It's happening again. Another year, another round of shiny trophies being handed out throughout Hollywood. Indeed, before Monday, March 13 comes to a close Down Under, Tinseltown will have anointed a new batch of Oscar winners. The nominations dropped in late January, speculation over who'll emerge victorious dates back well into 2022, and now it's time for the Academy Awards to name its latest greats at its 95th ceremony. Here's hoping that the focus will be on the films rather than mid-ceremony mayhem in 2023. The past year boasts no shortage of exceptional flicks deserving plenty of love — whether multiverse chaos, war epics, high-soaring sequels, music biopics or Irish gems end up scooping the pool, sharing the attention or going home empty-handed. Plus, in a bonus for movie lovers in Australia, you can watch 37 of this year's nominated features right now. Some are playing in cinemas, others are streaming, and a few give you options for either big- or small-screen viewings. Here's your pre-Oscars binging rundown on where to see them all. ON THE BIG SCREEN: AFTERSUN Nominations: Best Actor (Paul Mescal) Our thoughts: The simplest things in life can be the most revealing, whether it's a question asked of a father by a child, an exercise routine obeyed almost mindlessly or a man stopping to smoke someone else's old cigarette while wandering through a holiday town alone at night. Following the about-to-turn-31 Calum (Paul Mescal, The Lost Daughter) and his daughter Sophie (debutant Frankie Corio) on vacation in Turkey in the late 90s, this astonishing feature debut by Scottish writer/director Charlotte Wells is about the simple things — but Aftersun is always a movie of deep, devastating and revealing complexity. Where to watch: In Australian cinemas. Read our full review. ALL THE BEAUTY AND THE BLOODSHED Nominations: Best Documentary Feature Our thoughts: Nabbing the Golden Lion at the 2022 Venice Film Festival, this documentary by Citizenfour Oscar-winner Laura Poitras is a film about many things: photographer Nan Goldin, her complicated history, her work, her chronicles of the LGBTQIA+ community and the 80s HIV/AIDS crisis, and her efforts to counter the opioid epidemic all included. Flitting between her images, recollections, and ongoing battle to bring the company and wealthy family behind OxyContin to justice by targeting their ties with galleries, All the Beauty and the Bloodshed is also a passionate, empathetic and piercing emotional epic. Where to watch: In Australian cinemas. Read our full review. AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER Nominations: Best Picture, Best Production Design, Best Visual Effects, Best Sound Our thoughts: When James Cameron's second dip in what's now officially a franchise manages to be as involving as he wants it to be, and has audiences eagerly awaiting its third, fourth and fifth instalments in 2024, 2026 and 2028, it's an absolute visual marvel. When that's the case, it's also underwater, or in it. Yes, Avatar: The Way of Water takes its subtitle seriously, splashing that part of its name about heartily in as much magnificently detailed 3D-shot and -projected glory as its director, cinematographer Russell Carpenter (a True Lies and Titanic alum) and hard-working special-effects team can excitedly muster. Where to watch: In Australian cinemas. Read our full review. CLOSE Nominations: Best International Feature Film Our thoughts: When 13-year-olds Léo (debutant Eden Dambrine) and Rémi (first-timer Gustav De Waele) dash the carefree dash of youth in Close's early moments, rushing from a dark bunker out into the sunshine — from rocks and forest to a bloom-filled field ablaze with colour, too — this immediately evocative Belgian drama runs joyously with them. Girl writer/director Lukas Dhont starts his sophomore feature with a tremendous moment, one that sees his two leads bolting from the bliss that is their visibly contented childhood to the tussles and emotions of being a teenager, and it only gets better from there. Where to watch: In Australian cinemas. Read our full review. EMPIRE OF LIGHT Nominations: Best Cinematography Our thoughts: 1917, director Sam Mendes jumps back to 80s for this ode to cinema — to the coastal town of Margate in Kent, where the Dreamland Cinema has stood for 100 years in 2023. In Empire of Light, the art deco structure has been rechristened The Empire, and is where a small staff under the overbearing Donald Ellis (Colin Firth, Operation Mincemeat) all have different relationships with their own hopes and wishes. But duty manager Hilary (Olivia Colman, Heartstopper) and new employee Stephen's (Micheal Ward, Small Axe) stories are thankfully far more complicated than simply paying tribute to a medium. Where to watch: In Australian cinemas. Read our full review. LIVING Nominations: Best Actor (Bill Nighy), Best Adapted Screenplay Our thoughts: Somehow, Bill Nighy made it all the way into his 70s before receiving a single Oscar nomination; his nod for Living isn't a career nod, however, but thoroughly earned by his sensitive turn as a dutiful company many facing life-changing news. Set in 50s-era London, it's an adaptation several times over — of Akira Kurosawa's 1952 film Ikiru, which takes inspiration from Leo Tolstoy's 1886 novella The Death of Ivan Ilyich. At all times, Nighy, director Oliver Hermanus (Moffie) and screenwriter Kazuo Ishiguro (also the author of The Remains of the Day and Never Let Me Go) live up to that lineage. Where to watch: Living officially opens in Australian cinemas on Thursday, March 16, with preview screenings from Friday, March 10–Sunday, March 12. TÁR Nominations: Best Picture, Best Director (Todd Field), Best Actress (Cate Blanchett), Best Original Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing Our thoughts: The least surprising aspect of Tár is also its most essential: Cate Blanchett being as phenomenal as she's ever been, plus more. The Australian Nightmare Alley, Thor: Ragnarok and Carol actor — "our Cate", of course — best be making space next to her Oscars for The Aviator and Blue Jasmine as a result. Playing a celebrated, pioneering maestro who plummets to a personal and professional low just when it seems her fortunes can't soar higher, Blanchett is that stunning in Tár, that much of a powerhouse, that adept at breathing life and complexity into a thorny figure, and that magnetic and mesmerising. Where to watch: In Australian cinemas. Read our full review. TO LESLIE Nominations: Best Actress (Andrea Riseborough) Our thoughts: Forget the controversy that's surrounded Andrea Riseborough's inclusion among this year's Oscar nominees. A stunning performance is a stunning performance no matter whether other famous names advocate for accolades on its behalf or not — and the Possessor and Amsterdam star is indeed stunning in To Leslie. There's such weight and soul to her titular portrayal in this tale of redemption, after single mother Leslie wins the lotto, drinks and parties away the proceeds, then tries to reconnect with her now-adult son (Owen Teague, The Stand) six years latter, plus face a town with a long memory. Where to watch: In Australian cinemas. Read our full review. TRIANGLE OF SADNESS Nominations: Best Picture, Best Director (Ruben Östlund), Best Original Screenplay Our thoughts: Beware the luxurious worlds of Ruben Östlund's films. Beware any feelings of ease, opulence or awe that spring at ski resorts, in art museums, or, in Triangle of Sadness, within the fashion industry and on high-end holidays, too. The Swedish filmmaker isn't interested in keeping his characters comfortable regardless of their lavish surroundings, which proves true with his second feature in succession to win Cannes Film Festival's prestigious Palme d'Or. Here, he has modelling, influencers and the super-rich in his sights, plus unpacking societal structures and the divides they rely on (and cause). Where to watch: In Australian cinemas. Read our full review. THE WHALE Nominations: Best Actor (Brendan Fraser), Best Supporting Actress (Hong Chau), Best Makeup and Hairstyling Our thoughts: The actors have it: in The Whale, Brendan Fraser (No Sudden Move), Hong Chau (The Menu) and Sadie Sink (Stranger Things) are each masterful, and each in their own way. For viewers unaware that this drama about a reclusive 600-pound English professor stems from the stage going in, it won't take long to realise — for multiple reasons. As penned by Samuel D Hunter from his award-winning semi-autobiographical play, The Whale's script is talky and blunt. It also favours one setting. But the performances that Darren Aronofsky (mother!) guides out of his cast are complicated, masterful and powerful. Where to watch: In Australian cinemas. Read our full review. WOMEN TALKING Nominations: Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay Our thoughts: Get Rooney Mara, Claire Foy, Jessie Buckley, Frances McDormand and more exceptional women in a room, point a camera their way, let the talk flow: Sarah Polley's Women Talking does just that, and the end result is phenomenal. The actor-turned-filmmaker's fourth effort behind the lens does plenty more, but its basic setup is as straightforward as its title states. Adapted from Miriam Toews' 2018 novel of the same name, it draws on events in a Bolivian Mennonite colony from 2005–9, where a spate of mass druggings and rapes of women and girls were reported at the hands of some of the group's men. Where to watch: In Australian cinemas. Read our full review. IN CINEMAS OR AT HOME: BABYLON Nominations: Best Original Score, Best Production Design, Best Costume Design Our thoughts: What happens when aspiring 1920s actor Nellie LaRoy (Margot Robbie, Amsterdam), veteran leading man Jack Conrad (Brad Pitt, Bullet Train) and eager show business everyman Manny Torres (Diego Calva, Narcos: Mexico) navigate Golden Age Hollywood, starting at the same decadent soirée? That's what jazz-loving, La La Land Oscar-winning, Tinseltown-adoring writer/director Damien Chazelle charts in Babylon — and how. This is a relentless and ravenous movie that's always a lot, not just in length, but is dazzling (and also very funny, and sports an earworm of a Justin Hurwitz score) when it clicks. Where to watch: In Australian cinemas, and streaming via Google Play, YouTube Movies and Prime Video. Read our full review. THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN Nominations: Best Picture, Best Director (Martin McDonagh), Best Actor (Colin Farrell), Best Supporting Actress (Kerry Condon), Best Supporting Actor (Brendan Gleeson and Barry Keoghan), Best Original Screenplay, Best Original Score, Best Film Editing Our thoughts: The rolling hills and clifftop fields look like they could stretch on forever in In Bruges writer/director Martin McDonagh's The Banshees of Inisherin, even on a fictional island perched off the Irish mainland. For years, chats between Padraic Súilleabháin (Colin Farrell, After Yang) and Colm Doherty (Brendan Gleeson, The Tragedy of Macbeth) have sprawled similarly — and leisurely, too — especially during the pair's daily sojourn to the village pub over pints. But when the latter calls time on their camaraderie suddenly, his demeanour turns brusque, and nothing for these characters will ever be the same. Where to watch: In Australian cinemas, and streaming via Disney+, Google Play, YouTube Movies and Prime Video. Read our full review. THE FABELMANS Nominations: Best Picture, Best Director (Steven Spielberg), Best Actress (Michelle Williams), Best Supporting Actor (Judd Hirsch), Best Original Screenplay, Best Original Score, Best Production Design Our thoughts: "Movies are dreams that you never forget," says Mitzi Fabelman (Michelle Williams, Venom: Let There Be Carnage) early in Steven Spielberg's autobiographical The Fabelmans. Have truer words ever been spoken in any of the director's 33 flicks? Uttered to her eight-year-old son Sammy (feature debutant Mateo Zoryon Francis-DeFord), Mitzi's statement lingers, providing the film's beating heart even when the coming-of-age tale it spins isn't always idyllic — which is often, as Sammy hits his teen years (played by The Predator's Gabriel LaBelle), chases his movie dreams and navigates his family. Where to watch: In Australian cinemas, and streaming via Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. PUSS IN BOOTS: THE LAST WISH Nominations: Best Animated Feature Our thoughts: Who doesn't want to see a kitty swashbuckler voiced by Antonio Banderas (Official Competition), basically making this a moggie Zorro? Based on the 2011 Puss in Boots' $555 million at the box office, that concept is irresistible to plenty of folks — hence, albeit over a decade later, sequel Puss in Boots: The Last Wish. Pairing the right talent to the right animated character doesn't instantly make movie magic, of course; however, The Last Wish, which literally has Puss seeking magic, is among the best films that the broader Shrek saga has conjured up so far. Where to watch: In Australian cinemas, and streaming via Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. VIA STREAMING: ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT Nominations: Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best International Feature Film, Best Original Score, Best Cinematography, Best Production Design, Best Visual Effects, Best Makeup and Hairstyling, Best Sound Our thoughts: Helming and co-scripting, All My Loving director Edward Berger gives All Quiet on the Western Front its first adaptation in German, its native tongue. The film focuses on 17-year-old Paul Bäumer (debutant Felix Kammerer) and his ordeal after naively enlisting in 1917, thinking with his mates that they'd be marching on Paris within weeks. This is a movie haunted: by the callous disregard for human lives by power-seekers far removed from any fatal consequences, the wide-eyed fervour and blind faith with which boys pledge themselves to war, the desperation in the thick of the fray, and oh-so-much death. Where to watch: Streaming via Netflix. Read our full review. ALL THAT BREATHES Nominations: Best Documentary Feature Our thoughts: Pictures can't tell all of All That Breathes' story, with Delhi-based brothers Nadeem Shehzad and Mohammad Saud's chats saying plenty that's essential. Still, the images that Shaunak Sen (Cities of Sleep) lets flow across the screen — and, befitting this poetic documentary's pace and mood, they do flow — in this Sundance- and Cannes-winner are astonishing. The pair adore the black kites that take to India's skies and suffer from its toxic air quality, tending to the creatures' injuries. As Sen watches, this film trills about urban development, its costs and consequences, and caring for others both animal and human. Where to watch: Streaming via Binge. ARGENTINA, 1985 Nominations: Best International Feature Film Our thoughts: As reliable a screen presence as cinema has ever been blessed with, The Secret in Their Eyes, Truman and Everybody Knows-starring Argentinian actor Ricardo Darín is magnetic in this weighty and important courtroom drama. Filmmaker Santiago Mitre (15 Ways to Kill Your Neighbour) dramatises the Trial of the Juntas, focusing on public prosecutor Julio César Strassera (Darín) and his deputy Luis Moreno Ocampo (Peter Lanzani, Maradona: Blessed Dream) as they attempt to bring military officials who led the country under its 1976–1983 dictatorship to justice for crimes against humanity. Where to watch: Streaming via Prime Video. BARDO, FALSE CHRONICLE OF A HANDFUL OF TRUTHS Nominations: Best Cinematography Our thoughts: Everyone wants to be the person at the party that the dance floor revolves around, and life in general, or so Alejandro González Iñárritu contends in Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths. Everyone wants to be the filmmaker with all the fame and success, records, winning prestigious awards and conquering Hollywood, he also asserts. Alas, when you're this Mexican director, that isn't as joyous or uncomplicated an experience as it sounds. On-screen, his blatant alter ego is a feted documentarian (Daniel Giménez Cacho, Memoria) applauded at home and overseas, and also a man conflicted again and again. Where to watch: Streaming via Netflix. Read our full review. THE BATMAN Nominations: Best Visual Effects, Best Makeup and Hairstyling, Best Sound Our thoughts: The elder Waynes are still dead, and have been for two decades. Bruce (Robert Pattinson, Tenet) still festers with pain over their loss. And the prince of Gotham still turns vigilante by night, cleaning up the lawless streets one no-good punk at a time with only trusty butler Alfred Pennyworth (Andy Serkis, Long Shot) in on his secret. Still, as directed by Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and War for the Planet of the Apes' Matt Reeves, and co-scripted with The Unforgivable's Peter Craig, The Batman offers a more absorbing version of the character than seen in many of the past Bat flicks that've fluttered through cinemas. Where to watch: Streaming via Netflix, Binge, Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. BLACK PANTHER: WAKANDA FOREVER Nominations: Best Supporting Actress (Angela Bassett), Best Original Song, Best Visual Effects, Best Costume Design, Best Makeup and Hairstyling Our thoughts: Black Panther: Wakanda Forever isn't the movie it was initially going to be, the sequel to 2018's electrifying Black Panther that anyone behind it originally wanted it to be, or the chapter in the sprawling Marvel Cinematic Universe that it first aimed to be — this, the world knew once Chadwick Boseman passed away. That vast void isn't one this film can fill, but returning director Ryan Coogler still has a top-notch cast — Letitia Wright, Angela Bassett, Danai Gurira, Lupita Nyong'o and Winston Duke, plus new addition Tenoch Huerta, most notably — drawing eyeballs towards his vibrant imagery. Where to watch: Streaming via Disney+, Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. BLONDE Nominations: Best Actress (Ana de Armas) Our thoughts: Usually when a film leaves you wondering how it might've turned out in other hands, that isn't a great sign — but Blonde, the years-in-the-making adaptation of Joyce Carol Oates' fictionalised Marilyn Monroe biography of the same name, demands a watch. It's a fascinating movie, including for what works astoundingly well and what definitely doesn't. In the first category: Ana de Armas (The Gray Man) as Norma Jeane Mortenson, the woman who'd become not just a star and a sensation during her life, but an icon across the six decades since. Where to watch: Streaming via Netflix. Read our full review. CAUSEWAY Nominations: Best Supporting Actor (Brian Tyree Henry) Our thoughts: Trauma is a screenwriter's best friend; however, few films are happy to sit with trauma in the way that (and as well as) Causeway does. Starring Jennifer Lawrence (Don't Look Up) as a military veteran sent home from Afghanistan after being blown up, working her way through rehab and determined to re-enlist as soon as she has medical sign-off — plus Atlanta and Bullet Train's Brian Tyree Henry as a New Orleans mechanic with his own history — this subtle, thoughtful and powerful movie grapples with the fact that some woes do genuinely change lives, and not for the better. Where to watch: Streaming via Apple TV+. Read our full review. ELVIS Nominations: Best Picture, Best Actor (Austin Butler), Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing, Best Production Design, Best Costume Design, Best Makeup and Hairstyling, Best Sound Our thoughts: Making a biopic about the king of rock 'n' roll, trust Baz Luhrmann to take his subject's words to heart: a little less conversation, a little more action. The Aussie filmmaker's first feature since The Great Gatsby isn't short on chatter. It's even narrated by Tom Hanks (A Man Called Otto) as Colonel Tom Parker, the carnival barker who thrust Presley to fame. But this chronology of an icon's life is at its best when it's showing rather than telling. That's when Elvis is electrifying, in no small part due to its treasure trove of recreated concert scenes — and Austin Butler (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood) as the man himself. Where to watch: Streaming via Google Play, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE Nominations: Best Picture, Best Director (Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert), Best Actress (Michelle Yeoh), Best Supporting Actress (Jamie Lee Curtis and Stephanie Hsu), Best Supporting Actor (Ke Huy Quan), Best Original Screenplay, Best Original Score, Best Original Song, Best Film Editing, Best Costume Design Our thoughts: Imagine living in a universe where Michelle Yeoh isn't the wuxia superstar she is. No, no one should want 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 thanks to the Daniels, aka Swiss Army Man's Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert. Where to watch: Streaming via Binge, Prime Video, Google Play, YouTube Movies and iTunes. Read our full review. FIRE OF LOVE Nominations: Best Documentary Feature Our thoughts: What a delight it would be to trawl through Katia and Maurice Krafft's archives, sift through every video that features the French volcanologists and their work, and witness them doing their highly risky jobs against spectacular surroundings. That's the task that filmmaker Sara Dosa (The Seer and the Unseen) took up to make superb documentary Fire of Love about the couple's lives — and, as set to the otherworldly sounds of Air, her magnificent effort is an incredibly thoughtful, informative and moving film from start to finish. Where to watch: Streaming via Disney+, Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. GLASS ONION: A KNIVES OUT MYSTERY Nominations: Best Adapted Screenplay Our thoughts: This murder-mystery opens with a puzzle box inside a puzzle box. The former is a wooden cube delivered out of the blue, the latter the followup to 2019 hit Knives Out, and both are as tightly, meticulously, cleverly and cannily orchestrated as each other. With writer/director Rian Johnson (Poker Face) back at the helm and Daniel Craig (No Time to Die) playing southern detective Benoit Blanc again — alongside a new star-studded cast — long may this franchise keep sleuthing. Long may it have everyone revelling in every twist, trick and revelation, as the breezy blast that is Glass Onion does. Where to watch: Streaming via Netflix. Read our full review. GUIILLERMO DEL TORO'S PINOCCHIO Nominations: Best Animated Feature Our thoughts: Guillermo del Toro hasn't yet directed a version of Frankenstein, except that he now has in a way. Officially, he's chosen another much-adapted story, but there's no missing the similarities between the Nightmare Alley filmmaker's stop-motion Pinocchio and Mary Shelley's ever-influential horror masterpiece. Both carve out tales about creations made by grief-stricken men consumed by loss. Both see those tinkerers help gift existence to the inanimate because they can't cope with mortality's reality. Both notch up the fallout when those central humans struggle with the results of their handiwork, too. Where to watch: Streaming via Netflix. Read our full review. A HOUSE MADE OF SPLINTERS Nominations: Best Documentary Feature Our thoughts: A House Made of Splinters premiered at Sundance in January 2022, with Danish documentarian Simon Lereng Wilmont returning to Eastern Ukraine after The Barking of Distant Dogs to tell of the residents at The Lysychansk Center for The Social and Psychological Rehabilitation of Children. That timing saw his latest film debut before the Russian invasion, but the war's impact since 2014 make itself felt as the kids in the doco's frames step through their experiences — and grapple with a fraught reality — in a facility that's only meant to house them for nine months until their paths from there can be plotted. Where to watch: Streaming via Docplay. MARCEL THE SHELL WITH SHOES ON Nominations: Best Animated Feature Our thoughts: It started as an in-joke, thanks to a voice put on by Parks and Recreation Jenny Slate for her now ex-husband Dean Fleischer-Camp. Then came their 2010, 2011 and 2014 shorts, plus two best-selling children's picture books. On- and off-screen, the world's cutest talking shell has taken the internet-stardom path from online sensation to more — and the sweet, endearing, happily silly, often hilarious and deeply insightful Marcel the Shell with Shoes On is a touching meditation upon loss, change and valuing what's truly important, as well as an all-round gem. Where to watch: Streaming via Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. MRS HARRIS GOES TO PARIS Nominations: Best Costume Design Our thoughts: The title is accurate: in Mrs Harris Goes to Paris, war widow and hardworking cleaner Ada Harris (Lesley Manville, The Crown) takes a surprise windfall to the French capital in the 50s to buy her very own Christian Dior dress. Cue class-clash snootiness (personified by The Godmother's Isabelle Huppert as a disapproving fashion house bigwig) and unexpected kindness (including from a model, accountant and Marquis played by Warrior Nun's Alba Baptista, Ticket to Paradise's Lucas Bravo and Benedetta's Lambert Wilson), in the kind of tale that plays out exactly as expected, albeit nicely. Where to watch: Streaming via Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. NAVALNY Nominations: Best Documentary Feature Our thoughts: In August 2020, Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was poisoned while flying from Tomsk to Moscow. The toxin: a Novichok nerve agent. That's just one aspect of the Vladimir Putin opponent's story in recent years, which filmmaker Daniel Roher (Once Were Brothers) shot as it unfolded for his documentary Navalny. The details are astonishing and infuriating, with Navalny a candid and determined interviewee. No matter whether you know the details from copious news headlines or you're stepping through his tale for the first time, this doco couldn't be more gripping. Where to watch: Streaming via Docplay, SBS On Demand, Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. THE QUIET GIRL Nominations: Best International Feature Film Our thoughts: This tender, affecting and resonant Gaelic-language coming-of-age film sees the world as only a lonely, innocent, often-ignored child can. Devastatingly moving and beautiful, The Quiet Girl also spies the pain and hardship that shapes its titular figure's world — and yes, it does so softly and with restraint, but that doesn't make the feelings it swirls up any less immense. Filmmaker Colm Bairéad, who directs and adapts Claire Keegan's novella Foster, makes a stunning feature debut. Also exceptional is newcomer Catherine Clinch as pivotal nine-year-old Cáit. Where to watch: Streaming via SBS On Demand, Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. RRR Nominations: Best Original Song Our thoughts: 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, after all? Where to watch: Streaming via Netflix. Read our full review. THE SEA BEAST Nominations: Best Animated Feature Our thoughts: One of the undying ideas about monsters is also one of the most humane: perhaps what we perceive as monstrous doesn't always deserve that label. Set centuries back in prime seafaring times — but, thanks to the eponymous creature, clearly a work of animated fiction — The Sea Beast ponders this notion after seasoned beast-hunter Jacob Holland (voiced by The Boys' Karl Urban) pledges to slay a critter dubbed the Red Bluster. Here, eye-catching animation and a familiar but still potent story combine in Big Hero 6 and Moana co-director Chris Williams' hands. Where to watch: Streaming via Netflix. TOP GUN: MAVERICK Nominations: Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Original Song, Best Film Editing, Best Visual Effects, Best Sound Our thoughts: Top Gun: Maverick flies high 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. Thankfully, this time that Tom Cruise (Mission: Impossible — Fallout)-led 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 Where to watch: Streaming via Paramount+, Binge, Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. TURNING RED Nominations: Best Animated Feature Our thoughts: What'd happen if the Hulk was a teenage girl, and turned into a giant, fuzzy, super-cute red panda instead of going green and getting ultra-muscular? Or, finding a different riff on the ol' werewolf situation, if emotions rather than full moons inspired a case of not-quite-lycanthropy? These aren't queries that most folks have thought of, but writer/director Domee Shi certainly has — and they're at the core of Pixar's Turning Red, her debut feature after winning an Oscar for 2018 short Bao, and a movie with particularly astute and endearing results. Where to watch: Streaming via Disney+, Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review.
One thing that's very helpful (and it could be argued, entirely necessary) to a successful creative career is the support of a creative community. This 28 September, the Australian Centre for Photography is hosting an excellent opportunity for photographers of all stripes to tap into such a community: a free Open Day. What's on offer for both the budding and experienced photographer? If you've scoped out the Centre's many technical courses and are considering enrolling in a class to master new photo skills (lighting, filmmaking, Lightroom and many other topics are on offer), this is your chance to learn more in person, get to know the tutors, see the facilities available to you and also peep at the current Spring Season exhibition featuring work by Emmanuel Angelicas, Rowan Conroy and Robert Besanko. After visiting the Funbooth, there's a lot of other thrilling stuff to sample. Included on the Open Day sched are a Blurb table to help you create your own fancypants photo books, a photo retouch demonstration, fun with pinhole cameras, talks by the currently exhibiting artists and, one of the best things you can do to advance your photography career, a portfolio review. A review requires booking and costs $120, giving you access to the expert eye and opinion of a seasoned professional photographer who can help identify the strengths and weaknesses in your work. Between them, press photographer Dean Lewins, artist Tim Silver, artist/academic David Haines and ACP curator Tony Nolan have plenty of wisdom and experience to go around, so take advantage and book a review. Image by Fiona Wolf.
No doubt you've heard about, seen and/or eaten gooey raclette smothering potatoes, meats and pickles at a few places around town. It's probably one of the best excuses for a meal the French have given us. And The Stinking Bishops sees your raclette, Sydney, and raises it — popping it into a bread roll so you can eat it with two hands and get all those flavours in yer mouth in one fell swoop. You won't find this creation at their Enmore cheese parlour though. Rather, they're taking these babies up the road to Young Henrys each Friday afternoon from 4pm. The roll ($13) is filled with prosciutto, pickles, potato and mustard and then topped with the cheese, which is melted under a raclette grill and scraped all over the situation. They'll also be serving up their much-loved Mr Crispy sandwiches (with wagyu or mushroom), which are drawcards in themselves ($12) — eating them is one of our favourite cheese experiences in Sydney. If you can't make it this week, don't worry — the cheese extravaganza will happen each and every Friday from 4pm.
Bright lights, pristine clean floors and wooden barrels perfectly stacked with fresh produce — Farmers Fresh looks like it belongs on a movie set. Instead, you'll find it on the ground floor of Westfield Burwood. Keep an eye on its Facebook page for epic weekly specials across its Burwood and Figree stores, like cauliflowers for $2 each or watermelon for under a dollar per kilo. Other essentials to complete your at-home feast are available, too, including dairy products, eggs, nuts, fresh bread, canned goods and an extensive range of spices. Don't have much time to cook? Check out the freezer, which has giant spanakopita spirals, pastizzi and fresh pasta.
The Chinese Garden of Friendship has long been a site desired by site-specific artists. Its diverse repertoire includes chamber music, tai chi and Theatre Kantanka's Waters of Brightness. Power Plant, however, is something completely new. Five visual and sound artists transform the garden's landscapes into surreal, nocturnal worlds. Subject to timed entry, visitors may wander through a universe of installations. Look out for dancing flower beds, eccentric gramophones and explosions transforming into rich flora. In short, Power Plant is an alternate reality you will never want to leave. With this in mind, refreshments will be available - but flat shoes are a must. This work enjoyed a previous incarnation in the University of Oxford Botanic Garden. Now adapted to reflect its new environment, Power Plant promises to be a intellectual and sensual feast. Image: courtesy of Sydney Festival
Burger loving Sydneysiders can get ready to add another place to their to-try list, because one of Melbourne's best burger joints is venturing up north to open a permanent store. You might have heard of Huxtaburger. Since it opened in Melbourne in 2011 it's garnered a slew of loyal fans, and heap of American-style burger joints have opened in its wake. But it's only now, seven years and seven stores later that the shop has finally decided to expand to Sydney. It will open in Redfern on Saturday, September 15. So what can you expect? The team likes to keep things simple: buns wrapped around a grass-fed beef patty with cheese, mustard and tomato sauce, or fried chicken with jalapeños, sriracha mayo, cheese and lettuce. Meals are best rounded out with a serve of chips and an ice cold can of beer. The expansion is part of the business's decision to enter into a franchise model. The first franchises have already opened in the Melbourne suburb of Footscray and in Perth, WA, and it sounds like there are plenty more in the pipeline. "The introduction of franchisees marks just the beginning of our expansion plans as we look to grow our national footprint in Australia, and grow our business," said Huxtaburger CEO Matt Fickling. The new Redfern store will launch with an opening party on September 15 — kicking off at 11am and running all the way through till 8pm. Details are pretty scarce at the moment, but if the company's Perth launch is anything to go by, you might be looking at a day of $1 burgers. We'll update you as soon as we have more details. Huxtaburger will open at 66 Regent Street, Redfern on Saturday, September 15.
Adora Handmade Chocolates began in 1993, when two sisters who loved making chocolate so much at home decided to take their passion out into the world. Fast-forward to 2019 and there are four retail spaces across Sydney, including a very popular, very cosy, spot on George Street, Parramatta. Every creation here involves perfecting the balance of flavours – be it a melt-in-your-mouth butter truffle dusted with chocolate flakes, a mango lamington or a rich slab of chocolate fudge. Rest yourself on a stool, relax and indulge. There's good coffee to match your sweet picks. And be sure to take a bag of treats home with you. The love here should definitely be shared.
Surry Hills pub The Dolphin is a food and wine favourite at the best of times, but on June 10, it's taking things to the next level, joining forces with Drnks to host its own mini food and booze festival. Dubbed Wet Dreams, the event's set to dish up a smorgasbord of great eats and boozy treats, with a pumping soundtrack to match. Over 30 winemakers, brewers and importers will be there showing off their finest wares, including a strong South Australian contingent (Ochota Barrels, Jauma and Commune of Buttons), Sydney's Wildflower Brewing, California-based wine stars Forlorn Hope, WA natural winemakers Brave New Wine and Canberra's Mallaluka. Expect lots of natural and skin contact drops. Meanwhile, a curation of drinking snacks will come courtesy of Momofuku Seiōbo's Paul Carmichael, Acme's Mitch Orr, Luke Shannon from LP's Quality Meats and the brains behind Pub Life Kitchen and Superior Burger, Jovan Curic. Spend the afternoon chatting with top Aussie producers, while tasting some of their finest creations. The event will kick off at 1pm and run until 4pm, after which you can slide into The Dolphin's wine bar for a few more glasses.
From the summery banks of the Seine to the howling winds of Sydney's waterfront, the eternally stylish artisans behind Hermès are about to hit the Museum of Contemporary Art for an insider's look into their trade. From October 2 – 6, the brand's world-renowned Festival des Métiers exhibition will be visiting Sydney, and it'll be leaving a whirlwind of silk scarves and luxurious leather goods in its glorious wake. For those sceptical of luxury brands or dismissive of sentences that involve too many accented French words, Hermès is the fashion house behind those giant leather bags rich heiresses carry small dogs in. They're also well known for their glorious silk scarves that will set you back a hefty portion of your rent. But this upcoming exhibition is anything but snobby. Featuring a leather craftsperson, saddle maker, silk painter, silk engraver, tie maker, painter, gem setter and watchmaker, Festival des Métiers offers unprecedented personal access to the artisans behind the world-famous fashion brand. The MCA will be decked out in Hermès finest threads (and leathers) and visitors are encouraged to interact with the craftspeople while they create their signature goods. Here you'll see the ornate process involved in making those bags and scarves you lust over, and pick the brains of those who craft some of the world's most adored watches, gloves and jewels. The exhibition has already toured around the US, the UK and Asia to rave reviews. Around a quarter of a million people visited the event at Singapore and its time at Saatchi Gallery in London was an understandably lush affair. Originally launched in 2011 to celebrate the 175th anniversary of the label, Festival des Métiers looks to be much less a gaudy celebration of the brand and much more an inspiring celebration of the craft itself. Sure, the goods are still crazy expensive, but at least after seeing the très chic Parisian hand stitching the leather, you'll have a little more understanding as to where all that money goes. Hermès' Festival des Métiers will be exhibiting at the Museum of Contemporary Art from October 2-6. Admission will be free of charge.
Parramatta Lanes returns for its latest festival from Wednesday, October 11–Saturday, October 14, bringing its free program of eats, art and live music to the streets, laneways and rooftops of the west. This Parra palooza will include four nights of festivities featuring 45 food and drink stalls, 120 musicians and stunning art installations. Heading up the food lineup are returning faves like returning favourites like Koi Dessert Bar and Hoy Pinoy, alongside Western Sydney faves making their debut at the festival such as BlackBear BBQ and Fratelli Pulcinella. Joining them will be a lineup of stallholders spanning all types of cuisine. Prawn Star, Mix Mix Co, Japanese Pizza Okonomiyaki, Kampung Laksa, May's Malaysian Hawker and Sri Daskin Food are just some of the teams activating every corner of Parramatta — and filling the streets with sensational aromas. Each night, you can also visit Levins Lane, curated by DJ and foodie Andrew Levins. Here, you can snack on food from Firepop, Onigiri Lab and 15 Cenchi; sip on drinks from the Karu Cocktail Bar; and see a lineup of DJs and musicians pulled together by Parra's biggest fan. Night one is hip hop and R&B night featuring Dylan Atlantis and Jade Kenji; night two is serving up all-out K-pop; night three is 90s throwback night; and night four is about rap and reggaeton with sets from Sollyy, Lamira and Isa. Levins himself will also be on the decks each night. Leading the music lineup elsewhere is New Zealand's Fazerdaze, who will be popping up for a free set while they're in the country for SXSW Sydney and Yours and Owls. Joining them: Carla Wehbe, The 046, Zion Garcia, Shade Nasty, Cherry Chola, Mali Jose and Sidney Phillips. If you're a hip hop fan, make sure to head to Take Flight and Bodega Collective's takeover of the Eat Street Car Park rooftop on Friday, October 13. Some of this city's best rappers including DSP, Planet Vegeta, Tokyo Vendetta, AR the Eternal and Elijah Yo are all making appearances. On the final night, Saturday, October 14, a huge Eating Here Out West event will hit Riverside Theatre led by Western Sydney rapper and community leader L-FRESH the Lion. There will also be Turkish eats from Kocagoz, Mate Pinoy by Mate Burgers and Indian dishes from Num Nums — plus sets from Zeadala, MRVZ and DJ Slays. There are three public artworks appearing as part of the program. Lawrence Liang's Bloom will light up St John's Lawn, a drumming and rapping AI robot will set up in PHIVE's foyer and Atelier Sisu's The Sky of Bubbles will fill Red Cow Lane with 50 glowing spheres. And, this year's Parramatta Lanes will also feature a dedicated Pup Culture dog zone on Lennox Bridge, where your furry four-legged pals can get involved in the festival. A dog agility course, photo opportunities, a silent cinema and pet treats will all be on offer at the pooch-friendly zone. Images: George Gittany.
To herald the coming of spring, Sydney's Dinosaur Designs – famous for its colourful, sculptural jewellery and homewares – is hosting an annual warehouse sale. Over three days, the Extinct Outlet in Redfern will be peddling one-off samples and seconds with hefty discounts of up to 90 percent. Once the sale is done and dusted, any leftover pieces will be sent to extinct land, never to be seen again. Established more than 30 years ago, Dinosaur Designs continues to produce all its resin products in its Strawberry Hills studio. Meanwhile, copper, brass and silver jewellery is handcrafted in India and Indonesia. To get your mitts on a bargain, show up at 585 Elizabeth Street, Redfern, on Friday, September 14, 8am–4pm; Saturday, September 15, 10am–4pm; or Sunday, September 16, 11am–3pm. Entry is via the main street, not the rear lane.
Moosejaw, an online shop that sells outdoor recreational apparel, has created the X-Ray Catalog App, available at their website. Once the app is downloaded, the user holds their smartphone over photos of models sporting ski parkas and other fairly unsexy items, only to see the app 'strip' them through the use of augmented reality technology, revealing what they are wearing underneath their clothes. It's true that a lot more people (probably men) are suddenly going to be a lot more interested in this catalogue. If you wanted to look at soft porn in a public place or avoid embarrassment when your mum finds your stash under the bed - she'll just think you really love camping - this technology might just hold the answer. Or maybe it's about giving people the chance to feel as if they have superhero skills. Either way, if you see people reading the catalogue on the train with a little too much interest, you can either tsk them or give them a knowing wink, depending on whether you think this is creepy or brilliant.
HECS debt getting you down? Desperate to brush up on Marxian Class Analysis Theory, Astrobiology and Space Exploration or even Roman Architecture? Featuring classes from top universities, Open Culture lets you learn about nearly every topic imaginable from schools like Harvard and Berkeley, without racking up Ivy League levels of debt. Sure, you won't get a pretty certificate but you will get a brighter mind, which is arguably just as shiny. Free online access to top notch classes is an emerging trend, with other sites like Lecture Fox and iTunes U opening up the possibilities of education and learning. [Via Trend Hunter]
How does Murray Bell have a moment to even look at design? For the past 15 years, he's been the head of Semi Permanent, the global design platform that he founded in 2002, curating live design events all over the country. The next of these events to hit Sydney was been announced today, and is the celebration of 15 big years of Semi Permanent. As if last year's lineup wasn't noteworthy enough, Bell has moved things into a different kind of topical territory this year, embracing the official theme 'Design for Change'. Semi Permanent's 2017 event will take over Carriageworks from Thursday, May 25 to Saturday, May 27 and features a cast of players so influential in the modern design game that while this event's in motion, the world will become a very desolate and tacky place. The headlining speaker is Oliver Stone, the Academy Award winning director behind such influential films as Scarface, Midnight Express, Platoon, Wall Street, Natural Born Killers, JFK, Nixon, and The Doors. Other speakers include Museum of Contemporary Art Australia director Elizabeth Ann Macgregor, Katherine Keating publisher VICE Impact, Nike design director Meirion Pritchard and Nike EMEA brand director Gary Horton, Jacqueline Bourke from Getty Images, animation studio Moth Collective, Design Studio's Paul Stafford, Frog Design and Australian designers David Caon, Henry Wilson and architect Kelvin Ho. The program also includes the Future State panels, a series of talks about the how the design world, and the world as a whole, is growing and changing. The themes for the panels will cover Artificial Intelligence and machine learning, immersive storytelling, and redesigning cities. Appearing on these panels will be representatives of Google, Netflix, Pixar, and Amazon. Plus, Google and Semi Permanent are launching an immersive experience with Tilt Brush in collaboration with contemporary artists. Murray Bell and Semi Permanent are not only collectors and sharers of good design, they aim to be influencers who enable the design community to improve and grow. The idea behind the project is to create a global platform of creating, networking, and sharing, and to bring top-notch original content to readers of their site. Semi Permanent's 15th birthday is part the Vivid Sydney program. Semi Permanent runs May 25-27 at Carriageworks. General one-day tickets are $340, two-day $544 and three-day $765. Premium one-day tickets are $540, two-day $864 and three-day $1215. Student tickets available too. Check semipermanent.com for more details. Images: Semi Permanent.
When you need a sneaky sundown drink, but don't want to travel too far from the city, Helm Bar has the goods. Located in Darling Harbour, it has all the watery vistas and revitalising breeziness you need — and just a hop, skip and jump away from the CBD. What's more, this season, the venue has been transformed into an Edenic-like garden, thanks to the good people at Chandon. In celebration of its summery drink, Chandon S (sparkling wine dashed with aromatic orange bitters), the brand has taken over the waterside bar with loads of greenery and ultra-relaxed vibes. The garden is open both lunchtime and evening, but the best time to go is at sundown. With the working day off your shoulders, you can sit down, kick back and sip a glass of the sparkling goodness for just $11. Got a big group in tow? You can also order a bottle for $50. The Chandon S Garden at Helm won't be around forever, so get in quick. To make a booking, visit the Helm website. Image: Kitti Smallbone.
It’s difficult to write anything about Adelaide six-piece Fire! Santa Rosa, Fire! without engaging in a lengthy discussion about the non-existent history of “monolithic tech-pop”, but since I only have 200 words I’m going to avoid musing over the band’s self-conceived genre. What’s important is what they sound like, and that’s a mix of keyed-up pop, angular guitars and dreamy synths fused with a shot of trip-hop feminine charm and a whole heap of vigorous energy. You only have to look at their name and you immediately feel sluggish in comparison. And with the help of fresh management and UK producer Gareth Parton (impresario of fellow ebulliently-christened bands The Go! Team and Holy Fuck) they’ve refined this eclectic sound into something that’s actually quite orderly. Fire! Santa Rosa, Fire! so far have a slew of high-rotation singles under their belts including “Little Cowboys”, “Bad Hombres” and “War Coward”, and their debut studio album Sea Priest has them touted as the next big thing. Still animated but slightly polished, see them at GoodGod while you can still do so for a tenner.
When most filmmakers look back at American frontier life, they spin tales of conflict. The inimitable Kelly Reichardt does just that, too, but her sublime new film First Cow tells a story you definitely won't see in any other movie. Here, the talented director explores the fallout when a chef and his resourceful pal decide to steal milk from the new, only and first-ever cow in town — and then use the pilfered dairy product to make oily cakes that become a must-eat item in their community. One of the year's absolute best movies, First Cow is now showing at Golden Age Cinema. To mark the occasion, the Surry Hills venue is also diving deeper into Reichardt's cinematic catalogue. As part of Quiet Determination: The Films of Kelly Reichardt, four of her other features will grace the big screen — so you can check out her first two films, as well as two of her collaborations with Michelle Williams. The pictures aren't showing in any particular order, but seeing them all is highly recommended. With an all-star cast that includes Williams, Laura Dern, Kristen Stewart and Lily Gladstone, 2016's Certain Women kicks off the retrospective at 5.30pm on Sunday, May 16. At the same time on Sunday, May 23, 2006's Old Joy will follow two longterm friends reuniting on a camping trip — and at 3.30pm on Sunday, May 30, Reichardt's vivid 1994 debut River of Grass will screen. Wrapping things up is Wendy and Lucy, the tender and heartwrenching 2008 drama about a woman driving to Alaska with her dog, which plays at 5.30pm on Sunday, June 6. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pASs3rerRCY
A Twitter-famous writer with a bestseller to her name and plenty of online fame, Arabella (Michaela Coel) has a deadline. Overnight, she needs to finish the first draft of her second book or her publishers won't be happy. But when her mates suggest that she comes out for a couple of drinks, the London-based scribe quickly acquiesces. The next morning, though, she doesn't feel okay — and it isn't just a hangover, with Arabella slowly realising that she has been the victim of sexual assault. It's best to take I May Destroy You's title literally from the get-go — in reference to how this show will make you feel, that is. Turning a traumatic experience into blistering television, the 12-part series is easily 2020's best, and it is definitely a phenomenal effort from creator/writer/co-director/star Coel. Watching Arabella come to terms with what's happened to her, and to regain her sense of self, isn't easy viewing — but it's absolutely must-see TV.
Melbourne Fashion Week is back, and this year's instalment promises a week brimming with style, flair and a pinch of the unexpected. From Monday, October 23 to Sunday, October 29, the heart of Melbourne is set to pulse with the vibrant rhythm of 300 designers and retailers. There will be 100 events in both classic venues as well as some rather interesting settings, including the rooftop pool deck at Le Méridien and some abandoned industrial garages. This year's MFW theme, For Curious Hearts, is all about giving a nod to the unsung heroes backstage. The mavericks, the designers, the people who make the industry tick — both emerging and established. This year is for championing sustainability, inclusivity, and everything that makes Australia's fashion scene so vivaciously diverse. Speaking of sustainability, MFW is carbon neutral certified, with $1 from each ticket going to carbon offset efforts. So, while you enjoy the city's fashion fiesta, you're also doing your part to stave off the climate apocalypse. Fun! The MFW runway spectacle is set to grace various venues across the city, from transformed industrial locales to the majestic Regent Theatre. Spotlighting the event are names like Jason Grech, Bec + Bridge, Ngali, Blanca Studios, Leo Lin, Aje, J'Aton, Oroton, Mariam Seddiq, and Arnsdorf, among others. The crowd-favourite fashion capsules are back in full swing, revealing the craftsmanship of over 70 local creators. To add to the fun, there will be complimentary runway pop-ups, including at the newly launched MFW spots at Emporium and QV. For those keen on learning more about the industry, Creative Victoria is hosting the MFW Conversations program. The series, graced by iconic fashion editor Janice Breen Burns, delves into topics like circular fashion and the role of tech in the industry. Students will also get their moment in the limelight with the Student Collections Runway, crowning the MFW Student Award winner on October 27. So, if you're a fashion lover (or just keen on soaking up the vibes), grab your tickets, and we'll see you on the runway. Head to Visit Melbourne for the full rundown and to check out what else is happening in Melbourne this spring.
Art so often brings focus to the extraordinary aspects of life that the minutiae of day-to-day can go ignored. Sydney-based artist Dave Wells is working to change this, with his first solo exhibition BriefCase. In a series of 17 acrylic paintings that are being displayed at M2 Gallery in Surry Hills, Wells explores the mundanities and repetition of the white-collar world. His images are bold, macro close-ups of various workday routines and objects — a handshake, a coffee cup, the pressing of an elevator button, all pretty sombre (but brightly coloured) portrayals of a monotonous existence driven by financial oppression. Featured are original illustrations from Wells' comic Bad Luck Bob, which follows the character of Bob, an office worker, through his sad and uneventful daily life. Those with a dark sense of humour will particularly enjoy the exhibition, which runs from February 15-21.
Fee-fi-fo-fum, Hollywood's sure giving our childhood a run. In the last two years alone we've had Mirror Mirror, Snow White & the Huntsman, Oz the Great and Powerful, Alice in Wonderland and Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters. Now it's Jack and the Beanstalk's turn, with Valkyrie director Bryan Singer giving the beloved English folktale the full-blown 3D treatment in Jack the Giant Slayer (not to be confused with 'Jack the giant SLAYER', telling the story of an aspiring thrash guitarist from the '80s). The plot here is much as you'd remember it: Jack (Nicholas Hoult) is a kind but naive farm boy who sells his horse in exchange for some magic beans. Those beans rapidly pullulate and explode towards the heavens with tremendous force, launching both Jack's house and its precious royal inhabitant high into the sky where the fabled giants reside. A rescue mission ensues under the leadership of the fearless Elmont (Ewan McGregor), during which Jack must conquer his fear of heights and overcome the giants in order to save his earthly kingdom and its beautiful princess (Eleanor Tomlinson). Hoult makes a likeable Jack, and Tomlinson is sufficiently Brave-esque in her portrayal of the rebellious and reluctant royal prone to assertions like "a princess is such a useless thing". Ian McShane makes for an endearing king, whereas Stanley Tucci rather phones in his performance as the machiavellian Lord Roderick and Bill Nighy is entirely unrecognisable as Fallon, the leader of the giants. The clear standout performance belongs to McGregor, whose valorous royal guardsman is as engaging as he is disappointingly underused. One scene in particular, during which he's trapped inside a giant pastry fold, captures all the magic, drama and tension we've come to expect from an entire Pixar movie but that here merely represents the best of a precious few moments. Overall it's far more 'kids movie' than either adult or hybrid, although several of the giants' scenes will doubtless leave more than a few children diving for cover behind their hands. It's fun enough throughout to maintain at least some level of interest, and the third act certainly provides some excellent action pieces; however, an excessive reliance upon CGI and not enough time spent on the script leaves Jack the Giant Slayer something of a charmless picture. Suffice to say, the book was most certainly better.
Before the pandemic hit, throwback tours were doing big Aussie business — nationwide shows that brought a heap of 90s and 00s musicians our way, let them belt out their biggest hits and doused everyone in as much nostalgia as possible, that is. And while life isn't quite back to normal yet, nature is healing in one key way, with Made in the 90s about to unleash an old-school lineup that'll get you chasing dreams. Responsible for one of the most iconic songs of the 90s, Coolio headlines this retro party, which hits Sydney on Sunday, April 3. Head along to the Big Top at Luna Park, prepare to feel like you've jumped back three decades and put that those memorised 'Gangsta's Paradise' lyrics to great use (because yes, if you were alive in the 90s, you know the words). Also on the bill are All-4-One ('I Swear', 'I Can Love You Like That'), Next ('Too Close', 'Wifey') and Renee Neufville, aka one half of Zhané ('Hey Mr. DJ', 'Groove Thang'). Been spendin' most of your life waiting for this? Of course you have.
The places we inhabit, the objects we use, the things we wear — in fact, almost everything we interact with on a daily basis is part of the wide world of design. That well-worn maxim, change is the only constant, is at the heart of this year’s Sydney Design festival. With an ever-increasing number of new platforms and innovators, it’s all about transformations and charging into the future. At the centre of the festival is the Interface exhibition, exploring the design of iconic products from the likes of Apple and Braun. Other events include the festival’s after-hours experience Late Night at the Museum — featuring Future Classic DJs, Eat Art Truck, performance art and other cool stuff — and the Mini Maker Faire, which is basically grown-up show-and-tell. Ushering in a new age of democratic design, the festival celebrates the blurred line between designer, producer and consumer. Sydney Connected allows you to contribute via iPad installation or online to a city-wide conversation on what you want Sydney to look and feel like in the future. This is an exciting new forum for digitally enabled people power.
Soon, in North Sydney, smokers mightn't just have to stub out their cigarettes in public areas — rather, puffing away in the entire central business district could be banned. At a meeting this week, the North Sydney Council moved to create a smoke-free CBD, prohibiting smoking in all public spaces within the North Sydney local government area. The motion received the unanimous support of attending councillors, with determining community support listed as the next step in the meeting minutes. North Sydney, Sydney's second largest CBD, already boasts a number of smoke-free zones at Brett Whiteley Place and Elizabeth Plaza. Both are self-regulated, which is how the council proposes that the new CBD-wide ban would work — and with participating restaurants, bars and cafes placing council-produced and -providers stickers in their windows to help raise awareness. "Council's creation of self-regulated, no smoking zones has been well received by the community and I believe a push to expand this policy would be widely welcomed," North Sydney Mayor Jilly Gibson states in the minutes. The mayor advised the ABC that fines won't be issued for those who flout the ban — and if locals supported the smoke-free plan, it could be in place by Christmas or early 2019. And, Gibson told the Sydney Morning Herald, the eventual aim is to make the entirety of North Sydney's shared public spaces smoke-free, including streets, plazas, parks and outdoor seating. Throughout New South Wales more broadly, smoking in enclosed areas of licensed premises has been illegal since 2007, while lighting up in outdoor spaces such as public transport stops and stations, the entrances to public buildings, around children's playgrounds and near spectators at sporting facilities has been banned since 2012. In 2015, the state prohibited smoking in outdoor dining areas as well, including on on footpaths outside licensed cafes and pubs. And, since September 2016, Pitt Street Mall Place in the Sydney CBD has been smoke-free. Queensland outlawed smoking in outdoor dining areas in 2006, while Victoria followed suit in 2017. And both Brisbane and Melbourne have designated smoke-free areas in their CBDs — either through state-wide restrictions on smoking in outdoor pedestrian malls, or through specific smoke-free sites. Hobart also has a number of designated smoke-free sites.
One lavish estate. A reunion filled with dysfunctional relatives. The sudden death of the family patriarch. Combine them all together, and you have a good ol' fashioned murder mystery — as well as the plot for Rian Johnson's latest star-studded film, Knives Out. The fifth feature from the writer/director, as well as his first since 2017's Star Wars: Episode VIII — The Last Jedi, Knives Out steps into quite the chaotic situation. Just after his 85th birthday, crime novelist Harlan Thrombin (Christopher Plummer) is found dead, all while his manor happens to be filled with both family members and staff. Eager to discover just what's behind the old man's demise, Detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) is soon on the case. Yes, Agatha Christie would be proud. And, like all of her famous whodunnits, Knives Out's sleuth has plenty of suspects. Indeed, the list of potential culprits is jam-packed with familiar faces, including Chris Evans, Jamie Lee Curtis, Toni Collette, Don Johnson, Michael Shannon and LaKeith Stanfield, as well as 13 Reasons Why's Katherine Langford, IT: Chapter Two's Jaeden Martell and Blade Runner 2049's Ana de Armas. Basically, think Cluedo come to life, filled with high-profile talent, and packaged with both twists and laughs. Johnson's love of on-screen puzzles was well-established in both Brick and Looper, so the filmmaker seems like he's in his element. Check out the latest trailer below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tw6L1mu-Nss Knives Out releases in Australian cinemas on November 28.
The City of Sydney will showcase the 22 best photo entries from their annual Australian Life photography competition from Thursday 15 September. A panel of photographers, artists and curators narrowed down more than a thousand competition entries they received down to the finalists, who are a combination of amateur and professional photographers. All have a shot at winning the overall prize of $10,000, which will be announced on the exhibition's opening night. Afterwards, the images will remain on display until Sunday 9 October in a huge outdoor gallery in Hyde Park as part of Art & About, the City of Sydney's ongoing exhibition of temporary art throughout the city. Images that the entrants captured to represent the essence of Australian life include a double-fronted weatherboard house with several lambs resting on the porch, a truck pushing sand back towards the sea on a secluded beach and, naturally, seagulls stealing chips. Image: Taweechai Iam-Urairat.
When HBO managed to get the cast of Friends back on the same couch and chatting to camera about their time on the hit sitcom, the US cable network clearly found itself a new niche. That'd be big reunion specials that reteam the stars of beloved pop culture favourites to talk about their experiences — so it's going down the same route with the Harry Potter franchise. If you've been chanting "accio more Harry Potter" to yourself for the past decade since the eight-film series wrapped up, it seems that your wishes have finally come true. Like the Friends special, Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts won't feature anyone in-character — but, if you're a fan, spending more time with the movies' stars still promises to be magical. There'd be no point going ahead if Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson weren't all involved, so they're definitely on the lineup. So is filmmaker Chris Columbus, who directed the franchise's first two movies. Joining them is a huge list of other actors from across the movie series' history, including Helena Bonham Carter, Robbie Coltrane, Ralph Fiennes, Jason Isaacs, Gary Oldman and Tom Felton, plus James Phelps, Oliver Phelps, Mark Williams, Bonnie Wright, Alfred Enoch, Matthew Lewis, Evanna Lynch and Ian Hart. You'll spot some missing names — Maggie Smith and Robert Pattinson, for instance, to name just two — but clearly there'll be a whole lot of HP cast members reminiscing about their time in the wizarding world. As the special's name makes plain, Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts is popping up to celebrate 20 years since Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone first reached cinemas back in 2001. That said, whether you're a muggle, a wannabe wizard and witch, or someone who spent far too much of their childhood reading the books and watching the flicks, you'll actually be checking out the new special in 2022. In the US, it'll stream on January 1 on HBO Max. Viewing options Down Under haven't yet been revealed, so there's something to start trying to summon sooner rather than later. Check out the teaser trailer for the Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts special below: HBO's Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts special will be available to stream in the US on January 1, 2022 — we'll update you with viewing details Down Under when they're announced.
Boxes are good for many things. Jewellery. Leftovers. Sealing away the trinkets of a doomed romance. Spare USB cables. One thing they're not good for is the arts. 'An art' will do this annoying thing where it squirms against the pressing of a lid, busting out to mix with all the others. And Performance Space, bastion of cross-disciplinary art, shoulders a hunk of the blame for the glorious mess that results. The works under its roof combine music, dance, live cinema, story, animation, comedy and other practices to create things new and surprising. Its latest season, Show On, draws you into immersive, sensory experiences that by their nature can only be unlocked in real time. In Aphids' strictly limited-capacity Thrashing Without Looking, it's the audience that creates the work (through the provocation of crowd dynamics — no awkward 'audience participation' with all eyes upon you here). Kitted with 'video goggles' that feed you live footage and potential cues, you mingle at a party that's bound to be the talk of the town. Cool nomenclature combines with music, dance, storytelling, humour and animation in RRAMP: the Collector, the Archivist & the Electrocrat. Employing the romantically grotesque animation of Ahmarnya Price, it tells the story of the Collector, the tall lady-of-the-house, and the unsuspecting band members she recruits. The chance to tap into terror without actual bodily danger is what keeps us returning to horror films and roller-coasters, but neither do it as pervasively, intimately, and thoughtfully as Tamara Saulwick in Pin Drop. Primarily using sound design, the Green Room Award winner for Outstanding Production awakens a catalogue of fears learnt through interviews with subjects aged six to 92. Applespiel Make a Band and Take On the Recording Industry sees the collective transform into a band, cut an album, go on the road, and package the imaginary results in a live show that's described as a lethal cocktail of performance art, gig, and rockumentary. A manufactured non-band playing non-music — sounds oddly familiar, right? There's more where that came from; peruse the full program here.
There is nothing, nothing more purely joyous as hurtling down an epic plastic lane covered in soap bubbles and hose water. Slip 'N' Slides have pride of place in some of our Paddle Pop-dotted, sunburn-ridden backyard memories, but all is not lost to the slippery realms of memory. This year, a giant Slide 'N' Slide is coming to your city, with Nova's Slidestreet confirmed for Sydney, Adelaide and Melbourne this summer. Created by the team behind Perth's ice skating pop-up, Winterland, the Slidestreet is inspired by the urban slide created by UK artist Luke Jerram. With its successful Perth run under its belt, the 315 metre-long Slidestreet is heading to Melbourne's Fitzroy Gardens on January 24 and Sydney’s Centennial Park on Australia Day, January 26. Melburnians, you lucky, lucky bunch, you could also be casually getting the world's longest slide in February — permit permitting. At $15 +BF a slide, it's a teeny bit exxy for something you could DIY with a little help from Bunnings, but sometimes you just have to hand over the cashola for novelty bragging rights. And if you thought an entire event could be created around the humble Slip 'N' Slide, you're bang on. The whole day will feature food trucks, icy summer treats, DJs, pop-up bars — yep, the whole bloody works. We're guessing this is to give the sad, sad, slideless spectators something to do while their ticket-holding friends have All The Fun. Importantly, according to the Slidestreet rules, Go Pro selfie poles are NOT allowed on the slide.
Where can you see live tunes with a stunning view of Sydney Harbour, all while surrounded by adorable animals as well? Twilight at Taronga. Each summer, the after-hours live music series hosts outdoor gigs with an impressive lineup, and 2024 is set to be no different. On the just-announced bill: Meg Mac, Ball Park Music, The Whitlams, the returning drag and comedy galas, and more. Held in Taronga Zoo's natural amphitheatre, the next batch of shows will run for a month from Friday, February 2–Saturday, March 2, 2024. Also set to take to the stage: John Butler, The Waifs, The Cat Empire, and the Australian Rock Collective featuring members of Spiderbait, Powderfinger, Jet and You Am I. It isn't a Twilight at Taronga series without a few annual favourites. So, ABBA parody/tribute Bjorn Again will also bust out their tracks again, as will James Morrison, with the latter celebrating tunes from swing to soul. And, the big drag gala will bring together Karen From Finance, Art Simone, Spankie Jackzon, Jojo Zaho and Maxi Shield — while the comedy gala's lineup starts with Celia Pacquola, Ivan Aristeguieta and MC Daniel Connell. You can BYO a picnic, but there'll also be gourmet hampers available onsite alongside a handful of food trucks. Ticketholders can also purchase discounted same-day entry into the zoo (so you can sneak in a visit to your favourite mammal, bird or reptile beforehand) and, if you want to make a weekend of it, you can add on a night at Taronga's luxe eco-retreat. As always, all proceeds will go back into Taronga's ongoing conservation work, including its campaign to protect our marine life. So, you can see a gig and feel good about helping the zoo. Get excited and check out the full lineup: [caption id="attachment_745448" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Taronga Zoo Wildlife Retreat[/caption] TWILIGHT AT TARONGA 2024 SUMMER CONCERT SERIES LINEUP: Friday, February 2 — Meg Mac Saturday, February 3, 10am — Emma Memma Saturday, February 3, 6pm — Bjorn Again Friday, February 9 — Australian Rock Collective featuring members of Spiderbait, Powderfinger, Jet and You Am I Saturday, February 10 — Comedy Gala featuring Celia Pacquola, Ivan Aristeguieta and MC Daniel Connell Sunday, February 11 — John Butler Friday, February 16 — Ball Park Music Saturday, February 17 — The Waifs Thursday, February 22 — Drag Gala featuring Karen From Finance, Art Simone, Spankie Jackzon, Jojo Zaho and Maxi Shield Saturday, February 24 — James Morrison's From Swing to Soul Friday, March 1 — The Cat Empire Saturday, March 2, 10am — Zindzi & The Zillionaires Saturday, March 2, 6pm — The Whitlams Twilight at Taronga returns for 2024 in February and March — with Twilight at Taronga member pre-sales from 12pm AEDT on Thursday, November 2, and general tickets on sale at 12pm AEDT on Friday, November 3 via twilightattaronga.org.au.
After a huge success at its Sydney debut last year, Beer Fest is returning in 2019 to help you ease your way into the first weekend of summer. The festival is set to descend on Centennial Parklands on Saturday, November 30 and Sunday, December 1, in a heady blaze of music, comedy, food and, of course, beer. For this year's Sydney event, BeerFest will round up over 40 artisanal breweries and deliver hundreds of craft drops, all alongside a stack of great ciders, cocktails and wines. You'll kick off the season with tastings, food and beer matchings, and free, brewer-led masterclasses showcasing one-off creations. While the brewer list is yet to be announced, last year's event featured Sydney's Young Henrys and Sauce Brewing Co, ACT's BentSpoke, Melbourne's Edge Brewing Project and WA's Colonial Brewing. What's more, this little shindig also packs a serious punch in the entertainment department — and while it's yet to drop the full bill there as well, Art vs Science will be headlining the whole thing. They'll also team up with Burnley Brewing and CryerMalt to create their own one-off beer, which you'll obviously be able to drink at the festival. There'll be plenty of laughs to be had, too, with the BeerFest Sydney comedy stage also set to return. Tickets go on sale on Tuesday, August 6, with entry to the festival ranging between $20–50.
If 'social-distancing' is the phrase of COVID-19, then 'pivot' is the buzzword. This month, Sydney's bars and restaurants have turned on their heels with extraordinary speed, from welcoming a limited number of patrons to offering pick-up and delivery-only menus where they can. And, as our favourite local haunts reinvent themselves to keep up with government legislation, we'd like to keep supporting those hard-working bartenders who've always been there for us when we've needed a stiff drink and warm conversation. Next time you're dropping into Houseparty or Zoom for a socially responsible gathering, make sure you're ordering a couple of well shaken or stirred martinis from these seven Sydney venues. If you chose pick-up over delivery, make sure you check the latest COVID-19 advice and social-distancing guidelines from the Department of Health before you leave home.
It's that time of the year again: the silly season, the month of merriment — whatever you want to call it, it's here. And we bet you're now trying to figure out where exactly you should be celebrating. To help you out, we partnered with Pernod Ricard, to wrangle up some of the best Sydney spots for ringing in the festive season. Rooftops for summer afternoons, a CBD all-day restaurant serving up top-notch Italian nosh and a 30s-themed champagne bar for the most opulent of celebrations, Sydney is the perfect summer playground. So, crack open the bubbly, wine and dine, and catch up with mates before the year is done. It's time to get silly. MATTEO DOWNTOWN Matteo Downtown is a sprawling, all-day Italian eatery in the heart of the CBD — an ideal spot to enjoy the Christmas lead-up joie de vivre for the workaholics among us. With an open kitchen, large woodfire ovens, a dedicated mozzarella station, marble countertops and blazer-clad waiters, the Downtown hits the upscale yet inviting atmosphere Italians do so well. Taking its cues from the vibrant cities of Milan and Rome, the place is a flurry of activity from early morning espressos to late-night digestifs, with an impressive food offering right through. Order a seasonal cocktail, snack on some antipasto, share (or don't share) a friarielli pizza with smoked fior di latte or enjoy the beef tartare — chopped and dressed on a tableside trolley — with schiacciata (a scrumptious Tuscan flatbread). Pair your pizza or the beef (or both) with a deep red like the St. Hugo cabernet sauvignon and you'll be feeling rightfully merry in no time. [caption id="attachment_691224" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Jiwon Kim.[/caption] NICK AND NORA'S Inspired by Dashiell Hammett's novel The Thin Man and its characters Nick and Nora Charles, Paramatta's Nick and Nora's transports you back to Prohibition-era decadence. Atop the Crown's V building with views overlooking the city and Sydney Harbour, the opulent fit-out with art-deco accents is made for lavish celebrations. Champagne is the game here, with over 50 varietals from some of the world's most renowned houses. Dine on fine cheeses, sip Mumm and indulge in watermelon granita-covered oysters or some of the world's best caviar; Nick and Nora's indulges your inner hedonist. EAST VILLAGE HOTEL Darlinghurst's three-tiered East Village Hotel has three wildly different levels to suit anyone's idea of silly season. Overlooking the city's skyline, the Terrace is a bright, breezy and laidback spot synonymous with summer soirées. The decor is simple: crisp white furniture with a touch of pink and an abundance of plants. The vibe? Coastal chill meets garden party elegance where bottles of Mumm seem called for. Below you'll find the Athletic Club — East Village's interpretation of a sports bar. Sporting bespoke poker tables and leather Chesterfield booths, it's more of a British gentleman sports club rather than your Aussie NRL viewing hotspot. On the ground level, the public bar has more of a wine bar feel, with a strong selection of wines and a refined pub fare offering. [caption id="attachment_659299" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Kitti Gould.[/caption] TERMINUS HOTEL After a 30-year hiatus and a major revamp, this 177-year-old pub reopened its doors earlier this year and welcomed in the 21st century. The Terminus is a homage to the Australia of yesteryear and has retained much of its heritage — the central bar with original green tiling, restored sandstone in the lower courtyard and even the pre-existing stairs. Downstairs, Turkish-born chef Bektas Mustafa Ozcan puts his Mediterranean spin on Australian classics as well as some Turkish bar snacks to nibble on. The marble-topped Tram Bar slings up craft beers and has a lengthy, largely accessible wine list with a selection of premium drops like St Hugo cabernet sauvignon and Mumm Grand Cordon also available. Upstairs is Vera's, the cocktail bar named after Vera Dempsey who ran the Terminus back in the 30s. The signature Terminus Sour — Chivas 12 whisky and Pernod absinthe, shaken with fresh lemon juice and house-made thyme syrup, then strained over ice – doesn't go astray. HYDE PARK HOUSE Hyde Park House is a four-level extravaganza with very distinctive floors. The public bar (aptly named Public Bar) is a polished, simple spot to pull up a stool around the central bar, have a chinwag and wash down some greasy pub food with a brew. On level two there's The Club Lounge, a private function area. Ascend the stairs again and you'll find the swish cocktail lounge, Jessie's, with a rotating roster of local DJs every Friday. But it's the rooftop level, Slim's, that impresses. Ruffled pink umbrella's, city views and cacti in abundance, the atmosphere evokes a carefree spirit where spritzes, a glass of Mumm and classic cocktails with an Asian twist flow aplenty. With izakaya-style food — think sushi rolls, wasabi karaage chicken, barbecued prawns and miso eggplant — to match, it's the summer hang to ring in the festivities. Start planning your festive hangs — Christmas will be here before you know it. And if you're entertaining at home or just having a Sunday arvo barbie down at the beach, waltz on into any Cellarbrations, The Bottle O, IGA Liquor or Big Bargain Bottleshop, grab any two Pernod products listed here and go in the draw to win a $500 travel voucher, offered every day until Christmas.
The annual reason to not entirely obliterate yourself on New Year's Eve, Field Day, has announced announced one of its most all-round thumbs-up inducing lineups yet, with one big name at the top: Tyler, The Creator. The chart-topping American rapper will be heading to Australia for the first time since releasing his highly lauded album IGOR. He'll be joined on stage by fellow American and trap master RL Grime, gold masked German DJ duo Claptone, British rapper Skepta, dancefloor starters Disclosure and electro duo Snakehips, among one heck of a killer lineup. Local legends aren't scarce this year, either, with the likes of Hatchie, Pnau, Hayden James and more locked in for NYD sets. Returning to The Domain on New Year's Day, January 1, 2020, Field Day proves once again that some lineups are worth skipping the last NYE UDL for. [caption id="attachment_735766" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Tyler, The Creator by Sam Rock[/caption] Enough chatskies, here's that lineup you're after. FIELD DAY 2020 LINEUP Tyler, The Creator Antony & Cleopatra Chris Lake Claptone Dena Amy Disclosure Dom Dolla Eves Karydas Glades Green Velvet Gunna Hatchie Hayden James IAMDDB Jauz Lastlings Nyxen Pnau RL Grime Running Touch Skepta Snakehips The Japanese House Tokimonsta Ybn Cordae Field Day returns to The Domain on January 1, 2020. Tickets on sale at midday on Tuesday, August 27 via Field Day's website. Image: Field Day/AP Photography.
No matter what season it is, we're a cheese-loving society. We'll eat, breathe and live all things cheese, because it really does go with almost anything. And now that comfort food season is upon us, it's time for cheese at its warm and gooey best — including at Darlinghurst's Black Bottle. As first launched last year, the Mediterranean-style wine bar is serving up fromage in a box every Wednesday. Cold weather calls for hot cheese, obviously. The dish is similar to raclette, but smaller and better. Plus, it comes ready-made for date nights, with each oven-baked portion perfect for two. Not only do you get a glorious parcel of melted cheese, but you'll be able to pour it on potatoes, dip cured meats into it, and also feast on salad. And sip wine, if you like, although that'll cost you extra. The fromage in a box special is $39 per person, with a two-person, $78 minimum — so grab your dairy-loving partner or bestie and get sharing.
Attention all bourbon enthusiasts and luxury seekers. We at Concrete Playground have teamed up with Basil Hayden Bourbon to offer you the chance to win tickets for yourself and two friends to an exclusive golden hour event aboard The Jackson, Sydney's biggest superyacht, as it sails across Sydney Harbour on Thursday, March 28, from 5.30-9pm. We've got 20 triple passes up for grabs — the lucky winner will get to bring two friends along with them — so the odds are in your favour. To be in with a shot of scoring one of them, simply fill out the form below. The competition closes on Sunday, March 17 2024 at 10pm. Picture yourself basking in the golden hour glow as the sun sets over the iconic Sydney skyline, all while sipping libations crafted with Basil Hayden's finest. Two signature cocktails will be served. First up is the Golden Hour — inspired by the fleeting time before sunset and made with Basil Hayden Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, Lillet Blanc, and Aperol. Then there's the Basil Hayden Boulevardier — a refined twist on the classic with Basil Hayden Bourbon, Aperol and Dolin Rouge Sweet Vermouth. DJ beats and live saxophone jams will entertain guests aboard The Jackson as cocktails are sipped while you mingle with guests as the sun sets across the harbour. Come join us. [competition]944399[/competition]
Walking the length of Sculpture by the Sea can make for thirsty (and hungry) work. There aren’t too many points along the way where you can nip off the trail for an express snack. But the good news is that The Grounds of Alexandria is coming to the rescue, pop-up style. At Marks Park, home to some of the best views between Bondi and Tamarama, they’ll be setting up a temporary cafe by the name of The Grounds by the Sea. All the holistic goodness and gorgeous design of the Alexandria site will be reincarnated at the seaside for just 19 days. Grounds stylist Therese Moussa will be setting the tone, while Grounds co-director Ramzey Choker has put together a specially designed menu. As you would expect, it is based on a seed-to-plate philosophy. All produce is seasonal and sourced from the finest growers and producers in the local vicinity. Meanwhile, co-director and world latte champion Jack Hanna will be bringing his skilful team of baristas to the site. A variety of caffeinated solutions will be on offer, with both Synesso machines and a filter brew bar working from dawn to dusk. The Grounds by the Sea will be open between 7am and 7pm every day throughout Sculpture by the Sea, which runs from October 23 to November 9.
When a restaurant proves so popular that it has to open up a second site, everybody wins. In China Diner's case, fans of the Bondi favourite get a second place to get their share-style Chinese cuisine fix, while those in the vicinity of Double Bay get a new Asian eatery. Setting up shop on Kiora Lane, China Diner's new venue still boasts the dumplings, duck pancakes and other dishes that have already made it such a hit; however, there's more than just tried-and-tested tastiness on the menu here. In a move reminiscent of executive chef Jack James Steer's approach to Cantonese cooking, the Double Bay digs blends the traditional and the modern courtesy of a few fresh selections. Existing fans can savour another serving of crispy pork bao with apple and carrot kimchi, or chicken and sesame 'chiko' spring rolls with blood plum sauce, while newcomers can try the new concoction that is Steer's chicken and sweet corn soup topped with truffle foam. Drinks-wise, China Diner Double Bay serves up a creative cocktail list that similarly aims to showcase the restaurant's love for its chosen cuisine, and Asian food in general — think the lemongrass and coconut sour (with lemongrass-infused Wyborowa vodka, citrus and coconut foam), as well as share jugs of samurai Pimms (with Kirei sake, Pimms, mint, strawberry, orange and dry ginger ale). Throw in decor that mixes cocktail stools, open tables and booths, as inspired by the American diner vibe, and the scene is set for a relaxed, playful and delicious Chinese dining experience. Find China Diner Double Bay at 16 Kiaora Lane, Double Bay, or visit the restaurant's website for further details.
When you think of the Big Apple, you can't help the image of a yellow taxi springing to mind. That's even if, like me, you've never been there. It's the brightest of American icons and it's about to get a Japanese makeover. Automaker Nissan has won the exclusive 10-year, US$1 billion contract to produce the city's fleet of 13,200 yellow taxis. Nissan's North American take on the NV200, a model already in use in Europe and Asia, won over finalist manufacturers Ford and Karsan, from Turkey. Previously, the taxis of New York City have been produced by Ford: Crown Victorias and hybrid Ford Escapes. These models will be phased out over a 3 to 5 year period to make way for Nissan's new model. [Via Jalopnik]
Looking for a place to grab a bite in Woolloomooloo that's not super fancy? Up until now, your only option has been Harry's Cafe de Wheels, but it looks like that's finally about to change. Opening this Monday, March 14 on Cowper Wharf Roadway, right across the street from Harry's famous pie cart, Smashed Burger is your casual alternative to the area's high-end dining scene, and the latest in a string of new Sydney burger joints we can't wait to try. The meaty menu at Smashed includes a beef brisket burger made with beetroot, lettuce, tomato, bacon, swiss cheese and aioli mustard; a chicken burger with lettuce, tomato, bacon, swiss cheese, mayo and avocado aioli; a lamb burger with lettuce, tomato, bacon and yoghurt; and an Asian-style pork burger with slaw, pineapple, aioli and apple relish. The meats are put through a tenderiser (much like any meat patty), slow-roasted for 12 hours an then 'smashed' a flat-top griddle for optimum noms. The carb-conscious can get their burger in a bowl, sans bun — although, realistically, we're not sure how much healthier that makes it. Especially if you're washing it down with one of their insane sounding thick shakes, with names like Mean Bean, Smashed Fudge Brownie and Toffee Choc Smash. A take-out only establishment, Smashed Burger will be open from 7am to late seven days a week. Find them at Shop 2, 57 Cowper Wharf Roadway, Woolloomooloo. For more information, check them out on Facebook.
In true education-institution style, Sydney University announces the 2009 Degree Show at its art school affiliate, Sydney College of the Arts, to be "a chance for all students to stand together with their peers and reflect on their achievements as well as their goals for the future". Bah! While this may be true, did they really have to put it like that?Let's re-phrase. A bloody great opportunity to see the final year works of some 270 art students (and for them, the chance to show it), the SCA Degree Show kicks off a month of the Big Three — SCA, College of Fine Arts and National Art School. All up the work of over 700 students of sculpture, painting, jewellery, glass, ceramics, photography, new media and design will be exhibited. There'll be plenty of duds, for sure, but you can bet your bones the next big thing in art is in there somewhere. Sydney College of the Arts - Rozelle Campus, Balmain Rd, RozelleUndergraduate Degree Show - Opens Tuesday 17 (6.00pm) - Friday 27 NovemberPostgraduate Degree Show - Opens Wednesday 9 (6.00pm) - Wednesday 16 December College of Fine ArtsCnr Oxford St and Greens Rd, PaddingtonCOFA Annual - Opens Tuesday 24 (6.00pm) - Sunday 29 NovemberNational Art SchoolForbes St, DarlinghurstHonours Show on now - Thursday 3 DecemberDegree Show - Friday 4 - Tuesday 15 December Image: Marguerite Walsh, Phantom Limb. BVA (Honours), Photomedia.
Keeping plants alive is a struggle many of us have experienced — we get swept up in decorating our homes with beautiful greenery, only to find it looking sad and withered a week or two later. Luckily, Forest Life is coming to the rescue by opening Sydney's first terrarium nursery, where you'll be able to stock up on a range of terrarium plants, which, reassuringly, require minimal maintenance. Despite having been founded 18 months ago, this is the first time Forest Life will open its doors to the public, with the official launch of the Terrarium World Nursery set to take place on April 22 and 23 at their Annangrove location. There will be plenty of plants, soil mixes and decorative pieces available to purchase, as well as vegan and vegetarian eats supplied by Mama Linh's. Terrarium enthusiasts will want to get in quick — the Facebook event page has been inundated with expressions of interest. The Terrarium World Nursery Opening Weekend will take place on Saturday, April 22 from 10am to 4pm and Sunday, April 23 from 10am to 3pm.
Prepare for another actively sedentary June: the Sydney Film Festival has announced its full program for 2014. It's a canny balancing act between hotly anticipated preview screenings and little known international gems by festival director Nashen Moodley, with the Sydney Film Festival Hub tying things together over a vino at the Town Hall. "We feel this program represents the best of international film in the last 12 months," said Moodley at the program launch, and the best of the best are surely found in the SFF Official Competition. Doing dual duties as the opening night film is 20,000 Days on Earth, the Nick Cave documentary that's said to defy categorisation and won two gongs at Sundance. Formal experimentation is a bit of a theme in this year's competition, which also features Richard Linklater's Boyhood, a family drama which he shot with the same actors (Ethan Hawke, Patricia Arquette and kids Ellar Coltrane and Lorelei Linklater) over a 12-year period; Iranian director Shahram Mokri's Fish & Cat, shot in a single 134-minute take and based on a real news report; and The Kidnapping of Michel Houellebecq, starring the controversial author himself in a fictional scenario based on real-life rumours. David Michod's Animal Kingdom follow-up, The Rover, and Amiel Courtin-Wilson (Hail) and Michael Cody's Ruin are also ones to watch. The SFF Hub is not only returning for a third time but expanding its presence at the Town Hall to encompass the Treasury Room upstairs. As well as its scintillating lineup of talks and performances, this year it's decked out with designer furniture showcasing the legacy of the Eameses, a TITLE pop-up shop, Gelato Messina cart, vintage photo booth and the festival's discount ticket booth. A definitive highlight among the Hub's cinematic tangents is the Vladmaster Viewmaster Experience by artist Vladimir, who hijacks the classic toy for art purposes, crafting a story you experience click by click. Also featured are talks Altman on Altman (with son Robert Altman) and Eames on Eames (with grandson Eames Demetrios), film trivia, a film critics death match and Hugh Hamilton's Rosebud exhibition of film star portraits. All the popular streams in the festival return, including Freak Me Out, Sounds on Screen, The Box Set, International Documentaries and Documentary Australia Foundation Award for Australian Documentary. Special presentations at the State Theatre include the much-anticipated/mocked Zach Braff movie Wish I Was Here, Michel Gondry's scribbly Noam Chomsky doco Is The Man Who Is Tall Happy?, and the directorial debut from the writer of Drive, The Two Faces of January. These films you'll be able to see in cinemas later in the year, but this is your chance to see them in stately picture-palace surrounds (and see them before everyone else). The festival closes with What We Do in the Shadows, which is just what you'd expect of such a highbrow event — an NZ vampire mockumentary from the makers of Flight of the Conchords. Check out our top ten picks of the Sydney Film Festival. https://youtube.com/watch?v=7w1E5ibqEd4
Moseying along George Street can involve many things. Rushing to get the train at Town Hall, weaving in and out of QVB or The Galeries, trying to avoid throngs of people doing the same thing — they're all on the list. But on Friday, December 3, the stretch between Market and Park streets will host a huge three-course lunch, serving 600 people right there on the pavement. The literally sprawling al fresco midday meal is fittingly called George Street Long Lunch, with Chat Thai's Palisa Anderson, Kitchen by Mike's Mike McEnearney, Glass Brasserie's Luke Mangan and Continental Delicatessen's Michael Nicolian all whipping up dishes. It'll also come with a soundtrack, thanks to George Ellis Orchestra featuring Josh Pyke, as well as the Hot Potato Band. If you're wondering why Sydneysiders are being asked to sit down for lunch in the middle of the city street, it's part of a day-long series of dining pop-ups around town that's been dubbed Sydney's Open for Lunch. Aiming to give the city's hospitality sector a boost, the overarching event is all about long-table lunches, other dining and drinking activations, and just spending a day out of the house as Sydney recovers from this year's lengthy lockdown. While the George Street lunch is one of the event's big drawcards, Sydney's Open for Lunch will span across the city — through the CBD, Chinatown, Barangaroo and Parramatta. At the latter, a Parramatta Long Lunch will take place at Parramatta Square, catering for 400 people. There, Ruse Bar and Brasserie, Ciccia Bella and Lilymu will serve up a three-course meal, while Winston Surfshirt, Milan Ring and Nardean will keep diners entertained. [caption id="attachment_807542" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Kitti Gould[/caption] Other events include South Eveleigh's own pop-up, complete with a menu curated by Kylie Kwong; her new eatery, Lucky Kwong, is located in the precinct. Re's Matt Whiley will be on cocktail duty, and you can expect to pair hokkien noodles and five-spiced tofu salad with tipples made with surplus whole fruit, gin, whole mango, ancho chilli and more. The event runs from 10am–10pm, and there'll also be a dance floor — with a mirror ball, and The Original Roman vs Boogie Fingers, Levins vs Joyride, Ayabatonye, Deepa and Tyson Koh on the decks. In the YCK Laneways precinct around York, Clarence and Kent streets in the CBD, the Prince of York will host a 125-seat lunch on Barrack Street — serving up modern-Australian fare with Japanese influences — while plenty of bars will do their own midday spread. Since I Left You will have a three-course option called A Taste of Kent Street, with each course provided by a nearby restaurant, while Esteban is doing a Mexican-inspired feast. And, the likes of Sammy Junior, Spawn Point, Stitch Bar, The Swinging Cat, The Lobo, Uncle Ming's, Grandma's Bar and Redoak Boutique Beer Cafe will all host live music. While there's clearly a middle-of-the-day focus in Sydney's Open for Lunch's moniker, the festivities in South Eveleigh and YCK Laneways will both run right through until the evening. Sydney's Open for Lunch is part of the New South Wales Government's CBDs Revitalisation Program, with NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet advising that the event will signal "to the world that Sydney is open for business and that our world-renowned lifestyle is returning." "We know the last few months have been tough; this event is a chance to revive the spirit of our city by bringing people together to enjoy some of our most talented chefs and performers," the Premier continued. Sydney's Open for Lunch will take place across Sydney on Friday, December 3. For further details, head to the event's website — and to buy tickets, head to Ticketek. Top image: Destination NSW.
Located amongst the hustle and bustle of inner-Sydney's Sussex Street, Home Thai is the type of Thai restaurant with an electric energy, deliciously fresh meals and friendly service that all makes you feel like you might not be in Sydney at all, — rather on holidays in Bangkok, feasting on an authentic Thai feast. The place is easy to find; just look for the queue forming out the front and take your place. But don't worry, with a main dining room adjoining the open planned kitchen as well as a mezzanine above, the turnover here is pretty quick and you won't be waiting long. The fare is authentic Thai, with entrees including classics such as prawn cakes, curry puffs and spring rolls, and more adventurous offerings including pandan leaf chicken and Thai style chicken wings. The satay chicken wings are bangers while the grilled pork neck is perfectly succulent and juicy. To compliment the mains, the team suggest choosing one of the many special salads. The soft shell crab and papaya salad is both sweet and spicy while the som tum salty crab with anchovy is — you guessed it — as salty and moorish as it gets. If you're after a curry, opt for the classic massaman beef which will melt in your mouth or the tom yum seafood in coconut broth with king prawns and mussels. The red and green curries are two spicy options to satisfy the heat seekers as well. For a main, give some thought to the crispy pork belly in chilli basil with a side of egg fried rice or Home Thai's pad thai — that is just about the best in Sydney.
The Mark Morris Dance Group and Music Ensemble arrives at the Opera House with four Australian premiere works. The company, which generally tours, teaches and contributes to community in its New York stomping ground, aims to make modern dance and music accessible to all (note: a dance development program for people living with Parkinson's coincides with this tour). The company’s founder and namesake, Mark Morris, is known for joyful and witty works that attempt to shake up the dance world. A conductor and opera director (as well as dancer/choreographer), Morris makes dance works that have an intrinsic union with music. The company rehearses and performs with its own collective of musicians, so that music is one part of an evolving conversation between sound and movement, never an afterthought. The work of Mark Morris Dance Group is so invigorating, it prompted Fergus Linehan, former Sydney Festival director to remark, “Anyone who is interested in music, dance and art generally in the 20th and 21st century must see this work.”
If you're still struggling to work out how to "throw a shrimp on the barbie" without burning it into a chewy mess, then the Sydney Seafood School is here to help. And, while your teenage self may have been counting down the days in December till you were officially on end-of-year holidays, this time it's cool to head back to school. Some of Australia's most celebrated chefs will be heading to the Sydney Fish Market between Monday, November 21, 2022 and Sunday, February 26, 2023 to host a series of interactive classes that'll deliver a crash course in cooking with crustaceans and all their fishy counterparts. On the menu: lots of fun and a little mess (if you've ever handled squid ink you'll understand), with a range of live, hands-on lessons that are suitable for both starters and seafood specialists. Classes will be run by guest chefs Karen Martini, Martin Boetz and Sean Connolly, as well as writer, gourmet farmer and television personality Matthew Evans and fisherman, Sydney Fish Market tour guide and TikTok star Alex Stollznow. With dishes inspired by cuisines from around the world, you'll be sure to find a cooking experience that suits your palate, from a Mexican fiesta to a culinary journey through Morocco. Sure, summer in Sydney may traditionally be about beers by the beach and all of the fresh fruit, but we're adding cooking lessons with some of the country's best foodies to the list. Browse the full schedule for Sydney Seafood School's summer series and book your spot via the website.
World-renowned masterpieces such as Michelangelo's David have established the blank human canvas as an artwork; however, a recent series of naturist tours has artist Stuart Ringholt taking this to the next level by not only appearing naked himself but requiring all tour participants to also turn up in the flesh. Officially titled Preceded by a tour of the show by artist Stuart Ringholt 6-8pm (the artist will be naked. Those who wish to join the tour must also be naked. Adults only), the tour has already taken place at Tasmania's Museum of Old and New Art and Melbourne's Australian Centre for Contemporary Art. At such tours, Ringholt has allowed guests to gain a new perspective on existing works by viewing them in a new context where getting kitless is mandatory. Importantly, these tours have taken place outside of the standard venue opening hours, so there is no fear of outsiders or general creepers peeking in. Hypochondriacs will be relieved to know that you can keep your sneakers on, but it might be hard to choose a pair that will match the rest of your outfit. Ringholt's art has long been equally confrontational and controversial. In one of his performance pieces, the aptly titled Embarrassment, Ringholt placed himself in some red-faced situations. These included one instance where he walked in public with toilet paper hanging from his pants. Other pieces have documented a period of his life in the mid-'90s where he suffered from a drug addiction and subsequent psychotic episodes. Sydneysiders will now have a chance to experience Stuart Ringholt in all his naked glory when he conducts these tours at the Museum of Contemporary Art on April 27-29, 2012. Bookings for these sessions open on March 1, and enthusiasts would be wise to get in early after the high demand in other Australian cities. These will be open to adults only. Birthday suit up.
