Jake, Kyra and Mika know nothing about. It isn't the shared casting that lingers, but the look and mood and texture, plus the idea that what we see, what we choose to revel in aesthetically and what makes us tick mentally are intertwined; yes, even for androids. Read our full review. SPENCER With two-plus decades as an actor to her name, Kristen Stewart hasn't spent her career as a candle in the wind. Her flame has both blazed and flickered since her first uncredited big-screen role in The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas but, by Elton John's definition, she's always known where to cling to. After jumping from child star to Twilight heroine and then one of the savviest talents of her generation, she's gleaned where to let her haunting gaze stare so piercingly that it lights up celluloid again and again, too. Spencer joins Stewart's resume after weighty parts in Clouds of Sils Maria, Personal Shopper, Certain Women and Seberg, and has her do something she's long done magnificently: let a world of pain and uncertainty seep quietly from her entire being. The new regal drama should do just that, of course, given its subject — but saying that director Pablo Larraín (Jackie, Ema) has cast his Diana well, pitch-perfect head tilt and all, is a royal understatement. The year is 1991, the time is Christmas and the place is the Queen's (Stella Gonet, Breeders) Sandringham Estate, where the Windsors converge for the holidays (yes, Spencer is now prime seasonal viewing). As scripted by Peaky Blinders and Locked Down's Steven Knight, the choice of period puts Diana in one of the most precarious situations of her then decade-long married life, with her nuptials to Prince Charles (Jack Farthing, The Lost Daughter) turning into an "amicable separation" within 12 months. Spencer's focus is on three days, not all that defined the People's Princess' existence before or after, but she can't stop contemplating her past and future. The Sandringham grounds include the house where Diana was born, and those happier recollections — and time spent now with her children (debutants Jack Nielen and Freddie Spry) — give her a glow. Alas, all the monarchical scrutiny simmers her joy to ashes, unsurprisingly. Read our full review. THE NORTHMAN Satanic goats don't talk in The Northman. Heartthrobs don't masturbate while fondling mermaid figurines, either. Still, within ten minutes, pre-teen Viking prince Amleth (Oscar Novak, The Batman), his glory-seeking warrior father King Aurvandil War-Raven (Ethan Hawke, Moon Knight) and jester-meets-shaman Heimir (Willem Dafoe, Nightmare Alley) descend into a fire-lit cave to take hallucinogens, growl, grunt, bark like wolves and fart like it's a god-given superpower. If viewers didn't know who's behind this bold, brutal, brilliant, and blood- and guts-strewn Scandinavian opus before then, there's no doubt from this trippy scene onwards: after The Witch and The Lighthouse, writer/director Robert Eggers' touch, approach and style have become that distinctive just three remarkable features into his helming career. "I will avenge you, father. I will save you, mother. I will kill you, Fjölnir." That's Amleth's vow as a boy on a north Atlantic island in 895 when he witnesses the latter's (Claes Bang, Locked Down) treachery. He flees after hearing his uncle bay for his head, too, and seeing him carry off Queen Gudrún (Nicole Kidman, Being the Ricardos) as a spoil of his victory. Two decades later, Amleth (Alexander Skarsgård, Succession) is a hulking, wolfskin-clad Viking berserker, living life flinging whatever weaponry he can find while viciously pillaging through the lands of the Rus. But amid the bloodlust, gore and piling-up body count, the intense marauder is thrust back onto his vengeance-seeking path. A Slavic seeress (Björk, in her first film role since 2005) whispers stark truths about his current savagery and lapsed mission against Fjölnir, reigniting his yearning for that promised slaughter — and the single-minded behemoth learns that his uncle is now sheep-farming in Iceland, having lost the kingdom in another coup. Read our full review. NIGHTMARE ALLEY Don't mistake the blaze that starts the exceptional Nightmare Alley for warmth; in his 11th film, Guillermo del Toro gets chillier than he ever has. A lover of gothic tales told with empathy and curiosity, the Mexican The Shape of Water filmmaker has always understood that escapism and agony go hand in hand — and here, in a carnival noir that springs from William Lindsay Gresham's 1946 novel and previously reached cinemas in 1947, he runs headfirst into cold, unrelenting darkness. That burning house, once home to the skulking Stanton Carlisle (Bradley Cooper, Licorice Pizza), is surrounded by America's stark midwestern landscape circa 1939. Still, the terrain of its now-former occupant's insides is even grimmer, as Nightmare Alley's opening image of Stan dropping a body into a hole in the abode's floor, then striking a match, shows. From there, he descends into the carny world after being given a job by barker Clem Hoatley (Willem Dafoe, Spider-Man: No Way Home) and doing whatever's asked, including helping clean up after the geek act — although, even with his ambiguities evident from the outset, stomaching a cage-dwelling man biting the heads off live chickens to entertain braying crowds isn't initially easy. While set in an already-despondent US where the Depression is only just waning, the shadows of the First World War linger and more are soon to fall via World War II, Nightmare Alley still gives Stan flickers of hope. Adapted from the novel by del Toro with feature debutant Kim Morgan, and filled to the brim with outstanding performances, the movie doesn't ever promise light or virtue, but kindness repeatedly comes its protagonist's way in its first half. In fortune-teller Zeena the Seer (Toni Collette, Dream Horse) and her oft-sauced husband and assistant Pete (David Strathairn, Nomadland), Stan gains friends and mentors. He takes to mentalism like he was born to it, and his gift for manipulating audiences — and his eagerness to keep pushing the spiritualism further — is firmly a sign. Soon, it's 1941 and he's rebadged himself as 'The Great Stanton' in city clubs, claiming to speak to the dead in the pursuit of bigger paydays, with fellow ex-carny Molly Cahill (Rooney Mara, Mary Magdalene) as his romantic and professional partner beyond the dustbowl. But then that scam attracts the attention of Dr Lilith Ritter (Cate Blanchett, Don't Look Up), and this drifter-turned-grifter gets caught in someone else's plan. Read our full review. PARALLEL MOTHERS Whatever Pedro Almodóvar and Penélope Cruz happen to be selling — and whenever, and in whichever films — audiences should always be buying. It isn't quite right to liken the acclaimed filmmaker's long-running collaboration with one of his favourite leading ladies to commerce, though, so another comparison fits better: whatever this duo birth into the world, viewers should embrace as a parent does a child. Across four decades now, the Spanish pair has gorgeously and soul-stirringly made cinematic art with the utmost understanding of how to make people feel. They know how people feel, too, and have the combined resumes best exemplified by Live Flesh, All About My Mother, Volver, Broken Embraces, Pain and Glory and now Parallel Mothers to prove it. Their shared filmography also constantly demonstrates another essential insight into human existence: that life is emotion, whether facing its beginning, end or both. As the movie's moniker indicates, Janis, the almost-40 photographer that Cruz (The 355) inhabits with the quiet force and fragility that's second nature whenever she's directed by Almodóvar, is just one of Parallel Mothers' mums. Teenager Ana (Milena Smit, Cross the Line) is the other and, despite the feature's title, their stories keep converging. The two first meet in a Madrid hospital, where they share a room, give birth simultaneously, chat about how they're each going it alone with no father in the picture and quickly form a bond — as different as they otherwise appear, down to contrasting sources of support (Janis' brightly attired magazine-editor best friend Elena, which is where de Palma pops up, versus Ana's self-obsessed and distant actress mother Teresa, played by Estoy vivo's Aitana Sánchez-Gijón). Janis and Ana descend separately into motherhood afterwards, but twists of fate keep bringing them back together. Read our full review. HAPPENING It's hard to pick which is more horrifying in Happening: the graphic scenes where 23-year-old literature student Anne Duchesne (Anamaria Vartolomei, How to Be a Good Wife) takes the only steps she can to try to regain control of her life, or the times she's repeatedly told by others, typically men, to accept a fate that only ever awaits her gender. Both hit like a punch, by design. Both are wrenching, heart and gut alike, and neither are surprising for a second. Also leaving a mark: that few care that Anne's future is now threatened in this 2021 Venice Film Festival Golden Lion-winner, because that's simply a consequence of having sex for women in France in 1963, the movie's setting. There's another truth that lingers over this adaptation of author Annie Ernaux's 2001 memoir of the same name, which uses her own experiences at the same age, time and in the same situation: that in parts of the world where pro-life perspectives are entrenched in law or regaining prominence, Happening's scenario isn't a relic of the past. Late in the movie, Anne describes her circumstances as "that illness that turns French women into housewives". It's a blunt turn of phrase, but it's accurate. It also speaks to how writer/director Audrey Diwan (Losing It) and co-scribe Marcia Romano (Bye Bye Morons) approach the film with the clearest of eyes, declining to indulge the idea that forcing unwanted motherhood upon young women is a gift or simply a duty, and likewise refusing to flinch from showing the reality when the personal freedom to choose is stripped away. This is a feature made with the fullest of hearts, too, compassion evident in every boxed-in Academy ratio frame that rarely leaves Anne's face. It spies the appalling options before her, and sees the society that's okay with stealing her choices. And, it stares deeply at both the pain and determination that've understandably taken up residence in Anne's gaze. Read our full review. C'MON C'MON The last time that Joaquin Phoenix appeared in cinemas, he played an overlooked and unheard man. "You don't listen, do you?" Arthur Fleck asked his social worker, and the entirety of Joker — and of Phoenix's magnetic Oscar-winning performance as the Batman foe in the 2019 film, too — provided the obvious answer. Returning to the big screen in a feature that couldn't be more different to his last, Phoenix now plays a professional listener. A radio journalist and podcaster who'd slide in seamlessly alongside Ira Glass on America's NPR, Johnny's niche is chatting with children. Travelling around the country from his New York base, C'mon C'mon's protagonist seeks thoughts about life, hopes, dreams, the future and the world in general, but never in a Kids Say the Darndest Things-type fashion. As Phoenix's sensitive, pensive gaze conveys under the tender guidance of Beginners and 20th Century Women filmmaker Mike Mills, Johnny truly and gratefully hears what his young interviewees utter. Phoenix is all gentle care, quiet understanding and rippling melancholy as Johnny. All naturalism and attentiveness as well, he's also firmly at his best, no matter what's inscribed on his Academy Award. Here, Phoenix is as phenomenal as he was in his career highlight to-date, aka the exceptional You Were Never Really Here, in a part that again has his character pushed out of his comfort zone by a child. C'mon C'mon's Johnny spends his days talking with kids, but that doesn't mean he's equipped to look after his nine-year-old nephew Jesse (Woody Norman, The War of the Worlds) in Los Angeles when his sister Viv (Gaby Hoffmann, Transparent) needs to assist her husband Paul (Scoot McNairy, A Quiet Place Part II) with his mental health. Johnny and Viv haven't spoken since their mother died a year earlier, and Johnny has previously overstepped when it comes to Paul — with the siblings' relationship so precarious that he barely knows Jesse — but volunteering to help is his immediate reflex. Read our full review. FLEE 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. Read our full review. MEMORIA When Memoria begins, it echoes with a thud that's not only booming and instantly arresting — a clamour that'd make anyone stop and listen — but is also deeply haunting. It arrives with a noise that, if the movie's opening scene was a viral clip rather than part of Thai filmmaker Apichatpong Weerasethakul's spectacular Cannes Jury Prize-winning feature, it'd be tweeted around with a familiar message: sound on. The racket wakes up Jessica Holland (Tilda Swinton, The Souvenir: Part II) in the night, and it's soon all that she can think about; like character, like film. It's a din that she later describes as "a big ball of concrete that falls into a metal well which is surrounded by seawater"; however, that doesn't help her work out what it is, where it's coming from or why it's reverberating. The other question that starts to brood: is she the only one who can hear it? So springs a feature that's all about listening, and truly understands that while movies are innately visual — they're moving pictures, hence the term — no one should forget the audio that's gone with it for nearly a century now. Watching Weerasethakul's work has always engaged the ears intently, with the writer/director behind the Palme d'Or-winning Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives and just-as-lyrical Cemetery of Splendour crafting cinema that genuinely values all that the filmic format can offer. Enjoying Memoria intuitively serves up a reminder of how crucial sound can be to that experience, emphasising the cavernous chasm between pictures that live and breathe such a truth and those that could simply be pictures. Of course, feasting on Weerasethakul's films has also always been about appreciating not only cinema in all its wonders, but as an inimitable art form. Like the noise that lingers in his protagonist's brain here, his movies aren't easily forgotten. Read our full review. TOP GUN: MAVERICK Gliding into cinemas 36 years after its predecessor, Top Gun: Maverick is at its best when its jets are soaring. The initial Top Gun had the perfect song to describe exactly what these phenomenally well-executed and -choreographed action scenes feel like to view; yes, they'll take your breath away. Peppered throughout the movie, actually shot in real US Navy aircraft without a trace of digital effects, and as tense and spectacular as filmmaking can be in the feature's climactic sequences, they truly do make it seem as if you're watchin' in slow motion. Thankfully, this time that adrenaline kick is accompanied by a smarter and far more self-aware film, as directed by TRON: Legacy and Oblivion's Joseph Kosinski. Top Gun in the 80s was exactly what Top Gun in the 80s was always going to be — but Top Gun in the 2020s doesn't dare believe that nothing has changed, that Tom Cruise's still-smug Maverick can't evolve, and that the world the movie releases into hasn't either. Still hardly the navy's favourite despite his swagger, megawatt smile, gleaming aviators and unfailing self-confidence — well, really despite his need for speed and exceptional dogfighting skills in the air — Captain Pete 'Maverick' Mitchell (Cruise, Mission: Impossible — Fallout) is given one last assignment. His destination: Fightertown USA, the California-based Top Gun program he strutted his way through all those years ago. There's an enemy nation with a secret weapons base that needs destroying, and his talents are crucial. But, to his dismay, Maverick is only asked to teach. Given a squad lorded over by the brash Hangman (Glen Powell, Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Childhood), and also including Coyote (Greg Tarzan Davis, Grey's Anatomy), Payback (Jay Ellis, Insecure), Fanboy (Danny Ramirez, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier), Phoenix (Monica Barbaro, Stumptown), Bob (Lewis Pullman, Outer Range) and the frosty Bradley 'Rooster' Bradshaw (Miles Teller, The Offer), he's tasked with training them to fly like he does, navigate a Star Wars-style impossible path that zips speedily at perilously low altitudes and, ideally, still survive the supremely dangerous mission. Read our full review. RRR The letters in RRR's title are short for Rise Roar Revolt. They could also stand for riveting, rollicking and relentless. They link in with the Indian action movie's three main forces, too — writer/director SS Rajamouli (Baahubali: The Beginning), plus stars NT Rama Rao Jr (Aravinda Sametha Veera Raghava) and Ram Charan (Vinaya Vidheya Rama) — and could describe the sound of some of its standout moments. What noise echoes when a motorcycle is used in a bridge-jumping rescue plot, as aided by a horse and the Indian flag, amid a crashing train? Or when a truck full of wild animals is driven into a decadent British colonialist shindig and its caged menagerie unleashed? What racket resounds when a motorbike figures again, this time tossed around by hand (yes, really) to knock out those imperialists, and then an arrow is kicked through a tree into someone's head? Or, when the movie's two leads fight, shoot, leap over walls and get acrobatic, all while one is sat on the other's shoulders? RRR isn't subtle. Instead, it's big, bright, boisterous, boldly energetic, and brazenly unapologetic about how OTT and hyperactive it is. The 187-minute Tollywood action epic — complete with huge musical numbers, of course — is also a vastly captivating pleasure to watch. Narrative-wise, it follows the impact of the British Raj (aka England's rule over the subcontinent between 1858–1947), especially upon two men. In the 1920s, Bheem (Jr NTR, as Rao is known) is determined to rescue young fellow villager Malli (first-timer Twinkle Sharma), after she's forcibly taken by Governor Scott Buxton (Ray Stevenson, Vikings) and his wife Catherine (Alison Doody, Beaver Falls) for no reason but they're powerful and they can. Officer Raju (Charan) is tasked by the crown with making sure Bheem doesn't succeed in rescuing the girl, and also keeping India's population in their place because their oppressors couldn't be more prejudiced. Read our full review.
Is this the Nordic design collaboration to end all Nordic design collaborations? For a new limited-edition collection that'll hit stores worldwide on Thursday, March 9, Swedish furniture retailer IKEA and Finnish design house Marimekko are joining forces. Even better: when this duo teams up, they're taking inspiration from Nordic nature, sauna culture and self-care rituals, and giving off big treat yo'self vibes. Actually, the best news of all might be that nothing in this 26-product range will cost more than $119. That price will get you a birch bench or a birch mirror, but everything from towels and shower curtains to glassware and candles is also on offer — all either featuring or inspired by Marimekko's prints, naturally. The range's name, BASTUA, gives away its focus: the term means sauna in Småland, the region in Southern Sweden where IKEA originates from. And, this gorgeous teamup marks a first for Marimekko — the first time that it has designed a set of prints exclusively for a brand collaboration. "Collaborating with Marimekko was a natural choice for IKEA as we are both committed to enabling a better everyday life at home, and with the BASTUA collection, it begins with focusing on wellness first," said Henrik Most, Creative Leader at IKEA, announcing the new range. "The collaboration encapsulates the sensations of endless summers and the simple and aesthetic beauty of Nordic nature in furniture and accessories for the home." To answer perhaps the most important question that arises every time that IKEA unveils a new collection, yes, the iconic FRAKTA bag has also been given a Marimekko makeover — as it has with rainbows and pink frills in the past. With the BASTUA collection heroing a print inspired by the large rhubarb leaves that are often found growing next to Finnish saunas, IKEA's trusty carrier will spot that image in red, green and pale blue hues. Wondering what else you'll be filling that FRAKTA with? The towels, robes and IKEA's first-ever sauna bucket obviously take the theme as seriously as possible, as do the elderflower-, rhubarb- and sweet vanilla-scented candles. Elsewhere, the range also gleans inspiration from Nordic furniture design, which is where the side table, bench, trays and glasses come in. Unsurprisingly, this is a while-stocks-last collection — so getting in fast on launch day, with items on sale in-store from 10am and online from 9pm AEDT, is highly recommended. IKEA and Marimekko's BASTUA collection will hit IKEA's shelves on Thursday, March 9 — in-store from 10am and online from 9pm AEDT.
If you haven't already checked out this summer's blockbuster exhibition Japan supernatural: 1700s to now at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, there's something you should know: it's packed with paranormal creatures. Yōkai and yurai — mystical and ghoulish — characters are depicted in every drawing, painting, video work and graphic installation. There are 180 works about the spirit world, from rare books by 18th century folklorist Toriyama Sekien to Japan's most famous manga artist, Mizuki Shigeru. It's a world where fans of Studio Ghibli films and Brothers Grimm fairy tales will be equally inspired. If you have been to Japan supernatural it's likely you've been wonderstruck by the expansive works of contemporary artist Takashi Murakami, but we think you should look a little closer on your next visit to the Art Gallery — as there are a few creepy beings that rear their (sometimes long, snake-like) necks across multiple works, from sumo wrestling kappa (who have a terrifying backstory) to the eyeball that likes to sip sake. Concrete Playground spoke with Assistant Curator Yuki Kawakami to find out more about five particularly haunting characters in this exhibition. [caption id="attachment_756754" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Toriyama Sekien, 'Night procession of the hundred demons (Hyakki yakō zu)' (1772–81), Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, William Sturgis Bigelow Collection[/caption] THE MYSTERIOUS LONG-NECKED WOMAN One of the first pieces you'll encounter at the Art Gallery's huge exhibition is a painted handscroll called Night procession of the hundred demons (Hyakki yakō zu) (1772–81). It's by Toriyama Sekien — a folklorist who is also a bit of an enigma. Kawakami tells us, "This particular painting is extremely rare, and though there's not that much written about Sekien, he's very well known for his depictions of these yōkai." Rokurokubi — or the Long-Necked Woman (pictured on the right) — is a shapeshifting yōkai. By day, the spirit has a perfectly ordinary human form, but by night, the spirit's neck extends, snaking around in the dark to look for bugs and oil in lamps for a late-night snack. The Long-Necked Woman is also known to attach herself to unsuspecting men. "She's depicted in a cheeky way. She draws men through her beauty; her characteristics are trickery and the act of seduction. She's just a boss woman, a man eater," says Kawakami. Rokurokubi can be found in multiple works. For bonus points, look out for her alleged lover, another long-necked creature called the Look Over Monk. Rumour has it they have a lovechild called Tōfu-kozō (Tofu Boy) who always carries a plate of tofu. [caption id="attachment_756766" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Tsukioka Yoshitoshi, 'The heavy basket (Omoi tsuzura)' from the series 'New forms of thirty-six ghosts (Shingata sanjūrokkaisen)' (1892), National Gallery of Australia, Canberra[/caption] THE WATER-DWELLING, ORGAN-STEALING KAPPA Oh look, here's the Look Over Monk — the one with the third eye. Now draw your gaze to the green, frog-like creature that appears to be lurking in a basket. That's a kappa. Kawakami says, the kappa appear in different forms and with different names like kawataro. If you bank in Japan, you may recognise the cheeky fella as the mascot of one of the country's leading banks. But don't be deceived, these water-dwelling yōkai have a sadistic story. It's said they reach inside human bodies through the rectum to snatch at your organs. You can find the kappa in Sekien's Night procession of the hundred demons (Hyakki yako zu) and also in Tsukioka Yoshitoshi's The heavy basket (Omoi tsuzura) from the series New forms of thirty-six ghosts (Shingata sanjurokkaisen). "In this one it's quite menacing and cheeky. He also likes to challenge people in a game of sumo. There are drawings of kappa against kappa engaged in sumo by the river." The creatures have elements of frog, turtle and monkey about them — and the popular cucumber sushi rolls, kappa–maki, are named for the creature's apparent love of cucumbers. Note the pool of water on their heads: "When there's no liquid, that's when they lose their powers," says Kawakami. [caption id="attachment_756861" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Tsukioka Yoshitoshi, 'The old woman retrieves her arm (Rōba kiwan o mochisaru zu)' from the series 'New forms of thirty-six ghosts (Shingata sanjūrokkaisen)' (1889), Art Gallery New South Wales[/caption] THE CACKLING ONE-ARMED DEMON WITCH Japan supernatural is all about manifestations of the paranormal in Japanese folklore, art, literature, theatre and film. In this exhibition you'll also meet another volatile creature, that of the oni — demon-like and menacing, but not necessarily evil. "You can tell a character is not a ghost [or yōkai] because of the claws and the green face. The oni are depicted either by green, blue or red skin — and the claws," says Kawakami. Ibaraki-doji, or the Cackling One-Armed Demon Witch, is found in Tsukioka Yoshitoshi's The old woman retrieves her arm (Rōba kiwan o mochisaru zu). Yoshitoshi was born in Edo (now Tokyo) and he was known for images of violence and ghoulish works after a period of possible mental illness. Other demon-like qualities to look for are curled toenails and fingernails. Be especially watchful during the twilight hours, when these spirits and demons are more likely to present themselves to us humans. "It's an oni, but they dress so beautifully — they have style." [caption id="attachment_756870" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Chiho Aoshima, 'Off to Memorial Service' (2009), 'The Tree Where Moimois Gather' (2009). Both colour on Japanese rice paper.[/caption] THE DOE-EYED AND DISTANT MOIMOI Chiho Aoshima is part of Kaikai Kiki, the artist collective run by internationally famous artist Takashi Murakami. She's based in Kyoto, and during her time as an assistant at Murakami's studio he noticed her own yōkai drawings and he encouraged her to do more. "What I find interesting about her work is that she's really into the relationship between nature, death and humans," says Kawakami. "She likes Japanese cemeteries." A recurring character is the Moimoi, which comes in various shapes and forms. One is pictured as a black blob walking through a cemetery — like in Off to Memorial Service (2009), above — and in another she appears to embody city buildings, trees or entire beaches. "When I asked [Aoshima] where she gets the Moimoi from, she said she sees a lot of the Moimoi in herself. Whether it's a sense of isolation, or a sense of calm or peace. I read it as a sense of loneliness living in the contemporary world. She also says that when she passes she would want to become part of nature, so you see a strong relationship between nature and death in her work." [caption id="attachment_758406" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Mizuki Shigeru 'Kyoto' (2008), from the series 'Fifty-three stations of the Yōkaidō (Yōkaidō gojūsan tsugi)' (2008). Art Gallery of New South Wales, Yasuko Myer Bequest Fund 2019. Mizuki Productions.[/caption] THE SAKE SIPPING, BATH-LOVING EYEBALL MAN Mizuki Shigeru is probably the most famous manga artist/historian in Japan. He created a manga series based on yōkai lore that celebrated its 50th anniversary last year. "Anyone from the 1960s onwards would easily recognise these characters. The main character is called Kitarō — and his father is the Eyeball Man, called Medama-Oyaji." Kitarō doesn't have an eye on his left socket, and in the manga drawings you can see Medama-Oyaji popping out of Kitarō's eye socket to offer him advice. "He also likes to take baths in a little bowl, and he drinks sake." Shigeru brings a playfulness to his depictions of the yōkai: mysterious creatures that are often mischievous. In The Fifty-three Stations of the Yokaido he places the yōkai within the stations of familiar cities like Kyoto and Tokyo, which you can find on the Art Gallery's walls until March. 'Japan supernatural: 1700s to now' runs until March 8, 2020 at the Art Gallery of New South Wales. Tickets are available to buy online. Top images: Installation view of the exhibition 'Japan supernatural' at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney. Photo: AGNSW, Jenni Carter. Artworks © Takashi Murakami/Kaikai Kiki Co., Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
We're lucky to have access to Clarice Beckett's work today. Beckett painted hundreds of paintings during the 1920s and 30s, before passing away in 1935 at the age of 48. Following her death, her artworks disappeared for decades before being rescued by Dr Rosalind Hollinrake, who salvaged 369 of Beckett's paintings from a shed in rural Victoria. From Saturday, February 27 until Sunday, May 16, the Art Gallery of South Australia is presenting the most comprehensive Clarice Beckett retrospective ever, exhibiting nearly 130 of the artist's works, including pieces from the private collections of Russell Crowe and Ben Quilty. Beckett's work focuses on capturing the everyday world through muted and pastel tones and with a focus on natural light. In The Present Moment, these works are thematically displayed to chart the chronology of one single day — starting with sunrise and ending with nightfall. Accompanying the exhibition is an workshop for those wanting to learn about Beckett on Saturday, March 27 and a series of mindfulness workshops offering tai chi, yoga and relaxation classes while surrounded by artworks every Wednesday in April. Tickets to the exhibition run from $20, while the workshops will set you back $35. Images: Installation view: Clarice Beckett: The present moment, Art Gallery of SouthAustralia, Adelaide, 2021. Photo: Saul Steed.
By this point in the year, a certain three words have been overused and then some. That trio? 'Tis the season. That said, it truly is the season for booking in cheap holidays for the year ahead, starting with Black Friday sales and now going into Boxing Day sales. If you're after discounted flights to a heap of places — including around Australia and the globe — yes, Virgin is getting into the post-Christmas spirit and slashing prices again. For Boxing Day — starting at 12.01am AEDT on Monday, December 26 and running till midnight on Thursday, December 29, or earlier if sold out — there's a hefty 800,000 discounted domestic and international fares up for grabs. Sticking with home turf, you can head to Byron Bay, Cairns, the Gold Coast, Darwin, Hobart and more. And, if you're eager to journey overseas, you can hit up Bali, Vanuatu and Tokyo. With discounts of up to 30-percent off, one-way domestic fares start at $55, which'll get you from Sydney to Byron Bay. As always, that's cheapest route. Yes, we say that every time one of these sales drop, but it's genuinely always the case. Other cheap flights include Brisbane to Cairns for $89, Melbourne to Hobart from $79, Adelaide to Darwin from $139 and Perth to Sydney from $209. Internationally, return deals include Brisbane to Vanuatu from $539, the Gold Coast to Denpasar from $479 and Cairns to Tokyo from $699. If you're wondering when you'll need to travel, there's a range of dates across 2023, all varying depending on the flights and prices. As usual when it comes to flight sales, you'll need to get in quick. Actually, given how much everyone loves a Boxing Day sale — in-person or online — setting an alarm to make your New Year's travel resolutions come true isn't outlandish. Virgin's Boxing Day sale runs from 12.01am AEDT on Monday, December 26 until midnight on Thursday, December 29 — unless sold out earlier. Feeling inspired to book a getaway? You can now book your next dream holiday through Concrete Playground Trips with deals on flights, stays and experiences at destinations all around the world.
The 2014 Sydney Festival is almost upon us and Carriageworks' offering is shaping up to be one of the highlights. Sydney's cultural stalwart will present Chance, a large-scale installation by French superstar artist Christian Boltanski. The industrial-looking work is made up of scaffolding throughout which images of newborn babies will be woven. Visitors will be able to move throughout the enormous structure — it will be over 50 metres long and 8 metres tall — as the images slide through the scaffolding like a giant newspaper press. Two large clocks will be placed within the installation, charting births and deaths as they happen in real-time. At midnight, the clocks will summarise the final count of births and deaths for that day. Chance eloquently examines memory, loss and the fragile human condition. The work centres around the idea that, from conception to expiration, chance plays a defining roll in how our lives play out. The site-specific work will be accompanied by a game. Casino slot-machine type devices will be presented in a few places around Carriageworks. When you press a button, the machine will present spliced images of various faces. On occasions where the various images match up, the lucky visitor will receive a prize. This mega installation will be the first major work the artist has ever presented in Australia and will respond to the architecture and massive open spaces of the Carriageworks building. The "poet advocate for the dispossessed" is one of the major players in the international art scene and his works reside in many of the world's best collections of Contemporary art. The installation will also be accompanied by a talk on Thursday, January 9, 6pm, between Boltanski and uber art critic Dr Andrew Frost. The talk is free, but bookings are essential. See the Carriageworks website for details. Image: Christian Boltanski, Chance. Image courtesy of Carriageworks.
Sydneysiders have always liked cheese, but in recent years things have gotten serious. Dedicated fromageries have popped up across our fair city and recently we've enjoyed events featuring gin and cheese, wine and cheese and even vegan cheese. Our stomachs are working overtime to digest all the lactose — and, honestly, we've never been happier. And the love affair continues with this latest cheesy announcement. France (or more specifically, a Parisian centre for cheese, which is a real thing) is bringing Bon Fromage, a free two-day festival celebrating European cheese, to Sydney. The whole thing will happen at Carriageworks on October 14 and 15. First and foremost is cheese — the venue will be transformed into a cheese marketplace and wine bar from 11am till 6pm each day. Organisers will be bringing in half a tonne of cheese for the festival, and it will all be free of charge. Just to recap: free entry and free cheese. But the cheese festival isn't just about eating so much cheese you puke. Masterclasses will be held on how to match cheese with wine, how to tell the difference between varieties and, we assume, the correct way to draw a cheese fondue bath for yourself. There will also be a collection of stalls selling cheese for you to take home and eat later. The festival is supported by the European Union, presumably to get Australians on board with the European cheese industry. To us, this seems like a bit of a misfire because we're evidently already very invested in cheese, from Europe or elsewhere. But whatever — we'll be there regardless.
You've got a new CBD restaurant to make a beeline to as soon as the office bell rings. And it's run by a lineup of Sydney hospitality legends. The duo behind Love, Tilly Devine and Dear Sainte Éloise, Matthew Swieboda and Nathanial Hatwell, have teamed up with chef Scott Williams (Bacco Osteria e Espresso, MoVida) and front-of-house star Felix Colman (Dear Sainte Éloise) to open Angel Place's new pasta joint and minimal-intervention wine bar: Ragazzi. Just as Love, Tilly Devine champions Aussie drops and Dear Sainte Éloise focuses more on the French, Ragazzi does the same for Italian varieties — showcasing small Italian producers and Australian wineries that use Italian grapes. Though classic Australian and French wines are also up for grabs here, too. The 38-seat wine bar features textured concrete walls, leather banquette seating and a ten-seat, wraparound brass bar. It serves up daily-changing wines by the glass, along with a whopping 300 by the bottle — so there really is a heap to choose from. To round it all out (or kick-start it all), there are also 20 different amari and aperitifs. Alongside the natural wines is a succinct food menu that changes regularly and showcases regional Italian pasta dishes. Expect the likes of agnolotti dal plin served in a broth with white asparagus, maltagliati with cuttlefish and broad beans, and cavatelli with pipis and sausage. The sausage is made in-house using whichever meat is available on the day. [caption id="attachment_747368" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Nikki To for Buffet[/caption] This focus on no-waste and nose-to-tail eating is present throughout the menu, with Williams sourcing whole cuts of meat and breaking them down to create a range of dishes. At the moment, you'll find pork belly used in croquettes, pork cutlets served as a main and other parts of the animal turned into a pork and fennel sausage. When in season, expect sea urchin to be a regular feature on the menu, too, with Ragazzi receiving deliveries from a south Sydney diver. While pasta is the star of the food show here, Williams also showcases the Spanish cooking techniques he learned in the kitchens of Madrid and Barcelona. So, expect to dig into Spanish-inflected bar snacks, such as Cantabrian anchovies on sourdough, on the regular. A few simple salads (such as shaved cabbage with hazelnut and pecorino) make the cut, too, along with daily-churned gelato for dessert. Regazzi has been bustling from the start, so do yourself a favour and make a booking here. Ragazzi is now open at Shop 3, 2–12 Angel Place, Sydney. Hours are Monday through Friday from 11am–midnight and Saturday from 3pm–midnight. Images: Nikki To for Buffet
There's nothing small about Territory — not the concept, the setting, the cast or the themes. The premise: mixing the heir battles that've thrummed at the heart of Game of Thrones, House of the Dragon and Succession across more than a decade, and to great success, with Yellowstone-esque dramas on a sprawling cattle station in Australia's Northern Territory. The show's fictional Marianne Station is the largest in the world, has been in the Lawson family since its foundation and is the source of a stampede of power struggles, not just among the complicated array of relatives with blood and marital ties to the dynasty, but also across everyone else keen to carve out their own stake. The Netflix series opens with a death, robbing the Marianne hierarchy of its named successor and leaving Lawson patriarch Colin (Robert Taylor, Kid Snow) with the dilemma of picking who should take the place of his dearly departed second son Daniel (Jake Ryan, My Melbourne). His elder offspring Graham (Michael Dorman, Joe Pickett) is an alcoholic married to the ambitious Emily (Anna Torv, Force of Nature: The Dry 2), who hails from a rival family with a cattle-stealing reputation. Then there's the next generation: Graham and Emily's daughter Susie (Philippa Northeast, Paper Dolls), who has big dreams for taking over, plus the smarts to turn the property's flailing fortunes around; and her half-brother Marshall (Sam Corlett, Vikings: Valhalla), who has long left the Lawson chaos behind and isn't overly keen about being drawn back in. Throw in the fact that Susie is getting friendly with Lachie (Joe Klocek, My Lady Jane), the son of mining magnate Sandra Kirby (Sara Wiseman, High Country), who has her own designs on Marianne — plus another competing cattle baron in Campbell Miller (Jay Ryan, Scrublands), Indigenous station owner Nolan Brannock's (Clarence Ryan, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga) endeavours to make his own way, and the antics of Marshall's best friends Rich Petrakis (Sam Delich, Last Days of the Space Age) and Sharnie Kennedy (Kylah Day, also Scrublands) — and Territory isn't short on clashes for control. It hasn't been lacking in viewers, either, since it first hit the streaming platform on Thursday, October 24, 2024, becoming Australia's most-watched series on the service and the third globally on the English-language TV list in the week after its launch. Territory's six-episode first season heartily musters up those feuds and quests for supremacy, that cast of well-known and up-and-coming homegrown names, and stunning backdrops galore — filming on Tipperary Station, where more than 200 cast and crew also lived for the program's first four weeks of shooting, as well as at Kakadu National Park and across South Australia. It also digs just as ardently into the weight of expectations passed down through families and the ongoing fight to be one's own person, alongside exploring the history and colonisation of land with Traditional Owners dating back tens of thousands of years. [caption id="attachment_978092" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Brendon Thorne/Getty Images for Netflix[/caption] While spotting how Territory takes its cues from succession- and western-centric dramas elsewhere, plus the popular trend they've each spawned, isn't hard, this isn't kind of Australian show that graces screens often. It also isn't the type of project that comes across Dorman, Northeast and Corlett's paths frequently. For the New Zealand-born, Queensland-raised Dorman, it's the latest return Down Under on a career that's jumped between The Secret Life of Us as a big break, fellow local roles in everything from Suburban Mayhem and Daybreakers to Wild Boys and Goldstone, and also US alternative-history space-race series For All Mankind. For Northeast, it follows 341 episodes of Home and Away, then Standing Up for Sunny, In Limbo and The Newsreader. And for Corlett, it joins a resume that also boasts The Dry, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina and He Ain't Heavy. All three revelled in many of the same things about Territory that audiences have been, including the layered character dynamics, the weighty notions beating at the heart of the series and the spectacular backdrop. That said, those watching at home don't get the full IRL Tipperary experience, which Dorman describes as being "pretty much transplanted into isolation", Northeast notes was "like nothing that I'd ever seen before" and Corlett saw as a place where "there was so much memory that you could build" in constructing character, they told Concrete Playground. We also chatted with Dorman, Northeast and Corlett about their initial reactions to Territory's concept, what they drew upon to play their parts, the research that goes into playing potential heirs to a cattle empire in the NT and more — including diving into Dorman's acting dreams when he was starting out and now, and the joy of returning home as well. On Dorman, Northeast and Corlett's First Reactions to Territory's Concept — and What Excited Them About Being Involved Michael: "My first reaction was 'how does this play out?'. When you read the script, okay, what's the vision? How are you going to capture the script? The excitement came when we first arrived on Tipperary station. So everyone's flying over. We're all coming together. I didn't know everyone. I hadn't spent a lot of time. I think Anna [Torv] was probably the one that I knew the most. I had old friends, Graham Ware, who's the horse master, is a friend of mine and we've worked together a bunch. So I knew that in terms of the horse riding, I was in good hands — and he knows what I'm capable of, what I'm not capable of. But the excitement really took off when he first landed, all of us arriving, first time taking in the scale of the station. So you walk onto a station that is 4000 square kilometres. And when you think about how big that is there, and there's no one there, and the nearest place to get something, bread, whatever, you name it, is three-and-a-half hours away. So you're pretty much transplanted into isolation. And for me, I found that very exciting, because that just tapped straight into the story and what these people are experiencing every day, and where they come from. That's the heart of the show. So for us to get to go there and spend the first part of the shoot there really informed the rest of it, and so that first initial moment in the show was the most exciting for me. And then from there, we all we all bonded, and the chemistry between all of us just started to make all the colours in the rainbow." Sam: "When I first read the pilot and I got the deck for the series bible, I was just so invigorated that they were going to do something so unapologetically us — so unapologetically Australian. And I think the grit that it had, as well as knowing how epic the shots were going to be up north, especially with Simon Duggan, who shot Furiosa and The Great Gatsby, knowing that we were going to be captured by him, it was like 'ooh, this seems like a cool project'." Philippa: "For me, exactly what Sam said. Just the scale, the epicness, the complexity of the storylines, and the multiple storylines crossing in and out of each other — and all the characters that were going to be shown on-screen from the Top End. What really was striking when I read the script was that for Susie's journey, this was a young female character that wanted to run a cattle station. And I don't see that often when I read scripts. That's not the motive of a lot of the young female characters that I read. So that just that made me so excited that whoever was going to play this part was going to learn to muster and drive a ute and do butchery and ride horses and shoot guns. And it was just incredibly exciting as a female artist." On What Dorman Initially Made of Graham and Saw That He Could Bring to the Role Michael: "I resonate with stories about fractured humans, and I love redemption. I love it if the character is flawed in so many ways and can find their way to see hope again. And so the thing with Graham is he's down and out, hopeless. Doesn't want to be there, doesn't want to breathe. And I think there's so many people like that in life that just lose the will to breathe. And I love that he had this moment where he's forced to step up, so they say in the show, and believe in himself, which is a really challenging thing for so many people to believe in themselves. So it's these finer elements for me that excite me in terms of storytelling, because I get an opportunity to speak to maybe one person — if it's one person, you get to speak to them in a way that they would understand because they're in similar circumstance. And then there's the other side of it, the entertainment factor, who doesn't love to be entertained? But that was the thing about Graham, that character, that I really, really liked." On Northeast's Task Stepping Into the Shoes of a Character with Ambition, Determination and Smarts, But Discovering the Complexities That Await Philippa: "I think for me, the challenge was to — she's left left ag college and she's coming in from Sydney, and so she's fairly naive when we meet her. And this is a multimillion-dollar business that she wants to run. I don't think she fully understands the gravitas of that, let alone the gender challenges that she's going to come up against. And I think you see Emily, her mother, beautifully try to impart some of those challenges to her, but also let her learn them and figure them out and make mistakes along the way. And that causes conflict between the two women, but ultimately it's the greatest form of love that they share — the honesty that this is not going be a walk in the park for a woman — and that's definitely explored. And for me, it was just trying to tell the truth of that, and not shy away from the truth of that through Susie's naiveté." On What Corlett Drew Upon with Marshall Constantly Caught Between His Friends and Family, Father and Grandfather, and Past and Future Sam: "There was a lot that was pretty accessible. Alcoholism runs in my family, and I never really met my granddad because of alcohol, and didn't have too much to do with my uncle even though he was a beautiful soul. I didn't get to interact with him a whole lot. I think observing my mum's experience with that, there's such a desire for Marshall, he really wants his dad to be a stand-up guy. And I think Michael plays it so beautifully — like how limp he is, how weak he is. Really, it's quite frustrating for Marshall to watch and to see his father being so belittled by his grandfather. I don't think he particularly sees a role model in either of those characters. In my own thoughts, I projected that Dan could have been that for Marshall, a sense of 'oh, that's what a man is'. But it wasn't enough for him to stay around, so he ended up leaving the station and seeking his path elsewhere, and ran into Rich and Sharnie, and started, kind of like Henry IV, he finds connection in the kind of outcasts of the society." [caption id="attachment_978104" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Tony Mott[/caption] On the Research That Goes Into Playing Potential Heirs to a Cattle Empire in the Northern Territory Michael: "It's interesting because, to me, every character is human and there's elements like the horse riding — which is fine, I've worked with Graham [Ware] a bunch, so I'm fine with horse riding — but for me, it was more that I look at it like you can play in any realm or any stage, as long as you know who that human is and understand that emotional cocktail. The landscape does what the landscape does — that's its own character. My job is to make sure I understand who this human is and why they do the things they do. And then you put them together and it works out just fine, in my experience. So I guess it's more you study what it is to be human, and then you can go and play." [caption id="attachment_978107" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Tony Mott[/caption] Philippa: "I think it was a great opportunity. I spend a lot of time in rural NS, as it is, on a property, a cattle property, out there. It's much smaller to the scale of the station at Marianne, but it was great for me to be able to watch the staff interact with each other, watch the day-to-day requirements, go to a couple of bull sales in in the real life, learn how to drive a ute properly — I picked the worst ute and tried to make it go, because I feel like Susie probably would do the same thing. So for me, I was incredibly fortunate to be able to spend time out there. And then when we got to the station for filming, I just had to, whatever I had learned, I had to put on steroids. The grand scale of the station up there, the way that they muster with helicopters and not just horses, it's like nothing that I'd ever seen before. It's just totally epic. So there's a level of training that you can do, but then to actually be on set was a different story." [caption id="attachment_978106" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Tony Mott[/caption] Sam: "My dad was a jackaroo, and so I had so many stories of when he was younger, purposely rolling cars with his mates and all this stuff. So there's the kind of the cheeky rebellious streak, and then there's also the very practical streak. And I think always in my head, I called Marshall 'the practical rascal', and so needed to be very pragmatic. And I just tried to get my hands dirty as much as possible and all the things that we were learning, whether it be horses, motorbikes, cars, guns, the whole lot." On Digging Into a Storyline About Being Your Own Person and Breaking Free of Expectations Michael: "I think you have to dive as deep as you can to really understand what that character is going through. And then, once you've done all your prep in terms of diving into the idea of their psyche, then you just let it go. Then you're relying on the people that you're playing with. Then it becomes a like a dance, that's the waltz. I look at it like it's lightning in a bottle: if you're not capturing it as it's happening, you've missed it and it's never going to be the same again when you run a take. You run a take, you've done all your research diving internally and then you're there. That's the part of the playing that I love, when you have someone great with you and you're just bouncing off each other. You know when you're onto something good when the crew becomes silent — and there was so many times in this one where I'd be shooting a scene with Robert [Taylor] or Anna where the crew would become silent, and then you know you're making something special." Sam: "Seemingly it's a key theme for every person — to seek one's full self, I think. I find the more personal you get, the more universal it tends to reflect on the world. And so as much as I could find Marshall's experience of life within me, that's kind of the seed. And then it grows from there with your imagination. And as Pip said, working on the station, we were able to imbue the area with so many memories. Whether it was walking past the house that they built — you could imagine what the barbecues would have been like when we were kids, and what drama might have occurred there. There was so much memory that you could build. But definitely it all starts on a personal level." Philippa: "And I think our show is particularly interesting as well because it really explores what do you get handed down from generation to generation, and how to be your own person when you're loaded with this baggage of history — whether that be the challenges of being a male in that space or the challenges of being a female in that space. And so we take a very detailed look into family baggage and trauma." On What Gets Dorman Excited About Returning to Australia for a Role Michael: "You get to go home. There's nothing like going home. Any of us, when we go home, there's a release, you can feel calm and free. When you're in a space that you don't really understand, it gets slightly tense because you don't understand how everything works. But when you go home, you don't have to think. So that's what I love about coming home, because I don't have to think about all that stuff. It's just like a duck to water — you understand all of it. And even in terms of the elements, I understand the elements out there. Yeah, it was really, really hot, but I grew up and I spent a long time in Bundaberg in Queensland. It got warm. And I feel like there's a correlation between Bundaberg as a teen and the idea of what a man looks like, and then going on and doing a show like this and the idea of what a man looks like. So I had an understanding there. But going home, there's nothing on going home." On Dorman's Acting Dream When The Secret Life of Us Was One of His First Major Roles, and Now Two Decades Later Michael: "It was never about what story to tell, it was more about telling stories and it still is. When I did Secret Life, I was just happy to be there, to be part of the process, to be telling a story. And I'm still the same. So many people have ideas about what story they want to tell. I'm still in that space where I just love telling stories. If you gave me an opportunity to tell one, I'll jump onboard. So yeah, I haven't really changed in that sense. I just love being in the boots. When I work with characters, for some reason it always starts with the boots. Whatever boots they're wearing, you put on these boots and you're walking around, and whatever shoes they are — and whenever I put those boots on, and then I walk around with that character playing, and then you take the boots off and let them go. I guess everyone has their own way of doing things. But these were fun boots to wear." Territory streams via Netflix. Images: courtesy of Netflix © 2024.
As if Bondi Road wasn't already a hub for top-notch eats (see: Totti's, Carbon, The Corner House, Mikey's), the bustling eastern suburbs street has just welcomed an exciting new Argentinian restaurant. Zama is now open on the same corner as The Corner House and Totti's, wafting the distinct smell of a fiery charcoal grill out onto the main road. "Bondi Road is the only location I considered for Zama," says co-owner Duncan Fredrich. "Over the past few years, so many acclaimed names within the Sydney hospitality scene have popped up along the strip — I'm honoured to be part of it." Zama is the passion project of hospo newcomers Friedrich and his partner David Holder, alongside Head Chef Fredrick Bernard. Bernard brings experience from two of the city's best steakhouses to the restaurant, having previously worked across Porteno and Woodcut. Together, the trio has crafted a menu that showcases the kitchen's centrepiece: a custom-built parrilla grill. "Everything is cooked with Argentinian charcoal on the parrilla, giving our grilled dishes a unique, smokey flavour," says Bernard. Highlights emerging from the grill include whole baby snapper, chorizo, grilled peppers with a sherry vinaigrette, butternut pumpkin served with stracciatella and brown butter, and a couple of top-notch steaks topped with chimichurri. But, before you get to the mains, make sure to start your meal with a couple of traditional Argentinian empanadas. Australian and Argentinian wines lead the way on the drinks list, as well as a few carefully curated cocktails. Cheers to the meal with a spicy margarita as you tuck into your empanadas, before turning your attention to a full-bodied red to pair with your wagyu sirloin. The fitout has been kept relatively simple, drawing on the beachside cocktail bars of Tulum to bring the intimate space to life with rattan lighting, bamboo roofing and plenty of greenery. Zama is now open at 273 Bondi Road, Bondi, operating Tuesday–Saturday 5pm–late.
We know that most of you want to have your say in the postal vote on marriage equality, but we also know that you're probably going to put it off until the last minute. So do the organisers of the Festival for Marriage Equality, which is why they're encouraging as many people as possible put in their vote, en masse. After the success of the Yes Rally over the weekend, Sydney's activist collective Reclaim the Streets has organised the largest collective 'yes' voting event, with thousands expected to rock up at Prince Alfred Park on Saturday, September 23, to put in their vote together. After posting your vote at Strawberry Hills Post Office just across the road, you'll be able to get amongst eight stages until sunset, including Deeper Than House, Swerve Saturdays, SYD DEF JAM, INPUT, Roots Odyssey, Rabbit Prawn Kollective, The Church of Screaming Electro and Umami. If you enrolled to vote — which Sydney bars went to get to great lengths to make sure you did — you'll receive your form at some point in the next five to seven days. Just take it along to the event to sign, seal and deliver it off to the government. If you can't make it, make sure you put in your vote before October 27 as the final deadline is November 7. The Festival for Marriage Equality will take place on Saturday, September 23. Meet at 1pm at Prince Alfred Park, Chalmers Street, Surry Hills for a 2pm vote at Strawberry Hills Post Office across the road. For more info, check the Facebook event. Image: Yes Rally for Marriage Equality by Letícia Almeida.
During the pandemic, we all sorely missed the experience of catching live tunes in heaving venues. To get musicians back onstage, the New South Wales government and ARIA launched Great Southern Nights. Following two blockbuster years that saw thousands of gigs pop up across the state, the series is returning in 2024 with a massive 300-plus shows over 17 nights. Live music will ring out throughout NSW between Friday, March 8–Sunday, March 24, with some of the country's biggest musicians and the hottest emerging talent performing in Sydney live music institutions as well as regional hubs including Newcastle, Wagga Wagga, Wollongong, Tamworth and the Northern Rivers. With such a huge lineup, it's hard to know where to start — but let's break it down. ROCK LUMINARIES If you love the classics and have a penchant for the singular sound that is Australian rock, you'll be able to catch sets from Peter Garrett & The Alter Egos, The Church, You Am I, Yothu Yindi, The Whitlams, Black Stump Band, Hoodoo Gurus and Kate Ceberano. BEATS AND BOPS Local hip hop heads can hit up gigs from Barkaa, 360, JK-47, Bliss n Eso, L-Fresh the Lion, Illy, Drapht, YNG Martyr and Jesswar. And if your prerogative is to dance, The Presets, Havana Brown, Tigerlily, Sneaky Sound System, Hermitude and Anna Lunoe are all performing. INDIE FAVES If you're an indie-rock aficionado, Ball Park Music, Sarah Blasko, King Stingray, The Buoys, Ruby Fields, Budjerah, Alex Lahey, Gordi, Gretta Ray, The Vanns, and Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers will be coming to a stage near you. AND A WHOLE LOT MORE Plus, there will be shows from Becca Hatch, Cub Sport, Dune Rats, Vika and Linda, A.Girl, Xavier Rudd, David Campbell, Fanny Lumsden, Kasey Chambers, Kate Miller-Heidke, Redhook and Northlane — and also a special tribute to Rowland S Howard. Check where your faves are playing and what shows are happening near you via the full gig guide, then start planning an epic 17 nights of music stat. Great Southern Nights 2024 will run from Friday, March 8, to Sunday, March 24, throughout New South Wales. Tickets are on sale now via the festival's website. Images: Enmore Theatre, Destination NSW
Two Good Co, the social enterprise dedicated to supporting vulnerable women by providing pathways out of crisis living, has opened its first cafe and convenience store in philanthropic hub Yirranma Place. Two Good Co first launched in 2015 as a soup kitchen at Kings Cross, before expanding into selling soup products, salads and toiletries to raise funds for its good work. Created in partnership with the Paul Ramsay Foundation, the venue is open 7am–3pm weekdays, serving breakfast and lunch with a strong focus on local artisan and ethically-minded businesses. Brands you'll find within the store include The Bread & Butter Project, Kua Coffee, Mood and T Totaler teas, Blak Cede and Gelato Messina. The cafe helps fund Two Good Co's programs while also employing vulnerable women across the front of house, kitchen and concierge roles. "Training, empowering, and employing vulnerable women is the reason we do what we do," Two Good co-founder Rob Caslick said. "We see our partnership with the Paul Ramsay Foundation as a springboard to showcase this model to other organisations who want their office catering and café service to make a real difference." Alongside the standard breakfast and lunch menus, a special monthly menu curated by culinary friends of Two Good Co is also on offer. The organisation has worked with the likes of Kylie Kwong, Maggie Beer, Peter Gilmore and Matt Moran in the past, and will be teaming back up with some of its high-profile mates for these menus. Three Blue Ducks chef and co-owner Darren Robertson was the first to take charge of the menu, featuring cauliflower cheese toasties, and his renowned chocolate cookies, while Matt Moran followed with a menu headlined by Croque monsieur toasties and rice pudding with rhubarb. Head over to the Two Good Co Instagram page for this month's specials. The organisation has also expanded its catering service for those wanting to host a function while supporting a good cause. The service now offers a variety of options from small breakfasts and grazing boxes to cocktail canapes and large-scale event catering.
When That's Not Me begins, it's with a black screen and an Oscar speech — and then a toilet and a can of air freshener. Polly Cuthbert (Alice Foulcher) is practicing for the acclaim and awards she hopes will come, but it's clear the aspiring actress still has a way to go. But hey, she's determined. Working at a cinema, turning down soap operas, and waiting to audition for Jared Leto's new HBO show are part of her slow-and-steady approach to carving out a serious career. And it might've worked, if her identical twin sister Amy hadn't started living out Polly's wildest acting fantasies instead. That's Not Me is more than just the title of this smart, funny and perceptive Australian comedy from writer-director Gregory Erdstein and writer-star Foulcher. It's also what Polly finds herself telling her sibling's fans when they start accosting her wherever she goes. Moreover, in a movie that explores the reality that lifelong dreams don't always work out as planned, it offers audiences a clever reminder: there's nothing wrong with not having the life and job you thought you would when you were a kid. Call it a quarter-life-crisis portrait, a faking-it-without-making-it character study, or a not-quite-slacker story. Whichever label you choose, they all fit the bill. As familiar as all of that may sound, the film also deserves to be described as earnest, astute, insightful and thoroughly amusing. Brimming with well-observed scenarios, characters and emotions, it's the kind of movie that makes you feel like you might've seen it all before, only to delight you as you realise you haven't. Frankly, it's the type of flick you could easily imagine remade around an unhappy New Yorker. And yet despite that, it wears its local-and-proud-of-it heart on its sleeve — even while making jokes about the stereotype that no one watches Aussie films. Indeed, this is a movie that is both universal and unmistakably Australian – and that's just one of many delicate balancing acts that That's Not Me achieves. Gags about Jared Leto and the superficial nature of the film industry sit alongside jabs at Neighbours and Home and Away, as well a brief appearance from Andrew O'Keefe. It takes a similar amount of skill to plot a story filled with highs and lows, while maintaining an awareness that life usually exists somewhere in between. The movie's look and feel further blends a variety of elements, from a fond but never rosy view of Melbourne, to music that leans towards the '80s without wallowing in nostalgia, to pacing that feels brisk but never rushed. Of course the biggest juggling task sits with Foulcher, and not just because she's playing twins. Rather than filling the movie with sisters in the thick of sibling rivalry, this is really a flick about Polly's unrealised dreams, and Foulcher gives her character all of the dimensions you'd expect — plus some you might not. Her character's not always sympathetic, but she's certainly relatable, with the actress delivering an immensely likeable and layered turn. If there's any justice, this gem of a film will be remembered in the exact same way. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2C-78QW3xq8
"For never was a story of more woe," said William Shakespeare of Romeo & Juliet. To be accurate, he had the iconic play announce that itself in its second-last line. In the four centuries since the famed tale was first penned, never was there a tragic romance that's better known, either. Few works have been adapted and performed as much as this story of the warring Montague and Capulet families, and the heartbreak that ensues when their children fall in love — but Benjamin Millepied's Romeo & Juliet suite still stands out. Sydney audiences can now discover why for themselves, with the world-famous choreographer's take on Shakespeare's star-crossed lovers making its Aussie debut. Playing exclusively at the Sydney Opera House from Wednesday, June 5–Sunday, June 9, the ballet is filling the Joan Sutherland Theatre and other spaces with a mix of dance, theatre and cinema that defies genres, as well as a modernisation of the narrative that sees love first, not gender. Three versions comprise the suite, each with a different couple. On the production's first night and its Saturday matinee, an all-male pairing will bring Romeo & Juliet to life. On the second evening and the Saturday night, two female dancers will play the lead parts. And on the Friday and Sunday, a male-female duo will take to the stage. Millepied's Romeo & Juliet hails from the LA Dance Project, which he co-founded and acts as its Artistic Director. The company's ensemble are performing on the opera house's stage and also throughout the building, which is then broadcast live back to the audience inside the Joan Sutherland Theatre. So, the Romeo & Juliet suite plays with form, too — and even if you think you've seen every iteration of R&J before, this one is unique. Bringing the ballet Down Under for the first time marks Millepied's latest project in Australia. His last: making his film directorial debut with Carmen, which starred Melissa Barrera (Abigail) and Paul Mescal (All of Us Strangers), reimagined Prosper Mérimée's novella and Georges Bizet's opera, and shot in the outback New South Wales town of Broken Hill. The dancer, choreographer and filmmaker's resume before that spans joining the New York Ballet as a teen, choreographing and co-starring in Black Swan, a stint as Paris Opera Ballet's Director of Dance and creating the sandwalk for Denis Villeneuve's versions of Dune. Images: Julien Benhamou, Paul Bourdrel and Josh Rose.
Charlotte's Little Sister has added another sibling, with the launch of their latest cafe at the Australian Technology Park. The sixth member of the highly caffeinated clan after the original Charlotte Cafe in Birchgrove as well as spinoffs in Manly, Pennant Hills, Mosman and Boronia Park, Charlotte's Little Sister Eveleigh has made its mark on the Australian Technology Park precinct with rotisserie meats, freshly made salads and steaming Campos Coffee. Located on Central Avenue, Charlotte's Little Sister Australian Technology Park opened in April 2016. With interior design by Guru Projects and India Harris, the cafe boasts brass panelling, raw timber and Italian mosaic floor tiles, and can seat as many as 160 patrons. The menu was created by chefs Rob Clarson and Jimmy Mathers, previously of Sugar & Spoon and Pony Dining, respectively. Breakfast options include fruit salad with 'paleo crunch' and coconut yoghurt, and a BBQ bacon egg roll on freshly baked organic bread. For lunch you can grab rolls packed with everything from slow-cooked grain-fed pork belly, South American slaw and brown rice, to house-made falafel, eggplant puree, cucumber yoghurt and salad. Alternatively you can enjoy a spiced cauliflower and eggplant salad with pickled currants, kale, coriander, almonds and tahini. There are also plans to introduce a bar menu featuring wine, beer and a range of cocktails. Until then though, you can still enjoy a fresh cup of joe, courtesy of premium local supplier Campos Coffee.
Something delightful has been happening in cinemas across the country. After months spent empty, with projectors silent, theatres bare and the smell of popcorn fading, Australian picture palaces are back in business — spanning both big chains and smaller independent sites in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. During COVID-19 lockdowns, no one was short on things to watch, of course. In fact, you probably feel like you've streamed every movie ever made, including new releases, comedies, music documentaries, Studio Ghibli's animated fare and Nicolas Cage-starring flicks. But, even if you've spent all your time of late glued to your small screen, we're betting you just can't wait to sit in a darkened room and soak up the splendour of the bigger version. Thankfully, plenty of new films are hitting cinemas so that you can do just that — and we've rounded up, watched and reviewed everything on offer this week. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ivHf4ODMi4 JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH The last time that Daniel Kaluuya and LaKeith Stanfield appeared in the same film, Get Out was the end result. Their shared scene in Jordan Peele's Oscar-winning horror movie isn't easily forgotten (if you've seen the feature, it will have instantly popped into your head while you're reading this), and neither is Judas and the Black Messiah, their next exceptional collaboration. With Kaluuya starring as the Black Panther Party's Illinois Chairman Fred Hampton and Stanfield playing William O'Neal, the man who infiltrated his inner circle as an informant for the FBI, the pair is still tackling race relations. Here, though, the duo does so in a ferocious historical drama set in the late 60s. The fact that O'Neal betrays Hampton isn't a spoiler; it's a matter of fact, and the lens through which writer/director Shaka King (Newlyweeds) and his co-scribes Kenneth Lucas, Keith Lucas (actors on Lady Dynamite) and Will Berson (Scrubs) view the last period of Hampton's life. The magnetic Kaluuya has already won a Best Supporting Actor Golden Globe for his performance, and is bound to be nominated for and likely win an Oscar as well — and if he wants to keep acting opposite Stanfield in movies this invigorating, ardent, resonant and essential, audiences won't complain. It's 1966 when O'Neal falls afoul of the law for trying to impersonate an FBI agent to steal a vehicle. With J Edgar Hoover (Martin Sheen, Grace and Frankie) directing his employees to "prevent the rise of a 'messiah' who could unify and electrify the militant black nationalist movement" — his real-life words — the car thief is offered a deal by actual FBI Special Agent Roy Mitchell (Jesse Plemons, I'm Thinking of Ending Things). If O'Neal cosies up to Hampton, then reports back on his comings, goings, political moves and general plans, he'll avoid jail. Initially apprehensive, he acquiesces to keep his freedom. With Hampton's raging speeches earning him a firm following, and his charisma and canny strategies broadening the crowds hanging on his words, O'Neal's task isn't minor. And the further he ingratiates himself into Hampton's confidence, becoming his head of security, the more he's torn about keeping tabs and doing the government's increasingly nefarious bidding. This isn't just a story about one young Black man coerced into bringing down a rising leader and revolutionary, however. It's also a tale about the figure who mobilised the masses as Martin Luther King Jr and Malcolm X had, until he was shot while he slept at the age of just 21. And, it's an account of the powers-that-be's abject fear of progress, equality, and the crusaders willing to put their lives on the line to fight for justice and a better world. Read our full review. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBjcbZla2cA GIRLS CAN'T SURF Exploring the gender imbalance in professional surfing, especially during the 80s and 90s as women in the sport were starting to attract the world's attention, Girls Can't Surf feels like a floodgates-bursting documentary. Watching female stars of the era talk about their experiences, including the vast disparity in prize money between men and women and how that affected their efforts to make a living, it's easy to see this candid and detailed film setting a template for a wealth of other movies. As fans of any type of women's sport well and truly know, differing treatment, pay, sponsorship and levels of respect aren't restricted to hitting the waves. Indeed, as the doco's high-profile parade of talking heads offer their thoughts and recollections — such as former world champions Frieda Zamba, Wendy Botha, Pam Burridge, Pauline Menczer, Lisa Andersen and Layne Beachley — many of their words could be uttered by any number of female athletes in a wide range of fields. That truth doesn't undercut the doco's power, or downplay what women surfers have been through. Rather, it underscores the importance of continually shining a light on the way the sporting arena has routinely sidelined, undermined and devalued anyone who isn't male. "If you can't see it, you can't be it" is one of Girls Can't Surf's resonant and universal sound bites, and it's easily applicable far beyond the film's specific stories and the sport in focus. Indeed, when Beachley talks about how she used to mill around surfing contests as a teen starting out in the field, and annoy the ladies she'd soon be competing against, you can see those words in action; if earlier generations of women hadn't already been hanging ten, Australia's seven-time champ wouldn't have had any footsteps to follow in. The film is filled with astute insights and telling connections such as these. It all leads to the well-publicised recent development, only back in 2018, of equal winnings for men and women being mandated by the World Surf League from 2019 onwards. That happy ending benefits today's stars, such as Stephanie Gilmore, Tyler Wright and Carissa Moore, but it came too late for Girls Can't Surf's interviewees. Once again, knowing that significant change has finally come to the sport doesn't diminish the potency of hearing about the horrors, struggles and rampant sexism that female surfers endured for decades — with two-time feature surf documentarian Christopher Nelius (Storm Surfers 3D) smartly bringing those tales to the fore, and the people sharing them as well. Read our full review. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hb9PBr7Qhec MAX RICHTER'S SLEEP Since first opening its doors back in 1973, the Sydney Opera House has played host to a wealth of performances, spanning far further in genre than just the art form that gives the venue its name. But it was only during Vivid Live 2016 that the iconic locale serenaded visitors into an evening-long slumber, all as part of Max Richter's live recital of his eight-and-a-half hour work Sleep. Across 31 tracks comprised of 204 movements, the German-born British composer's concept album unfurls music based on the neuroscience of getting some shuteye. In its intonation, the ambitious yet soothing piece favours the range that can be heard in the womb for much of its duration. When performed for an audience, it is played overnight, with beds set up — and doing as the work's title suggests is highly encouraged. Attendees recline, listen and let Richter's blend of strings, synthesisers and soprano vocals lull them into the land of nod. If they'd prefer to stay awake, that's fine as well, but soaking in Sleep's ambient sounds while you're snatching 40 winks is all very much part of the experience. In its live version, Sleep has echoed through spaces in London, Berlin and Paris, too; however, it's the first openair performance in Los Angeles' Grand Park in 2018 that takes pride of place in the documentary Max Richter's Sleep. A filmmaker was always bound to be so fascinated with the concept that they'd turn their lens Richter's way, and that director is Natalie Johns (an Emmy nominee for Annie Lennox: Nostalgia Live in Concert), who endeavours to capture the experience for those who haven't had the pleasure themselves. The resulting film doesn't run for more than eight hours, or anywhere close — but those watching and listening will quickly wish that it did. As a feature, Max Richter's Sleep isn't designed to advertise its namesake. Rather, it documents, explores and tries to understand it. Still, the movie so easily draws viewers into the music, and so deeply, that making its audience want to snooze in public while Richter and his band plays is a guaranteed side effect. Read our full review. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZSLvFo0eus COSMIC SIN Reminding viewers of far better movies while they're watching yours isn't a smart or recommended filmmaking tactic, but it's what writer/director Edward Drake (Broil) does best with Cosmic Sin. By casting Bruce Willis in this science fiction slog, it immediately brings The Fifth Element to mind. That influential 1997 movie just keeps inspiring flicks that don't feature Willis of late — see also: Chaos Walking — but it leaves a particularly heavy imprint here. Indeed, it's impossible not to think of the rosier era in the actor's career that The Fifth Element represents as Willis is grimacing his way through scene after scene in Cosmic Sin, and visibly putting in zero effort. It's difficult not to think of 1998's Armageddon, too, a movie that isn't at all great but is certainly better than this new space war-fuelled picture. Drake clearly wants audiences to make these connections, which is why his feature spends far more time than it should watching Willis meander around looking unimpressed and wearing plastic armour, all while playing a disgraced military head honcho on the comeback trail. And, it must be why the film squanders Frank Grillo, who also hasn't had a great run of late (as seen in Jiu Jitsu and Boss Level), but has been screaming for years for a movie that makes the most of his presence. The year is 2524. Earth is now an old hand at attempting to colonise other planets. And when one such celestial body tried to break away five years earlier, Willis' James Ford handled it by committing mass murder. Now, a group of aliens from a just-discovered civilisation is attempting to give humans a taste of their own medicine. Ford is brought back as part of a ragtag team tasked with defending life as everyone 500 years in the future knows it, which also includes General Eron Ryle (Grillo), his nephew Braxton (Brandon Thomas Lee, Sierra Burgess Is a Loser), quantum tech Fiona Ardene (Adelaide Kane, Once Upon a Time) and fellow veteran Marcus Bleck (Costas Mandylor, In Like Flynn). Cue a movie that's never as over-the-top as it needs to be to keep viewers even remotely interested, and a bland affair all-round. The film's fondness for tech jargon-heavy nonsense dialogue doesn't help. Cosmic Sin's vision of the future — including its laughable robot bartenders — also looks as awkward as its narrative and performances feel. And while Drake and his co-writer Corey Large (Breach, and also a co-star here) endeavour to ponder deeper themes, including humanity's historical penchant for exploring the world and conquering everything in sight, that too proves flimsy. It isn't intentional, but Willis' bored look says everything it needs to. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVOH9540Sbg THEN CAME YOU With film distributors playing it coy and cautious when it comes to releasing their hopeful box office hits during the pandemic, movies that mightn't have otherwise made their way into cinemas are currently getting a shot at the big screen. In some cases, that's excellent news for small but exceptional features that would've likely been dwarfed by blockbusters. In others, flicks that no one should have to pay to endure are also reaching theatres. Then Came You falls into the latter category. A vanity project for American talk show host Kathie Lee Gifford, who stars in and wrote the not-at-all romantic or comedic rom-com, it'd test patience even if it was watched with just one eye half-open and after several drinks in the middle of a long-haul flight. As well as lazily using culture-clash tropes to throw obstacles in the way of its chalk-and-cheese central duo — a newly widowed American hardware shop owner (Gifford, Sharknado 5: Global Swarming) and the Scottish Lord (Craig Ferguson, Hot in Cleveland) whose crumbling mansion she books for the first stop on a globe-hopping getaway — this trite affair hasn't met a clunky double entendre it didn't love, or a predictable plot development that can be seen from Nantucket to Scotland. First, Annabelle Wilson and Howard Awd converse via email, which Then Came You has the pair read aloud in its opening moments. Then, she announces to her empty house that she has to make new memories or the old ones will kill her, heads to the UK, is shocked that Scotland has working trains, and alternates between flirting and arguing with her host. He has a sob story, too, and he's also struggling to retain his sprawling, stereotypical-looking estate. He has a high-powered London-based bride-to-be (Elizabeth Hurley, Runaways) as well — but there's never any doubting how Then Came You will end. Rom-coms frequently stick to a template; however, it is possible to liven up a creaky formula with snappy dialogue and warm, charismatic performances. As directed with the forceful gloss of a TV commercial by second-time feature helmer Adriana Trigiani (Big Stone Gap) and often set to the same repeated song (also co-written by Gifford), this film sadly struggles with both its core rapport and its leading lady's overacting. He's worlds away from his own former TV hosting gig on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, and from his sitcom tole on The Drew Carey Show, but the fact that the reliably charming Ferguson fares best here, even with the grating material, hardly comes as a surprise. If you're wondering what else is currently screening in cinemas — or has been lately — check out our rundown of new films released in Australia on November 5, November 12, November 19 and November 26; and December 3, December 10, December 17, December 26; and January 1, January 7, January 14, January 21 and January 28; February 4, February 11, February 18 and February 25; and March 4. You can also read our full reviews of a heap of recent movies, such as The Craft: Legacy, Radioactive, Brazen Hussies, Freaky, Mank, Monsoon, Ellie and Abbie (and Ellie's Dead Aunt), American Utopia, Possessor, Misbehaviour, Happiest Season, The Prom, Sound of Metal, The Witches, The Midnight Sky, The Furnace, Wonder Woman 1984, Ottolenghi and the Cakes of Versailles, Nomadland, Pieces of a Woman, The Dry, Promising Young Woman, Summerland, Ammonite, The Dig, The White Tiger, Only the Animals, Malcolm & Marie, News of the World, High Ground, Earwig and the Witch, The Nest, Assassins, Synchronic, Another Round, Minari, Firestarter — The Story of Bangarra, The Truffle Hunters, The Little Things, Chaos Walking and Raya and the Last Dragon.
There are plenty of aspects of lockdown that suck, but one giant ray of sunshine through the whole experience has been all the top-notch, inventive takeaway options coming from some of our favourite Sydney businesses. One such restaurant is Redfern's Bart Jr. The Pitt Street spot is cooking up a range of lockdown specials including date night packs, heat-at-home meals and fancy panko-crumbed market-fresh ling Fillet-O-Fishes — but the crowning jewel of Bart Jr's lockdown menu is its lobster roll. Piled high with fresh WA Rock Lobster, NSW Clarence River king prawns, tarragon, chive and horseradish, Bary Jr's lobster rolls are available every Friday from the restaurant's takeaway window — lovingly named Bart Mart. With local lobster prices lower right now due to slower international trading, the Bart Jr team jumped at the opportunity to add a more affordable lobster dish to its menu. The rolls were originally created as a one-off dish, but after a huge community response, they've been added to the Bart Mart menu as a weekly Friday item. "I had about 50 people on Instagram message me asking if they could pre-order for next time, and so many people came by afterwards and said, 'please do it again'," Bart Jr owner George Woodyard said. If you miss out on a lobster roll you can pre-order a beef brisket roll packed with cheddar, zucchini pickles and chipotle mayo, available every Saturday. You can also keep your eyes on the Bart Jr Instagram for weekly deals. Last week's date night pack was filled with fried halloumi dusted in a za'atar-spiced semolina, 12-hour slow-roasted lamb shoulder, orange and polenta cake and a set of two bottled cocktails. At Bart Jr's Instagram you'll also find the details on how you can pre-order both hot rolls and DIY at-home dinners. Once you pre-order, you can pick up your lockdown dishes between 12–3pm, Thursday–Saturday. [caption id="attachment_824127" align="alignnone" width="1920"] George Woodyard, Destination NSW[/caption] Images: Destination NSW
When is a hotel not really a hotel? When it's a hotel-themed bar that decks out its interiors like somewhere you can stay — taking a few cues from Wes Anderson's The Grand Budapest Hotel and The Shining's Overlook Hotel, in fact — but doesn't actually include slumbering in its rooms. When is an escape room bar not at all an escape room bar? When it takes the escape room concept of theming different spaces — those aforementioned hotel-style rooms — and decks them out with challenges instead. Yes, the premise behind Hijinx Hotel needs a bit of explaining. It also gleans inspiration from all those supremely Instagrammable pop-up installations that include ball pits, but this one is sticking around in one spot permanently. Plus, it jams in three different bars for multiple cocktail-sipping opportunities, nods to New York hotels in its facade, and ensures that each one of its rooms pays homage to either a movie or a board game from the 80s and 90s. First announced back in mid-April, and now opening its doors in Sydney on Friday, June 17, Hijinx Hotel is basically an OTT nostalgia bomb — and something that Willy Wonka would've been proud to dream up if the fictional character branched out beyond making chocolate and candy. It hails from a team that know a few things about indulgent kidulting experiences, with Funlab also behind venues such as Strike, Holey Moley, Archie Brothers Cirque Electriq, and B Lucky and Sons. And, Hijinx Hotel also sits next to a brand-new 27-hole Holey Moley, too, with the boozy mini-golf spot's latest venue going big on Alice in Wonderland vibes. Escapism is clearly the name of the game here, and partying like you would've before you were old enough to drink alcohol — but with the hard stuff definitely on offer. Wondering what that entails? Yes, it's as chaotic as it all sounds. Firstly, you enter via the faux hotel lobby bar that's full of colour and surrealist touches. You won't miss the purple unicorn in the centre of the bar, for instance. Instead of merely checking in, though, you'll down cocktails in the neon-lit space — including a particularly potent Red Bull number that's served in a golden owl-shaped vessel, multiple types of margaritas, and the bubble-topped Bubble and Pop (made with tequila, white chocolate, passionfruit, lemon and egg white, and that scented bubble) — and hang out in booths. As for the not-quite-hotel rooms themselves, there's 15 of them, with ten opening at launch and five more unveiling their wonders in the weeks afterwards. To gain access, you do need to head to reception t0 pick up a swipe card. Next, you'll follow the concierge's instructions to the red elevator — without a river of blood flowing out of it, thankfully. Inside the rooms, prepare to play games inspired by Twister, Scrabble and Tetris — here called Poke A Dot, Scrambled and Shape'n Up — in separate spaces. Or, Tom Hanks fans can live out their Big dreams in the piano room, which features a giant keyboard across the floor, and requires you to play it with your feet. Prefer Titanic? Then make a date with the Draw Me Like One Of Your French Girls room, which is designed to make you feel like you're in the middle of a sinking ship. Other highlights include a pastel ball pit that resembles a huge bowl of cereal, a room that releases balls from the top of the wall like you're in a life-sized pinball machine, and another that's all about shooting hoops. In each, you'll need to complete a challenge within a set time — with set packages spanning five rooms starting at $25 per adult for 30 minutes. As well as that already-mentioned lobby bar, there are two other places in quench your thirst — and you can snack on bites such as fries, pizzas and two-cheese toasted sandwiches. Whether you're a Sydneysider scoping out your next boozy bit of fun, or you live elsewhere and you're making plans for a trip to the Harbour City, you now have somewhere new to head to. And, as well as that new Holey Moley, there's also an Archie Brothers Cirque Electriq in the same complex. Usually, Funlab launches its new concepts in one city, then shares the love across other east coast capitals. So Melburnians and Brisbanites, cross your fingers that more Hijinx Hotels will eventually pop up closer to home. Find Hijinx Hotel at 75 O'Riordan Street, Alexandria, Sydney, from Friday, June 17. For further information or to make a booking, head to the venue's website.
Australia is widely regarded as a beer-swilling nation. Yet beer consumption is at its lowest in over 60 years. Wine and cider no longer prompt confusion or smirking, and whisky is certainly no longer for grizzled men of bygone days slumped over a wood-panelled bar. Our tastes have become more adventurous. By no means has our love of alcohol disappeared; instead, we are increasingly looking through a glass, darkly. With that in mind, Concrete Playground is turning our bleary and debauched eyes to whisky. While whisky is more popular than ever, a lot of newcomers are thrown by how and where to drink it. With the help of Lewis Jaffrey, head barman at Sydney's The Baxter Inn, we're here to help lead you through the ins and outs of whisky drinking. Why should I be drinking whisky? That's the million-dollar question. There seems to be something about whisky that appeals to everybody. "It's popular with everybody from 18-year-old girls who've never been in a bar before to 70-year-old CEOs," says Jaffrey, "They all seem to come down here and have a common interest for drinking whisky". What is whisky made from? Whisky is essentially liquid bread. The same ingredients you find in your morning toast — grains like barley, rye and wheat — are fermented and stored in wooden casks, aged for a non-specific amount of time, and pop out the other end as a bottle of whisky. While both Scotland and Ireland claim to be the birthplace of whiskey, it's hardly a debate we're going to settle. For now, let's just call it an even draw. Blends vs Malts: what's the difference? Whiskies tend to be either blends or single malts. A blended whisky is made when somebody takes liquid from different distilleries and blends it with a grain whisky, which is relatively cheap to produce. Blends, therefore, can be excellent for cheapskates, but that doesn't necessarily mean they're an inferior product. A single malt, on the other hand, is liquid produced exclusively from the same distillery. It might have been produced over a number of years to get a consistent flavour, but as long as it's from the same distillery you have yourself a single malt. Whiskey around the world What we generally consider to be whisky is Scotch whisky, but Scotland is by no means the only whisky-producing nation. The other big players are Ireland and America. Traditionally, Irish whiskey* is triple distilled (Scotch is distilled twice) and tends to be smoother and easier to drink. That's often why you'll associate Irish whiskey with your grandfather (to make a sweeping generalisation). American whiskey, on the other hand, tends to be sweeter and have a spicy quality, as anybody acquainted with Jack Daniels will be all too aware. Another big producer of whisky is Japan, who according to Jaffrey "took what Scotland does as an art form and turned it into a science". If you want to see what a whisky from India or Wales tastes like, inquire at your nearest whisky bar. How to drink whisky Whether you drink it wearing a dinner jacket with your other hand caressing a fine cigar, or whether you drink it during the wee hours in a booze-soaked dive, the real lesson is that you should drink whisky in whatever way suits you best. If you're starting off, you might want to have a bite to eat first; whisky is 40 percent alcohol and you don't want to wind up sprawled in the gutter staring at the stars too early in the evening. Jaffrey recommends starting off with a whisky and apple juice. This is popular at both The Baxter Inn and Shady Pines, so no need to be put off by the 'apple juice' part. If you're not at either of these joints hosted by Sydney's whisky afficionados, starting with a whisky cocktail will be best. The first time you drink whisky is like being slapped in the throat, and as with any first time, you want to make it as gentle as possible. Gradually you can begin mixing it with water, or sipping whisky on the rocks, which will chill the alcohol and make it easier for your body to cope with. But drinking whisky neat doesn't have to be the end goal of the process. In the end, it's whatever makes you and your taste buds happy. Image by Dominick Guzzo via cc licence. Talk like a pro While we in no way encourage you to become like this guy, there are certain terms and phrases that it might be useful to learn. Something sweet and fragrant is, like wine, often described as 'fruity'. 'Woody' whiskies have a smokey quality about them, while 'peaty' whiskies tend to be very strong smelling, a bit like tar or even iodine. At the end of the day, you can probably settle for the standard, "I like that one" or "eurgh that's dreadful". You don't want to over-intellectualise whisky; you want to enjoy it. Storing whisky Unlike wine, you'll be hard pressed to find a bottle of whisky that's gone off. Whisky is generally easy to look after, but there are some common-sense measures to keep in mind. Store your bottles in cool, dark places, and make sure, once it's opened, that there's no air getting in. Famous Whisky Drinkers Bar rooms full of endearing drunks had a love of whisky running in their veins. William Faulkner was rarely without a bottle upon his person at any one time and is remembered to have declared, "isn't anythin' ah got whisky won't cure." Faulkner once showed up to a Hollywood script meeting and sliced open his finger trying to uncap a whisky bottle. Instead of cutting the meeting short he dragged a wastepaper basket over so that he could gulp whisky with one hand and drip blood with the other. Another noted devotee was Winston Churchill, who had a bottomless capacity for the stuff and regularly took whisky at breakfast. The most renowned fictional character, of course, is Don Draper. With every act of business or sexual brilliance he seemed to have an Old Fashioned by his side, and arguably the popularity of Mad Men helped kickstart the resurgent interest in whisky. Whisky on a budget As with all things alcohol, you know what you're getting yourself into if you order the drink from the top of the list. At The Baxter Inn, their house whisky is an award-winning blend made by Ballantine, being sold at a mere $8 a glass, and there's a whole range of excellent whiskies that come in at $10 a pop. For that price, you should be able to get an excellent drink at whatever establishment you're drowning your sorrows in. The Best Whisky Bars in Sydney There are many fine bars in Sydney with a healthy selection of whiskies, but there are some that stand out above the rest. Our first recommendation, naturally, is The Baxter Inn. With over 500 whiskies, a pro-choice attitude to drinking, and a dissolute pre-war atmosphere, they are one of the first places you should head to if you're really keen to learn about whisky. The other sure favourite is, of course, Shady Pines, which loves whisky just as much as Baxter but comes in the form of a classic American-themed saloon you'd fully expect to find Johnny Cash drinking in (but he's dead, so you probably won't). Our other favourites are Palmer and Co., the Merivale take on Prohibition, and Shirt Bar, a man's bar for men who like their shirts pressed, their coffee strong, and their whisky smooth. *The spelling of 'whisky' (versus 'whiskey') is a source of some contention. 'Whisky' is the general spelling in Australian English, although Irish and American whiskies usually go by their own preferred spelling: 'whiskey'.
Sydney's lockout laws might doing a good job of raining on your late-night parade, but it seems they're no match for David James and Brett Ayton, who've launched a weekly after-hours party at Darlinghurst's Club 77. Called Afters, it's the ultimate serve of breakfast fun, kicking on from 5am until noon each Sunday. Boasting great cocktails and a top-notch international DJ program, it's a primo situation for revelers keen to extend their nighttime shenanigans, or hopso kids looking for some after-work fun of their own. It's already proved a serious hit, just two months in. Of course, the whole thing's entirely above board — while Club 77's usual operations run to 3am, these guys won't kick things off until 5am when the lockout ends. There'll also be the odd 15-hour venue takeover which will run right through, but with no drinks sold between 3-5am and no entry from 1.30-5am. The next of these is presented with CAUSE on December 9 and 10, featuring a marathon lineup of tunes from the likes of East End Dubs, Jake Hough and Alex Ludlow. For more information about Afters, check them out on Facebook.
Christmas has come early for foodies. Sydney's Good Food Month is Australia's largest food festival, a sprawling event which includes everything from bargain deals in suburban hotspots to extravagant harbourside dining, a cacophony of events running the gamut from casual picnics to buzzing parties. There's a real focus this year on ethical dining, with locally sourced produce and sustainable consumption a theme in numerous events. Pop-ups are also in vogue, with The Mint and Sydney Markets hosting events, while another intriguing pop-up dinner event starts with a treasure map and a Surry Hills laneway. The special deals are also back, with Let’s Do Lunch offering the chance to have a lunch with a glass of Brown Brothers wine or a Coopers Beer with tea or coffee for only $38. Always a great way to sample some of Sydney's fine diners at a more affordable price, this year's participating restaurants include est, Aria, The Bathers’ Pavilion Restaurant and Gastro Park. For the first time, there’s also The Supper Club, which offers late-night dining and aperitifs. Over a million people are expected to attend the festival, whose calendar is packed with more than 500 events. Concrete Playground has sorted through the program to select these mouth-watering highlights. Night Noodle Markets Long a staple of Good Food Month, the Night Noodle Markets are the ideal after-work hangout, combining the bustling atmosphere of an Asian hawker market with the opportunity to kick back with a couple of drinks and watch the sun go down in Hyde Park. Over 200,000 people attended last year, and with many of Sydney's top Asian restaurants amongst the stallholders, this year promises to be just as popular. October 9-12, 14-19, 21-26; Hyde Park North Rene Redzepi: A Work in Progress Head chef at Copenhagen's illustrious Noma, named the best restaurant in the world three years in a row, the extravagantly talented Redzepi is one of the most inventive food makers on the planet, infusing his visually striking creations with a real sense of playfulness and wonder. The menu at his impossible-to-get-into restaurant has included crawling ants, edible flowerpots and live shrimp in a jar of ice. At this event he discusses his work and pre-launches his new book A Work in Progress: Notes on Food, Cooking and Creativity, which combines recipes, photos and an extensive journal of a year at the pinnacle of the food world. There's also a dinner with Redzepi, which promises to be a once-in-a-lifetime dining experience. 28 October, Sydney Opera House, tickets from $45 Dinner in the Sky Every great meal is memorable but it's fair to say this is one you're never going to forget: dinner at a table hoisted 50 metres into the sky, complete with waitstaff and a chef in the centre of the table attending to the 22 diners. It's been a sensation overseas and Good Food Month brings it to Australia for the first time. 11-13, 18-20, 25-27 October, Moore Park, Tickets from $230 Omnivore Originating in France, Omnivore is an international tour de force that emphasises an innovative approach to the culinary arts by breaking down barriers between chef and consumer, method and madness. Part of the Omnivore repertoire is a series of masterclasses, to be held at the National Maritime Museum in Darling Harbour, which promises to reveal the secrets of the masterminds behind a number of Sydney and Paris's most beloved kitchens. If you're more of an appreciator than a creator in the kitchen, however, Omnivore's pop-up dinners may be more your style. For $120 per head, you can experience a feast crafted from the freshest local ingredients and paired with a selection of world-class wine at Sixpenny in Chippendale. Prepared by James Parry and Daniel Puskas, the dynamic duo behind Sixpenny, in collaboration with Sven Chartier, famed for his farm-to-table approach to French cuisine at Saturne in Paris, this pop-up dinner is just one of a handful of banquet options on the menu between Friday, 4 October, and Sunday, 6 October. 3-6 October, Australian National Maritime Museum, Tickets from $45 Jamming and Jammin' Rosebery’s Kitchen By Mike has been a revelation with its back-to-basics food, which uses radical simplicity and topnotch ingredients to great effect. They host this event, where the affable Mike teams with Grant (Three Blue Ducks) and Matt (Hands Lane) teach you how to make your own jams and preserves. Throw in live music and a charcuterie dinner and it sounds like a winner. 2 October 6-10pm, 1/85 Dunning Ave Rosebery, Tickets $75 Pop-Up Ethical @ Cake Wines HQ There's a real focus on ethical food consumption this year, and this event by community-minded winemakers Cake Wines (they give 25 cents from each bottle sold to community radio) is a prime example. Their previous pop-up wine bars have been excellent, and this three-course feast promises to take their commitment to ethical production to the next level, focusing on ethically sourced food which is locally produced and minimises waste. Their dining hall in Redfern will be transformed for the event, which includes a cocktail on arrival, a range of craft beers and wines as well as art and music. 10-11 October, Redfern St Redfern, Tickets $90 Bucket List Seafood Fest Part of Bondi’s resurgent dining and bar scene, The Bucket List are seafood specialists, offering the likes of lobster spaghetti, mussels and the ubiquitious fish and chips opposite the famous beach. Their weekend-long seafood fest offers the opportunity to attend a seafood masterclass (a bargain at $30 which includes a glass of wine and food) or you can simply wander through the stalls and feast on a range of seafood for as little as $10 a plate. 25-27 October 12-6pm, Shop 1 Queen Elizabeth Drive, Bondi Pavillion Mariachi Monday Mexican Markets Fans of alliteration and Mexican culture will want to mark this one in their diaries; it combines fiery food, latin music and a street party in Macquarie Place. Having previously won awards for Sydney's Best Tacos, the La Lupita team have moved permanently into The Basement and this event celebrates their authentic approach to Mexican cuisine. 28 October 6-9pm, The Basement 7 Macquarie Place Sydney, Free Oz Harvest Hunger Buster Food Truck Oz Harvest are a charity that rescues food that would be wasted and redistributes it to local charities. To date they’ve rescued almost 6 million kilograms of food that would otherwise have been landfill. For this Good Food Month, they have a series of food trucks which will be dotted throughout the CBD. By day they'll be offering affordable Middle Eastern favourites like hummus, tabouleh and falafel ($5-15). For every $1 the trucks raise, Oz Harvest will be able to provide two meals to people who need them. By night, the trucks will serve free meals to the homeless or hungry. You can also purchase a meal 'forward', meaning it goes to those in need. 1-21 October 11am-3pm, Various locations (check their facebook page for details) Wild Tucker @ Eveleigh Markets Eveleigh's Carriageworks hosts one of Sydney’s best farmers' markets every Saturday, and on Saturday, 19 October, they take their commitment to interesting use of local produce to another level with this event, which will introduce you to the exciting flavours of bush tucker. Aboriginal elder Aunty Beryl Van Oploo and Billy Kwong head chef Kylie Kwong team up with Skye Blackburn, an expert on insects as food, for a talk and cook-up based on this exciting new foodie frontier. 19 October, 243 Wilson St Darlington, Free Check out the full program at the sydney.goodfoodmonth.com.
Of Bowral's many boutiques and specialty stores, Dirty Janes has to be the best known. The expansive antique market is an emporium of retailers, from vintage sellers to plant purveyors, and you could easily lose a couple of hours exploring each one at a leisurely pace. The family-run business underwent a major renovation in 2016, which saw its original emporium linked up with neighbouring cafes and bars so that you can sit and admire the antiques over a glass of pinot before loading up the car with unique, yesteryear gifts. Spread out over 1600 square metres, the indoor market is the largest in the Southern Highlands — and it's so popular that the owners are opening a second outlet in Canberra in 2020. At the Bowral location, you'll find an eclectic mix of homewares and antiques — from vintage cameras and fur coats to oak dining tables and brass doorknobs. It's become a landmark shopping destination that's worth a stickybeak on every trip to the Southern Highlands. Images: Destination NSW.
It's been touch and go for so many arts and culture festivals in the last 12 months, so having a citywide summer festival this year is a highlight in and of itself. Sydney Festival kicks off from January 6–26 with a packed program of local theatre productions, live music, extraordinary circus and physical theatre shows, as well as a run of outdoor events at Barangaroo Headland. There are more than 140 events to choose from, so we've partnered with Sydney Festival to bring you ten standout events to see first — from raucous musicals to redefined poetic rituals and deep dives into groundbreaking news stories. Snap up your tickets before it's too late.
If you're a culture vulture that's looking to up the party at your next museum trip, listen up. Together with Vivid Sydney, the Australian Museum is answering your calls with Jurassic Lounge: Heroes. Once again, the Sydney venue's grand halls and hidden corners are being transformed into a stage set for thrilling live performances, disco dancing and after-dark antics. On Saturday, June 18, a stellar lineup of DJs, drag queens, dancers and dinosaurs await. Partygoers can boogie down to Soul of Sydney DJs or get their groove on with Sydney drag royalty at a silent disco. There'll be drop-in art classes with scientific illustrator Celia Curtis (where you'll get the chance to artistically discover nocturnal beasts) and the opportunity to get gory at the autopsy of a T-rex (from the talents at Improv Theatre Sydney). Gramophone Man will be joining his unique musicalities with The Space Cowboy's Mutant Barnyard (which is, yes, a curious collection of taxidermy animals including a two-headed calf) and critters from Deep Sea Astronauts will be roving the museum's halls. [caption id="attachment_856643" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Diabolique Photography[/caption] All that the Australian Museum asks is that you dress up as your hero. Whether that means your don a cape or a lab coat, grab Ash Barty's racket or a health worker's scrubs — pay tribute to the champion in your eyes and get yourself ready for a night of out-there excitement. Sip a cocktail mixed by the gin-lords at Archie Rose and enjoy entry to all permanent collections, too — the museum will be all yours for after-hours wandering. With face-painting, sideshows and the people-pleasing Jurassic World by Brickman, it's gearing up to be the party of the season. Still have a Discover NSW voucher handy? Head to the museum in person to redeem and grab your (free) ticket — then get ready to party on the Government's dime. Jurassic Lounge: Heroes will take place from 6.30–10pm on Saturday, June 18. For more information and to book tickets, head to the website. Please note, it's an 18+ event and all weapons (real or fake) are strictly prohibited. Top images: Sarah Wilson (first); Diabolique Photography
Sydney, with its iconic sights, beaches, blue mountains to the west and national parks to the north and south, is one of the world’s most famous cities, known throughout the world. Peter Templeman’s Not Suitable For Children has recently brought cinematic eyes to the city, but this is not the first film to do so. Here, we take a look at some of Sydney’s most famous film locations. MARRICKVILLE It may resemble a million other shop fronts all around the world, and for anyone unaware of its existence it’s anything but memorable, but the corner of Marrickville and Victoria Roads is actually one of the town’s most famous landmarks. The setting for some of the dancing lesson scenes in Baz Luhrmann’s Strictly Ballroom, the most memorable being when Scott and Fran danced to Cyndi Lauper’s 'Time After Time' in the moonlight. The area may not be that recognizable immediately, but it still attracts camera flashes twenty years later. BARE ISLAND A small island just a few kilometres south-east of Sydney, Bare Island is considered a mecca by scuba divers, with as many as two hundred sometimes present on hot, summer Sundays. Surrounded by a reef, the waters around the island are home to some of the area’s most colourful marine wildlife, with sea horses, red indian fish, grey nurse sharks and seals often spotted by swimmers. Connected by a footbridge to the suburb of La Perouse, Bare Island is the site of a historic military fort, which later became a retirement home. Featured in a number of different films the island was most famously used as the backdrop for the famous motorcycle duel between Tom Cruise and Dougray Scott in Mission Impossible 2 in the scene most commonly seen on some of the movie’s more iconic posters. STRICKLAND HOUSE Completed in 1858, Strickland House sits on five hectares of harbour-side land near Neilsen Park. With sloping lawns, stables, mature trees, terraces and a croquet green, the property is open to the public daily, offering spectacular views of the Victorian Mansion, and the landscape beyond. After adapting it to resemble Darwin’s Colonial Government House director, Baz Luhrmann shot scenes there for his mildly received, pre-war epic, Australia. ST MARK’S CHURCH Modelled on Holy Trinity, Horncastle, in Lincolnshire, England, the first stone for what would become the glorious St Mark’s was laid in 1848 by William Broughton, the then Bishop of Australia. Four years later the church was completed and it remains in operation to this day. More than just a house of worship, St Mark’s church was setting for the wedding in Muriel’s Wedding - the story of a peculiar young woman that’s never dated, who changes her name, goes on a tropical vacation with stolen money and meets the wacky swimmer, David Van Arckle. WHITE BAY POWER STATION The setting for yet another Baz Luhrmann film, as well as The Matrix Reloaded and Red Planet, the White Bay Power Station was the longest surviving in Sydney until it ceased operation on Christmas day in 1983. Since then it’s remained an imposing building, and has attracted tourists, photographers, explorers and film makers alike. The production of Luhrmann’s 3D retelling of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s tragic tale of obsession and ill-fated romance, The Great Gatsby has seen the area transformed, with scores of extras and some of Hollywood’s biggest stars, all in 1920s dress, bringing some long absent excitement to the site. THE ROCKS Full of cobbled streets, pretty buildings, gorgeous shops and plenty of vibrant nightlife, The Rocks is as popular with filmmakers as it is the public. Featured in movies like Dark City, Lantana, Beyond The Realm and Mission Impossible 2, The Rocks is the historical heart of Sydney. During the filming of Mission Impossible 2, Argyll Street in The Rocks was transformed, with the help of dust, passionate music and a morbid religious procession, into a bastardised version of Seville in Spain, as Tom Cruise and Thandie Newton met under the cover of crowd and darkness. BONDI BEACH Known worldwide, Bondi Beach is one of Australia’s most famous and popular beaches. Roughly a kilometre long, it receives visitors all year round in the shape of surfers, walkers, sun worshippers and backpackers. Constantly patrolled by lifeguards, the beach is surrounded by an underwater shark net out to sea, and boasts views of pods of whales and dolphins. Bondi Beach and the suburbs surrounding have been the setting for several movies, including The Last Wave, Flame Of The West, They’re A Weird Mob and Empty Beach. BT TOWER Just another seemingly faceless building in the Sydney skyline, the 135 metre, 32 floored BT Tower at 1 Market Street isn’t exactly striking. The tower was used in The Matrix’s spectacular helicopter crash. Considered to be one of the most engaging, iconic and expensive scenes in the movie, it shows the helicopter fly across the city’s fairly anonymous skyline before colliding with the tower in an explosion of fire and glass, with Neo landing safely on the Allianz Centre opposite. DARLINGHURST Peter Templeman's Not Suitable for Children, starring True Blood star and Aussie wunderkind Ryan Kwanten, and introducing the beautiful Sarah Snook, is definitely one to watch. Shot in a number of different places around the city, including Darlinghurst's Pocket Bar, the movie saw location manager Kingston Anderson work long hours, coming up with such great choices as Jonah’s party house in Newtown. While many of the film’s locations might not be easy to find for non-natives, anyone that calls the city home will easily lose count of the familiar things they see.
Seligman (Stellan Skarsgård) comes across Joe (Charlotte Gainsbourg), lying broken and beaten in the street. She refuses an ambulance, so he takes her back to his house, where she tells him the story of lifelong obsession with sex. Nymphomaniac is, in many territories around the world, released in two separate parts. In Australia, we are getting the whole thing in one massive four-hour go, albeit with some of the more extreme material cut. Although it's hard to imagine they cut much, given what's left in. There's a good chance that Nymphomaniac will confirm your preconceived notions of director Lars von Trier. To his fans, it is a bold, funny, challenging film that dives headlong into a difficult subject. To his detractors, it is further evidence that von Trier's idea of provocative cinema is a rote combination of mental illnesses and genital close-ups. I should confess at this point that I am traditionally a von Trier detractor, but one who claimed his previous work, Melancholia, to be one of 2011's best films. Nymphomaniac, however, is a litany of his worst tendencies. He seems terrified of sincerity; every moment that comes dangerously close to a human emotion is immediately undercut with a cynical aside as we cut jarringly back to the 'present -day' story. What should be a clever framing device becomes a get-out-of-jail free card for von Trier. Joe and Seligman fall over themselves to acknowledge the extraordinary coincidences in Joe's story, as if von Trier thinks this makes up for lazy writing. Or is winking at us to show us the lazy writing is deliberate. Either way, he seems to believe a veil of self-aware cynicism insulates him against potential criticism. It does not. Now, it must be acknowledged that making fun of Shia LaBeouf these days is like shooting fish in a barrel, and must only be attempted when the situation absolutely calls for it. This is one such situation. Casting LaBeouf as one of the 'English' characters feels like von Trier's biggest prank, and LaBeouf enters each scene as if he was asked to try some sort of Britishy accent moments before 'action!' was called. I'm not saying it's bad; I'm saying nobody's allowed to make fun of Dick Van Dyke ever again. There's an adage in filmmaking that if you have a great ending, audiences will forgive any trespasses. And Nymphomaniac, I must confess, has a great ending. It went out on such an impressive note, it almost made me forget my problems with the proceeding four hours. Almost. Ardent fans of von Trier will find much to enjoy in this film, as he continues exploring the themes and styles of works such as Breaking the Waves, Dogville and Dancer in the Dark. If you do not count yourself as a fan, then I suggest you stay well away. https://youtube.com/watch?v=Gdxzno5Xp2Y
Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio has won three Grammys and 11 Latin Grammys, starred in Bullet Train and hosted Saturday Night Live, among plenty of other achievements, but he hasn't hit the stage in Australia — yet. By the time that summer 2025–26 is out, Bad Bunny will tick a trip Down Under off of his list, after announcing that his new DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS world tour includes a visit to Sydney. Locking in dates in the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Japan, Spain, Portugal, Germany, Netherlands, United Kingdom, France, Sweden, Poland, Italy and Belgium, too, Bad Bunny has confirmed 23 shows between November 2025–July 2026 so far. Named for his latest album, which released in January this year and spent three weeks in a row atop the Billboard 200 chart, the tour will see him become the first Latin act to headline stadiums globally. Only one stop on Bad Bunny's jaunt around the planet is Australia, however: at ENGIE Stadium in the Harbour City on Saturday, February 28. He's playing the New South Wales capital in-between dates in Brazil and Japan, two other countries where the 'Mia', 'Callaíta', 'Qué Pretendes' and 'Vete' singer will perform live for the first time ever. The Puerto Rican superstar's global jaunt will follow his upcoming No Me Quiero Ir de Aquí gigs, a 30-date residency at José Miguel Agrelot Coliseum in his homeland. Before that, he toured North America in 2024, and both North and Latin America in 2022. His DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS shows will take him to Europe for the first time since his 2019 X 100pre tour. On the charts, DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS, his sixth album, has kept garnering love — also sitting in the Billboard 200 top ten for 13 weeks, taking the number-one slot on Billboard's Latin Albums chart for 16 consecutive weeks and helping him become the first-ever Latin artist with 100 Billboard Hot 100 entries. Before both his No Me Quiero Ir de Aquí residency and DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS world tour, Bad Bunny also has another date with SNL, this time as the musical guest on the season 50 finale that's being hosted by Scarlett Johansson (Fly Me to the Moon). Bad Bunny DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS World Tour 2026 Australian Date Saturday, February 28 — ENGIE Stadium, Sydney Bad Bunny is playing ENGIE Stadium in Sydney on Saturday, February 28, 2026, with presales from 10am on Thursday, May 8, 2025 and general sales from 11am on Friday, May 9. Head to the tour website for more details.
Dream pop, psychedelic folk, alternative rock ... however you describe the music of Mazzy Star, there's no doubt that the duo has soundtracked the lives, loves and visions of the Californian underground for almost 30 years. Now, the pair is coming our way for the first time — and they're bringing a brand new, four-song EP with them called Still. It's Mazzy Star's fifth release. Of the duo's four studio albums, the best known is So Tonight That I See (1989), which features singles 'Fade Into You', 'Blue Light' and 'Into The Dust'. The understated vocals of singer Hope Sandoval and the echoey guitar playing of David Roback remain at the core of Mazzy Star's sound. But, the duo's path hasn't been linear: the pair broke up in 1997 and reformed in 2000, only to split up again, before reuniting in 2010. Two years later, Mazzy Star's acclaimed live comeback at Coachella got fans excited all over again. Mazzy Star's three Opera House shows — a part of Vivid Sydney — will be the duo's only Australian appearances.
