It kicked off more than four decades ago with one of the best horror movies ever made; however the Halloween franchise has been through quite a few ups and downs over the years. Clocking up ten follow-ups and 11 movies in total so far, the slasher series has delivered excellent and terrible sequels, veered into remake territory, both killed off and brought back its heroine, and completely erased parts of its own past several times. But, like its mask-wearing villain Michael Myers, it always finds a way to go on. Since 2018's Halloween, that's been especially great news — with the Jamie Lee Curtis-starring, Jason Blum-produced 11th flick in the franchise proving a smart, thrilling horror delight, and ranking second only to the movie that started it all. Indeed, the movie was such a success that two more sequels are set to come from the same team (aka Blum, writer/director David Gordon Green and co-scribe Danny McBride): Halloween Kills and Halloween Ends. Originally, Halloween Kills was due to hit screens his year, in October — when else? — but, as announced this week by franchise creator John Carpenter, it's now moving back its release to October 2021. As the iconic filmmaker explained via social media, "if we release it in October this year as planned, we have to face the reality that the film would be consumed in a compromised theatrical experience. After weighing our options, we have chosen to push the film's theatrical release by one year". Fans will now need to postpone their return trip to Haddonfield and their next encounter with Curtis' spirited Laurie Strode and her lifelong nemesis — but, if you're wondering what's in store, Carpenter also unveiled Halloween Kills' first teaser trailer. As the 30-second clip shows, the sequel is picking up where the last movie left off. Cue the iconic, Carpenter-composed theme music, obviously. Carpenter also noted that the new film has "lined up a cast of legacy characters... alongside some new faces, [and] we aggressively made the second chapter of our Halloween trilogy. It unfolded into an experience that was a creative playground and we feel confident that our misfit pleasures will be seen as an unexpected entry into this franchise". Check out the Halloween Kills teaser trailer below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHhZDYVoV7w Halloween Kills will release in Australian cinemas on October 15, 2021.
For the first time in over two decades, the Grammy Awards will take place in March this year, after the music industry's night of nights was postponed due to a surge in COVID-19 cases in Los Angeles. The ceremony has been pushed back from its original date of Sunday, January 31, and will now be held on Sunday, March 14 Pacific Time. For Australian viewers looking to tune into the ceremony, the new date to mark in your calendar is Monday, March 15. In a joint statement regarding the postponement from Chair and Interim President/CEO of the Recording Academy Harvey Mason Jr, CBS executive Jack Sussman and show producer Ben Winston, the worsening COVID-19 situation in LA was cited as the reason for the postponement. "The deteriorating COVID situation in Los Angeles, with hospital services being overwhelmed, ICUs having reached capacity, and new guidance from state and local governments have all led us to conclude that postponing our show was the right thing to do," reads the statement. The announcement comes after a record 29,464 new COVID-19 cases in Los Angeles County were reported in a single day on Saturday, December 26. There are currently 7898 COVID patients currently hospitalised in Los Angeles County. Leading the 2021 list of Grammy nominees is Beyoncé with nine nominations for her song 'Black Parade' and her collaboration with rapper Megan thee Stallion 'Savage (Remix)'. Australians Tame Impala and Flume are nominated for awards in the Best Alternative Music Album and Best Dance Recording categories respectively. Flume previously took out the Best Dance/Electronic Album Award in 2017 for his album Skin, while Tame Impala have been nominated twice previously but have never won. You can find the full list of nominees via the Grammy Awards' website. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCRiUi28UpA The 63rd Annual Grammy Awards have been postponed to Sunday, March 14, 2021 Pacific Time — which is Monday, March 15, 2021 in Australia. For further information, head to the Grammy Awards website. Top images: Grammy Awards, M.Johnson / Flume, Andy Fraser.
When Sydneysiders want to spend a day carving up the snow, they usually have to jump in a car for at least five hours and head to one of NSW's ski resorts. But, in a few years, it might be as easy as jumping on a train to Penrith, thanks to a new $200-million indoor Winter Sports World that's been proposed for the city. Set to be built in Jamisontown on the corner of Jamison Road and Tench Avenue, the centre will include a 300-metre indoor ski slope, ice skating rink, and both ice and rock climbing facilities. If executed to plan, the proposal claims the ski slope will be one of the top ten high-performance training centres in the world. A food and drink precinct featuring bars, restaurants and cafes, and a 170-room hotel have also been included in the proposal. The development, which is currently open for public feedback, is part of the Penrith City Council's plan to double visitors and tourism revenue in the area by 2025. If it goes ahead, the development is expected to contribute $74.9 million to the NSW economy each year. Once built, the facility is hoped to provide a boost to Australia's Winter Olympians and their training. The Winter Olympics haven't traditionally been one of Australia's sporting strong suits — the national team first competed in 1936 and didn't win its first medal until 1994. The proposal has been in the works since November 2018 and is currently up for Public Exhibition on the Penrith City Council website. According to the scheduled timeline, if the development is approved the planning phase will be complete by July 2021, making way for the start of construction. If construction does kick off, it certainly won't be the only building happening in Western Sydney. Parramatta Square dining precinct is almost complete, and Badgerys Creek will soon be home to Sydney's next major airport. You can review the winter sports facility proposal and give feedback on the Penrith City Council website up until 4pm on Friday, November 6.
Who knew ballet and rock music make such a beautiful team? The newest production from the Australian Ballet, Chroma, features four contemporary works and proves that ballet is not just classical orchestration and frou-frou. The White Stripes combine with contemporary costume and minimalist set design to make this not your mum's ballet. The quadruple bill takes its title from one of the works within, Chroma, a legendary piece originally created by Wayne McGregor for The Royal Ballet of London and using the aforementioned music from the Whites. McGregor's ballet differentiates itself from the classical style, with jerky movements meant to push the limits of the dancers' bodies. "The movement can be freaky at times and shows off every joint our bodies have, sometimes all at once," says Daniel Gaudiello, the male lead in Chroma. "The body is such an amazing instrument and you witness it at its limits." Also slated for performance are twin pieces choreographed by Jirí Kylián, Petite Mort (also featuring Gaudiello) and Sechs Tanze, as well as a new original work, Art to Sky, by the Australian Ballet's resident choreographer Stephen Baynes. The contemporary dances by Kylián and Baynes are paired with the classical music of Mozart and Tchaikovsky, creating a blend of old and new ballet styles. Both Chroma and Kylián's works will feature dancers in all white or neutral costumes, highlighting the motions of the dancers. "We are in these little camisole-like chiffon outfits that are designed to complement our skin tones," says Gaudiello. "The result I think is an inside-out view of ballet through an androgynous lens." The intensity of ballet, particularly when paired with the music of The White Stripes, shows off the pure athleticism of the dancers. "I feel Australia is such an athletic country and so is the ballet," says Gaudiello. "We all feel so lucky to have the chance to try such a coveted work and I really believe we will strive in every show to put in the raw intention, attack and groove that such a difficult piece like Chroma demands." As for the stories the choreography conveys, Gaudiello tries not to sway us. "That is the beauty of contemporary ballet, sometimes the ending is up to you," he says. Chroma is on at the Sydney Opera House from April 29 to May 17. Tickets can be purchased through the Sydney Opera House website.
We all know the fun things that can happen when a nostalgic childhood treat is reimagined for a grown-up audience. And the latest collaboration from gelato masters Messina and Sydney distillery Archie Rose is certainly one of the goodies. The pair has gone and reworked the classic neapolitan ice cream combo into a limited-edition trio of spirits, heavy on the retro-tastic dessert vibes and ready for your spring cocktail sessions. Available from Monday, September 7, the Neapolitan Set features three 200-millilitre spirit varieties crafted on produce from Messina's own Aussie farms, paying homage to the familiar pink, white and brown scoops that have long graced dinner tables across Australia. There's a strawberry and pink peppercorn gin, a vanilla and pandan vodka, and a chocolate-inspired cacao husk and hazelnut whisky. Archie Rose individually distilled a swag of top-quality ingredients to create each sip and has even come up with some suggested cocktails to put them to good use. For example, the gin teams locally foraged pink peppercorn and native river mint with juicy strawberries from Messina's farm in Dural, NSW. They say this one works particularly well matched with some of Messina's strawberry sorbet in a blushing riff on the miami vice cocktail. Meanwhile, the collaboration vodka uses fragrant pandan and sustainably sourced Tongan vanilla beans to create a spirit that's the perfect addition to a grasshopper. And the whisky stars roasted hazelnuts from both Italy and the Messina farm in Seymour, Victoria, along with macerated husks from rare cacao beans. Best try that one blended with a scoop of Messina's hazelnut gelato in a creamy toblerone concoction. While the spirit set will be available to buy online and from select bottle shops, Messina will also be dishing up a supporting act with a limited-edition decorated neapolitan gelato tub up for grabs from September 7. Plus, stay tuned for a virtual neapolitan cocktail masterclass, presented by Messina and Archie Rose on September 25. Find the Archie Rose x Messina Neapolitan Set ($109) at select bottle shops, the Archie Rose bar and on the Archie Rose website, from September 7.
A lot of us miss Pinbone, but luckily, they're teaming up with Newtown favourites Young Henrys to throw a raging party with wild animals, wild weeds and "crazy, wild messed-up beers". We're not sure what that means, but we like it. Come along, find your inner beast and get loose. Email info@pinbone.com.au to book tickets. This event is one of our top ten picks of Good Food Month 2015. Check out the other nine. Image: Pinbone.
When it comes to Sydney craft beers, many would argue that brews from the inner west are best. You've got Batch, Grifter, Philter and Wildflower in Marrickville, while just up the road you'll find Willie the Boatman in St Peters, Young Henrys in Newtown, Wayward in Camperdown. Basically, you're spoiled for choice. And, to celebrate quality brews and Sydney's craft beer cradle, Leichhardt's The Royal is throwing its third annual Inner West Beer Fest. Running from 12–8pm on Saturday, November 16 and from 12–6pm on Sunday, November 17, The Royal's Inner West Beer Fest is a great day out for beer novices and enthusiasts alike. This two-day event showcases a plethora of well established and upcoming breweries, featuring some of the hipster capital's very own, including Batch and Young Henrys, as well as stalls from Akasha, Frenchies and Adelaide's Pirate Life. The festival spills out onto the street in front of the Leichhardt institution and will feature live music, crab racing and competitions for best beer or cider in various categories. Plus, you can enter the chance to win an inner west beer crawl for you and seven mates here or at the festival's ticket desk on the day. Best of all, entry to this beer bonanza is free. There'll be a couple of pop-up food stalls, plus The Royal's kitchen will be slinging its usual pub fare. Whilst the event itself is free to attend, you can buy early bird tickets ($27). The price covers five tasters, so it'll ultimately save you money on the day if you plan on sampling a few brews — and you get to skip the queues. To grab yourself an early bird ticket, head here.
Inspired by Madonna, Michael Jackson and Nine Inch Nails, Auckland based synth pop duo Computers Want Me Dead have decided they're not going to take themselves too seriously – resulting in a sound that's chaotic, almost dizzying synth pop that you can't help but pull shapes to. They've played Rhythm + Vines, Big Day Out and supported 30 Seconds to Mars – all while having only released their debut EP in March this year. They've taken over New Zealand and plan to take over the rest of the world later on this year, one synth track at a time. One half of Computers Want Me Dead, Sam Harvey, chats to Kirstie Sequitin about Gary Numan, Nine Inch Nails and embracing their inner synth pop. I read this thing on your Facebook profile last night, saying that your set is 'a whirling and buzzing tornado of sound akin to some wonderful lovechild of Gary Numan and Nine Inch Nails on ecstacy'. And then I saw that you had a photo taken with Gary the other day – did he have something to say about that? Yeah, yeah that was amazing! A friend of mine was organizing the Gary Numan show over here in Auckland, so as soon as I found out I ran in saying 'please, please, please can I meet him?' And I met him, he was the nicest guy I've ever met, it was incredible. Did he listen to your music at all? I don't know. It was funny because the friend that hosted the television show knows I'm a huge fan (of Gary) and actually gave him a copy of our CD live on air. I was like 'Oh my God, I can't believe you did that.' But, I don't know. I'd like to think that he would have heard it but yeah, no idea. Why do computers want you dead? The name is definitely ironic, because we both love computers and we're kind of nerdy in that way. But it actually comes from a friend of mine who had moved to Chicago wrote me this massive long email on MySpace, back in the day when MySpace was all the rage. So she wrote me this massive email and clicked send and… it timed out. She had spent two hours writing this email and was really really pissed off. The next email she wrote was titled 'Computers want me dead'. I was like, "I'm totally going to use that as a band name". She didn't believe me until we put out a single. What were you guys doing before Computers Want Me Dead and how did you guys start working together? I was wearing a Nine Inch Nails t-shirt at a work function and Damien came up to me and was like, "Oh yeah, I'm a fan of Nine Inch Nails too." And we just got talking. We were both talking about how we wanted to, you know, start a band, and we started jamming. We ended up moving into an apartment – I live here with Damien and his girlfriend – and it kind of just went from there. So how does a love for Nine Inch Nails translate to the stuff that you guys make together? Well, it's funny - it started off being a lot darker and kind of grittier. Then one day I changed the bass line on something and added the sort of poppy sounding synth and all of a sudden it was a different song and we just ran with that. But yeah, Nine Inch Nails are definitely a massive influence on both of us and kind of evidence of earlier stuff that we've done. I've played one of our singles to a friend of mine who is also a Nine Inch Nails fan and – I don't know if this is compliment but - he said "It sounds like Nine Inch Nails on E". And I was like, "Sweet. That's awesome". That was the coolest thing he could've said. You say that your music comes from being able to embrace pop music shamelessly; do you think other bands take themselves too seriously? Do you think that there's a bit of synth pop in every band? (laughs) I think everyone has a potential to take themselves too seriously. We're all guilty of it sometimes. But yeah, I don't know, there's some music that's more serious than others – and I'm a big fan of all kinds of stuff. I don't look at people who are really into what they're doing as taking themselves too seriously – I don't think they're pretentious or anything, but it's just not what this band is about. Computers Want Me Dead's self-titled EP is out now.
Back in December 2017, plans were revealed for The Exchange: a whizzbang, six-storey building slated for Darling Square. At the time, we knew the heart of the construction, which was designed by Japanese architect Kengo Kuma, would be a high-tech City of Sydney library. Then, in early September this year, we found out that late-night Chinatown institution Golden Century would be moving in. What we didn't know, till now, was that the building would also house a revolutionary food hall, featuring culinary creations and collaborations by some of Sydney's most popular chefs. Announced just this morning, the epic collection of eateries – called Maker's Dozen – will take over The Exchange's ground floor from mid-2019. One of its major attractions will be Pasta Wafu, a Japanese pasta shop created by Hamish Ingham and Rebecca Lines of Banksii and Kerby Craig of Ume. Look out, too, for Enmore's Saga, loaded with Andy Bowdy's scrumptious pastries, cakes and desserts; craft beer specialists Bucket Boys, who'll be opening a bar and a bottle shop; famed bakery Sonoma; and fusers of Japanese and Vietnamese goodness Mr. Bao Buns. These are just the first part of the lineup — further revelations will be coming soon. Maker's Dozen will open from dawn till late seven days a week, making sure there's always somewhere to go for brekkie, lunch, dinner, dessert or drinks. Anthony Gill Architects is taking care of the design, with a Japanese-inspired mix of natural materials, relaxing colours and tidy lines. There'll be seating for 400, giving you a choice of indoor and outdoor communal tables, as well as eatery-specific tables. Maker's Dozen is slated to open in Darling Square's The Exchange in mid-2019. We'll update you as soon as further announcements are made. Saga image by Nikki To.
Windmills have gotten a bad rap, because although they successfully harness wind energy, not many find them too aesthetically pleasing. Wouldn't it be great if there was a way to capture the same amount of wind power as a windmill without building a field of giant pinwheels? Now there is. The T-Box is a power generator that uses the force of wind created by the speed of trains to produce energy. The device would be implanted in the sleepers of train tracks and are designed to capture, store and supply converted power. Rather than relying on natural wind, the idea behind the T-Box is to take advantage of wind energy that is man-made and inevitable. A 200 metre-long train traveling at 300 kph for 1km (a total of about 18 seconds) would produce 2.6 KWh of power. Collectively, the power from a train's single journey could help people in remote areas that don't have sufficient access to electricity. Trains are already one of the most 'green' forms of travel, why not make it even more efficient?
These big award shows are a funny business. Everything is so manicured and over the top. Everyone from every film or TV series you've seen seems to be there, but they're not quite right. They're not the character you really know them as, or they're too liquored up to look like anyone at all. Since the internet has risen up and eaten most of our free time, these shows have become a bit of a smorgasbord though. We don't really care about the glitz or the glamour of it, we kind of just want something funny to post on our Twitter feed. Every great joke or horrible mistake becomes well-known within minutes. Did something embarrassing happen to Matt Damon? Was Jennifer Lawrence being funny? Did Tina Fey and Amy Poehler channel Britney and Madonna for an on-stage kiss? In the interest of saving time, the answers to those questions are yes, yes, and unfortunately no. Here's your cheat sheet for the rest. 1. The Red Carpet Went Horribly Wrong Red carpets are usually pretty awkward. Most stars really just want to get inside to the open bar, and most reporters seem gloriously starstruck or out of their depth asking inane questions about manicure styles or the benefits of open toed heels versus closed. But this year's pre-show entertainment took awkward to a whole new level when E! Entertainment broadcasted some inappropriate 'fun facts' during their live stream of the event. These included 'FUN FACT: Michael J. Fox was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 1991' and 'FUN FACT: Robert Redford was stricken with polio as a child.' As if that wasn't enough of a dampener, the red carpet also suffered a small flash flood after a sprinkler malfunctioned. Luckily that was before the ceremony, and after a small delay Ryan Seacrest resumed his post as the weird plasticky go-to man, and stars like Elisabeth Moss rebelled the ceremony in their own small ways like flipping off the obligatory mani-cam. Go team. https://youtube.com/watch?v=Y-XGTLfaG3Y 2. Tina Fey and Amy Poehler Killed It This was always going to happen. Although it's always hard to shake images of Liz Lemon and Leslie Knope from your mind, these girls were perfect together last year and rekindled the magic for an impressive second show — they even called it in their opening monologue (duologue?): "When something kinda works, you keep doing it till everybody hates it." I don't think that will be any time soon however as all their one-liners hit the marks hard. Targets included George Clooney as they stated "Gravity [was] the story about how George Clooney would rather float away into space and die than spend one more minute with a woman his own age." Jonah Hill also got a dig off the back of his upcoming release The Wolf of Wall Street: "If I wanted to see Jonah Hill masturbate at a pool party, I would have gone to one of Jonah Hill's pool parties." Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Tom Hanks (or Tam Honks) and Matthew McConaughey also got a mention, but do yourself a favour and watch the whole thing here. 3. People were still making fun of Matt Damon Matt Damon was another mark hit in the opening monologue when Poehler said, "Matt, on any other night in any other room, you would be a big deal. But tonight — and don't take this the wrong way — you're basically a garbage person." Being the good sport that he is, when presenting on stage he then followed up with, "It's me, the garbage man. The garbage man who didn't bring his glasses. Fantastic." We know it's cruel, but there seems to be something so satisfying about making fun of this man. Team America was released nearly 10 years ago now, and he's done nothing to deserve it, but it's still so hard to say his name with a straight face. 4. Jennifer Lawrence was there (and she won) 2013 has already been deemed the year of J-Law, but we don't see the hype dying anytime soon. Right from the beginning she was causing a fuss as the entire internet exploded with something to say about her dress. So what if it's Christian Dior? She knows we love her. We have to knock her down a peg or two every so often just like we would an annoying little sister going to the formal. Before making it through the door, she already reclaimed her throne as queen of GIFs as she snuck up on Taylor Swift and joked about pushing her over. She then won Best Supporting Actress for her role in American Hustle, and followed it up with a press conference saying she needed to "catch up on her drinking". She'll be our dream babe forever. 5. People Were Drunk This is more of an educated guess than a hard observation, but hey, Emma Thompson threw her shoes over her shoulder and downed a martini on stage, Amy Poehler kissed Bono and Tina Fey compared Leonardo Dicaprio to a supermodel's vagina. I wish there was more context to each of these things, but that's really about all we can offer. Time to grab some icecream & switch over to #GIRLS — mia farrow (@MiaFarrow) January 13, 2014 6. Mia Farrow used Twitter to its full catty potential Woody Allen was a winner (of sorts) at the year's show as he received a lifetime achievement award. Star of his cult classic Annie Hall, Diane Keaton accepted the award on his behalf and praised in particular the women of Woody Allen's filmic world. "They struggle, they love, they fall apart, they dominate, they're flawed. They are, in fact, the hallmark of Woody's work," she said. Unfortunately the same cannot be said for the women of Woody's life off-screen as his ex-wife Mia Farrow took to Twitter and decided his tribute the perfect moment to tune out and catch the season premiere of Girls. No one can really blame her. 7. Things Got Awkward It wouldn't be an awards ceremony without someone overstaying their welcome during the speeches. This year, that cringe-worthy crowning moment belonged solely to Jacqueline Bisset. After winning Best Supporting Actress in a TV Mini-Series for her work in Dancing on the Edge, Bisset embarked on a strange bumbling journey into the unknown that was presumably just as painful for her to deliver as it was for us to watch. Problems on stage continued as an autocue failed for Jonah Hill and Margot Robbie, and Andy Samberg didn't have a speech at all after winning Best Actor in a Comedy Series. He then strangely copped a kiss on the lips from Modern Family's Julie Bowen. Awkward star contact continued when P. Diddy gave Bono a hug that was clearly a little off consensual. (We could watch that GIF forever.) 8. The Right People Won There's nothing more infuriating than sitting through an entire awards show, then seeing the cheesiest and least exciting shows take home the prizes. There's obviously going to be some disconnect between your opinion and that of the Hollywood Foreign Press, but still — it's nice when everything works out. Aside from J-Law, other winners included Breaking Bad for Best TV Drama and Bryan Cranston for his role in the lead. After their shocking loss at the Emmy's last year, this win seems the perfect way to see off the prolific show after its final episode late last year. Aaron Paul even summoned one final "Yeah, bitch," before leaving the stage pleasing millions of internet users worldwide. The top acting awards rightfully went out to Leonardo Dicaprio for The Wolf of Wolf Street and Cate Blanchett for her amazing work in Woody Allen's Blue Jasmine, and the top films were American Hustle and 12 Years A Slave. Amy Poehler finally got commended for her work as Leslie Knope in Parks and Recreation, and most importantly of all, both Modern Family and The Big Bang Theory received nothing. A good night was had by all.
Wish you could sample more wines, but don't have the time to go tasting every weekend? The folks behind Nomad, Sydney's inner-city cellar door, hear you. They've launched a brand new wine club, which brings local, seasonal, boutique and obscure drops to your doorstep. The Nomad Wine Club selection changes every month, with two membership categories catering for various budgets and wine drinking capacities. The first, 'the admirer', costs 90 bucks and gets you three bottles per month. The second, 'the enthusiast', is $185 per month and scores you six bottles. The wines on offer at the moment all retail at around $30 a bottle, which is consistent with the pricing of the packs — what you're paying for is the curation. Nomad has been showcasing wines from all over Australia since 2013 and anyone who's familiar with the restaurant's "4000-kilometre-long" wine list will know that the focus is on small, independent operations. These winemakers aren't afraid to step out and do things a bit differently — whether it be growing exotic varieties or experimenting with alternative winemaking techniques. "We wanted to offer something for everyone…from those wanting to dip their toes in the wonderful world of wine to those in search of something a little more adventurous," said Rebecca Yazbek, co-founder. "I hope our Nomad Wine Club will help take the stress out of the looming bottle shop shelves and bring the incredible producers we are lucky enough to work with into people's homes." Delivery is available across Sydney and is included in the membership price. You can get your membership started over here, or head on in to the restaurant to taste this month's selection.
Han Solo famously made the Kessel Run in 12 parsecs, Anakin Skywalker pod-raced his way to freedom and now Australian Star Wars fans can jog their way around a neon-hued galaxy. Even better — Aussie aficionados of George Lucas' space saga can not only run five kilometres through themed zones lit up brighter than a lightsaber, but also enjoy an intergalactic after party at the end of it. As part of 2019's 'May the Fourth' celebrations, Melbourne will welcome the first-ever Aussie Star Wars Neon Run. Yes, it's taking place on the appropriate date of Saturday, May 4, 2019, aka Star Wars day. Once evening hits, a yet-to-be-revealed Melbourne location will feel the force in a big way, and so will everyone choosing to walk, jog or sprint through spaces inspired by the series' stories, characters and icons. You'll be honouring your favourite movie franchise while exercising underneath neon light shows and fireworks, with the specifics — not only where it'll take place, but which figures will pop up, which music act will be playing the gig afterwards, what the interactive areas will entail and how much merchandise will be on offer — yet to be revealed. That said, this event has the official stamp of approval. The Walt Disney Company Australia is behind the Star Wars Neon Run, and given that it's the Aussie arm of the global company that owns, makes and releases all things Star Wars, you can expect the main event village and everything around it to be filled to the brim with appropriate theming. Tickets for this fun run-slash-Star Wars party don't come cheap, starting at $55 per person in the event pre-sale. If you're gathering the gang, forming a Rebel Alliance — aka running as a team — is welcome. All attendees will receive access to the run, main event village and shenanigans afterwards, plus a race bib, a Star Wars Neon Run headband and a sound-activated flashband as well. If you finish, you'll also receive a limited edition finisher's medal that'll make you the envy of any cantina you walk into. And, unsurprisingly, dressing up in costume is highly recommended. We all want to know whether Rey can beat Princess Leia in a footrace, after all — or whether Chewbacca, R2-D2 or BB-8 is the fastest sidekick. The Star Wars Neon Run takes place on Saturday, May 4, 2019 at a yet-to-be-announced location in Melbourne, with pre-sale tickets available now.
Not to be missed at Crave Sydney International Food Festival is Breakfast at Bondi on Sunday, October 14, from the nippy, seize-the-day hour of 5.30am. Imagine watching the sunrise over Bondi beach in time to a full symphony orchestra with soprano Lorina Gore, from Opera Australia, joining in. Now picture this scene with your own BYO breakfast (or having grabbed something from one of the surfside food stalls), alongside a few of your closest thousand friends. You could bring some fruit salad, sip coffee in a thermos, or plate up a full English breakfast with all the trimmings from tupperware to give food envy to all around you. Or you could just pay to get into the VIP area to have Bill Granger make you brekkie. Maybe you could catch a few waves after, or have a nap in the sunshine to digest and plan the day ahead. Picnic blanket essential.
Meet Australian cinema's new heroine. Myrtle 'Tilly' Dunnage (Kate Winslet) wouldn't consider herself a star at anything other than making stunning dresses, nor does she try to conquer anything but her own doubts and cruel small-town gossip. However, she's the guiding force in a film that warmly embraces local flavour, deftly navigates everything from drama to mystery to comedy, and serves up an offbeat, engaging time at the movies. Tilly is the titular figure in The Dressmaker, which charts her homecoming to outback Australia after being driven away as a child. Scandal surrounds her return, linked to the death of a boy years ago. She can't remember all the details, yet is determined to do whatever it takes to put together the pieces. Her mother, 'Mad' Molly (Judy Davis), isn't much help, and most of the townsfolk barely offer a hello. Only the handsome, lovelorn Teddy McSwiney (Liam Hemsworth) and the secretly fashion-conscious Sergeant Farrat (Hugo Weaving) give Tilly a warm welcome, until the rest of her neighbours get wind of her winning ways with a sewing machine, that is. Soon, she's transforming the drab populace of housewives and shopkeepers' daughters with Parisian designs — but, as often proves the case in such insular, one-street communities, their newfound politeness can't always be trusted. If Tilly's scenario sounds like a bit of a mixed bag of figures and genres, that's because it is. The motley crew of characters she's surrounded by includes a stern schoolteacher (Kerry Fox), mean pharmacist (Barry Otto) and more, as played by a who's who of Australian actors (Sarah Snook, Gyton Grantley, Rebecca Gibney, Shane Jacobson, Alison Whyte, Shane Bourne and Sacha Horler among them). Her story flits between romance and revenge, laughs and long-held secrets, and standoffs and tears. Happy moments are followed by sad, with the film's tone veering in several directions. Thankfully, though, none of this mishmash of elements can be seen as a bad thing. Even when it threatens not to work, it still does — and in quite striking fashion. Skipping between seemingly mismatched parts is what The Dressmaker does best; this is a movie that introduces its lead with the words "I’m back, you bastards," then later has her stop a footy match by showing up in a jaw-dropping outfit, after all. There's always a bit of quirkiness, though not too much, to balance out the darker narrative threads, or some stunning sartorial sights to brighten up the frame, or a sympathetic exchange between Tilly, Teddy and/or Molly to temper the broader strokes of comedy. Accordingly, it's a fine return to film for writer/director Jocelyn Moorhouse — making her first feature since 1997’s A Thousand Acres — who brings Rosalie Ham’s 2000 novel of the same name to the screen with verve and then some. It's also a fine return to Australian shores for Winslet, who starred in the locally made Holy Smoke back in 1999, and hasn't lost her gift for our accent. That's not Winslet's only strength, nor the handsomely shot, 1951-set film's either. She perfects the mix of determined and vulnerable that Tilly radiates— though Davis, Weaving and Hemsworth do their parts, stealing scenes with one-liners, making a supporting player more than comic relief, and oozing allure and emotion respectively. Together, they make for a multifaceted bunch, as does The Dressmaker as a whole. And if the film encourages Australian audiences to see homegrown fare in a cinema — as it should — then it's a champion in its own right, alongside its shining protagonist.
If Brisbane has a centrepiece other than the river snaking through the city, it's the most-famous bridge that sits atop the waterway. The Story Bridge is one of the Queensland capital's best-known landmarks. Its steel expanse is frequently the image used to depict Brissie. Now, whether you're a local or a tourist, it's also the perfect place to explore the city from a great height and from a First Nations viewpoint in tandem. Scaling the Story Bridge thanks to Story Bridge Adventure Climb has been a quintessential Brisbane activity since 2005. Taking in the stunning vista is only part of the new Indigenous Story Bridge Adventure Climb experience, however. You'll still reach the structure's heights, but you'll do so led by either Birrunga Wiradyuri and Jessica Skeen, with the two artists sharing stories about history, Country and culture in Meanjin along the way. Set to open in August 2024 — and already taking bookings from Tuesday, August 6 onwards — this is a two-hour, first-of-its-kind climb that's all about sharing the First Nations perspective on the city and honouring the storytelling that goes with it. Story Bridge Adventure Climb, Howard Smith Wharves and Birrunga Gallery, Wiradyuri's gallery, are behind the new experience. And while the new climb itself promises a must-do addition to Brissie, you can also expand it with native herb- and spice-seasoned crocodile and kangaroo as part of an Indigenous food platter, plus Skeen's boomerang-painting workshop. Via the Birrunga Gallery Cultural Creative Development Program, artist talks will also be on offer, and so will workshops about the importance of place. "Storytelling is an important part of Indigenous culture across Australia. Creating this experience with my friends and colleagues has been an incredibly rewarding and exciting process," said Wiradyuri. "Our goal is simple: it's to provide a safe, inclusive and creative space to immerse yourself in the history, tradition and practices of First Nations Australians. The bridge climb represents the upward journey we are on together and like all journeys, it starts with one foot in front of the other." "We hope that visitors take away a fresh perspective on Brisbane, art and their life. It's more than just a bucket-list experience, it's an opportunity to see life from another point of view." Brisbane's Indigenous Story Bridge Adventure Climb starts operating from Tuesday, August 6, 2024 — head to the Story Bridge Adventure Climb website for further details and bookings.
Starting March 30, the Museum of Sydney will host an exhibition celebrating the most adored spots in Sydney, and the unusual things that happen there. The exhibition will explore the way the public shapes some of Sydney's most iconic places — Bennelong Point, the Museum of Sydney, Hyde Park, Central Station and Town Hall. You, as the public, will be able to tell your own stories, either online or at the exhibition, about what makes you stop, look, embrace and live in the beautiful city of Sydney.
For two weeks only, Grey Goose Vodka, Luxe Bakery and Yellow will be partnering up for La Boulangerie — a bakery bar with a French twist. By day, Yellow will be a French-inspired bakery with pastries made from the same winter wheat as Grey Goose, and in a Batman-like move, it'll serve a five-course modern French menu with matching vodka cocktails when the sun goes down. This tasting menu showcases the best of the spirit and is crafted by head chef Brent Savage. Not keen on starting dinner on an empty stomach? Head over to Salon de Martini in Yellow House. A bespoke martini bar, it is sure to help you start your night deliciously. The bar is only open for three nights, from August 27–29, so you may want to pencil that into your calendar right now. This collaboration is set to shake (not stir) the Sydney foodisphere.
When the end of August hits, Greater Sydney will have been in lockdown for a very lengthy nine weeks. The region's stay-at-home stint hasn't just expanding in duration, however. Lockdowns have also been spreading across New South Wales as new positive COVID-19 cases pop up, including in Tamworth, Armidale, Newcastle, Lake Macquarie, Maitland, Port Stephens, Singleton, Dungog, Muswellbrook and Cessnock. And, since 6pm on Monday, August 9, four Local Government Areas on the NSW north coast have been put under stay-at-home conditions as well. Until at least Tuesday, August 17, the Byron Shire, Richmond Valley, Lismore and Ballina Shire LGAs are now under the same lockdown rules that Sydneysiders have been experiencing since the end of June. The stay-at-home order was announced "following updated health advice from NSW Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant," NSW Health announced in a statement — and the new restrictions apply to everyone who lives in these areas, or has been there, on or after Saturday, July 31. The change comes after a man tested positive to COVID-19 in the area, after arriving in Byron from Sydney. As a result, it means that residents can only leave the house for four specific essential reasons: to work and study if you can't do it from home; for essential shopping; for exercise outdoors; and for compassionate reasons, which includes medical treatment, getting a COVID-19 test and getting vaccinated. ⚠️ Stay-at-home order for new areas of concern ⚠️ New restrictions will be introduced for the Byron Shire, Richmond Valley, Lismore and Ballina Shire Local Government Areas, effective from 6pm today until 12.01am Tuesday 17 August. pic.twitter.com/mLyRr4ShBU — NSW Health (@NSWHealth) August 9, 2021 Also, only businesses deemed "critical retail" are permitted to remain open. Stores that can continue to welcome in customers include supermarkets, grocery stores, butchers, bakeries, fruit and vegetable stores, liquor stores and fishmongers; pharmacies and chemists; and shops that primarily sell health, medical, maternity and infant supplies. Also allowed to stay open: pet supply shops, post offices, newsagencies, office supply stores, petrol stations, car hire places, banks, hardware shops, nurseries, and places that sell building, agricultural and rural goods. Any retail premises that don't fall into the above categories are closed to physical customers, but they can do takeaways, home deliveries, and click and collect orders. If you need supplies, only one person from each household can go out shopping each day to buy essential items — and browsing is prohibited, too. Carpooling is still off the cards, unless you're in a vehicle with members of your own household. And, you can still only exercise in groups of two outdoors — or as a household. And, although folks in Greater Sydney are under lockdown anyway — and, in Queensland, people in 11 LGAs in and around Brisbane have just come out of their own lockdown and are asked not to travel outside of these regions under current restrictions — no one should be venturing north or south to head to Byron while it is under stay-at-home conditions. In fact, as part of the order, people can't enter the Byron Shire, Richmond Valley, Lismore and Ballina Shire LGAs without a reasonable excuse to do so. As always, NSW residents are asked to continue to frequently check NSW Health's long list of locations and venues that positive coronavirus cases have visited. If you've been to anywhere listed on the specific dates and times, you'll need to get tested immediately and follow NSW Health's self-isolation instructions. In terms of symptoms, you should be looking out for coughs, fever, sore or scratchy throat, shortness of breath, or loss of smell or taste — and getting tested at a clinic if you have any. The Byron Shire, Richmond Valley, Lismore and Ballina Shire Local Government Areas will remain in lockdown until at least Tuesday, August 17. For more information about the status of COVID-19 in NSW, head to the NSW Health website.
UPDATE, December 4, 2020: Carol is available to stream via Stan, Google Play, YouTube Movies and iTunes. Telling a slow-building tale of forbidden romance, Carol is a study in clashes, contrasts and control. Within its story and sumptuous sights, everything bristles against something else, is challenged by a counterpart, and has to find a way either to work within, or burst beyond, orderly confines. That's true of the character (Cate Blanchett) that gives the movie its name, and the shopgirl, Therese Belivet (Rooney Mara), who becomes infatuated with her. It's equally true of their attempts to connect in the conservative 1950s, and of the way the film brings their efforts to life. Actually, in making his latest feature — following the likes of Velvet Goldmine and I'm Not There — director Todd Haynes hits the jackpot when it comes to matching his style to the story. An adaptation of Patricia Highsmith's 1952 novel The Price of Salt, Carol doesn't just recount a narrative considered groundbreaking at the time of publication, though writer Phyllis Nagy does a stellar job of translating the content for the screen. More than that, Haynes and company take every ounce of emotion within the book, then carefully infuse it into every aspect of the film, from its warm colour palette and fondness for lingering shots to its sweeping score and elegant performances. Think of every moment, be it an image framed through a car window or a long look at gloves left behind, as an expression of the feelings the movie's characters can't always convey, or the words they can't always say. There's plenty left unspoken between Carol and Therese after they cross paths in a department store toy section just before Christmas. A friendship blossoms, and then something more, during dinners, visits and a road trip. Yet everything seems to conspire against them, thwarting them from embracing their love freely. Carol's pal Abby (Sarah Paulson) is cautious, her estranged husband Harge (Kyle Chandler) and Therese's boyfriend Richard (Jake Lacy) disapprove, and society is far from accepting. The combination of restraint and passion that Haynes perfected in 2002's Far From Heaven bubbles up again here, with the filmmaker once more showing his prowess for probing sentiments forced to simmer below the surface. Watching the way he makes the material his own — continuing his fascination with complex stories of identity and repression, as well as his ability to ensure every frame seethes with beauty and meaning — it's almost impossible to believe that any other director could've done the material justice. Haynes isn't the picture's only source of radiance, of course, with his technical team — particularly cinematographer Edward Lachman (Howl) and composer Carter Burwell (Fargo) — helping the exquisite-looking feature come together. And then there's Blanchett and Mara, both sharing the spotlight despite the film's title seeming to indicate otherwise. Believing their pain and desire is easy, and the pair more than earn the award nominations that keep coming their way. Sure, you've seen on-screen love stories before, but cinema romances this aching and consuming are all-too rare.
When it's February in Berlin, the temperature is barely approaching positive figures and the ground is slick with last night's snow, there's only one place to be: the Berlin International Film Festival. Also known as the Berlinale, it's not just Germany's premier annual celebration of cinema, but one of the world's as well. Even from afar, it's easy to see why. Huge world premieres, like this year's opening night film Isle of Dogs? Tick. A host of famous attendees, spanning everyone from actors Bill Murray, Isabelle Huppert and Robert Pattinson to filmmakers Wes Anderson, Steven Soderbergh and Idris Elba (yes, he's a director too)? Tick again. Plenty of movies that everyone will be talking about for the next 12 months and longer? After featuring Call Me By Your Name and A Fantastic Woman on their 2017 program, the festival well and truly has that sorted in 2018 as well. There's nothing like being there, however. The rushing between cinemas, the pretzels devoured between sessions, the delicious mulled wine at the end of (and during) the day — from February 15 to 25, that was our life. We went, we watched, we saw scores of people walk out of unimpressive eventual Berlinale Golden Bear winner Touch Me Not, and we witnessed an entire theatre going crazy for Australia's own Hugo Weaving. And now that it's all over, we're excited about all of the movies that'll hopefully make their way to our own shores at festivals or in general release. Take our word for it, and look out for these ten at a cinema near you — we can't wait to catch them again. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dt__kig8PVU& ISLE OF DOGS A stop-motion animated movie about a futuristic Japanese wasteland filled with dogs, one plucky orphan boy trying to find his beloved pet and the island's helpful canine inhabitants, Isle of Dogs couldn't sound more like a Wes Anderson movie if it tried. Actually, thanks to a voice cast that includes Bill Murray, Jeff Goldblum, Bob Balaban, Greta Gerwig, Tilda Swinton, Bryan Cranston, Scarlett Johansson, Edward Norton and Frances McDormand, it literally sounds like a Wes Anderson movie during every moment — and, it proves a smart, sharp, glorious and gorgeous feast for both the ears and the eyes. It's no wonder that the filmmaker won Berlinale's best director award, with his ninth feature a feat of all-round artistry in each elaborate, detailed, textured frame. Similarly unsurprisingly, it's also filled with heart, humour and wit, all while making a very timely social statement. Yep, it's enough to make you go barking mad with delight. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLVw6wlYJPo DAUGHTER OF MINE In 2015, Italian filmmaker Laura Bispuri and actress Alba Rohrwacher teamed up for Sworn Virgin, a compelling, moving film about an Albanian woman who vows to live life in the mountains, without sex and as a man rather than adhere to traditional views about female subservience. Their second collaboration, Daughter of Mine, also explores ideas of femininity, but in a vastly different way. It's also excellent, and exceptionally acted. As the title suggests, motherhood is in the spotlight as Rohrwacher's strong-willed Angelica and Valeria Golino's more traditionally maternal Tina grapple not only with each other, but over what's best for ten-year-old Vittoria (Sara Casu). As a Sardinian summer rolls by, the secret that connects the trio is thrust out into the open, as is a tussle between nature and nurture that shapes a young girl's journey of discovery. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4LTz4OC3pA THE GREEN FOG No one loves movies the way that Guy Maddin loves movies. No one turns snippets of films into such loving, intelligent and amusing collages and homages like the experimental Canadian filmmaker either. In The Green Fog, he once again joins forces with his The Forbidden Room collaborators Evan and Galen Johnson, takes cues from Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo and makes an amusing, immersive reimagining using clips from other San Francisco-set fare. The Game, The Love Bug, an NSYNC video — they're all featured in this retelling, as is everything from Sister Act to Basic Instinct to The Rock. The fact that The Green Fog mostly eschews dialogue adds another layer, too, to a finished product that sweeps over viewers like its titular mist. And, also brilliant is the trio's accompanying ten-minute Accidence, which peers into the balconies behind an apartment block in a clever and involving riff on Hitchcock's Rear Window. [caption id="attachment_660555" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] © Agnete Brun[/caption] U — JULY 22 There's nothing new about recreating a harrowing real-life event from the perspective of those who were there, and giving audiences an on-the-ground view of their horrifying experiences. There's nothing new about adopting that approach when it comes to mass shootings either, or just generally unravelling a tense and terrifying situation in a single shot. Still, Norwegian effort U — July 22 finds the best way to plunge viewers into the thick of one of the most traumatic incidents in the country's history. On the eponymous date in 2011, a right-wing extremist gunned down 69 of the 500 attendees at a youth summer camp on the island of Utøya, with filmmaker Erik Poppe following one 19-year-old's efforts to survive. Lead actress Andrea Berntzen is fantastic as the desperate young woman searching for her sister, and for a way to make it out alive, in a feature that's never easy to watch but remains heartbreakingly engrossing — and important — from start to finish. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=182pyCffVLk PROFILE One of the best films at Berlinale unspools solely on a computer screen. It's the latest to use what might seem like a gimmick — and the third linked Night Watch, Wanted and Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter director Timur Bekmambetov — and it's absolutely captivating. Unlike Unfriended and this year's Sundance flick Search, which he produced, Bekmambetov helms this based-on-a-true-story account of a journalist (Valene Kane) investigating ISIS enlistment campaigns by befriending a charming recruiter (Shazad Latif) online. Tabs, programs and windows pop up thick and fast, and the stress and tension soars with it, as a bond forms between the two. Profile won the audience award in the festival's Panorama section for good reason: slick, thrilling and utterly involving, and with pitch-perfect performances to go with it, it's a film that not only entertains and engages, but lingers. AN ELEPHANT SITTING STILL In his nearly four-hour debut feature, Chinese writer/director Hu Bo achieves what every filmmaker dreams of: a movie that assembles its parts in such an assured and astute way that changing even one element seems unthinkable. And it's not just the length of his first and only film that makes that such an impressive feat, but the command of tone, the naturalistic yet patient style, and the subject matter. Working with a story from one of his own novels, Hu weaves together intertwined slices of unhappy lives, following four figures miserable in their modern-day Chinese industrial town. Each is going through a particularly bleak day, and all are drawn to a story about an elephant that sits still and ignores the world around it. As a heartbreaking postscript that casts a shadow over every moment of his movie, the author-turned-filmmaker took his own life in October last year. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7Z13OH9EyY TRANSIT As Barbara and Phoenix both cemented in recent years, Christian Petzold is one of Germany's best contemporary filmmakers, crafting accounts of the country's fractured past with an artistic eye and an empathetic gaze. With Transit, he bases his latest in the French port city of Marseilles, though his usual approach — and thematic fascinations — remain. Escaping war and fascism, the film's protagonist, Georg (Franz Rogowski), is desperate to flee to Mexico, but is forced to bide his time until the requisite papers come through. Assumed identities, heartbroken children, complex love triangles and the realisation that inertia is hell in itself all feature in this thoughtful, soulful film, as does a stellar turn by Victoria and Happy End's Rogowski, who proved a standout of the festival thanks to his similarly excellent work in contemplative warehouse romance In the Aisles. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7KZrt_cHH0 UNSANE At the Berlinale press conference for Unsane, Steven Soderbergh was filed with enthusiasm about his latest filmmaking technique: shooting an entire feature on an iPhone. Watching the results of his efforts, it's easy to understand why — when you're making a psychological thriller about a woman (The Crown's Claire Foy) pursued by a stalker (Joshua Leonard), trapped in a mental health facility and pondering her sanity, you want the intimacy and immediacy that comes with his choice of camera. The film doesn't go exactly where that plot description suggests, either, in a tense, twist-filled, nightmarish flick that shows just why the cinema-loving world should be thankful that Soderbergh's supposed retirement didn't stick. If his 2013 flick Side Effects met his fantastic TV series The Knick, threw in a committed performance by Foy, adopted a pulpy tone and mirrored society's current probing of the treatment of women, it might look something like this. [caption id="attachment_660554" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] © Alejandra Carvajal[/caption] MUSEUM Heists have long proven one of cinema's favourite scenarios. Thankfully, there's no shortage of different approaches to what's become a very, very familiar on-screen premise. Museum throws up one of them — and won Berlinale's best screenplay prize for writer/director Alonso Ruizpalacios and co-scribe Manuel Alcala for its addition to the fold. The Gael Garcia Bernal-starring effort is actually loosely inspired by reality, taking on the Christmas eve 1985 theft of 140 indigenous objects from Mexico's National Museum of Anthropology, but doing so with fictional characters. That's just one of its playful touches, in a film that knows how to stage the main event in an attention-grabbing manner, yet also knows how to ponder everything from the control of historical artefacts to the bonds of friendship to father-son relationships, and to do so with a cheeky smile and stylistic confidence. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-sNP9laRXts ÁGA When a film takes viewers to a world vastly dissimilar to their own, one of the best pieces of praise it can garner is also one of the simplest. Calling a fictional movie "documentary-like" isn't just quick shorthand — it recognises the skill required to dive so convincingly, thoughtfully and delicately into another way of life, opening it up to audiences far removed from its reality while showing the requisite respect as well. And, it's a term that Ága earns as it follows ageing Inuit couple Nanook (Mikhail Aprosimov) and Sedna (Feodosia Ivanova), their daily existence in their snow-surrounded yurt, and the subtle — and not-so — changes encroaching upon their happiness. Finessed performances, astonishing images, a concise script, and a well-handled sense of pace and mood all combine for a movie that initially seems like it'll trek down a recognisable path, but is filled with its own considerable charms. Top image: © 2017 Twentieth Century Fox
Off the back of three fast-selling seasons, Sydney's most ambitious outdoor cinema is bringing its 150-bed (yes, bed) theatre back to Moore Park's Entertainment Quarter for the warmer weather. Grab a buddy you're comfortable to share a blankie with (or make a bold first date move) and book a bed between November 30 and February 17 next year. There will be new movies (Aquaman, Bohemian Rhapsody, Mary Poppins Returns), old movies (Pulp Fiction, Pretty Woman, The Lion King), Japanese anime (Spirited Away, Akira) and some of the best feel-good releases of 2018 (The Breaker Upperers, Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, Crazy Rich Asians). La La Land, Ocean's 8 and Black Panther are all on the bill, too — and so is a sing-along session of The Greatest Showman. There'll also be Burger Project and Fratelli Fresh bringing food directly to your bed. Plus, the bar will be serving up cold beers and wines, and some screenings even include bottomless popcorn. Tickets are $40 per person or $74 for a couple. If you don't want to shell out for a bed, you can grab a grass ticket for $12 — just remember to bring a picnic blanket and book your spot before you rock up. Updated December 29.
You know what's better than seeing Cloud Control perform an acoustic set at your local pub? Seeing Cloud Control perform an acoustic set at your local pub for free. It's a crazy dream, but it's one that the band and beer barons Corona have dared to make come true. The Blue Mountains alt-rock jammers' sophomore 2013 album, Dream Cave, was an experimental shift from their first offering, and the acoustic sound should be a cool twist again. As part of the March and April tour through bars, pubs and hotels all along the east coast, the guys are also releasing Dream Cave Unplugged, featuring stripped back versions of the whole album. Although they've won awards, and been nominated for a whole heap of others, Cloud Control stick to the Aussie music penchant for bringing as much music to as many people as possible. Thanks to Corona, we all get the chance. Here are the Sydney dates: Friday 4 April - Coogee Bay Hotel Friday 4 April - Manly Wharf Hotel Saturday 5 April - Bucket List Saturday 5 April - Newport Arms Saturday 5 April - Opera Bar Sunday 6 April - Towradgi Hotel, Wollongong Sunday 6 April - Old Joe's, Cronulla https://youtube.com/watch?v=G2VX2PAD0gU
The latest in the impressively long line of remarkable French-Canadian dramas, Louise Archambault's Gabrielle finds poignancy in an unexpected place. Produced by Luc Déry, who scored back-to-back Oscar nominations for Incendies and Monsieur Lazhar, the film follows the trials and tribulations of its titular character, a kind-hearted 22-year-old with significant developmental disabilities. Combining heartfelt storytelling with nuanced handling of issues rarely explored on screen, it's a tender, uplifting picture that marks another big win for the cinema of Quebec. The evanescent presence at the centre of the film is Gabrielle Marion-Rivard, a first-time actress who, like her character, suffers from a rare genetic disorder called Williams syndrome. It's a condition that manifests itself in the form of learning impairment, along with a high level of sociability. From the moment we see her, Gabrielle reminds us of a primary-schooler: cheeky, gregarious and eternally curious but also fragile and incapable of real independence. The film's naturalistic script focuses on two key relationships. The first is the connection Gabrielle shares with her elder sister, Sophie (Mélissa Désormeaux-Poulin), her protector and closest friend. The second is her romantic attachment to Martin (Alexandre Landry), a similarly challenged young man who sings with Gabrielle in a choir for the mentally disabled. They're an adorable couple, until things turn sexual, at which point Martin's protective mother abruptly pulls them apart. Archambault tackles potentially uncomfortable subject matter with both empathy and frankness. The extent to which people in Martin and Gabrielle's situation are capable of having an adult relationship is a difficult and thought-provoking question, one that most of us have probably never considered. The film's depiction of the pair's burgeoning physical intimacy is delicate and deeply moving; you want so desperately for them to be happy, but you also completely understand the desire of Martin's mother, to protect her son from consequences he cannot understand. Marion-Rivard seems utterly at ease in the front of the camera, bringing authenticity and charm to a truly wonderful character. Supporting her is Landry, a professional actor who is not learning disabled but never once falls into the traps that depictions of the mentally handicapped sometimes do. Perhaps the most heartbreaking performance is that of Désormeaux-Poulin as Gabrielle's sister. The love she feels for her sibling is palpable, yet with it comes a sense of responsibility. The question of how much personal happiness you can sacrifice for someone you care about is a difficult one. Yet it's something that almost everyone must at one time or another face. It's that emotional honesty that makes Gabrielle so powerful. Archambault never condescends to her characters, nor does she indulge in mawkishness or stifling political correctness. Everybody, be they disabled or not, has their limits. But they also have potential beyond what you might assume. https://youtube.com/watch?v=4l4cV6KjlxU
We've all been there. A night out at the theatre ruined by friends who suddenly start tossing around Eastern European names and words like 'pre-Raphaelite' and 'galvanising' at interval. As lovers of art and Sparknotes in equal measure, we've put together a comprehensive cheat sheet for Belvoir's December production – Barbara and the Camp Dogs. This service comes in three tiers, depending on the level of expertise you're trying to fake: Basic Fraud, The Charlatan's Charlatan and The Talented Mr Ripley. No matter who you are, read on to get your theatrical knowledge up to scratch. BASIC FRAUD My friend had a spare ticket and I don't want to go in blind. Barbara and the Camp Dogs is co-written by Ursula Yovich and Alana Valentine and directed by Leticia Caceres. Barbara, played by Yovich, is the singer in a rock band that is struggling to break into Sydney's music industry. When one of her relatives falls ill, she and her cousin return to their hometown. There they discover a legacy of trauma and a past that Barbara can't reconcile. With a live band onstage for the duration, the story is intertwined with a series of original rock songs. Valentine describes Camp Dogs as "a punch in the air gig", a wild, confronting and hopeful story for people who just want to let it all hang out for a night. THE CHARLATAN'S CHARLATAN I just ran into my boss in the foyer and could score some major points here Ursula Yovich is smashing it right now. She's one of Australia's most successful actresses, having barely stepped foot off an Australian mainstage since her career began. On the occasions that she has, it's been to appear in films such as Australia and Jindabyne and for stints on TV in Redfern Now, The Code and The Gods of Wheat Street. Alana Valentine is a plaudits magnet disguised as a playwright. Two of her plays, Parramatta Girls and Shafana and Aunt Sarrinah, are on the NSW HSC syllabus and the rest of them have taken out virtually every major writing prize in Australia. Just this year, her play Ladies Day was nominated for the Nick Enwright Playwriting Prize at the NSW Premier's Literary Awards, while The Tree Widows took the Best Writing and Judges' Awards at the Tasmanian Theatre Awards. Without either of them knowing it, the idea for Barbara and the Camp Dogs took root as Yovich and Valentine were getting squiffy at the after party of the Helpmann Awards in 2008. It was the first time that Valentine made the acquaintance of Yovich's alter-ego, an unstoppable outspoken dynamo named Barbara, whose manic energy runs counter to that of her more reserved counterpart. Valentine jokes "I didn't get a Helpmann, but I got Barbara which is like 100 times better, more fun and she's lasted longer." When the two began working together on The Barefoot Divas, an exploration of Indigenous women's stories through song, they began to talk more about building a show around Barbara. The idea of incorporating a band came from an old joke Yovich and Stephen Page, the artistic director of Bangarra Dance Company used to share, "He used to joke about me doing an all-girl Aboriginal rock band called Barbara and the Camp Dogs." Nearly twenty years later, the quip became the skeleton of a show, as Valentine puts it, about "what the industry won't let Ursula show or be." THE TALENTED MR RIPLEY I'm meeting my partner's parents for the first time tonight. I told them I love theatre to impress them. That is not the truth. Yovich says Barbara and the Camp Dogs is about being a woman and getting older in a notoriously fickle industry. It is also an account of the hardships that Indigenous artists continue to face throughout their careers. Yovich recalls a conversation she had with Elaine Crombie, who plays the role of her cousin, after they both got into their costumes for a tech rehearsal. "She said 'It feels so good to wear makeup and be wearing a real flash dress.' We're used to playing the mission girls and wearing f***ing potato sacks. So it was nice to be able to break that. Because we're out there. We do that stuff, we wear those platform heels." Despite performing in numerous works focusing on Indigenous experiences and issues throughout her career, Yovich says that Barbara is unique in how fleshed out she is. "I feel like in my twenty years of working and doing Indigenous plays, I've not come across a female character that was complex and also full of anger. Because we're going through the same things as our black men are, but it always felt like we were this kind of side story and I didn't want that." Valentine adds that the piece tussles with female friendship and sibling love. And while we're all too often exposed to a "comfortable" version of these relationships, Barbara and the Camp Dogs finds its truth in "tough love." "We've tried to dig down into the deep pain of this person. And often that deep pain can be hard to define. You can only sing it." Barbara and the Camp Dogs runs at the Belvoir until Saturday, December 23. Get tickets here.
When you can't put on the full festival experience at your usual time of the year because it doesn't work for your headliners' calendars, how do you respond? If you're Wollongong's Yours and Owls, you postpone until next year while throwing a pre-party in-between so that this year doesn't miss out. So, the fest won't be going ahead this October in the same format as previous years; however, there will still be tunes-filled shindig at the University of Wollongong campus with an impressive lineup of musicians. Golden Features, Peking Duk, Alice Ivy and Anna Lunoe lead a lineup that'll ensure that no Yours and Owls devotee has a gap in their spring plans. Also on the bill: Cxloe, Hellcat Speedracer, Ninajirachi and Running Touch. They'll all take to the stage on Saturday, October 12, 2024, at the spot that the fest only turned into its new site in 2023 after it was forced to cancel in 2022 when La Niña flooded its Stuart Park venue. [caption id="attachment_906428" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Jess Gleeson[/caption] Plenty of the above names are familiar with Yours and Owls — and will now help the festival get into the celebratory spirit ahead of putting on its tenth-birthday event in 2025. Details for the full next fest haven't yet been revealed, including those headliners, with organisers noting that they're on the way "real soon". Affectionately labelled 'Gong Christmas', Yours and Owls will host its birthday pre-shenanigans at UOW as part of the fest and university's three-year partnership, with the all-weather solutions available at the campus cited as one of the driving factors behind the team-up — plus the uni's picturesque green spaces and a mutual commitment towards carbon-emission reduction. 2023's Yours and Owls featured Oliver Tree, Chet Faker and Descendents, and also Hilltop Hoods, Earl Sweatshirt, Golden Features, Ocean Alley, Flight Facilities and Pendulum — so expect 2025's fest to be worth waiting for. 2024's pre-party is keeping prices affordable, too, starting at $89.95 in the presale period that runs from 8.30am AEST on Wednesday, July 10, before general sales kick off at 8.30am AEST on Thursday, July 11. [caption id="attachment_906427" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Ian Laidlaw[/caption] Yours and Owls Tenth Birthday Pre-Party Lineup: Golden Features Peking Duk Alice Ivy Anna Lunoe Cxloe Hellcat Speedracer Ninajirachi Running Touch [caption id="attachment_906426" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Ruby Bowland[/caption] Yours and Owls will return in 2025, with details to be confirmed — but it'll throw a Tenth Birthday Pre-Party on Saturday, October 12, 2024 at the University of Wollongong, Northfields Ave, Wollongong. Presale tickets to the pre-party will drop from 8.30am AEST on Wednesday, July 10, then general sales from 8.30am AEST on Thursday, July 11. Head to the festival website for more details. Top image: Ian Laidlaw.
Enjoying a few beverages but avoiding a hangover is everyone's dream; however soon, it might be more than that. As far as booze alternatives go, a synthetic alcohol dubbed "alcosynth" (what else?) could just be the holy grail, offering drinkers the same happy, sociable sensations but without the morning-after consequences. It's little wonder that British professor and researcher David Nutt, who discovered the new substance, is testing two versions for widespread use. He's claiming that his hangover-free drink could replace normal alcohol by 2050, making seedy weekends a distant memory. Say goodbye to feeling like garbage after a big Friday night. Nutt and his team studied substances that have a similar effect on the brain, then designed their own non-toxic, highly secret formula that mimics the positive aspects of being drunk — aka that warm, chatty feeling everyone's seeking after a busy week. In doing so, they've avoided any impact upon parts of the brain that are negatively influenced by booze. It all sounds pretty great, though it does also seem a little too good to be true. Time will tell if hangovers really will go the way of landlines, flip phones and other long-gone remnants of the past, but until then we'll live in hope. Via Travel and Leisure.
UPDATE: SEPTEMBER 11, 2020 — Wonder Woman 1984 has moved its release date again, and will no longer release on Thursday, October 1. Instead, it will now hit cinemas on Saturday, December 26. This article has been updated to reflect that change. UPDATE: JULY 1, 2020 — Due to worldwide cinema closures and other concerns around COVID-19, Wonder Woman 1984 will no longer release on Thursday, August 13. Instead, it will now release on Thursday, October 1. This article has been updated to reflect that change. UPDATE: MARCH 25, 2020 — Due to cinema closures and other concerns around COVID-19, Wonder Woman 1984 will no longer release on its initially scheduled date of Thursday, June 4, 2020. Instead, it will now release on Thursday, August 13. To find out more about the status of COVID-19 in Australia and how to protect yourself, head to the Australian Government Department of Health's website. New Order's 'Blue Monday'. A giant mall. Women exercising in bright leotards and leg warmers. All of the above inspire instant visions of the 80s — which is where Wonder Woman is heading in her next big-screen outing. Yes, the fierce female superhero with the bullet-deflecting bracelets and Lasso of Truth is finally back, with Wonder Woman 1984 set to hit cinemas in 2020. Audiences have already explored Princess Diana of Themyscira's connection to Bruce Wayne in 2016's Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, stepped through her origin story and World War I antics in the original 2017 Wonder Woman, and seen how she works in a team in fellow 2017 release Justice League. Now, she's navigating the Cold War era and facing off against Kristen Wiig. The story this time around pits Gal Gadot's Amazon demigoddess against Wiig's Cheetah — also known as archaeologist Barbara Ann Minerva. While the franchise newcomer is looking rather meek and mild at the beginning of the just-dropped Wonder Woman 1984 trailer, she's not likely to stay that way for long in this eagerly awaited sequel. Game of Thrones, Narcos and The Mandalorian star Pedro Pascal also joins the cast as Maxwell Lord, a powerful businessman, and Chris Pine returns as American pilot Steve Trevor — despite the tragic events of the first film. Among the familiar faces, both Connie Nielsen and Robin Wright are set to pop up again, too, as Diana's mother and deceased sister respectively. And, behind the camera, writer/director Patty Jenkins is also back — as she should be given that Wonder Woman is currently the highest-grossing film ever directed solo by a woman. If you're a fan of huge action films based on comic books, you've probably noticed that 2020 is shaping up to be a big year for female-fronted stories, with Wonder Woman 1984 joining fellow DC Extended Universe effort Birds of Prey and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn, as well as Marvel's Black Widow. The MCU has obviously been winning the cinematic battle in terms of size and scale over the past decade thanks to its 23-film saga to-date; however it doesn't escape notice that, when the latest Wonder Woman flick releases, three of the DCEU's nine films will have pushed women to the front. Check out the Wonder Woman 1984 trailer below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfM7_JLk-84&feature=emb_logo Wonder Woman 1984 was due to open in Australian cinemas on June 4, 2020, then on August 13, then October 1; however it'll now release on December 26 — we'll update you if any further changes are announced. Top image: Clay Enos/ ™ & © DC Comics. © 2018 WARNER BROS. ENTERTAINMENT INC.
Having a hard week? Need to get your chi sorted but also just really want a drink? Well, this weekend you can do both — at a brewery. That's right, a brewery. This Saturday morning, Yoga Bomb is taking over Wayward Brewery for Sydney's first brewhouse yoga class. Dubbed Brewhouse Shala, the guided class — held this Saturday, April 2 at 10.30am — will be aimed at beginner to intermediate level. Twenty bucks gets you a 75-minute yoga class followed by a free craft beer tasting courtesy of the Wayward crew. Yoga Bomb is committed to integrating yoga into everyday life, believing that anyone can benefit from yoga in their own way — even if that way includes a drink or two. It's an inclusive view on yoga, or as they're calling it, "yoga for the rest of us". They plan to expand this pilot into regular classes at the brewery. Brewery yoga is already a popular trend across the US craft beer scene. The idea stems from the notion that yoga isn't about incense and austerity, but instead about finding a healthy balance in life. By 'balance', we don't mean practicing upward facing dog with a beer in one hand (although, kudos to you if you can manage that), but appreciating yoga and beer in quick succession. Considering craft beer is a big part of everyday life for many Sydneysiders, we can't imagine a better city to host the Australian trial. After the class the brewery will open as usual with tasty food truck grub and flowing craft beer on offer all arvo. So bring your yoga mat, an open mind and be sure to pack your drinking hat too. The pilot class of Brewhouse Shala will be held on Saturday, April 2 at 10.30am in Wayward Brewery, 1 Gehrig Lane, Annandale. The class will be capped at 20 people so be sure to rsvp here to secure a spot and pay at the bar on the day. Image: Dollar Photo Club.
Before the pandemic, when a new-release movie started playing in cinemas, audiences couldn't watch it on streaming, video on demand, DVD or blu-ray for a few months. But with the past few years forcing film industry to make quite a few changes — widespread movie theatre closures will do that, and so will plenty of people staying home because they aren't well — that's no longer always the case. Maybe you haven't had time to make it to your local cinema lately. Perhaps you've been under the weather. Given the hefty amount of titles now releasing each week, maybe you simply missed something. Film distributors have been fast-tracking some of their new releases from cinemas to streaming recently — movies that might still be playing in theatres in some parts of the country, too. In preparation for your next couch session, here are eight that you can watch right now at home. The Fall Guy The Nice Guys mightn't have scored a sequel, but The Fall Guy does nicely instead. Getting a hearty workout: Ryan Gosling's charm, comedic talent that just earned an Oscar-nominated showcase in Barbie and action skills as last seen in The Gray Man. He's back in stunts, too, as Drive first gifted the world so mesmerisingly. A loose remake of the 80s television series of the same name, The Fall Guy is a take-it-and-run-with-it kind of film, then. Not only does it grasp hold of what Gosling does best and sprint, but the same applies for co-lead Emily Blunt (Pain Hustlers) — and, of course, for director David Leitch (Bullet Train), who first took the journey from stunt performer to filmmaker with John Wick, has kept filling his resume with action fare since (see: Atomic Blonde, Deadpool 2, Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs and Shaw and Bullet Train) and now virtually comes full circle in helming a flick where his protagonist does the same gig that he once did. Gosling's Colt Seavers is also taking it and running with it — in a profession where it's his job to help bring whatever impossible physical endeavour is required to the screen, as well as on the gig that gets him to Sydney. The Fall Guy starts 18 months prior to his trip Down Under, however, but still with him doubling for Tom Ryder (Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Bullet Train), one of the world's biggest actors. Seavers has a career that he loves and steady work at it thanks to Ryder's fame. He's also happily romancing Jody Moreno (Blunt), a camera operator with dreams of doing more. Then a stunt goes wrong, leaving him badly injured, battered and bruised emotionally and psychologically, and inspiring him to quit the business. Only a call from Ryder-loving producer Gail Meyer (Hannah Waddingham, Ted Lasso) sparks his return to the industry — he makes a crust as a valet once he's fit and able in-between — and, even then, it's only really the fact that Moreno is helming Ryder's latest movie as her directorial debut that nudges him onto the plane. Then, upon his arrival in Australia, Seavers soon discovers that the situation isn't exactly what he's been told. The Fall Guy streams via YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review, and our interview with David Leitch and Kelly McCormick. Challengers Tennis is a game of serves, shots, slices and smashes, and also of approaches, backhands, rallies and volleys. Challengers is a film of each, too, plus a movie about tennis. As it follows a love triangle that charts a path so back and forth that its ins and outs could be carved by a ball being hit around on the court, it's a picture that takes its aesthetic, thematic and emotional approach from the sport that its trio of protagonists are obsessed with as well. Tennis is everything to Tashi Duncan (Zendaya, Dune: Part Two), Art Donaldson (Mike Faist, West Side Story) and Patrick Zweig (Josh O'Connor, La Chimera), other than the threesome themselves being everything to each other. It's a stroke of genius to fashion the feature about them around the game they adore, then. Metaphors comparing life with a pastime are easy to coin. Movies that build such a juxtaposition into their fabric are far harder to craft. But it's been true of Luca Guadagnino for decades: he's a craftsman. Jumping from one Dune franchise lead to another, after doing Call Me By Your Name and Bones and All with Timothée Chalamet, Guadagnino proves something else accurate that's been his cinematic baseline: he's infatuated with the cinema of yearning. Among his features so far, only in Bones and All was the hunger for connection literal. The Italian director didn't deliver cannibalism in Call Me By Your Name and doesn't in Challengers, but longing is the strongest flavour in all three, and prominent across the filmmaker's Suspiria, A Bigger Splash and I Am Love also. So, combine the idea of styling a movie around a tennis match — one spans its entire duration, in fact — with a lusty love triangle, romantic cravings and three players at the top of their field, then this is the sublime end product. Challengers is so smartly constructed, so well thought-out down to every meticulous detail, so sensual and seductive, and so on point in conveying Tashi plus Art and Patrick's feelings, that it's instantly one of Guadagnino's grand slams. Challengers streams via YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review, as well as what Zendaya, Josh O'Connor and Mike Faist had to say about the film when they were in Australia. Perfect Days When Lou Reed's 'Perfect Day' enjoyed its initial sublime movie moment in Trainspotting, it soundtracked a descent into heroin's depths, including literally via the film's visual choices. For three decades since, that's been the tune's definitive on-screen use. Now drifts in Perfect Days, the Oscar-nominated Japan-set drama from German filmmaker Wim Wenders (Submergence). This slice-of-life movie takes its name from the song. It also places the iconic David Bowie-produced classic among the tracks listened to by toilet cleaner Hirayama (Kôji Yakusho, Vivant) as he goes about his daily routine. Fond of 60s- and 70s-era music, the Tokyo native's picks say everything about his mindset, both day by day and in his zen approach to his modest existence. 'Perfect Day' and Nina Simone's 'Feeling Good' each also sum up the feeling of watching this gorgeous ode to making the most of what you have, seeing beauty in the everyday and being in the moment. Not every tune that Hirayama pops into his van's tape deck — cassettes are still his format of choice — has the same type of title. Patti Smith's 'Redondo Beach', The Animals' 'The House of the Rising Sun', Otis Redding's '(Sittin' on) The Dock of the Bay' and The Rolling Stones' '(Walkin' Thru the) Sleepy City' also rank among his go-tos, all reflecting his mood in their own ways. If there's a wistfulness to Hirayama's music selections, it's in the manner that comes over all of us when we hark back to something that we first loved when we were younger. Perfect Days' protagonist is at peace with his life, however. Subtly layered into the film is the idea that things were once far different and more-conventionally successful, but Hirayama wasn't as content as he now is doing the rounds of the Japanese capital's public bathrooms, blasting his favourite songs between stops, eating lunch in a leafy park and photographing trees with an analogue camera. Perfect Days streams via YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. Robot Dreams Heartbreak is two souls wanting nothing more than each other, but life having other plans. So goes Robot Dreams, another dialogue-free marvel from Spanish filmmaker Pablo Berger, who had audiences feeling without words uttered with 2012's Blancanieves — and showed then with black and white imagery, as he does now with animation, that he's a master at deeply expressive visual storytelling. His fourth picture as a director was nominated for Best Animated Feature at the 2024 Academy Awards. In most years, if it wasn't up against Studio Ghibli's The Boy and the Heron, it would've taken home the Oscar. It earns not just affection instead, but the awe deserved of a movie that perfects the sensation of longing for someone to navigate life with, finding them, adoring them, then having fate doing what fate does by throwing up complications. Usually this would be a boy-meets-girl, boy-meets-boy or girl-meets-girl story. Here, it's a dog-meets-robot tale. The time: the 80s, with nods to Tab and Pong to prove it. The place: a version of Manhattan where anthropomorphised animals are the only inhabitants — plus mechanised offsiders that, just by placing an order and putting together the contents of the package that arrives, can be built as instant friends. Eating macaroni meals for one and watching TV solo in his small East Village apartment each evening, Dog is achingly lonely when he orders his Amica 2000 after seeing an infomercial. As he tinkers to construct Robot, pigeons watch on from the window, but they've never been his company. Soon exuberantly strutting the streets hand in hand with his maker, the android is a dream pal, however, this kismet pairing isn't what gives Robot Dreams its name. Robot Dreams streams via YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. Origin For most filmmakers, Isabel Wilkerson's Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents would've screamed for the documentary treatment. A non-fiction text published in 2020, it works through the thesis that racism in America isn't just the product of xenophobia, but is an example of social stratification. The journalist and author — and, in 1994, Pulitzer Prize-winner — examines how categorising populations into groups with a perceived grading is at the heart of US race relations, and how the same was true in Nazi Germany and still does in the treatment of the Dalit in India. A doco could spring easily from there. If it happens to in the future, no one should be surprised. Ava DuVernay, who brings Wilkerson's prize-winning tome to the screen now, has demonstrated again and again with Selma, The 13th and A Wrinkle in Time that she's not most directors, however. Make the points in Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents via a documentary, if and when that occurs, and they'd be accurate and powerful. Express them through cinema's function as an empathy machine, via personal tales including Wilkerson's own, and they resonate by getting audiences stepping into a range of shoes. Watching isn't merely investigating and learning in Origin, as Wilkerson as a character — played by Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor (The Color Purple) in a phenomenally passionate and thoughtful lead performance — does in a movie that's also a biopic about her life and work. Sitting down to DuVernay's film is all about feeling, understanding what it's like to be a range of people who are forced to grapple with being seen as less than others for no reason but the fact that urge to judge that keeps proving inherent in human nature. Origin streams via YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. Boy Kills World In The Hunger Games and its sequels and prequels, a post-apocalyptic totalitarian state enforces order by murder, picking children via lottery to compete until just one remains standing. Before it reached pages and screens, The Running Man, Battle Royale and Series 7: The Contenders were among the stories that got there first, always with kill-or-be-killed contests at their cores. Now Boy Kills World enters the fray, but in a city ruled over by despot Van Der Koy matriarch Hilda (Famke Janssen, Locked In), with a group of candidates chosen annually, then slaughtered at big televised display that is The Culling no matter what. The titular Boy (played by the US Goodnight Mommy remake's Nicholas and Cameron Crovetti as a kid) is the rare exception: after witnessing his sister and mother's execution in this nightmarish realm, he's simply left for dead. Making his feature debut, director Moritz Mohr (TV's Viva Berlin!) holds tight to another big-screen staple: a revenge mission. As an adult, that the role of Boy falls to Bill Skarsgård fresh from John Wick: Chapter 4 says plenty. The vengeance that's always fuelled that Keanu Reeves (The Matrix Resurrections)-led franchise, and fellow influence Oldboy as well, mixes with cinema's wealth of fight-to-the-death tales. Also thrown in with the fervour of a fan mixing together his favourite things — which is Mohr's unapologetic approach from start to finish — is a colour scheme that Kill Bill also deployed, Deadpool-style humour and violence, notes cribbed from Matthew Vaughn's Kingsman movies and Argylle with its carnage, and nods to video games and Hong Kong action fare plus Looney Tunes and anime. Boy Kills World streams via YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review, and our interview with Moritz Mohr. The First Omen Resurrecting horror franchises that first gleamed bright in the 70s is a trend that Hollywood isn't done idolising. Halloween did it. The Exorcist returned as well. Via remakes, Carrie, Suspiria and Black Christmas have all made comebacks since the 2010s. The Omen was always going to get its turn, then. Taking the prequel route — because the OG 1976 film hadn't spawned one yet with 1978's Damien — Omen II, 1981's Omen III: The Final Conflict and 1991's Omen IV: The Awakening, plus a 2006 remake and 2016's one-season TV series — gives rise to The First Omen, as set in Rome in 1971. Fans will know that June 6 that year was when Damien was born. Spinning backstories into new movies can create flicks that smack of inevitability above all else, but not here: this is a genuinely eerie and dread-laced Omen entry with an expert command of unnerving imagery by first-time feature director Arkasha Stevenson (Brand New Cherry Flavour), plus a well-chosen anchor in lead actor Nell Tiger Free (Game of Thrones). Horror, unusual babies, childminding at its most disquieting, a claustrophobic location, a lack of agency, distressing displays of faith: Free has been here before. Indeed, if Stevenson and her co-writers Tim Smith (a screenwriting debutant) and Keith Thomas (the director of 2022's awful Firestarter remake) used Servant as their inspiration in more ways than one, they've made a savvy choice. Featuring their star for four seasons between 2019–2023, that M Night Shyamalan (Knock at the Cabin)-produced series was one of the great horror streaming efforts of the past five years. The First Omen goes heavier on jolting visuals to go with its nerve-jangling atmosphere, but it too stands out. Its worst choice is being needlessly and gratingly blatant in connecting dots in its very last moments, even if nearly half a century has passed since this spawn-of-Satan saga began. The First Omen streams via Disney+, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. Back to Black Casting a biopic can't be easy. The awards-courting label that hangs over the genre that's earned Cillian Murphy (Oppenheimer), Will Smith (King Richard), Jessica Chastain (The Eyes of Tammy Faye), Rami Malek (Bohemian Rhapsody), Renée Zellweger (Judy) and Gary Oldman (Darkest Hour) lead actor and actress Oscars over the past decade alone can't make the task any less tricky, either. Then, when music bios get a spin — which is often — the weight of recognition and fandom is an especially heavy factor. Does the actor resemble the star that they're playing physically or in spirit? Can they? Will their attempt to slip into someone else's mega fame read like a triumphant ode or a faded facsimile? Will they try to inhabit rather than impersonate? Is doing the real-life person justice even possible? The questions go on. Even with those queries in mind, Back to Black has chosen its lead well. In Industry's Marisa Abela, who has just six prior acting credits on her resume before now — Barbie is the latest; Man in a Box, her first, came when she was only 11 — the Amy Winehouse-focused film from director Sam Taylor-Johnson (A Million Little Pieces) and screenwriter Matt Greenhalgh (Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool) has someone who looks the part beehive or not, and convincingly lives and breathes it behind a north London accent. She sings it, too, when the picture weaves in her own vocals atop Winehouse's music. But casting isn't the only key element for a biopic. The dance that a feature is taking through a well-known figure's life needs the material and the approach to support its central performance — the lyrics and tune to match with sheer talent, in music terms. If they fall flat, so does the flick. And unlike a bad song for an exceptional singer, there's no second chances in this realm. Back to Black streams via YouTube Movies and Prime Video. Read our full review. Looking for more viewing options? Take a look at our monthly streaming recommendations across new straight-to-digital films and TV shows — and fast-tracked highlights from January, February, March, April and May 2024 (and also January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November and December 2023, too). We keep a running list of must-stream TV from across 2024 as well, complete with full reviews. And, we've also rounded up 2023's 15 best films, 15 best straight-to-streaming movies, 15 top flicks hardly anyone saw, 30 other films to catch up with, 15 best new TV series of 2023, another 15 excellent new TV shows that you might've missed and 15 best returning shows.
Open up your eager eyes, Sydney: The Killers are headed this way. Even better, the Las Vegas-born rockers are stopping by the Harbour City on Monday, December 19 for not just one show but two, after announcing an intimate one-off midnight gig at the Entertainment Quarter's Liberty Hall. The band has been hitting up a heap of arenas Down Under across November and December, and a few Aussie wineries as well. But its latest addition will get you singing 'Mr Brightside' and the group's other hits from 12am, when they take to the stage for a second time on the same night following their earlier show at Qudos Bank Arena. If destiny is calling you, you'll need to grab tickets either from 10am AEDT on Thursday, December 15 in the Frontier members' pre-sale or from 12pm on Friday, December 16 when general tickets become available. Given the band's lengthy back catalogue, Brandon Flowers and company won't just be playing 'Mr Brightside' on repeat like it's an AFL Grand Final, but will be making a hot fuss over plenty of the band's hits — including tracks from their 2020 album Imploding the Mirage. The tour is named after that record, even though they released another one, Pressure Machine, this year. That's what happens when live gigs get put on hold during a pandemic, clearly. Remember: somebody told you that you'll be dancing along to 'Somebody Told Me', 'Smile Like You Mean It', 'When You Were Young', 'Bones', 'Human' and 'The Man' as well. Still in NSW, The Killers are also playing Hunter Valley's Hope Estate on Saturday, December 17. The Killers have added a midnight gig on Monday, December 19 at Entertainment Quarter's Liberty Hall to its Australian tour. Pre-sale tickets go on sale at 10am AEDT on Thursday, December 15 for Frontier members, and general tickers from 12pm on Friday, December 16. For further details, head to the tour website. Top image: Raph_PH via Wikimedia Commons.
World Movies will bring Secret Cinema to Sydney next month, transforming a mystery downtown building into a lavish cinema just for the night. The film to be screened, similarly, will be revealed on the night of the event. The only disclosed details on the film describe it as award-winning and oh-so-scandalously rebellious — so much so that some countries have banned it. Intrigued yet? Us too. Secret Cinema aims to present cinema as an active experience rather than a passive diversion, immersing the audience through elaborate venue theming. London's huge-scale version has become iconic, re-creating LA's Chinatown in 2019 for Bladerunner and a 1950s Algerian casbah for The Battle of Algiers. For World Movies' Secret Cinema, the first attempt at a similar project in Sydney, the exact inner-city location will be revealed to attendees via text message on the day of the event. Guests will be greeted with a drink upon arrival, and enjoy themed food throughout the evening — all included in the original ticket price. After the film, stick around for the afterparty and live DJ. Tickets go on sale April 18. Check out World Movies' Facebook page for more details.
Want to bunker down in Bunker Bay with easy access to the ocean, spa treatments, infinity pools – and, of course, nearby wine regions? The Pullman Bunker Bay Resort is ticking quite a lot of those boxes and others, as it serves as a mighty luxurious base for exploration of the Margaret River Wine Region. A bit of a drive from Perth, Bunker Bay is worth the petrol for the clear waters alone, and the rest of Margaret River's attributes additionally. From here, you can head out on a group tour of the region's more than 150 cellar doors — famous wineries in the area include Xanadu, Cape Mentelle, Voyager and Leeuwin Estate — or get your own car or bike and follow an itinerary of your invention. Several of the estates also boast restaurants, so you're guaranteed to be both well fed and watered. On the other side of Margaret River's rolling hills, you've got that inviting ocean and a brilliant coastal walking track that will take you past Cape Leeuwin and its Instagram-ready lighthouse. The Mediterranean climate means there's never a bad time to holiday here, but come between June and November if you've always wanted to try a spot of whale-watching. Humpback, southern right, minke and even blue whales have been known to migrate past this coastline each year. Back in the comfort of the Pullman Bunker Bay Resort, studio or bungalow-style villas house guests here, and all villas have lake or garden views and a boardwalk to the beach, so it's an easy stroll towards fulfilling your holiday hit-list. Vie Spa occupies the side of your vacation that is "lying down and utterly relaxing", with their beachfront location and couples suites a very valid option for honeymooners. Kinks in your back all worked out? You can head to the Bunker Bay Resort's restaurant – Other Side of the Moon is its name, and utilising fresh and sustainable local produce in share plates is its tasty game. Eat well but don't forget to explore the wines too – you're in the Margaret River region after all.
During a Q&A interview last year, Billy Bragg quipped, "You can experience a download but you can't download an experience." In other words, YouTube parties can hardly qualify as a substitute for packing into a crowded bar to watch a live band. This belief lies at the heart of SLAM Day. On 23 February 2010, when changes to Victorian Liquor Licensing Laws threatened the state's music scene, the people of Melbourne hit the streets in protest. Since then, SLAM (the Save Live Australia's Music Collective) has worked arduously to keep live music high on the political agenda. The first National SLAM Day was held on 23 February 2011. All over the country, music lovers organised gigs in small venues, creating a national celebration of independent live music. This year, the tradition continues, with literally thousands of musicians scheduled to perform this weekend. Whether you want to cool off with a cocktail and some original jazz or sink some beers and sing along to your mate's rock band, you're certain to find something on the SLAM program to suit your taste. https://youtube.com/watch?v=o0XGZqyZ-3c
It's been one of the top spots for New Year's Eve for an age, it's found the ideal theme for a waterside celebration on the biggest night of the year, and it's sticking to it. Last year, Opera Bar turned itself into a big ol' beach party. This year, with its front row harbourside seat and recently tszujed fitout, the venue has announced plans for another heck of a NYE shindig. Sitting front and centre for the multimillion-dollar fireworks, Opera Bar's NYE party involves palm trees, glamorous beach attire and more canapes than you can poke a glow stick at. The whole party is beach-themed; think beach balls, beach huts, cabanas and umbrellas. No word as yet regarding the return of the astroturf dancefloor (yep, you read that correctly, an openair, astroturf dancefloor); however we can only live in hope. While you're making halfhearted new year's resolutions over flutes of bubbly, you can enjoy a five-hour canape package — yep, five hours of canapes. Think you can tear yourself away from the nosh to throw a few shapes beside Sydney Harbour? There'll be DJ sets Sydney's Ariane, Luen, Kato, and Martin Novosel of Purple Sneakers DJs fame, as well as a live performance from Cell Block 69. Tickets are $440+BF per person and includes express VIP entry to Sydney Opera House (so you don't have to join that huge line with the public) and that hectic five-hour canape package. Importantly, drinks aren't included in the ticket price, so bring bubbly money. Doors open at 6pm and the event runs to 2.30am — now that's a solid party. New Year's Eve at Opera Bar is happening on December 31 from 6pm. Tickets ($440+BF) are currently on sale from Opera Bar's website. Over 18s only, sorry kids.
Eight weeks is a long time to spend indoors, as folks in the Greater Sydney area currently know. At present, the region's lockdown will run until at least 12.01am on Saturday, August 28, which will see it spend more than two months under stay-at-home conditions. But for the past few weeks, New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian has pushed one specific tactic to help ease the city out of its current restrictions. If you've watched the state's daily COVID-19 lockdowns, you will have heard the term plenty of times: vaccination. The Premier wants NSW to hit six million jabs by the end of August — and, when that milestone is reached, that's when the state government will start looking at easing restrictions for vaccinated Sydneysiders. Premier Berejiklian has been mentioning this figure for weeks, too, but today, Tuesday, August 17, she specifically advised that "once we get to six million jabs, we'll be able to consider opportunities for what we might be able to do in September and October that we can't currently do." Obviously, this still depends upon daily case numbers. "Does it mean wheel live completely freely? No. But does it mean we'll live more freely than we do today? Absolutely," the Premier said. "There will be extra freedoms than we have today and that's an absolute assurance. Once we get to six million jabs, we'll call on [NSW Chief Health Officer] Dr Chant to make considerations of what we can allow people to do who are vaccinated." No concrete details have been given as yet regarding that vaccinated folks might be allowed to do once NSW hits six million vaccinations — if case numbers don't remain too high, that is — although eating in at bars and restaurants and getting haircuts are the kinds of ideas that've been floated over the past month. Reaching this vaccination milestone is seen as the first step in easing the Greater Sydney region out of its current lengthy lockdown. After that, when NSW reaches 70-percent and 80-percent vaccination rates, restrictions are meant to loosen even further — again, if case numbers aren't soaring — which falls in line with the country's new overall 'National Plan to transition Australia's National COVID Response' that was announced in July. "Obviously we're keen to make sure we hit the 70-percent double dose and 80-percent double dose targets. Now, at this stage, those targets will be met at the end of October for 70-percent double dose and mid-November for 80-percent double dose," said the Premier. "I want to make this very, very important point — life will be much freer than what it is today once we get to 70 percent and 80 percent. It doesn't mean we'll be completely free. It doesn't mean that we will let the virus be rampant in the community no matter our number of cases, but it will be freer than it is today. I really want to stress that point," she continued. NSW recorded 452 new locally acquired cases of #COVID19 in the 24 hours to 8pm last night. pic.twitter.com/V8iZFFHJFd — NSW Health (@NSWHealth) August 17, 2021 This isn't quite the roadmap out of lockdown that Berejiklian promised in mid-July but is yet to announce — and, other than the six million vaccination threshold, no further details or even specific details are expected to be revealed until much closer to August 28. Today, Tuesday, August 17, NSW reported 452 new locally acquired cases — and until Sunday, August 22, the entire state of NSW is currently under stay-at-home rules due to spreading cases in regional areas — so the outbreak has clearly been worsening since the Premier first promised to release that roadmap last month. The Premier has also advised that the NSW Government does expect case numbers to remain high in September and October, too; however, she expects that there'll still be scope to ease some rules for vaccinated people — with encouraging folks to get vaccinated obviously a very big part of the strategy moving forward. "Can I make it very clear that we are assuming that case numbers will go up. Now, I say that only as a realist because when you have cumulative days of high case numbers, there is a tipping point where case numbers go up," the Premier said. "Our challenge is to make sure that we keep vaccination rates up, because the more people that are vaccinated, the less likelihood of hospitalisation and the less likelihood of death." She continued: "We will have, in two or three weeks' time, a much greater proportion of the population who are protected against spreading the virus further... So all of these factors are taken into account, but I do want to stress that once we get to six million, it does give us options as to what we can consider in the months of September and October." If you're wondering were you can get vaccinated, there's a handy online map that helps you find your nearest clinic. Australia's vaccination campaign is also expected to get a boost from September now that the Moderna vaccine has been approved for use and will join the rollout. For more information about the status of COVID-19 in NSW, head to the NSW Health website.
He's an Oscar nominee for co-writing Moonrise Kingdom. Across Wes Anderson's filmography, he's a constant, co-scripting or helping come up with the story for The Darjeeling Limited, Isle of Dogs, The French Dispatch and the upcoming Asteroid City, too. He earned his first BAFTA nomination for working as visual effects director on Bram Stoker's Dracula, which was helmed by his father Francis Ford Coppola. On The Virgin Suicides, Lost in Translation and Marie Antoinette, his sister Sofia's films, he's hopped behind the lens as a second unit or additional director. He's Roman Coppola, of course — and he's also been behind music videos for The Strokes, Daft Punk, Air, Phoenix and Fatboy Slim. That's a helluva resume, as well as something worth talking about — and, at Melbourne's Semi Permanent spinoff Never Permanent, Coppola will be chatting. The screenwriter and director is the just-announced headliner for the one-day event, which hits the Victorian capital as part of new winter festival Now or Never. And yes, he's arriving just as Asteroid City reaches local cinemas, in what'll mark his first-ever keynote talk in Australia. [caption id="attachment_905124" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Daniel Jackson[/caption] The place to head: Melbourne's Royal Exhibition Building in Carlton on Thursday, August 24, along with 1000 other creative folks from across the Asia Pacific. Focusing on technology in industries such filmmaking, photography, graphic, product and motion design, animation, music, Web3 and the metaverse, and visual data — how it sparks new ways to thinking, and how it's changing the creative landscape, too — the full-day program will feature a wealth of fascinating keynote talks and panel discussions. On the bill: talent representing all of these fields, including Coppola. He's also the president of independent production company American Zoetrope, the founder and owner of commercial and music video production company The Directors Bureau, and founder of blockchain-based film community Decentralized Pictures, so he really does have much to dive into. While Coppola is a dream Never Permanent headliner, he isn't the only impressive name on the lineup. Perth's Ta-ku will cross the country to launch his first full solo album Songs to Come Home To, while designer and technologist Mindy Seu — an Assistant Professor at Rutgers Mason Gross School of the Arts and Critic at Yale School of Art, and also behind the Cyberfeminism Index — heads Down Under. Meta's Joshua To and Nicholas Kamuda — Vice President of Design, AR and Wearables, and a product designer, respectively — are also on the lineup. And, so are Old Ways, New founder Angie Abdilla, photographer and filmmaker Justin Ridler, artist and musician Serwah Attafuah, and LA-based multimedia artist and composer Jesse Woolston. [caption id="attachment_905121" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Simrat Kaur[/caption] "For so many years, we've had a passionate community of followers in Melbourne that have campaigned for Semi Permanent to return to the Victorian capital, and this partnership with the City of Melbourne and Now or Never feels like exactly the right opportunity to bring our unique festival to town," said Semi Permanent founder Murray Bell, announcing the Never Permanent lineup. "As we continue to adjust to a creative landscape radically altered by new and emerging technologies, our diverse lineup of speakers will shed light on how creative practice can continue to flourish in the face of, and in concert with, these shifting mediums." Never Permanent takes place on Thursday, August 24 in Melbourne's Royal Exhibition Building, 9 Nicholson Street, Carlton, as part of new winter festival Now or Never. Head to the Never Permanent website for further details.
Adelaide has been getting a major dose of cool as of late. Though the small bar scene may be a Melbournian namesake, this SA sister city is in the midst of a rebirth and has all of the makings to become its own small bar mecca. If you're headed to Adelaide, you'll want to check out the East End, along with Peel and Leigh streets, which house many of the city's newer bars — many of which only opened in 2015. From underground speakeasies and sake bars to American style dives and even a bar fitted out to resemble a log cabin, Adelaide has it all and in partnership with the Hahn Brewers we're bringing you the best of it. MAYBE MAE The concealed entrance to this 1950s cocktail lounge is not easy to find, but Maybe Mae is well worth the extra effort. Hidden in a tunnel beneath the Bread and Bone Wood Grill, the timber wall has no signage or even a door handle — this spot is as speakeasy as it gets. The space, inspired by movie star and sex symbol Mae West, is marked by a glamorous, Hollywood interior of green leather booths and large brass mirrors. It only opened last year, but this throwback of a bar is already a favourite stop on a night out. 15 Peel Street, Adelaide. PINK MOON SALOON Pink Moon Saloon is possibly the coolest-looking bar in the city. Located in the site of a former service laneway, the space best resembles a log cabin set in between two tall city buildings. Opened in 2015, this newcomer is a perfect addition to Adelaide's blooming small bar scene. The vibe itself is worth the visit alone. The drinks menu is inventive and playful (you can still grab a beer) while the small food menu is well designed for drink-induced nibbling. 21 Leigh Street, Adelaide. BANK STREET SOCIAL For a busy local hotspot, the Bank Street Social is your go-to. Get your boogie on to DJs spinning funk and disco, or relax on one of their luxe, golden-clad booths. On the food side of things, the regional pizza bar is focused on fresh, local ingredients and keeps the post-dance hanger at bay. 48 Hindley Street, Adelaide. MR. GOODBAR The vibe at Mr. Goodbar is best understood by their shrine to Saint Amand — that is, the patron saint of bartenders. The joint is dedicated to good times and, in their own words, to "the best kinds of sin". The waistcoat-wearing staff serve up their drinks alongside a simple food menu includes a daily cheese and charcuterie selection ($16-18) and blue swimmer crab cakes ($16). Overall, the space has a emphasises the old-world chic to it and is well-deserving of its name. 12 Union Street, Adelaide. [caption id="attachment_589691" align="alignnone" width="1280"] @jenjen_fifinha via Instagram[/caption] BADDOG BAR Baddog is a grunge-lovers haven, with an interior combination of leather, concrete and steel that just works. The well-lit bar boasts an impressive selection of small batch, local and international liquor, but is a great spot to settle down with a beer. Their in-house piano is the centre for which their blues and roots live acts congregate and play most nights until late. 63 Hyde Street, Adelaide. BRKLYN Housed upstairs at 260 Rundle Street, BRKLYN pays homage to New York's most loved borough. The entrance to this hidden gem is styled to look like a NYC subway — complete with subway-style mosaic tiling — and one half of the bar has even been made to look like a Brooklyn street, with various shopfronts and even an in-house barber. To cap it all off, their menu pays homage to the Jewish-owned delis of NYC, serving up the classic Reuben pastrami on rye with house-made pickles and Old Bay popcorn. 260A Rundle Street, Adelaide. 55ML 55ml is an intimate hole-in-the-wall with a simple but top-notch booze list, board games and tacos — need we say more? It has all the makings of great night out and is an ideal location for getting stuck in. Patrons easily lose time in this dimly-lit small bar, where the relaxed vibe is matched with pickleback specials — and they're just a few reasons to check this place out. We suggest you settle in with a beer and some chorizo tacos, grab the Jenga and let the hours fly by. 55 Mill Street, Adelaide. THE QUEEN'S HEAD This gem is the oldest licensed venue in its original location in the whole of South Australia, it's been sitting pretty on the corner of Kermode Street and Abbott Lane for 175 years. Not only a sunny spot for an afternoon beer, the kitchen at Queen's Head has award-winning pizza, burgers, steaks and sides and each weeknight has its own food special. 2KW BAR When you want to go somewhere a little bigger (and a little fancier) than the above, which also has incredible views of Adelaide and is cool in summer and warm in winter, then head to 2KW Bar. Sit back in the privacy of perfectly manicured hedges and enjoy a drink and some fancy food (try the crayfish). GONDOLA GONDOLA Gondola Gondola is an Asian-inspired bar and bistro that serves up sake, Japanese whiskies and craft beer. The food menu is also varied, from Vietnamese lamb shank stew and banh xeo (savoury pancake) to some Thai-flavoured sashimi and lemongrass beef. Despite this variety, the space has an authentic vibe and is a must do on any boozy (or foodie) visit to Adelaide. 1 Peel Street, Adelaide. Sign up to Hahn Brewers and use your weekend to take a trip to Adelaide.
It's interesting, this current trend of people trying to couple extreme sports and Guinness-record setting adventuring with things like reducing carbon emissions and improving sustainable technology practices. The most recent addition to this group is a pair of German "extreme sportsmen," who made the decision to drive across Australia, from Albany to Sydney, in eighteen days in an electric car powered by a kite. The developers and pilots, Stefan Simmerer and Dirk Gion, collaborated with the industrial group Evonik to produce the Wind Explorer, a car made from lightweight composites and filled up with a bunch of lithium-ion batteries. When the batteries lose power, all they need to do to recharge is to connect them up to a portable wind-turbine - always easy to come across in the Australian desert. When wind turbines are hard to find they can erect their own, made of bamboo, or use their kites, which can reach speeds of 80 km/h. Their hope is that the project will inspire more sustainable technology innovation and more awareness about how self-sufficient environmentally friendly transportation can be. [Via PSFK]
What do one of the darkest chapters in Australia's recent past, one of the nation's literary best-sellers and the country's ongoing reckoning with its colonial history all have in common? In 2021, they all found a home on the big screen. And, they've all just been named among the year's best homegrown flicks, too, with Nitram, The Dry and High Ground scoring a heap of 2021 AACTA Award nominations. The AACTA Awards — which were previously called the AFI Awards, before changing their name — recognise the best and brightest in Australian film and television every 12 months. Because they span multiple types of screen content, there's a hefty number of local productions vying for a gong when the winners are announced on Wednesday, December 8. On the film front, that includes not only the three movies already mentioned above, but also the gold rush era-set western The Furnace, queer rom-com Ellie and Abbie (& Ellie's Dead Aunt), true tale Penguin Bloom and comedy Rams. In terms of stars, everyone from Eric Bana, Simon Baker, Naomi Watts and Claudia Karvan are in the running, as well as Noni Hazlehurst, Judy Davis, Rose Byrne and Michael Caton. Recognising the wealth of Indigenous talent that's graced our screens over the past year, the acting nominees in the movie fields also include Jacob Junior Nayinggul, Sean Mununggurr and Esmerelda Marimowa from High Ground; Miranda Tapsell for The Dry; and Baykali Ganambarr for The Furnace. Egyptian actor Ahmed Malek also got a nod for the latter — and, in terms of overseas actors, so did American actor and 2021 Cannes Film Festival Best Actor-winner Caleb Landry Jones for Nitram. In the TV categories, if you've been watching Clickbait or Aunty Donna's Big Ol' House of Fun on Netflix, they're both in AACTA contention. So are a wide range of other series — everything from Mr Inbetween to The Newsreader in the drama categories, and from Aftertaste to Rosehaven in the comedy fields, in fact. [caption id="attachment_822493" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Ben King/Netflix[/caption] The 2021 AACTA Awards will take place on Wednesday, December 8. Here's a rundown of the major nominations — and you can check out the full list on AACTA's website: AACTA NOMINEES 2021 FILM AWARDS: BEST FILM The Dry The Furnace High Ground Nitram Penguin Bloom Rams BEST INDIE FILM Disclosure Ellie and Abbie (& Ellie's Dead Aunt) Lone Wolf Moon Rock for Monday My First Summer Under My Skin BEST DIRECTION Rob Connolly, The Dry Roderick MacKay, The Furnace Stephen Maxwell Johnson, High Ground Justin Kurzel, Nitram Glendyn Ivin, Penguin Bloom BEST LEAD ACTOR Simon Baker, High Ground Eric Bana, The Dry Caleb Landry Jones, Nitram Ahmed Malek, The Furnace Jacob Junior Nayinggul, High Ground BEST LEAD ACTRESS Rose Byrne, Peter Rabbit 2 Judy Davis, Nitram Noni Hazlehurst, June Again Genevieve O'Reilly, The Dry Naomi Watts, Penguin Bloom BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR Michael Caton, Rams Baykali Ganambarr, The Furnace Anthony LaPaglia, Nitram Sean Mununggurr, High Ground Jack Thompson, High Ground BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS Essie Davis, Nitram Claudia Karvan, June Again Esmerelda Marimowa, High Ground Miranda Tapsell, The Dry Jacki Weaver, Penguin Bloom BEST SCREENPLAY Rob Connolly and Harry Cripps, The Dry Shaun Grant and Harry Cripps, Penguin Bloom Will Gluck and Patrick Burleigh, Peter Rabbit 2 Jules Duncan, Rams BEST DOCUMENTARY Girls Can't Surf I'm Wanita My Name Is Gulpilil Playing with Sharks Strong Female Lead When the Camera Stopped Rolling TELEVISION AWARDS: BEST DRAMA SERIES Clickbait Jack Irish Mr Inbetween The Newsreader Total Control Wakefield Wentworth BEST TELEFEATURE OR MINISERIES A Sunburnt Christmas The End Fires New Gold Mountain The Unusual Suspects BEST NARRATIVE COMEDY SERIES Aftertaste Aunty Donna's Big Ol' House of Fun Fisk Frayed Preppers Rosehaven BEST COMEDY ENTERTAINMENT PROGRAM Dom and Adrian 2020 Hard Quiz The Moth Effect Spicks and Specks The Weekly BEST LEAD ACTOR IN A TELEVISION DRAMA Rudi Dharmaligam, Wakefield Guy Pearce, Jack Irish Sam Reid, The Newsreader Richard Roxburgh, Fires Scott Ryan, Mr Inbetween BEST LEAD ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION DRAMA Deborah Mailman, Total Control Mandy McElhinney, Wakefield Miranda Otto, Fires Pamela Rabe, Wentworth Anna Torv, The Newsreader BEST COMEDY PERFORMER Mark Samual Bonanno, Aunty Donna's Big Ol' House of Fun Kitty Flanagan, Fisk Tom Gleeson, Hard Quiz Broden Kelly, Aunty Donna's Big Ol' House of Fun Sarah Kendall, Frayed Nakkiah Lui, Preppers Luke McGregor, Rosehaven Celia Pacquola, Rosehaven BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A TELEVISION DRAMA Harry Greenwood, Wakefield William McInnes, The Newsreader Matt Nable, Mr Inbetween Stephen Peacocke, The Newsreader Justin Rosniak, Mr Inbetween BEST GUEST OR SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION DRAMA Michelle Lim Davidson, The Newsreader Marg Downey, The Newsreader Harriet Dyer, Wakefield Rachel Griffiths, Total Control Noni Hazlehurst, The End
What does a gin made on a farm in far north Queensland have in common with beer brewed in the middle of Adelaide? Or with a nice vino from a winery located outside Geelong, a premix sangria from New South Wales, a rum hailing from a Western Australian property and a cider from southern Tasmania? As well as offering a top-notch choice for your next beverage, they've all been named among Australia's favourite local drops as part of BWS' Local Luvvas initiative. In an effort to not only gauge which smaller and independent homegrown tipples Aussies love, but also to give the country's breweries, winemakers and distilleries some extra support, BWS asked the nation to name their go-to local beverages. From all of those votes, the bottle shop retailer has now announced the top picks, spanning drinks in New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia and Tasmania. It's a sizeable list — and, as part of the campaign's overall aim, it isn't just filled with names you'll already know. You might be a Brisbanite who's been singing your local brewery's praises; however, you may not have heard about a stellar outfit pumping out great beers down south. Or, even if you consider yourself very well-acquainted with Aussie wines, it's likely that there's still some labels you haven't come across. In their respective states, 18 winners will be given an extra helping hand with getting their products stocked in more BWS stores. And if you're currently wondering which tipples you should be looking out for — whether it's for a cold one after a busy day, a glass of nice wine with lunch or dinner, or a cocktail just because — we've run through the entire list of fan favourites state by state. [caption id="attachment_787625" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Kitti Gould[/caption] NEW SOUTH WALES From New South Wales' variety-filled lineup of local drinks producers, four brands emerged victorious. That's more than other states, because wine lovers gave themselves two choices — this is a state that's clearly serious about its vino. For a straight drop, NSW residents selected Audrey Wilkinson from the Hunter Valley. For something a little different, Local Luvvas voters also highlighted Nueva Sangria, which serves up an Aussie twist on the Spanish drink. In the beer category, Sydneysiders made their preference known, picking craft brew outfit Akasha out of Five Dock in the city's inner west. And just like in the wine field, premixes obviously have a hefty amount of fans among spirits drinkers, too, with Lust Liquor's low-calorie range getting the nod. VICTORIA When you're Melbourne's oldest independent brewery and boast a 17-year history, you've had plenty of time to rustle up hordes of beer-loving aficionados. So it should surprise absolutely no one that Thornbury's 3 Ravens has been named Victoria's favourite local brew. Victorians also showered some affection on another brewery, Billson's, but for the Beechworth-based company's spirits range — which includes bottles of gin and vodka, as well as vodka premixes. And, as picked from all the local wineries that the state has to offer, 6Ft6 has been dubbed Victoria's most-loved. Based in the Moorabool Valley in Geelong, it focuses on seven specific varieties spanning both white and red drops. QUEENSLAND Queensland's far north isn't just home to tropical greenery, picturesque beaches, and a climate that's even warmer and sunnier year-round than Brisbane. It's also home to Mt Uncle Distillery in the Atherton Tablelands. That's where the state's favourite spirit springs from, in the form of its Botanic Australis gin. When it comes to the Sunshine State's preferred beer, a Brisbane local has won out — and it's one with a considerable following around the city. That'd be Aether Brewing, the family-owned brewery that started in the city's west, is now based in Brissie's north and has been doing its beer-making thing since 2016. WESTERN AUSTRALIA Just shy of 400 kilometres south of Perth sits the vineyard responsible for Western Australia's favourite vino, Ferngrove Wines, which has been making top-notch drops since 1998. Keep heading down and, once you hit Albany, you'll find WA's best-loved beer as well. Wilson Brewing Company has seven different brews among its range, including lighter session and blonde ales, plus heavier dark and brown ales. Wondering which type of spirits WA residents like best? That'd be Illegal Tender Co's rum. Fans can also be forgiven for dreaming about following in the brand's footsteps — it's a labour of love from an electrician who decided to leave his career behind and follow his passion instead. SOUTH AUSTRALIA Even if you've never been to South Australia, or to its famed wine regions, every Australian knows that McLaren Vale and vino go hand in hand. It's also where Never Never Distilling Co is based, and where the company whips up beverages made from juniper instead of grapes. Obviously, we're talking about gin. For SA's favourite wine, you'll actually want to sip a drop from the Adelaide Hills, and from the tiny 343-person township of Paracombe specifically. There's no prizes for guessing where Paracombe Wines gets its name from, of course. And, in the beer category, Adelaide's Little Bang Brewing Company topped the poll thanks to its yeasty brews made in its inner-city base in Stepney. TASMANIA Tasmania's well-known nickname has clearly struck a chord with fans of a nice crisp drink. In the brewery category, the state's residents have chosen Plenty Cider as their pick. It's made from 100-percent local apples on the Apple Isle, which is patently a winning combination. In the vino field, Pepik Wines nabbed top spot, hailing from Josef Chromy Wines and its 61-hectare vineyard at Relbia, just south of Launceston. For Tassie's preferred spirits, your tastebuds are heading to Marion Bay. Hellfire Bluff Distillery launched in 2017 out of a potato farm, and it now not only makes vodka but also gin, coffee liqueur and limoncello as well. For more information about BWS' local range — and to pick up one of the above beers, wines and spirits — head to the retailer's stores in New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia and Tasmania.
Sydney Dance Company has teamed up with Sydney's City Art public art program to create a photo series that helps inspire the city to uncover more of its arts and culture. Award-winning dancers Charmene Yap and Cass Mortimer Eipper appear in the series alongside four public artworks around Sydney: Magnolia, located in the Royal Botanic Gardens; Aspire, located under an overpass in Pyrmont; Folly for Mrs Macquarie in Royal Botanic Gardens and Forgotten Songs in the CBD's Angel Place. It's art-meets-art, showcasing both ends of Sydney's broad spectrum of artistic talent waiting to be uncovered and rediscovered in our city. In the series, Yap and Eipper are shown at the forefront of Sydney's art scene; a scene that spans all modes of expression, from the highly kinetic to the stationary. This collaboration is also an appreciation of the dancers' home, with 2 One Another, SDC's award-winning performance returning to Walsh Bay for an October run after a successful international season. 2 One Another is an energetic entanglement of movement, sound and colour. Symbolising connection and interaction in our relationships, dancers take the audience on a raw, vivid journey. Choreographed by acclaimed artistic director Rafael Bonachela, the kinetic and graphic visuals of the performance are composed to follow the emotional trajectory of the music. The soundtrack was composed by Nick Wales in a baroque/electronic hybrid of strings, percussion and spoken word, synced to both the dancers' movement and visuals on a 16 by five-metre screen. Since its world premiere in 2012, 2 One Another has been performed nationally and internationally, in Europe and the Americas, and has won many awards for its choreography and talented performers. Check out the official website for tickets and more information on 2 One Another. Images: Pedro Greig.
Jackie, by Chilean director Pablo Larrain, is a captivating and unflinching portrait of private grief amidst one of history's most public tragedies. It is, as the name suggests, neither a film about JFK's assassination nor about JFK himself, but rather a study of first lady Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy and the unfathomable burden of responsibility she both assumed and had thrust upon her in the immediate aftermath of her husband's murder. Portrayed by Natalie Portman with uncanny fidelity, Jackie's story is told via a series of flashbacks as she gives her account of events to Pulitzer-winning journalist Theodore H. White (listed in the credits merely as 'the journalist' and played by the ever reliable Billy Crudup). White's handwritten notes of that interview were made public the year after Jackie's death, and reveal the extent to which she insisted upon oversight of the final copy to ensure JFK's legacy was honoured – including her emphasis of the 'Camelot' theme that would forever become synonymous with the late President's name. Much like Clint Eastwood's recent Sully, the most dramatic moment in Jackie – her husband's assassination – is reserved for only the final stages of the film. For the bulk of the running time, Larrain instead chooses to focus squarely on the minutes, hours and days that followed the Dallas shooting. Gone for the most part are the glitzy ballrooms and lavish parties, replaced by hospital waiting rooms, cramped bathrooms and the back seat of a hearse. The choice is well considered, demonstrating precisely how alone Jackie was in those trying days, save for Robert Kennedy (Peter Sarsgaard) and her faithful White House social secretary Nancy Tuckerman (Greta Gerwig). Jackie was a woman in a man's world, and everyone of them felt entitled to tell her what to do, where to go and, most importantly, how to feel. That in that environment, under those conditions, she still found the strength to stand up to so many is a testament to Jackie's character, and forms the bulk of the film's thematic line. Portman's performance is phenomenal, an extraordinary embodiment of the physical and aural cues that made Jackie such an icon in her own right. It's such a remarkable likeness, in fact, that the film does on occasion veer dangerously towards a mere showcase of Portman's abilities at the expense of advancing the story. Thankfully, these moments are short lived and quickly forgotten. Portman has honoured her subject with a fine portrayal that, like Jackie herself, refuses to hide behind artifice – an unflinching, bare bones turn that only grows stronger the closer the camera comes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZTXv5NpgaI
Put that bottle of fake tan down. Yes, summer may be fading, but the boutique hotel hunters at Mr & Mrs Smith can give you a last-minute dose of Vitamin D. Complete with stretches of beyond-blonde beach, #unfiltered views and too-turquoise water, these ten boutique bolt-holes will have you topping up your tan faster than the autumn leaves darken. Constance Moofushi, Maldives What: Sea world Where: South Ari Atoll, Ari Atoll Don’t be surprised if a sojourn at luxury escape Constance Moofushi has you tearing up your passport the moment you spy the private-island locale, sprawling beach and lagoon-toting villas. (You can tear up your wallet, too, thanks to the generous all-inclusive rates, which even include free cigarettes from the humidor.) Snag a sunbed by the knee-weakeningly seductive pool — curved to mirror the shape of the beach — for uninterrupted Indian Ocean views. If splashing around brings on the munchies, make the most of the afternoon tea and pancakes, served poolside every afternoon. Adrenaline junkies can get their fix with a spot of windsurfing, kayaking, pedal boating and snorkelling; for a different kind of liquid thrill, head to Totem or Manta Bar, where a DJ will have you cutting shapes until the early hours (the potent cocktails should help, too). Anantara Seminyak, Bali What: Balearic style in Bali Where: Jl. Abimanyu (Dhyana Pura), Seminyak, Bali From its perch overlooking one of Bali’s most popular beaches, Anantara Seminyak boasts some serious style: suites are kitted out with marble, dark wood and just-so Balinese accents; some have access to a private or semi-private pool. Following an afternoon of peaceful paddling in the infinity-edge swimming pool, it’s only a few barefoot steps to poolside eatery Wild Orchard. Wednesdays see the restaurant dishing up an Indonesian buffet dinner with traditional dance performances. On Saturdays, Wild Orchard plays host to a seafood barbecue. For drinks with a view, head up to the fourth-floor rooftop and SOS Supper Club to laze on oversized day-beds and listen to tune-pumping DJs. Song Saa Private Island, Cambodia What: Castaway luxury Where: Koh Ouen, Koh Rong Islands Spread over a pair of pristine tropical isles, Song Saa Private Island is a green-minded resort that doesn’t skimp on glamour. All of the villas have breathtaking ocean views, private pools and an effortlessly elegant blend of thatched roofs, rustic timber beams, polished marble walls, Moroccan lanterns and carved tribal statues. If you’ve forgotten to pack sarongs and kaftans, the island’s two exclusive boutiques are stocked with designer labels. The resort offers snorkelling trips around Song Saa, island and marine safaris, nature treasure hunts and sunrise yoga classes; couples seeking a romantic canoodle can have a night in with in-villa movies and private poolside dining. Hotel El Ganzo, Mexico What: Hipster yacht party Where: Blvd. Tiburón s/n – La Playita, San José del Cabo, Baja California Sur Doubling as an arts and culture centre, design den Hotel El Ganzo is the first of its kind in Los Cabos. It lures the hip and beautiful faster than a pair of new-season Ray Bans, abd it’s not hard to see why: charms include a private beach club with one of the area’s few swimmable beaches, a rooftop pool, sushi bar and a recording studio for would-be chart-toppers. When being hip-achingly cool takes its toll, choose from the treatment list at Spa El Ganzo — from traditional Swedish massage to agave-scrub — or take a turn in the sauna, steam room, salon and marina-view gym. By day, Ganzo Downstairs restaurant serves fresh, locally sourced dishes — ceviche, lion’s paw scallops, chilaquiles, and so on. As the sun sets, locals flock to this buzzy hotspot for the free-flowing tequila, churros and soft tunes. Qualia, Great Barrier Reef What: High-end luxury Where Hamilton Island, The Whitsundays, Queensland & Great Barrier Reef Sitting smack-bang in the Great Barrier Reef, Qualia has dazzling views from every angle. Villas are dotted amid the 30 acres of immaculately manicured gardens and each has postcard-perfect views of the Whitsundays or tropical bushland, and their own two-seater buggie. The Long Pavilion, helmed by chef Alastair Waddell, serves modern Australian cuisine — milk-fed veal, pork and marron tail, coral trout, white gazpacho — on candlelit tables, backdropped by neighbouring islands and spectacular sunsets. Enjoy a tropical fruit-inspired sundowner in the sunken lounge or in a raised area overlooking Qualia’s lap pool. Monastero Santa Rosa, Amalfi Coast What: Ancient monastery, reborn for sybarites Where: 2 Via Roma, Conca dei Marini, Campania, Italy Clinging to a cliff overlooking the azure-blue ocean, Monastero Santa Rosa is postcard perfection. Once a monastery, the hotel pays homage to its heritage by naming each of the former nuns’ quarters after herbs grown in the private gardens. Rooms are decorated with furniture and one-of-a-kind antiques (handpicked by the owner); some have terraces swathed in bougainvillea. Days are spent ambling in the tiered gardens and filling in tan lines by the heated infinity pool. Plucked from Alain Ducasse’s thrice Michelin-starred restaurant in Paris, chef Christoph Bob dishes up the spectacular using organic ingredients grown onsite. The hotel’s spa is a destination in its own right, boasting a Finnish sauna, steam room, ice fountain and hydro pool. The Nam Hai, Vietnam What: Seaside design shrine Where: Hamlet 1, Dien Duong Village, Dien Ban District, Hoi An, Quang Nam Province Traditional Vietnamese chic meets cutting-edge design at The Nam Hai. Rooms are decorated with romantic net-canopied platform beds, freestanding eggshell-lacquered baths, private gardens and outdoor rain showers. Water-babies can work their way between the three pools, beginning with the temperature-controlled upper pool with artsy ceramic urns, onto the long lap pool and finishing at the infinity pool that melts into the ocean horizon. The Beach Restaurant is perfect for a lazy, poolside lunch. The restaurant has views over the East Sea, high ceilings and a menu that champions contemporary fusion and authentic Indian fare. Trisara, Phuket, Thailand What: Understated glamour Where: 60/1 Moo 6, Srisoonthorn Road, Cherngtalay, Thalang, Phuket, Thailand Overlooking a private bay in Phuket’s less developed north-west coast, each suite or villa at Trisara has jaw-dropping ocean vistas, its own pool and sexy outdoor showers. With your underwater-friendly camera in tow, mingle with technicolour fish in the bay. Back on dry land, there are muay Thai classes, tennis courts, a library and gym. For slower-paced pursuits, the hillside-set Trisara Spa has double treatment rooms and indulgent offerings including body wraps, facials and scrubs. If two nimble-knuckled hands just won’t do, opt for the Royal Trisara, a six-hand massage by three therapists. When hunger strikes, grab a table on the palm-shaded deck for ultra-fresh Thai and international cuisine. Beachfront eatery Trisara Seafood features the freshest fruits de mer, plucked from local waters. Maia Luxury Resort & Spa, Seychelles What: Wholly holistic happy hideaway Where: Anse Louis, Mahé Have knots in your shoulders? An aching back? Treat them to a restorative retreat at Maia Luxury Resort & Spa. We challenge even the most furrowed of brows not to unfurl after spying the turquoise waters gently lapping at sugar-sand beaches, tall palms waving in the breeze and thatched roofs dotted amid lush gardens. Forget about lifting a finger; each villa has its own private butler who can fill your days with snorkelling and cookery lessons, make dinner reservations, unpack luggage and even run a bath. Coaxing guests out of their villas is Maia’s spa. Hidden down dainty lanes flanked by bread fruit trees and hibiscus blooms, this shrine to pampering has a built-in soundtrack of birdsong and trickling water. Alila Villas Soori, Bali What: Sleek sea-kissed sanctuary Where: Banjar Dukuh, Desa Kelating, Kerambitan, Tabanan, Bali Pairing its spectacular scenery — untouched beaches and lush rice paddies — with effortless architecture makes Alila Villas Soori a visual delight. From the minimalist pads (complete with personal butler) to the communal areas, the hotel is sleek and effortlessly elegant, with neutral hues and dark accents. At the resort’s heart, the 25m infinity pool has four submerged day-beds at the shallow end to allow for slinky water access. Days begin with a tasting-style breakfast at open-air Coast. Lunch and dinner sees the talented chefs rustle up authentic Indonesian dishes. For something more swish, Ombak is a posh-nosh eatery perfect for romance. Find more boutique bolt-holes at Mr & Mrs Smith and search all the hotel collections. Smith members enjoy exclusive extras on all stays.
Cancelling events seemed to be a thing of the past, specifically, of 2020. But if this Delta variant has taught us anything, it's that we aren't out of the raincheck-woods just yet. Luckily, TEDxSydney will be gracing our laptop screens virtually on Friday, September 17. Speakers will connect with audiences via a bespoke interactive platform to make the event as pandemic-proof as possible. The one-day event is jam-packed with diverse guests celebrating some of the brightest minds in Australia's science, technology, business, design, entertainment and innovation spaces. Over four sessions, there will be workshops, panel discussions and performances, all broadcast from the Sydney Opera House. The theme for 2021 is Possible — diving into conversation, debate and action around what is possible in today's world. Speakers and performers include Australian of the Year 2021 Grace Tame; writer, poet and human rights activist Sara Saleh; co-founder and CEO of sustainable foodtech startup George Peppou; Indigenous strategist Shelley Reys AO and songwriter-computer scientist duo Uncanny Valley. Standard registration is $180 and concession/NFP registration is $120, or you can get the full VIP experience for $1,000. You can register for TEDXSydney Possible here. [caption id="attachment_822853" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Uncanny Valley, one of the guests of Ted x Sydney's Possible.[/caption]
Lamenting Valentine's Day? Sucks to be you, because the inaugural Month of Love is coming to Sydney for the whole month of February. Now you have the entire month to dread! Yay! That's right, Black Eyed Peas asked and Darling Harbour delivered as a range of free and ticketed lovey-dovey events pop up along the foreshore. Row boats will be available for hire at Cockle Bay from 6-10pm on February 1, 5-9 and 12-16. For $25, couples can row through the light shows on offer, as love hearts and letters light up the water. Meanwhile, Vesta Italian will be serving up antipasto platters to tie in with the campaign. Cured meats, gourmet cheeses, olives, pickled vegetables and fresh breads can be found in the south end of Sydney's Darling Harbour for $25. You can snack on your platter (and no doubt insist on Public Displays of Affection) on one of the heart-shaped picnic rugs laid out for the month. LGBTQI love will be celebrated with a range of activities from February 16. Kids (and big kids, too) can decorate a Mardi Gras costume to take home or help build a Mardi Gras parade float from 1-4pm. Then, from 6.30pm, a posse of drag performers — amongst a range of other performances — will embark on a 'Cher-Off'. We aren't exactly sure what a Cher-Off is, but boy, it sounds good. And, if you believe in life after love, grab a selfie to remember your partner by at one of the Mardi Gras scenes displayed. Running from February 16 until March 1, the photo-walls can be found at Cockle Bay Wharf, Darling Quater, Harbourside, IMAX, Sydney Aquarium and more. Along with fireworks and the usual bouquets of roses, there's a whole lot more happening for the Month of Love. Excuse me while I eat an entire bucket of ice cream.
More murderers. More mysteries. More moody musings about people who kill people. More chances for Damon Herriman to step into Charles Manson's shoes, too. Yes, the second season of Mindhunter will have it all when it finally drops on Netflix on Friday, August 16, returning two years after the David Fincher-executive produced and co-directed series first hit the platform. This time around, FBI agents Holden Ford (Jonathan Groff) and Bill Tench (Holt McCallany) no longer need to prove that chatting to incarcerated serial killers can help solve ongoing cases. Taking place a couple of years after the initial season's 1977 setting, Mindhunter follows the dedicated duo during the Atlanta child murders. Across 1979–81, at least 28 kids, teens and adults were killed — with the first trailer for the show's new season showing the reaction in Georgia, and teasing one unnerving incident. Ford and Tench keep gleaning insights from talkative murderer Ed Kemper (Cameron Britton), whose thoughts narrate the haunting clip; however, he's not the only notorious figure that they're set to cross paths with. As well as Herriman's second take on Manson, after the Aussie actor's role in Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, the new Netflix series also features David Berkowitz, aka Son of Sam. Expect more criminal profiling and psychological thrills, obviously, with the show based on the excellent non-fiction book Mindhunter: Inside the FBI's Elite Serial Crime Unit. Expect more meticulous Fincher magic as well, as the Seven and Zodiac filmmaker continues his on-screen fascination with serial killers. He has company behind the lens, thanks to Australian director Andrew Dominik (Chopper, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford) and US helmer Carl Franklin (Devil in a Blue Dress, Out of Time). Get creeped out by the first trailer for Mindhunter season two below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIazdDw4tao Mindhunter season two drops on Netflix on Friday, August 16.
Welcome to the graduating class of refined gin drinkers. You might have been on this juniper-shrouded path for some time, or you may still confuse aquavit with a London dry. But no matter the maturity of your palate or knowledge of the botanical wonder that is gin, you're bound to pick up some useful notes to casually weave into conversation at your next gin tasting excursion. That's because we've brought in an expert guest lecturer: the master distiller at Archie Rose, Dave Withers. We sat down with him to discuss the latest 'ginnovations', including the new limited-edition Archie Rose Bone Dry Gin. So, pour yourself something floral and zesty and start soaking up some gin knowledge. PINE TALKIN': HOW YOU CAN TELL IF YOU'RE REALLY SIPPING A 'GOOD' GIN When it comes to deciding what to drink, do you seek out hefty price tags or let provenance guide your review? Does vintage or distilling technique give an advantage? While these factors might all affect what's in the bottle, Withers says it has to start with juniper berries. "A good gin should have the flavour of pine which is the juniper doing the talking," he says. If you're not starting with a base of these peppery orbs in the distilling process, then what's being produced is actually a flavoured vodka, not gin. But that doesn't mean you should neglect balancing other ingredients — and you should be able to spot these, too. "The flavours of gin should be clearly discernible and not muddled," Withers says. "For example, if a gin has a good amount of citrus and earthy rooty characteristics, then it will come across confused as one flavour tries to cancel the other out." WANT TO KNOW HOW GIN IS MADE? LET'S TAKE A MINI DISTILLERY TOUR If you've ever visited a gin distillery, you'll likely remember the mad scientist-like copper stills used to heat and cool ingredients. This equipment is used to redistill a neutral alcohol, usually from a grain base (similar to vodka production). Then, that product is re-distilled with botanicals to provide flavour, before being simmered down with water to bring it to a fit-for-human-consumption alcohol level. "Juniper is a very versatile ingredient that can highlight some really lovely flavours," Withers says. "That was the concept behind our Bone Dry Gin. We distilled our hand-foraged juniper from North Macedonia in a number of different ways, which allowed us to highlight citrus, woody, peppery and floral aromas." This limited-edition gin is the first to be released from Archie Rose's new Banksmeadow Distillery. Here, tailor-made vacuum stills enable more precise extraction of botanicals through hot and cold distillation, resulting in a layering of citrus and herbaceous notes that are rounded with that classic pine-dry finish. BONING UP ON DIFFERENT GIN VARIETIES If you're a seasoned drinker, you'll likely be able to differentiate between chardonnay and sauvignon blanc (having the name on the label does help), but it can be a little more complicated with gin. While there are numerous gin varieties on the market, they can be broadly categorised as 'contemporary' or 'traditional', with dry gins leading the latter. Withers says juniper invariably takes charge in traditional variations, and rides in the backseat for contemporary concoctions. "In our Bone Dry Gin we wanted to take the traditional format but add a twist. The juniper is a massive presence but we accented that with native Australian finger limes and a uniquely Australian ingredient called lemon-scented gum, which is literally a lemon-flavoured eucalyptus." A SHORT HISTORY LESSON Gin's 17th-century juniper berry-infused ancestor, genever, was developed in the Netherlands as a medicinal liquor before rising to prominence in England. Early 1800s gin-crazed London is likely where the trope of gin being an 'emotional' drink emerged, since there was little regulation around its production. This meant the alcohol content in gin could reach extraordinary levels and be distilled with unsanitary drinking water — a combination that would bring a tear to even the most gin-pickled of eyes. Right now, Withers says, we're "living in the golden age of gin." Beyond the delicious (and well-regulated) traditional bottles, you can find anything from grapefruit-infused pink gin to drams featuring green ants, and gin that magically changes colour when it meets tonic or citrus. In Australia, these creations are pumping out of more than 300 gin distilleries, a number that has grown exponentially over just the last few years. "In terms of quality and variability it has never been a better time to be a gin drinker." JUNIPER RETURNS – BUT IT'S IN SHORT SUPPLY We've already talked about it, but juniper really is the king of gin botanicals. And Withers thinks it's making a comeback. "There has been a move over the last few years to using really exotic ingredients that give big flavours. But I think drinkers are going the other way, hoping to get their juniper fix from their favourite brands." However, for the last few years gin producers and drinkers have been facing a catch-22 — demand for juniper is increasing in the face of a global shortage in supply. As well as increased demand, this shortage has been attributed to the spread of a fungal disease in some countries that can destroy juniper plants. Here's hoping for more fruitful seasons ahead. MIX MASTERS Happily, crafting an excellent gin drink is about simple combinations that let those botanical flavours shine. As for the secret to a perfect G&T, Withers says it's all about the ratio: "G&T drinkers shouldn't be afraid of using ample ice and minimal tonic. By reducing the amount of tonic and letting the ice dilute your drink, it's easier to taste the unique flavours of the gin." Withers says you can find similar refreshment from a gin and soda combo — but if you're after something stronger, you can't go past a classic gin martini. "There are so many variations on the martini that there's a whole world of nuance to be explored here," he tells us. "Visiting a local bar and asking your bartender what they recommend is a great way of seeing how small differences like a lemon twist or an olive garnish can transform your drink." FINISHING TOUCHES A squeeze of citrus can definitely elevate gin, but with so many varieties of gin to taste-test, it would be wasteful to not experiment with different garnishes. Withers recommends you try a few final flourishes that completely oppose a gin's flavour profile. "If the gin is savoury and salty then a sweet garnish like a strawberry can create a fantastic counterpoint," Withers says. "Snacking on the strawberry in between sips refreshes your palate and allows you to enjoy the distinctive flavours of the drink anew." Turns out you can have your garnish and eat it, too. For more information on Archie Rose and its brand-new Bone Dry Gin, head to the website. Want to win a case of it, as well as two bottled cocktails and a distillery tour? Just enter your details on our competition page.
If you're a fan of The Wire, love house music, live in Sydney and are free tonight, you'll be very happy with this little nugget of news. Idris Elba is playing an impromptu DJ set in Sydney tonight. Yep, that guy. We all know Idris Elba — perhaps not by his name, but definitely by his face. He's played Stringer on The Wire, Heimdall in Thor and Nelson Mandela in the biopic Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, and was named in the Time 100 list of the Most Influential People in the World for 2016. In addition to all that, the Golden Globe nominee is also a talented musician and a deft hand behind the decks. He's in Australia to shoot the new Thor instalment at the moment, and the newly reopened Goodbar has managed to secure him for his Australian DJ debut. Huge. It's all taking place tonight (yes, tonight, Thursday, September 29) at the Oxford Street venue, in their downstairs room The Underground. For those not already acquainted with Elba's musical endeavours, he was apparently deep in the house music scene before everything took off as an actor — but now he's made time to get back into the studio, pumping out a new track 'Hiatus'. In addition to this, Elba just dropped some killer DJ sets at Output in New York, Egg LDN as well as Glastonbury and Eastern Electrics. Some people are just too good at everything. Doors open at 8pm with supports from local acts Nicky Night Time and Handles (Yolanda Be Cool). Oh, and did we mention entry is totally free? Yeah, it's free. So best to get down there early. Idris Elba will play a DJ set on Thursday, September 29 at Goodbar, 11a Oxford Street, Paddington. For more information, visit the Facebook event page.
Some days, don't you just want to grab a drink, make a few shiny spheres zigzag around a table, and enjoy the soothing blend of booze and pinball? If so, Melbourne's Pinball Paradise is your new hangout — as well as Australia's first dedicated pinball and whiskey bar. Lighting up the first floor at 213 Franklin Street, and accessed via a secret entrance in ground-floor bar Island Somewhere, Pinball Paradise is basically a beverage-serving pinball arcade for adults. And if that sounds like the kind of space that every pinball lover dreams of, wait until you clock the themed machines you'll be flipping balls in. Prepare for a pop culture bonanza, including Game of Thrones, Dracula, The Wizard of Oz, Dirty Harry, Terminator 2, Jurassic Park, Popeye, The Creature from the Black Lagoon and Maverick pinball. Ghostbusters, Back to the Future, The Addams Family, Star Trek — they're all likely to give your button-smashing, flipper-controlling fingers a workout as well, alongside a range of rare, classic machines. Drinks-wise, expect whiskey aplenty, with Japanese varieties a favourite. A selection of food is also on offer to help you keep up your pinball-playing energy levels. As well as becoming the new home of all of your spare change, Pinball Paradise might just be the future of your fun nights out. Indeed, with mini golf and arcade watering holes popping up around the country, simply going to a bar, grabbing a drink and chatting with your friends is quickly becoming a pre-2016 concept. Find Pinball Paradise on the first floor at 213 Franklin Street, Melbourne. Check out their Facebook page for more information.
