Having never quite managed to be in the right place to see a Kaldor Public Art Project in the flesh, I'm pretty excited about the Art Gallery of New South Wales' Kaldor retrospective. Seriously. Sure, tucking some glossy photographs neatly into the old white cube seems slightly anathema to the Kaldor ethos, but after 40 years of "yep, that's pretty great" projects, Kaldor is indisputably a significant part of the history (and present) of contemporary art in Australia. A major exhibition accompanied by a substantial publication is just the thing to remind us. In 1968 there was no MCA, no ACCA, there were no publicly funded contemporary art spaces at all, just John Kaldor twiddling his thumbs wondering how to connect Australia with the international avant-garde. One year later Kaldor brought out Christo and Jeanne-Claude and their Wrapped Coast - one million square feet, Little Bay, Sydney transformed attitudes towards large-scale public art projects and contemporary art more broadly. Gilbert & George's The Singing Sculpture, Jeff Koons' Puppy, Gregor Schneider's 21 beach cells. Ah yes, we've much to be thankful for. And, if you were worried it was going to be all flat stuff on walls and in books, the latest Kaldor project is being launched to coincide with the exhibition. Berlin-based Japanese artist Tatzu Nishi is transforming the equestrian sculptures outside the AGNSW with his new work War and Peace and in between. It will be amazing. Image: Christo and Jeanne-Claude (Christo pictured), Wrapped Coast - one million square feet, Little Bay, Sydney, Photo: Harry Shunk, Courtesy: Kaldor Public Art Projects
ARIA-winning artist and bighearted Sydney legend Sarah Blasko will play an intimate gig at Giant Dwarf in Redfern on World Refugee Day, Friday 20 June. With all ticket sales going straight to the Refugee Council of Australia, Blasko's just-announced show is a direct response to the federal government's funding cuts to the RCOA, announced last week as an addition to the recent budget. After the release of her stunning fourth album I Awake to critical high-fivery in 2012, Blasko is breaking out of creative hibernation to play for a cause. "I'm emerging from what I'll affectionately call my 'fifth album writing cave' to play this special show at Giant Dwarf (the latest venture from the Chaser team) during Refugee Week. I'm an ambassador this year and The Refugee Council need financial support now more than ever to continue their positive work within refugee communities in Australia," said Blasko. "They are also an important force in lifting the veil on our country's treatment of asylum seekers. So, come watch me sing for the night and you'll be supporting them. I promise at least one new song and special guests." After a whopping 33 years of operating, the RCOA found more than half a million dollars of funding cut from their budget — after Immigration Minister Scott Morrison found his portfolio was funding the organisation. "It seems extraordinary that our organisation — which has been doing this work through thick and thin for 33 years — has been singled out for this treatment," Paul Power, chief executive of the RCOA told ABC radio. "This in many ways illustrates the state of the relationship between the non-government sector — particularly organisations working on asylum issues — and the government at the moment." This isn't the first time Blasko has used her fame for a good cause. Last year, the multi ARIA-winning artist teamed up with eBay to open a temporary online store in support of charity organisation Bowel Cancer Australia (after losing her mother to bowel cancer 14 years ago). All proceeds from her personally donated auctioned clothing, books, homewares, vinyl and bric-a-brac went directly to the organisation. Blasko will be joined onstage with some special yet-to-be-announced guests, alongside her solid session buddies. Tickets will be available for $45 from Giant Dwarf's website from 9am on Wednesday, June 4. https://youtube.com/watch?v=IyzF4dRpqow
What would you do if you were a little less freaked out by consequences? Would you talk to more new people, fear a bit less, dance a little more like FKA Twigs, quit your desk job and start that no-guarantees creative career you've always had in the back of your mind? Some sparkling young Australians are already flinging their inhibitions into a ziplock bag and seizing this little ol' life with both hands. Concrete Playground has teamed up with the Jameson crew to give you a sneak peek into the lives of bold characters who took a big chance on themselves. They've gone out on a limb and rewritten their path, encapsulating 'Sine Metu', the Jameson family motto which translates to 'without fear' — getting outside your comfort zone and trying something new. After all, we only get one shot at this. Take notes. From a very young age, we're all asked the question "What do you want to be when you grow up?" We're told to pick one path, one profession, to neatly label the rest of your life. Our responses change as we grow up, from astronaut to engineer, princess to PR, and for Sydney-based Cole Bennetts, from Penguin Boy to renowned photographer taking the Prime Minister's portrait. You can read the interview over here. Want to experience a little bit of 'Sine Metu' yourself? Cole's being a total legend and helping us give away the chance to be a photographed like the biggest names in the music business. Cole will work with you and a lucky friend to create a unique shoot for your own use, be it the ultimate profile pic or your next step to stardom — so you can see for yourself what happens when bold humans take big creative chances with big payoffs. Enter here to win.
For one week each September, Brisbane becomes Australia's live music capital — even if a Melbourne survey generally claims otherwise. When BIGSOUND hits the city, it seems like every venue in Fortitude Valley is packed to the rafters with bands, industry folks and music-loving punters, all enjoying the latest and greatest the country's music scene has to offer. And given this year's newly announced lineup, expect that to be the case once again. Unveiling its first 75 acts for 2018, BIGSOUND will play host to a stacked pack of musos, spanning everything from pop, electronic, rock and rap to metal, hip hop and folk. Topping the bill so far are the likes of The Chats, Eliott, Cable Ties, Asha Jefferies and yú yī, plus the return of previous BIGSOUND favourites such as Blank Realm, Olympia, Gabriella Cohen and Oh Pep! More than 70 other acts will be announced closer to the event; however the current list joins a host of previously revealed speakers — including Virginia Grohl, mother of Dave Grohl, and record label executive turned indie company CEO Mardi Caught. Previous BIGSOUNDs have showcased everyone from Gang of Youths, Flume, Tash Sultana and Courtney Barnett to San Cisco, Violent Soho, Methyl Ethel and The Jungle Giants, so their program is usually a very reliable bellwether of current and up-and-coming talent. Here's the full lineup of music acts so far: A Swayze & The Ghosts Adrian Eagle Alice Skye ARSE Arteries Asha Jefferies Bin Juice Blank Realm Bugs Butterfingers Cable Ties Cast Down CLYPSO Cry Club CXLOE DEAN FOREVER Dreller Eat Your Heart Out Eilish Gilligan Eliott Elizabeth Ella Hooper Emma Anglesey Estère Gabriella Cohen Genesis Owusu Georgia Mulligan Good Doogs GRAACE Gravemind Greta Stanley Hachiku Hazlett Hobsons Bay Coast Guard Imogen Clark James Wright Trio JEFFE KAIIT Kaitlin Keegan Kian Kota Banks Kult Kyss Kwame MANE Miss June Moaning Lisa MOOKHI Oh Pep! Olympia Paces Pink Matter Pool Shop Rachel Maria Cox RAT!hammock Riley Pearce Ruby Gilbert Samsaruh Sleep Talk Slowly Slowly Stevie Jean Sumner Sunscreen sweater curse SŸDE T$oko Tape/Off The Chats The Merindas TOTTY Triple One Two People Tyne-James Organ Voiid Wax Chattels yú yī BIGSOUND 2018 runs from September 4–7 at various venues around Fortitude Valley, Brisbane. For further details or to buy tickets, visit bigsound.org.au. To discover what to do, see, eat and drink while visiting Brissie for the annual event, check out our weekender's guide to Brisbane during BIGSOUND.
Like many a great singer-songwriter before her (cue Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen and Tom Waits), Kate Tempest began as a dealer in words. In 2013, she became the first ever person under 40 to win the Ted Hughes Award for innovation in poetry. In 2014, she attracted a Mercury Prize nomination for her hip hop-driven debut album, Everybody Down. Now she's published her debut novel, The Bricks that Built the Houses, so she's back for her second visit to Sydney Writers' Festival — opening the whole festival, in fact. Billy Bragg loves her. Chuck D is a fan. She was one of Sydney Festival 2016's biggest hypecards. Check out her fresh, authentic freestyling for yourself. Kate Tempest will open Sydney Writers' Festival on May 17, discuss her novel on May 21 and at the SWF Gala: The Book that Saved Me panel on May 20.
We're the first to admit that all of these national [insert trendy food item here] days are getting out of hand. But one day we're happy to support is World Tequila Day — mainly because Tio's Cervecería is pouring two-hours' worth of free tequila tastings on the day. Head in on Sunday, July 28 from 3–5pm and enjoy all the tequila you can handle. As the tasting session is free, we recommend heading there early to secure a spot at the bar. As well as trying tasty sips from some of the world's best artisanal and independent makers, you'll also have the chance to chat to some of Australia's top tequila experts. The merriment continues all night, when chef Rosa Cienfuegos (whose Marrickville Market stall and new Dulwich Hill store create quite the queue) will be in the kitchen dishing up authentic Mexican tacos and tamales. Cheap brews by Marrickville's (and soon to be Petersham's) Batch Brewing Company will be on-hand, too — for when you need a break from the agave-fuelled fun. Images: Letícia Almeida
There's escaping the city for an afternoon, and then there's driving 20 minutes down a dirt road to a secluded river and hopping into a canoe. In this canoe, it's quiet, very still. The Kangaroo Valley's bushland surrounds you, ascending on either side of the waterway, creating a landscape that's punctuated only by the occasional kingfisher flapping by or a solitary trout breaking the surface with a small splash. And I haven't even mentioned the best bit: this canoe is filled with wine. And snacks. So as you're floating down the river — minimal paddling is necessary — you'll be able to pop a bottle of local sparkling and tuck into a few canapés. Maybe you'll try a glass of top-notch sparkling Riesling from Mittagong's Artemis Wines and a yabby roll with native lime mayo supplied by The Loch in nearby Berrima. As you might have guessed, this isn't an ordinary off-you-go oar-bearing experience. This one is part of WildFEST, a new three-day celebration of the food, drink and wilderness of NSW's Southern Highlands. Led by experienced paddler Travis Frenay, the Canoes, Champagne and Canapés experience will lead you along the Kangaroo River in a custom-built double canoe, through the sunken forest and past a convict-built sandstone wall. Travis has an insane amount of knowledge on the area and will be able to answer pretty much anything you throw at him. There will be three sessions a day (9am, noon and 3pm) on October 27, 28 and 29. The whole thing sets off from Beehive Point and takes around two to three hours. Prices are on the heftier side at $195 each, but includes all food, wine and equipment. Plus, this part of the Valley isn't highly accessible for people without their own gear, so it's a great (and bloody delightful) way to explore the area on the water. Note: if weather conditions suggest your rusty old sedan won't make it there and back, the organisers may provide transport down the dirt road. But if it's dry, you're all good. It's part of the adventure.
If you've been making plans to revamp your style, but haven't been able to rustle up the coin, here's your chance. For five days, Hugo Boss will be hosting a mega sale at its outlet stores. You'll be able to score a further 50 percent off a massive range of premium clothing — from comfy t-shirts and soft sweaters to suave suits and women's dresses. Whether you're after a suit for a special occasion or looking to level-up your wardrobe, Hugo Boss's end-of-year outlet sale will have you sorted for a fraction of the fashion label's usual prices. You'll have to get in quick to score though, with the sale only running from Wednesday, December 11 to Sunday, December 15. In Sydney, you can head to Birkenhead Point Outlet Centre and DFO Homebush to get these quality threads for such a steal. Opening hours at Birkenhead Point are Wednesday, 10am–5.30pm; Thursday, 10am–7.30pm; Friday, 10am–5.30pm; Saturday, 9am–6pm; and Sunday, 10am–6pm. At Homebush, the Hugo Boss outlet is open from 10am–6pm daily, with the exception of Thursday, when you can shop until 8pm. Hugo Boss end-of-year outlet sale will run from Wednesday, December 11 to Sunday, December 15. To find your closest outlet, visit the website.
It has been 12 years since RuPaul's Drag Race first premiered in the US, and its mission to unearth the next drag superstars shows no signs of stopping. Currently, the original series is airing its thirteenth season, while international versions also exist in the UK — also hosted by RuPaul — plus Thailand, Holland, Chile and Canada. Next, it's finally making the leap to Australia and New Zealand. RuPaul's Drag Race already airs locally, but, in exciting news, it's now it's being made here as well — courtesy of the aptly titled RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under. Announced back in January, the eight-part series will focus on Aussie and NZ drag queens battling for supremacy, and will air on Stan in Australia and TVNZ OnDemand in New Zealand sometime later in 2021. And, while not all overseas iterations of Drag Race are hosted by RuPaul, RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under definitely will be. RuPaul will also take on judging duties with show veteran Michelle Visage and Australian comedian Rhys Nicholson. If you're wondering just who'll be competing, too, that was unveiled on Saturday, March 6 during the 2021 Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras. Ten contenders will strut their stuff for drag supremacy, spanning seven Australians and three New Zealanders. So, prepare to see plenty of Art Simone from Geelong, Melbourne's Karen from Finance, and Sydney's Coco Jumbo, Etecetera Etcetera and Maxi Shield. Newcastle's Jojo Zaho and Perth's Scarlet Adams round out the Aussie queens, while Auckland's Kita Mean, Anita Wigl'it and Elektra Shock comprise the NZ contingent. Fans already know the format, which features fashion challenges, workroom dramas and lip sync battles aplenty. If you're a newcomer to all things Drag Race, you'll watch these Australian and NZ competitors work through a series of contests to emerge victorious, and join the likes of US contenders Jinkx Monsoon, Sasha Velour and Sharon Needles in being crowned the series' winner. Check about the RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under cast reveal video below. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSLPdMi0b8U RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under will hit Stan and TVNZ OnDemand sometime later in 2021 — we'll update you with an air date once further details are announced. Top image: RuPaul's Drag Race.
Camperdown's farm-to-table restaurant Acre Eatery is going full Italian for the winter months. The venue has transformed its lofty dining room and al fresco garden into an Italian farmhouse, complete with a spritz bar, a bruschetta menu, hand-rolled pasta and a dessert trolley. Executive Chef Gareth Howard is showcasing regional Italian cooking throughout the venue, while still focusing on the locally and ethically sourced ingredients that the restaurant is known for. Head to the dining room to check out the new feasting menu, which features woodfired focaccia — that you can then dip in a wagyu beef fat candle — and baked cheese with truffle honey. You'll be able to try the best of Italy's many styles of pasta — including Piedemont-style pappardelle, Roman creamy carbonara and a meatball dish unique to the south. You'll be eating all of this surrounded by Tuscan-inspired furnishings and indoor olive and citrus trees, too. Out on the terrace during the day, you can opt for a Sicilian-style brunch with a dedicated bruschetta menu and plates of black pig ham, free-range egg and fried eggplant caponata. Or stop by in the evenings, when the spritz bar will serving lots of cocktails, antipasti, pizzas and homemade breads. And, on weekends, a roaming cart will bring arancini and panini to you, too. A second trolley carrying desserts will roll around the dining room, with a whopping 35 different Italian sweets in tow — including orange polenta cake, glazed fruit tarts, cannoli, tiramisu and seasonal gelato. Apart from the new menus, the restaurant is also hosting two collaborative dinners on Saturday, July 20 and Friday, August 2. The first is a four-course truffle and wine degustation with Bilpin producer 4 Winds; the second is a candlelit Sicilian banquet featuring Hunter Valley-produced Italian wine varieties. Plus, each Friday over the six weeks, Acre Eatery will host ticketed masterclasses run by Howard on how to make porchetta, focaccia and mozzarella. And, because it's not Italian without a few namesake cocktails, there'll be plenty of spritzes and barrel-aged negronis to go around. Images: Trent van der Jagt.
As NSW's COVID-19 restrictions start to ease and more Sydneysiders are heading back to work, the Government is discouraging commuters from travelling during peak hours as the public transport system nears its new socially distant capacity. At a press conference this morning, Monday, May 18, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said, "We recommend people who aren't already on the system in the peak, especially on buses and trains, to travel in the off-peak, so after 10am or before 2pm." NSW Transport Minister Andrew Constance reiterated this sentiment, saying "please don't travel in the peak — walk, ride your bike or drive instead". Constance also outlined the new safe capacities for the city's public transport vehicles, with two-door buses able to carry just 12 commuters (14 percent of normal capacity), Waratah trains 35 per carriage (24 percent) and Freshwater ferries 245 (22 percent). With these new capacities, Constance said the city's public transport is only able to carry 550,000-600,000 commuters compared to its usual 2.2 million. Last Friday, Constance said already 570,000 commuters travelled on public transport. While the Government says buses and trains are nearing capacity during peak hours, light rail and ferries do still have some room, so commuters should look at catching those instead if possible. To help ease some of the congestion, the Government is launching a pop-up car park in Moore Park from next Monday, where commuters will be able to catch a shuttle light rail service to the city, and six pop-up bike lanes heading into the city. The real-time public transport apps — including TripView, TripGo, Google Maps and the Opal App — now also show the safe capacity for each service and you can look at the capacity of trips from the day before to help plan your trip. 400,000 green dot decals will also be rolled out across the public transport system this week, showing commuters where safe, socially distant spots to sit are. To plan your journey and for more information about Sydney transport options, head to the Transport for NSW website. To find out more about the status of COVID-19 in NSW, head to the NSW Health website.
After showcasing Australia's most talented musicians for the last 17 years, Homebake has announced that the festival will not go ahead this year. With the (also now cancelled) Harvest booking The Domain, the traditional home of Homebake, at a similar time, Homebake relocated to the Sydney Opera House with a three-day festival for the 2013 celebration. However, ticket sales and the online response from fans regarding the new format and location have not been positive, forcing the festival organisers to can the long-running feature of the Australian festival circuit. The 18th anniversary festival was set to celebrate the best of Australian music, both past and present, including You Am I, The Presets, Bernard Fanning and Birds of Tokyo. There is, as yet, no news on potential side shows for these acts. Homebake posted the cancellation on their website earlier today, apologising to fans and bands alike, and thanking everyone involved for their support over the last 17 years. Their parting words to the music scene are, "Long live Australian music and those who create it." Full refunds will be given to everyone who got in early for tickets.
Sydney's funkiest, most boundary-pushing brewery Wildflower is releasing a new brew and inviting everyone 'round to celebrate. To kick off 2024, the Brompton Street favourite is unveiling its 2023 Etoile su Sud in collaboration with France's Brasserie Thiriez, and it's throwing an appropriately European-themed summer bash to launch the beer on Saturday, January 13. Hotluck Snack Club will be in charge of the day's eats, serving a stacked lineup of Euro summer bites. There will be twice-cooked frites with a range of sauces for dipping including curried andalouse, XO Big Mac sauce and tofujang; a chip butty with burnt onion butter and fried peppers; chicken liver and mince oyako kipcorn dogs; fried spring rolls filled with nduja and scamorza; and a flammkuchen calzone packed with fromage blanc, crispy lupcheong and caramelised onion. For drinks you can get your hands on the Wildflower Etoile du Sud, of course, as well as Brasserie Thiriez's Etoie du Nord and Petite Princesse, and Wildflower's 2022 Fatome collaboration, Fatome d'or. Last year the Wildflower crew travelled over to Esquelbecq in northern France with local Motueka hop flowers in order to bring this special France-meets-Australia collab to life. If you want to get your hands on some interesting and rare beers paired with flavour-packed eats, Wildflower is the place to be on Saturday. Images: Wildflower Brewing, Cassandra Hannagan
Another day, another story about natural wine, with Pyrmont snagging itself a natural wine bar. Bar Clementine opened next door to Clementine's cafe in late March and it's slinging funky drops, aperitif-style cocktails and European share plates. Owner and sommelier Eric Mendoza really knows his grapes, having previously curated the award-winning wine lists at lauded Sydney venues Bloodwood and The Baxter Inn. Mendoza has also clocked in time at Rockpool and Melbourne's MoVida. Oh, and did we mention that he makes his own vermouth? "The focus will be on authenticity and intention, which can often be lost in the hedonism of Sydney," says Mendoza. Plenty of experimental labels from around the country and the world will be on display at Bar Clementine, though more accessible drops have a place here as well. At the moment, there are Aussie bottles from Gippsland, Hunter Valley, Ballarat and Margaret River on offer, as well as varietals from France and Germany by the glass. Bottled beers and classic cocktails are also up for grabs, including dirty martinis and one called the Adonis — it's made from coffee-infused vermouth, sherry and orange bitters. For eats, Mendoza has partnered with chef Craig Gray (ex-Neighbourhood Wine and Taxi Dining in Melbourne) who has created a menu of modern European fare. The food is, of course, tailored to pair with a glass of wine (or two). Expect a rather elevated version of the classic wine bar trio of cheese, charcuterie and share plates. The seasonal menu focuses on local produce with a smattering of Asian influence. Think lunch items like Sydney rock oysters with eschallot mignonette, snapper with kohlrabi kraut and apple, and a beef flank paired with pommes frites. And for the dinner tasting menu, there's dishes such as celeriac churros, beetroot with nectarine, preserved lemon and hazelnut, and a chocolate tart topped with creme fraiche. The fit-out takes cues from Europe as well, with Parisian-style aplenty. Though a small space, it benefits from a large, street facing bay window which allows for heaps of natural light. Pull up a stool at the marble-topped bar — which extends all the way to the window — and get stuck in. Bar Clementine is now open at 52 Harris Street, Pyrmont. Opening hours are Wednesday through Saturday from noon–9pm.
In a single day in western Sydney, it's possible to travel halfway across the world with just your tastebuds. Start with authentic Vietnamese pho in Cabramatta, move onto a Sri Lankan feast in Toongabbie and taste your way through an array of Indian sweets in Harris Park. Each and every neighbourhood contains a world of tastes, smells and sounds. To celebrate this rich culinary and cultural diversity, West Fest will take over western Sydney for two colourful weeks. Until Sunday, October 21, venture up the Parramatta River for an extravaganza of food, song, dance and live music with tours, forums, workshops, performances and loads more on offer. Among the stand-out events is the West Fest Forum, Western Sydney's answer to the Festival of Dangerous Ideas (but it's free). This evening of chats, to be held in the luxe Skye Hotel on Thursday, October 18, is all about who we are and how we relate to our diverse identities through architecture and culture. Speakers include Africultures Festival director Fatma Isir and Sydney Living Museums' Jacqui Newling. Look out, too, for the pop-up VR cinema at Daisy's Milkbar during Parramatta Lanes, the Western Sydney Final of the Australian Poetry Slam on Thursday, October 11; a Taste of the World food tour in Liverpool on Saturday, October 13; and a guided tour of the Badu mangroves through the eyes of the Wangal people on Sunday, October 21. For more information on the West Fest program, visit the website. Image: Australian Poetry Slam, Clare Hawley, courtesy of NSW Government.
Head to The Baxter Inn on Sunday, February 17, to do some good with your booze bucks. The popular whisky den is hosting Drink4Uganda, a charity initiative that will see some of Sydney's best bartenders join forces. The event will feature pop-up bars by Ramblin' Rascal, Bulletin Place, Maybe Sammyand Lobo Plantation, along with a 'secret team', to be revealed on the day. Each will shake and stir for 45 minutes, competing to see who can raise the most in the short time slot. While there is no entry fee, a donation is suggested on the door. After that, punters can purchase drink tokens and raffle tickets to use throughout the festivities. All proceeds will be donated to 663toZERO, an organisation that provides clean drinking water to the 663 million people worldwide who currently do not have access to this basic human need. Founder Mitch Horrocks created OKUZi — a simple water filter — and has already brought the device to 24,000 people. Drink4Uganda already hit Melbourne and Perth earlier this year, too, raising $23,000 in the process. Drink4Uganda runs from 4–9pm, and PS40 is hosting the afterparty — with six cocktails on tap and a DJ — from 9pm till late. The Baxter Inn images: Letícia Almeida.
The owners of cosy Mexican joint Taqiza have expanded their Bondi offering. They've taken over the old Rum Diaries space along Bondi Road and have opened Carbòn — a new hacienda-inspired Mexican restaurant that focuses on all things wood-fired. Chefs and owners Pablo Galindo Vargas and Liber Osorio know a thing or two about Mexican cooking, having been born and raised in Mexico City. "At Carbòn, we wanted to rescue the indigenous culinary elements of our backgrounds, going back to our roots to create a menu full of flavours, colours and textures while maintaining the integrity and sustainability of the produce," says Vargas. The venue complements Bondi's laid-back vibes with a beachy fitout that is meant to be reminiscent of a Caribbean hacienda. While Taqiza is an intimate venue, Carbòn boasts a large open space with a full kitchen that centres around their brand new, wood-fire grill — which is fitting considering the restaurant's name translates to 'charcoal' in Spanish. The dishes pay homage to traditional Latin American parrilla (barbecuing) techniques, with the open charcoal fire used for cooking tortillas, heating underground ovens and boiling soups or sauces. Carbòn also focuses on fresh produce that can be especially enriched with the use of charcoal. The interactive share menu centres on make-your-own tacos, with options including Hampshire suckling pig with achiote adobo and Seville oranges, as well as roasted lamb shoulder with chipotle citrus yoghurt. Regular specials will be on offer, too, like the charcoal sealed tuna sashimi with finger lime, tiger's milk (aka citrusy ceviche marinade), sweet potato chips and salmon caviar. At the bar, the drinks menu is — unsurprisingly — focused on tequila and mezcal. Cocktails like the Bondi Sunset (mezcal, elderflower liquor, lime juice and mandarin) and the Oaxacan Pink Lad (mezcal, brandy, lemon juice, agave syrup and aquafaba) are just the start. Find Carbòn Mexican at 288 Bondi Road, Bondi Beach, open for lunch and dinner Tuesday through Sunday.
Are you the kind of gin drinker who believes that if you want something done right, you'll have to do it yourself? Well, have we got an activity for you. The Archie Rose Distillery Company is hosting a 'Blend Your Own Gin' course with Work-Shop at their Rosebery warehouse from June 17. After a signature dry gin and bush tonic on arrival, the gin savants of Archie Rose will guide you through the distillation process and give you the means to blend two varieties to take home and guzzle straight from the bottle. The session will be led by Dave Withers, a renowned spirits authority and whisky expert, and the Archie Rose team will pop their heads in to taste how you're going. They’ll also teach you a bit about the history of gin, so you can show off to the bartender next time you order a G&T at your local. You can select the infusions that match your gin-style and choose from such whimsical flavours as native blood lime and river mint or juniper and cassia bark. Perhaps trying pushing the boat out and whip up a Vegemite-flavoured gin? No, no please don't, no one should ever ruin a good thing with Vegemite. The Archie Rose Distillery Company is the first distillery to open in Sydney for 160 long, dry years and it’s really living up to the hype. As well as the Blend Your Own Gin workshop, the crew is offering distillery tours and food events throughout winter in partnership with Black Star Pastry, and they’re even conjuring up a Tailored Spirits service available to order online and have delivered straight to your door (as if we weren’t tempted enough). Archie Rose and Work-Shop's 'Blend Your Own Gin' workshop starts on June 17 from 6.15pm – 8.30pm at 85 Dunning Ave, Rosebery. Tickets are $95pp (available here).
The Imperial Erskineville's revamp has brought the inner west a lot to love — a new rooftop bar, a veggie-focused menu, regular drag shows, DJ sets and LGBTQI+ inclusive parties, plus signature cocktails in honour of iconic queens. The venue will add a new queen to that list this weekend with Karen's Martini Bar. It's a Will & Grace-themed pop-up that'll take over the space from October 5–7 and sling $9 martinis — that's right honey. Fans of the 1990s show already know that a new season will premiere on October 5, and the bar celebrates its renewal in truest fashion. First up, choose from character-themed cocktails like Karen's pink martini or Jack's espresso martini, both at just $9 a pop. The food menu will be New York City inspired, too, and each dish is paired with your choice of cocktail — think combos like the martini and hot dog ($20), martini and oysters ($24) or a shared meal of two martinis and a pepperoni pizza ($38). Then you've got the real Karen making an appearance (in the form of drag queen Krystal Kleer) to 'prop up the bar' from 4–7pm daily. And back-to-back reruns of the show will be played on large projector screens throughout the weekend, with prizes on offer to boot. Karen's Martini Bar will be open Friday from 5–8pm and Saturday through Sunday from noon–8pm.
To say it's been a crazy year in Australian politics almost feels like an understatement. But amidst all the scandals and the spin, it's easy to forget that sometimes, politicians are human beings who get angry and emotional. And when they do, it makes for some great speeches. A lot of the time, these speeches either don't get mentioned in the media or are reduced to 15-second grabs that don't give you a sense of what a politician is like in real life. Written by Katie Pollock and Paul Daley and produced by PolitiFact's Peter Fray, The Hansard Monologues is a play that takes all the most "troubling, emotional and radical" speeches made in the 43rd Parliament of Australia and re-creates them, with actors David Roberts, Camilla Ah Kin and Tony Llewellyn-Jones playing various politicians. They will, of course, be tackling Julia Gillard's famous misogyny speech, as well as Malcolm Turnbull's thoughts on marriage equality. There's some other interesting ones in there by disgraced MPs Craig Thomson and Peter Slipper, following their scandals. According to the writers, they continued to work on the play right up until the parliamentary recess, so the leadership spill will definitely get a mention.
Thanks to its not-so-inventive title, there's no need to worry about who the main players in Me and Earl and the Dying Girl are. There's the 'me' of the moniker, i.e. movie-loving high schooler Greg (Thomas Mann). There's his classmate and filmmaking partner-in-crime, Earl (RJ Cyler), who he describes as a colleague rather than a buddy. And then there's the unwell Rachel (Olivia Cooke), who Greg's mother forces him to befriend upon hearing that she has cancer. If you think it all sounds like a recipe for a coming-of-age effort steeped in feelings, peppered with pop culture references and always working towards everyone learning something, well, you'd be right. And the movie is as contrived and cliched as it sounds, even if it does strive to conjure up several layers of emotions. It won the audience award at both the Sundance and the Sydney film festivals — as well as the grand jury prize at the former — so it seems to be working on someone. Greg prides himself on neither fitting in nor standing out, which also means he doesn't really connect with anyone. Spending time with Rachel, rather awkwardly at first, threatens to change that. His world opens as hers starts to end, and for once, he can't avoid the consequences of actually caring about something. So, he channels his efforts into working with Earl on their latest short film following a series of comic recreations of classics, with previous efforts including Senior Citizen Cane and The 400 Bros. Movies about movie buffs, which are consequently littered with knowing nods and sly winks to movies gone by, can make for painful viewing for even the most avid cinephiles in the audience. Surprisingly, the affection for the medium that Me and Earl and the Dying Girl shows is actually among its most genuine and least calculated elements. Indeed, filmmaker Alfonso Gomez-Rejon played in similar territory with his previous effort, the remake/update/next instalment that was horror offering The Town That Dreaded Sundown. Both features share a winning way of making a love of movies part of their celluloid (or digital, as is more likely these days) fabric. Sadly, the alternating slivers of authenticity, ingenuity and subtlety evident in the cinema shout-outs are absent when it comes to the main event of chronicling the impact Rachel's circumstances have upon Greg — and almost as an afterthought, upon the scarcely used sidekick Earl's character clearly is, too. Stereotypical subplots abound as much as untraditional camera angles, yet all seem as flimsy and ill-deployed as the high-profile supporting cast (with Nick Offerman, Connie Britton, Molly Shannon and Jon Bernthal among the actors briefly sighted). It should all add up to more, especially when you consider that the script is written by Jesse Andrews, who penned the bestselling young adult book of the same name that Me and Earl and the Dying Girl adapts for the screen. Alas, trying too hard to convey both quirkiness and sentiment, including in the performances, just doesn't hit the mark the film is clearly aiming for.
Looking for the next wave of Australian choreography? Just after a solid cultural night out in Sydney? This one's for you. Four of Australia’s boldest new choreographers have joined forces to present their latest and most ballsy work for this year's instalment of New Breed at Carriageworks. The show made its global premiere at Germany’s famous Festspiele Ludwigshafen last week. Now, it’s on its way to Carriageworks for a first workout in front of Aussie audiences. Only seven performances are planned, so you’d best get your mitts on tickets super-quick. New Breed is the product of a brilliant collaboration between Carriageworks and the Sydney Dance Company. The idea is to give a leg-up to the next generation’s most impressive dance talents. After all, launching a career on your own can be tough. So, Carriageworks's associate director of programming Lisa Ffrench teamed up with Sydney Dance Company's artistic director Rafael Bonachela to scope out four of Australia’s most promising youngsters: Bernhard Knauer, Daniel Riley, Fiona Jopp and Kristina Chan. Each of these gifted, creative creatures was given six months to come up with a new dance piece. To help them along, they had access to Sydney Dance Company — both its beautiful studios and its ridiculously skilled ensemble. Now, you get to lap up the results. New Breed presents the works — Knauer’s Derived, Riley’s Reign, Jopp’s so much, doesn't matter and Chan’s Conform — as a four-part show. It’ll be on every evening between Tuesday, December 8 and Sunday, December 13. Saturday, December 12 will see two shows, with a matinee from 2pm. Image credit: Peter Greig.
Films about humanity's affinity with animals are films about our ties to the natural world — and doesn't Blueback splash that truth around. Plunging from The Dry into the wet, writer/director Robert Connolly reteams with Eric Bana for another page-to-screen adaptation of a homegrown book; this is another movie inseparable from its landscape, too, again exploring the impact people have upon it. This time, however, Bana isn't the star. He's memorable as larrikin abalone diver and fisherman 'Mad' Macka, and this Tim Winton-based feature would've benefited from more of his presence, but the Dirty John actor is firmly in supporting mode. Set against the enticing Western Australian coast as the author's work tends to be, this is a picture about the sea's thrall, existential importance and inherent sense of connection — as filtered through the bond between a girl and a wild blue groper, plus the evolving relationship between that same child and her eco-warrior mother. Mia Wasikowska (Bergman Island) plays Blueback's fish-befriending protagonist as an adult, with the text's Abel becoming Abby here. Radha Mitchell (Girl at the Window) shares the screen as Dora, her widowed mother, early in the film's year-hopping timeline. Still, in their second of three movies in succession — arriving before upcoming The Dry sequel Force of Nature — Connolly and Bana dip back into familiar territory. Obvious swaps are evident, including a beachside rather than a farming community, and atrocities against the planet and its wildlife instead of crimes against people, but it's easy to see Blueback's appeal as a reunion project. Among the key differences as Abby and Dora fight to save their town and its aquatic treasures, still battling wrongs to strive for what's right: this is an overtly and eagerly family-friendly affair. When Blueback introduces Abby, she's a marine biologist trying to stop the earth's coral reefs from being destroyed. Then comes a call from home about her mum. In Longboat Bay, Dora (played in her elder years by Liz Alexander, Clickbait) has suffered a stroke — and, in a too-neat move, that medical situation is used to inspire Abby's memories of why she chose her line of work in the first place. While Winton's novella initially hit shelves in 1997, justifying someone caring for the environment is a very 2020s touch. Being concerned about the planet doesn't require an origin story for a second, but they're the tales that flicker across screens in droves of late. Not all heroes wear capes, yet movies about valiant deeds and worthy attitudes keep feeling obliged to couch them in such terms. Wasikowska is sincere and affecting as the older Abby, her performance bathed in equal parts melancholy and determination, but Blueback's best sequences don't always involve the Judy & Punch and Crimson Peak talent. Connolly has cast his three versions of Abby well; taking on the character as a pre-teen and then a high schooler, and conveying resolve buoyed by curiosity and youthful hope in the process, Wolf Like Me's Ariel Donoghue and screen debutant Ilsa Fogg are each commanding and compelling. The biggest scene-stealers? The intricate mechanised puppetry by Creature Technology Company, which brings the movie's namesake to life, plus Rick Rifici's (Facing Monsters) wondrous underwater cinematography. Indeed, Blueback's lack of subtlety about Dora's health is so unnecessary because the film's strikingly shot and staged moments between a kid and a mesmerising fish communicate everything that needs saying anyway, and genuinely make the audience feel as Abby feels. Having read Winton's book over the past quarter-century isn't a prerequisite for knowing how Abby and Blueback's connection flows. Although this is just the latest movie sparked by the writer's prose — see also: Dirt Music, Breath and anthology The Turning in the past decade alone, the latter of which Connolly produced and Wasikowska directed a segment of — spying Winton's usual love of water, the WA coast, the environment and coming-of-age tales isn't, either. The author's regular hallmarks float through Blueback, but a child forging a sense of fellowship with another critter, loving their domain and discovering themselves along the way is its trusty anchor. Cinema in general, and Australian cinema specifically, is so fond of this storyline that the resulting flicks are practically their own genre. Where the two versions of Storm Boy, the Red Dog pictures and Oddball have all paddled before, this feature now swims (with ripples of overseas efforts Free Willy and Pete's Dragon as well). On a varied resume that spans The Bank, Balibo, and TV shows The Slap and Barracuda, too, Connolly also helmed Paper Planes. Consequently, as that film illustrated with its underdog chronicle about mastering a new skill in the pursuit of childhood glory, he knows a thing or two about working with well-worn all-ages formulas that've been sweeping over screens for generations. As glaringly as the sun bouncing off a glistening expanse of blue as far as the eye can see, oh-so-much about Blueback fits an easy template. Chief among them: the conflict between the younger Dora and shady developer Costello (Erik Thomson, How to Please a Woman), who wants to snap up the land that Abby's family's shack stands on, reshape the shoreline to the detriment of its marine life and make a bundle, all with help from nefarious spearfishers. Thankfully, there's also an ocean's worth of heart beating within Connolly's current release, especially whenever the titular creature makes an enchanting appearance. An unflinchingly earnest movie about valuing the natural world and stopping its decimation, as told with visual splendour that helps make its point through spectacular below-the-sea imagery, yet struggling with nuance: yes, add Avatar: The Way of Water to the lengthy list of films that Blueback recalls. This Aussie feature premiered on the festival circuit before James Cameron's 13-years-in-the-making blockbuster, though. It's also a quieter and more tender experience. Nonetheless, while scenic lensing by Nude Tuesday's Andrew Commis catches the eye on dry land as well, Blueback similarly gets caught adrift above the tide. Blunt eco-focused flicks aren't going anywhere, however, and nor should they. As Dora and Abby do for their patch of sand, friendly groper and the blue rock we all call home, this movie is campaigning — broadly, simplistically yet still engagingly, and as a fable for viewers young and old alike.
Roll up, roll up, to Sydney's stupendous new funhouse/cocktail joint: Archie Brothers Electric Circus. Libations, laser tag, burgers and bowling, the Archie Bros have it all. Not that we're surprised. What else would you expect from the team behind Holey Moley? Set to open in early December on Doody Street in Alexandria, this circus-themed venue has got everything your inner child could possibly desire. Old school dodgem cars? Check! Arcade games? Check! A 3D interactive theatre ride? We don't even know what that is, but check! The space is anchored around a tricked-out cocktail bar with a carnival-ride aesthetic. That's where punters will find a selection of boozy beverages including an array of extravagant spiked shakes. Seriously, these drinks look insane. They'll also be serving food with American Diner-style vibes. The intriguing sounding Lion Tamer Burger comes with Saucy Fries, while the Fire Breather Hotdog should appeal to those who like it hot. Archie Brothers Electric Circus opens for business on Thursday, December 7. Find it at 55 Doody Street, Alexandria. For more information, visit their website.
Typically Newtown is the suburb praised as a hub of avant-garde and edgy goodness — the happenin' jewel in the inner west crown. However, Erskineville is carving out a solid cultural identity with the return of Tiny Stadiums Festival, presented by PACT Centre for Emerging Artists. Back for its sixth year, this idiosyncratic ten-day festival has been a breath of fresh air for Sydney's performing arts scene. Over the festival period, the suburb will be transformed into a cross section of live art, with performers inundating every nook and cranny. From bars and rooftops through to gardens and shopfronts, there will be an overflow of artistic projects, expanding into the twilight hours for the first time in the festival’s history. Tiny Stadiums is part of a handful of small-scale festivals that are sidestepping the rigid infrastructure and funding strains of big arts events. For the second year in a row, it will be curated by the collective Groundwork, who have shifted the focus to a distinctly community flavour. As well as challenging the way people navigate the heart and peripheries of the suburb, Groundwork's Maria White explains that the event is also “an opportunity to showcase the work of young and emerging artists working under the banner of visual arts, performance and installation”. Oozing with quirk, PACT’s double bill is sure to set a strong tone, balancing the critical with the entertaining. From the inventive mind of writer and director Nick Coyle, Blue Wizard is a play revolving around the exploits of a gay intergalactic wizard. And Kenzie Larsen will be welcomed back, clutching at social interactions in her full-length piece called Friend Ship, a performance exploring the mechanics of making friends. There will also be an assortment of unique and immersive hybrid art practices on show. For example, dance artist, Natalie Abbott’s collaboration with a body builder at the Imperial Hotel is a ‘bend and stretch’ initiative that will encourage you to engage with your inner diva. Also, Imogen Semmler will be working with vets, scientists and entrepreneurs in order to track the movements of Erko’s stealthiest felines and answer the age-old question, where do cats go when they leave the cat flap? Expect to see some truly unusual spaces being put to use. "Hossein Ghaemi is serenading us from the rooftops of Erskineville village," says White. "This will be a Tiny Stadiums first. Ghaemi's singers will be dressed in his signature otherworldly style, their voices floating through the air at dusk. Other artists are responding to Erskineville's unique geography and experiences. "Jen Hamilton and Craig Johnson are cheekily exploring the food politics of this increasingly gentrified area," says White. "Since Woolworths decided to simply name its new Erskineville supermarket erskineville earlier this year, Hamilton and Johnson have looked at notions of public space, privatisation, global supply chains and urban farms in order to tell a story about food and labour in the 21st century." A new addition to the festival is Tiny forums, consisting of craft workshops and symposiums with Sydney’s leading curators and artists, who will be discussing the intersection of public spaces and community-based art. And to keep the fire burning, Albert Tucker Slow Coffee will be setting up shop in PACT’s leafy courtyard. Filling the gap between the theatre and the street, Tiny Stadiums is quickly becoming an annual staple in Sydney’s arts program. It is a hyperlocal celebration of live art, aiming to reach both the intended audience and the coincidental passer-by.
Monster burgers and homemade Italian pastries aren't the type of things you'd usually find at an RSL Club; however they'll soon be on the menu in Rooty Hill's local establishment. The Sherbrooke Street mainstay is launching a new venue, Made By The Hill, with Chur Burger and Pasticceria Papa moving in. Throwing open its doors on July 28 with a huge two-day launch party, Made By The Hill is a blend of bar, cafe, burger joint and lounge area, complete with room for entertainment. The open-plan space is the culmination of more than 12 months of planning, and aims to bring a city-style hangout to Western Sydney. Think Scandinavian-influenced interiors as designed by TomMarkHenry, aka the folks behind The Darlo Country Club, 1888 Certified and Bondi's Best. Food-wise, expect Pasticceria Papa's baked ricotta cheesecake, cannoli and pistachio biscuits, plus a cafe menu slinging seven types of pizzas, paninis and baguettes, and meat and cheese boards. Chur Burger's addition to the fold brings their usual meat-and-bread behemoths, chilli salt-laden chips and creamy milkshakes — and yes, Chur's Mac Daddy with grilled beef, a mac 'n' cheese pattie, hot smoky barbecue sauce, jalapeno mayo and fresh jalapenos is on offer. The bar will serve up a 12-option cocktail menu, ranging from old favourite like espresso martinis and both red and white wine sangria to chilli and watermelon margaritas and dragonfruit and strawberry sours. A selection of red, white, sparkling and rose helps round out the drinks options, as well as small batch and boutique brews. Find Made by the Hill at 55 Sherbrooke Street, Rooty Hill from July 28. For more information, check out their website.
The distinction between American and Australian cop dramas is about as close to black and white as you can get before literally stripping them of colour. Thematically, the US genre is driven by 'heroism' — brave (and usually maverick) police officers who go above and beyond the line of duty to save anything, from a family member to an entire city. Not so in Australia. Here, it is 'corruption' that most frequently forms the basis of plot lines, reflecting either a sorry state of confidence in our law enforcement agencies, or acceptance that action films don't really work in Australia (ie: Mission Impossible II). The latest offering, Felony, takes place in Sydney's inner west and was written, produced and starred in by Joel Edgerton. Edgerton plays Malcolm Toohey, a hero cop whose near miss during a drug raid (he's shot by a fleeing suspect in the film's frantic opening scene) leads to a heavy night of drinking alongside the other officers involved. Later, as he drives home (narrowly avoiding an RBT arrest thanks to a 'cop to cop' password), he accidentally knocks a young boy off his bike and makes the split-second decision to lie about how he came to be first on scene. From that moment on Felony becomes a story about the toxicity of deception and its capacity for infecting all those who are touched by it. It's one of those films that almost immediately registers in that part of your brain where uncomfortable truths reside, refusing to let you dismiss the story as 'mere fiction'. It's all very real, and human and confronting in its simplicity. One lie builds upon another so quickly that you soon find yourself gasping for air on behalf of the characters, and you can never shake the feeling that it will all eventually come crashing down. Worse, you can't quite decide if you want it to. Edgerton managed to pull together an impressive cast to star alongside him, including Tom Wilkinson as the senior cop spearheading the coverup, Jai Courtney as Wilkinson's eager young partner and Melissa George as Edgerton's wife; however, it's Edgerton who most impresses. He neatly captures his character's confusion, fear, conflict and self-loathing without ever threatening to overplay any of it, and his performance is strong enough to rise above the occasional misteps in the script. The ending is unnecessarily symmetrical, certainly, and there's a subplot that goes confusingly AWOL somewhere in the third act, but overall it's a solid film with an excellent turn from its lead. https://youtube.com/watch?v=qjHvfnB8SRI
Australians have always liked cheese, and we have everything from dedicated fromageries and festivals dedicated to the dairy foodstuff to cheese wheels filled with pasta and bottomless raclette sessions to prove it. Our stomachs are working overtime to digest all the lactose — and, honestly, we've never been happier. And the love affair continues with this latest cheesy announcement. Bon Fromage — a festival specifically celebrating European cheese — is returning in 2020, and it's making a few changes. Like plenty of events this year, it's moving online and going national. So, more cheese for everyone, obviously. The whole thing will be taking place from Saturday, November 21–Sunday, November 29. First and foremost is cheese, cheese and more cheese — which you can order in gourmet tasting packs until Sunday, November 15. They'll then be delivered to your door, ready for you to devour. And if you're wondering what you'll be feasting on, each pack comes with half a kilo of cheese made in France, plus a recipe booklet and cheese tasting notes. But the virtual cheese festival isn't just about eating so much cheese that you puke. Masterclasses will be held on different varieties of cheese, the history of cheese, cooking with cheese and, we assume, the correct way to draw a cheese fondue bath for yourself. You can also obviously use the who event as an excuse to buy some cheese yourself and watch along.
If you're in the market for some timeless elegance, a well-loved local label is dishing up the goods this weekend. On Saturday, September 15, online womenswear boutique Brie Leon is digging through the archives for its next hometown sample sale, featuring a tidy range of jewellery, bags and one-off designs from its covetable past collections. We're talking bracelets, earrings, zodiac pendants, sunnies, totes and a whole lot in between. They'll be going cheap, priced at 80 percent off, on show at the loading dock of Marrickville furniture workshop Timbermill, from 8am. The label is best known for its slow fashion leanings and owner Janine Zafra's unique curation of well-made and thoughtfully produced pieces. It's a go-to for stylish goodies that'll buck all those trends and last you a lifetime. The Brie Leon Sample Sale will run from 8am–2pm.
Whether you're a foodie in search of the best and freshest ingredients for Christmas dinner or just after some wine and chocolates to take to said dinner, Eveleigh Farmers' Christmas Market makes a perfect holiday pit stop. This weekend, over 80 stallholders and artisan food producers from all over NSW will be gathering at Sydney's only all-weather farmer's market and selling various Christmas dining essentials like seafood, ham, turkey, wine, Christmas cakes and puddings, cherries and handmade sweet treats — all fresh, seasonal and homemade. You've also got the option to pre-order for collection on the day — handy if you're short on time or just don't want to miss out on the homegrown goodness.
When someone asks where the party at, Motorik answer. The Sydney-based dance collective and record label are known around the traps for throwing the most outrageous of raves in secret locations. After three years of warm-ups and killer releases, they're ready to get epic for their third birthday this Saturday at a 'secret base location'. With the 15th release coming up for the label — a casual facemelter of an EP from The Presets' K.I.M — and their own show on the brand new FBi Click, Motorik have a bunch of reasons to get messy. They've also released the next instalment of their 'Under the Influences' mixtape series with K.I.M, streaming over here. Andrew Santamaria from Motorik took us through his top five tracks to gear you up for Motorik's epic birthday bash right here.
There are several truths to the Michael Bay Universe: 1. Magic Hour (i.e. the brief period just after sunrise or before sunset) lasts for approximately 22 hours in any given day. 2. Everything is explosive. Even Water. Especially water. 3. All explosions go predominantly 'up' and emit firework-like flares. 4. A shot should never go for more than three seconds, because, what is this, a Steve McQueen film? 5. There's nothing funnier than people who aren't Cool-Arse Playaz from Da Street speaking like they're Cool-Arse Playaz from Da Street (see: grandparents and/or cars). 6. Pretty girls wear heels. Even if they're ice-skating. Even if they're mountaineering. Even if they're spelunking. Even if they're blowing stuff 'up' or being blown up. 7. The higher the heel, the shorter the skirt. 8. The shorter the skirt, the lower the cut of the top. 9. Physics is bullshit, and should apply to neither action sequences nor breasts. 10. Blow something else up. Make sure it goes 'up'. The thing about the Bay Universe, though, is that it's so much fun. Big, dumb and fun. You know what you're going to get when you buy your ticket, and you get total value for money when you do. On that front, Transformers: Age of Extinction doesn't fail to deliver. Just on length alone, you're getting almost three hours of film, which is an hour too long from a critical standpoint, but from a Bay Movie perspective, it's the promise of several hundred more explosions, car chases and outrageous racial stereotypes. As for plot (and yes, there is one…just...), Transformers: Edge of Extinction picks up the story several years down the track from where the initial Shia Labeouf trilogy left off. Our new hero is Cade Yeager (Mark Wahlberg), a Texan inventor whose ranch is in receivership and whose predictably hot teenage daughter (Nicola Peltz) is on the cusp of graduation. Around the world, all the Transformers — Decepticon and Autobot — are being hunted down by the CIA (led by Kelsey Grammer), and a mysterious third-party Transformer/bounty hunter named Lockdown. It's an uncomfortable alliance through which each party furthers its own sinister agenda, and which threatens to end all life on earth. As the inexplicably overweight truck that even more inexplicably smokes cigars would say, "bummer, dude" (refer to Truth No.5). There's nothing especially new here, save for the 3D, which is, admittedly, extensive and impressive, as well as the introduction of Dinobots, which fans of the comics/cartoons will doubtless appreciate. The performances are solid despite a laughably bad script, most notably from Stanley Tucci as the unscrupulous tech billionaire. The film's highlights centre almost exclusively around Lockdown, who makes for an outstanding villain, not in the least because his character actually has one. Now if you'll excuse me, it's time to blow something up. https://youtube.com/watch?v=ubGpDoyJvmI
If your days spent working from home and social distancing could do with a few more adorable animals, you'll be happy to know the internet is filled with many. Melbourne's zoos are live streaming their penguins, leopard cubs and giraffes, Sydney's aquarium brought us playtime with Pig the dugong and a Queensland wildlife sanctuary has cams on its koalas 24/7. Now, Taronga Zoo Sydney and Taronga Western Plains Zoo Dubbo have launched their own television station: Taronga TV. As well as three 24/7 live-streams focused on the zoos' sumatran tiger cubs, seals and elephants, the station is releasing daily videos across its Facebook, Instagram and YouTube channels. Already online: some adorable koala content, virtual hangs with the world's largest lizard, penguin feeds, baby monkeys, otters and even a video of a hippo doing a backflip. Yes, hippopotamuses — those giant water-dwelling mammals that generally weigh around 1000 kilograms — can do gymnastics better than me. https://youtu.be/qy9tc9zkN_Y As for what's to come, the zoo is promising a lot of behind-the-scenes sneak peeks, chats with keepers, stories from the Wildlife hospitals (including how it x-rays a seal), conservation work and workshops. There's a heap of kid-focused content, too, if you have any littlies at home at the moment. Both Taronga Zoos are temporarily closed to the public. Taronga TV will release videos daily on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and via its website. Top image: Rick Stevens
For whatever reason, Vin Diesel and the gang have yet to take their globe-hopping Fast and Furious franchise to New Zealand. But if they do, they'll be racing in the tyre tracks of a couple of Mini-focused homegrown films. Back in 1981, Goodbye Pork Pie saw a ragtag bunch of misfits careen across the country's two islands in a tiny yellow vehicle. Driving into remake territory with a newer model, Pork Pie takes the idea out for another spin. When struggling novelist Jon (Dean O'Gorman) fails to win his girlfriend back at a pal's wedding, he decides to try again after she heads down south to Invercargill. Luckily, he crosses paths with Luke (James Rolleston), who's driving a stolen car and fleeing a troubled past. Recently unemployed fast food worker and animal rights activist Kiera (Ashleigh Cummings) soon hops in as well, and the trio of strangers are suddenly on the road to adventure – albeit with the cops hot on their trail, the media going mad, and the entire nation seemingly watching their every move. Will they all become friends, learn life lessons and grow into better people on their journey? Will you see so many shots of a glistening Mini that you'll think you're watching a car commercial? Will the film showcase just as many scenic New Zealand sights as the Lord of the Rings films? The answer to all three of these questions is a resounding yes. Still, what Pork Pie lacks in surprises, it endeavours to make up for in jovial road trip vibes. Put it this way: if you were stuck travelling for a couple of hours with nothing but this movie for entertainment, you wouldn't mind. Even if they don't always prove the best long-haul companions on-screen, it helps that the three central performers make the most of their roles. None of their characters are particularly well-developed, but the genuine rapport between the energetic O'Gorman, charismatic Rolleston and spirited Cummings more than helps pass the time. Writer-director Matt Murphy boasts a significant connection to the original — it was helmed by his father Geoff Murphy, and Matt was part of the crew. It shouldn't be surprising then that the remake focuses on two things that made the first outing memorable: stunts and humour. In terms of the former, prepare for a standout dash through Wellington that happens to involve a coffin, and cars and trains colliding (but not in the way you might expect). As for the latter, it's more warm smiles and light chuckles than belly laughs. The gags are mostly conventional, but then that's Pork Pie to a tee: affable, enjoyable, but not quite as freewheeling and frenetic as it thinks. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPJpLfKG1AI
If a critic's role is to truly explore their chosen field, not only examining the obvious and popular but also unearthing the new and unknown, then consider Jonathan Gold the king of Los Angeles cuisine. Sure he knows all the regular haunts, but he's more interested in the venues less visited. He sees the city as a hotbed of tastes and textures, with the eclectic eateries off the beaten path more vibrant and varied than their well-known, well-heeled counterparts. Indeed, Gold's penchant for smaller, harder to find establishments that reflect their respective communities is what has endeared him to LA restaurateurs and readers alike, while also catapulting him to broader fame and recognition. He freely admits that he became a food writer completely by accident, and yet he's been plying his trade for more than two decades. In 2007, he became the first and only food critic to win the Pulitzer Prize. City of Gold tells his tale, though Laura Gabbert's documentary doesn't just take the standard biographical route. There are no shortage of friends, or thankful chefs and owners, willing to sing his praises — and Gold himself doesn't shy away from sharing his own upbeat anecdotes. But the movie's real focus mirrors its subject's true quest. As his humble beginnings – munching his way along the 15-mile Pico Boulevard from downtown LA to Santa Monica – demonstrate, the Los Angeles Times scribe is more concerned with the experience than the ingredients. Gabbert's skill is in doing the same, honing in on Gold's travels around town in his trusty Dodge truck more than she does the minutiae of the menus he consumes. Accordingly, City of Gold ambles along with a relaxed air, lurching from one topic to another while its images roam around the city. Thankfully, even when delving into his childhood, background as a music writer and notorious reputation for procrastination, the film doesn't suffer from its sprawling approach and casual attitude. Insights into the history of LA, the art of criticism and the advent of online consumer review sites also earn a mention, but never do they distract from the feature's main thread. Instead, they flesh out the 96-minute look at a guy uncovering the flavours of his hometown with a commitment to authenticity — and not just because it's his job, but because it's his passion. His enthusiasm, though delivered in his particularly unflashy fashion, proves infectious, with the film sharing that same tone of celebration. That adoration doesn't just extend to its portrayal of Gold, but to the places he champions, with his negative opinions glaringly absent. As Gold reads his own reviews of gastronomic gems, it's easy to believe that his is a life of devouring only the tastiest culinary creations. Basically, if you think being a food critic sounds like the perfect job, this documentary will do very little to change your mind.
Fans of aggressive trap tunes, get ready for NYC rapper A$AP Ferg's upcoming show in Sydney. Part of the lauded Harlem-based hip-hop collective A$AP Mob (which also includes award-winning artist A$AP Rocky), Ferg first got serious recognition with his debut solo album Trap Lord back in 2013, taking home the Rookie of the Year BET Hip Hop Award. Since then, he's released four more records, with the most-recent Floor Seats dropping late last year. The hip-hop heavyweight will be taking the stage at The Star Sydney's multimillion-dollar events centre on Friday, March 6. You'll also catch support act Triple J Unearthed artists Triple One, who hail from the inner west, plus Marquee DJs Sabio and K-Note. If you just want to catch A$AP Ferg perform, nab a general admission ticket for $65. Or, if you're keen to make a big night of it you can opt for a VIP ticket, which will set you back a cool $250 per person. You'll get express entry into the gig; access to the VIP lounge; a three hour food and drinks package; and express entry into Marquee afterwards to keep the good times going. Looking to take things to the next level? Round up 27 of your mates and grab a private suite for killer stage views — but prepare to splash some serious cash (pricing available on enquiry). There are only three available, each coming with a range of snacks — think sushi, sashimi, lamb cutlets and crispy pork belly. Drinks-wise, you'll be ordering from the VIP bottle service menu, which has an extensive range of OTT champagnes and spirits. And you'll get priority entry into the concert as well as into Marquee, naturally.
Put down your Kit Kat, for we’ve just discovered a break that's even better than snappable chocolate-covered wafers: smashing stuff. To be more specific, we mean smashing stuff with a baseball bat — and it's a legitimate, all above-board activity at new Melbourne pop-up, The Break Room. Currently housed in the back of a Brunswick shoe warehouse-turned-espresso bar Kines, an appointment at The Break Room is a five-minute, sweaty task that puts you behind thick, plastic walls, wields you with a pink baseball bat and some protective headgear and lets you go to town on some very satisfyingly smashable items. For the moment, they’re using plates and glasses as collateral. But if anyone can produce it, our ‘ultimate smashable’ would be a ceramic Matryoshka filled with glitter. The Break Room was born in a moment of frustration (and through the efficacy of podcasts) by founder Ed Hunter, after he realised that everybody wants to blow off steam in their own way. And while some might prefer to hit the gym, Hunter is inviting you to hit some crockery off a stool instead. Speaking of the stools, notches of pink residue from the so-coloured bats have been passionately left on them; reminders that other members of the baseball bat cathartic club (do I hear badges?) have bashed their way to sanity before you. For anyone studying their swatch patterns, the pink is Baker-Miller, and has been used in correctional facilities across America to help calm violent inmates. Yet Hunter heeds that The Break Room’s goal isn’t violence, but rather to reduce stress and harness those destructive tendencies in a controlled and fun way. A video posted by The Break Room (@thebreakroom) on Feb 10, 2016 at 8:46pm PST At $50 to smash your way to calmness for five minutes, this emotional outlet may seem a bit on the spenny side, but the beauty is in the fact that you’re not breaking your own stuff — and some other guy will be picking up the pieces after you. These pieces are, in fact, added to the pile that hides further out back, where both shattered crockery and snapped pink swords from liberated brethren lay, which is a good indicator that the allocated time is probably ample. So wait until the shutters go down, don your best Joaquin Phoenix impersonation and swing away at those inner aliens of yours by taking your aggression out in some organised chaos. The Break Room is currently located in Brunswick, Melbourne and is open from 3pm every day. For more information, visit thebreakroom.com.au.
A hatted favourite in New Zealand, White + Wongs is a new addition to Sydney's hospo scene, arriving at the city's latest dining precinct. This colourful spot located at 25 Martin Place doesn't stray too far from the formula that's made it such a success across the ditch, with an eclectic menu that draws influences from classic street food from China, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Malaysia and Thailand. On Monday, September 26, the inner-city eatery is celebrating International Dumpling Day with a pair of dumpling offers. The first is an all-you-can-eat dumpling menu that will set back diners $25 a head. You'll be served dumplings yum cha-style for an hour, and be able to sample as many dumplings as you can from both White + Wongs' standard dumpling menu and its Fun Dumpling Menu. On the Fun Dumpling Menu, you'll find weird and wonderful takes on dumplings including mac and cheese xiao long bao, Vegemite and emu dumplings, prawn and parmesan toast, and hot fried jam doughnut buns. While you're indulging in bottomless dumplings, you can also pull together three of your closest dumpling-loving friends to share the 10-inch giant xiao long bao which has been added to the menu. Each giant dumpling is filled with pork mince and a pork-based broth and can feed four people. It even comes with a straw so you can suck out the soup before you cut it open. There will only be 30 available on the day for $35 a pop, so make sure to preorder your giant dumpling in advance. The festivities kick off at 11am and go until late. Make sure to book a table at the White + Wongs website if you're heading in for the dumpling feast.
Believe it or not, the season is almost over, folks. Summer is just around the corner which means that, soon enough, the temperature gauge is going to start doing some crazy things. So we best make the most of the outdoors while we can bear to be outside for longer than a few minutes. As Spring Carnival draws to a close, we've teamed up with Australian Turf Club to bring you five top-notch ways to celebrate the season this week. [caption id="attachment_746601" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Kirsten Muller[/caption] BROWSE THE STALLS AND HAVE A BOOGIE AT THIS COMMUNITY FESTIVAL When? Sunday, November 10 The inner west's beloved Newtown Festival will see Camperdown Memorial Park crawling with stalls, performers and activities. The family- and dog-friendly festival is just five bucks entry (paid at the gate) and proceeds go to the Newtown Neighbourhood Centre to help support people who are doing it tough in the area. As well as doing something good for the community, you'll get to enjoy the Heaps Gay Karaoke Closet (a tent dedicated to dress ups and lots of karaoke), the Eco Village and the Sassy Treats Dog Show. There'll be over 200 food and market stalls, more than 100 roaming performers and a music lineup showcasing artists who've each got their own connection to the Newtown community, including The Delta Riggs, Godtet, Lola Scott and The Buoys. HAVE A SPOOKY SLEEPOVER AT COCKATOO ISLAND When? Friday, November 8 If one night of Halloween just isn't enough for you, prepare to get well and truly scared at Cockatoo Island's Overnight Fright Experience. Amping up the island's regular haunted history night tours, the overnight experience starts with a two-hour guided walking tour of the island — delving into its (creepy) history as a prison, dockyard, reformatory, school and wartime port — before finishing up with a horror film screening at the world-heritage listed Convict Precinct, and a (probably not distracting enough) treat of hot chocolates and marshmallows to roast over the fire. After all that, do your best to fall asleep in a deluxe camping tent. [caption id="attachment_749061" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Paul McMillan[/caption] SIP CHAMPAGNE ON THE LAST WEEKEND OF EVEREST CARNIVAL When? Saturday, November 9 There's one more chance to enjoy the best part of spring at Rosehill Gardens, as the Everest Carnival draws to a close with Golden Gift Ladies Day on Saturday, November 9. So put on something swish, and step into a palm-studded oasis at Rosehill Gardens for champagne, cocktails and sets from DJs like Steph Luxe. The bar will be serving refreshments like Canadian Club cocktails, Pimm's on tap and Iron Jack beer, and a food precinct packed with some of Sydney's best food trucks. For something a bit more special — like a birthday you've left a little too late to organise — you can add a bar platter or deluxe picnic hamper to your ticket, or book in for a long lunch for $155 per person. Don't forget to stop by the pampering station for a touch up before heading to the afterparty at Rosehill Bowling Club. [caption id="attachment_702354" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Takashi Murakami by Claire Dorn[/caption] EXPLORE THE ART GALLERY OF NSW'S LATEST EXHIBITION When? Any day Summer blockbuster exhibition Japan Supernatural is an exploration of the spirit world of Japanese art. Made up of more than 200 pieces, the immersive experience involves paintings, sculpture, prints, film, animation, comics and games. Highlights include a monumental piece by Tokyo-born Takashi Murakami, historical works by artists such as Katsushika Hokusai (best known for Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji and Great Wave off Kanagawa) and Utagawa Kuniyoshi, plus art by photographer Miwa Yanagi and contemporary pop artist Chiho Aoshima. CATCH A NEW FLICK AT THIS OUTDOOR CINEMA BY THE HARBOUR When? Wednesday, November 6–Sunday, November 10 The American Express Openair Cinema is back on the harbour, set up in Pyrmont's Metcalfe park until December 8. Food truck Mr Papa will be on site slinging Peruvian street food, burgers, fries and grazing platters, or you can grab popcorn and drinks from the bar. This week catch Joaquin Phoenix in Joker on Friday, November 8, or Sunday night comedy The Dead Don't Die starring Bill Murray. Doors open at 6pm each night so you can snag a good spot, with live music performances until the film starts after sunset. The best part? It's dog friendly. Everest Carnival runs until November 9 at Rosehill Gardens and Royal Randwick. For more information, head this way. Image: Felipe Neves.
Even if you know Bendigo inside out, you'll experience it in a whole new light during Bendigo Uncorked Week. For ten delicious days, the town's historical buildings will host an array of creative events dedicated to foodies and winos looking to try something new. Bendigo is known for its robust shiraz and cabernet sauvignon drops thanks to deep soil and high sun exposure. But the festival seeks to highlight the region's full and distinct offering which also includes chardonnay, riesling, sauvignon blanc and sangiovese. Get started at Bendigo Heritage After Dark on Friday, October 12. This intimate experience will see you head into the Fortuna Villa's Gold Crushing Room to try 40 wines from the Bendigo region to the sweet sounds of live music. The following day, you can spend a few hours wandering through seven heritage buildings in central Bendigo, where several local vineyards will be serving boutique drops alongside a selection of tasty bites. After dark, settle in at Burnt Acre Vineyard for a six-course banquet with matching wines, including the sold-out 2015 Burnt Acre shiraz. Once you sip it, you'll know why it sold out (and won best shiraz at last year's Bendigo Uncorked Week). Other escapades planned across the festival include an evening of traditional north Italian fare and a night at the movies hosted by Sandhurst Ridge Wines. Check out the rest of the program here. To discover more events and spring experiences in regional Victoria visit: Your Happy Space.
Yulli's Brews finally opened its own (100-percent vegan) Alexandria taproom back in July, and now it's giving Sydney's inner west another reason to celebrate with the launch of Yulli's Brewery Markets. On the third Sunday of each month, the brewery will invite local merchants, artisans and independent makers to display an array of homewares, smallgoods and other handmade items. The market will begin this Sunday, November 18. Among the products for sale will be indoor plants, bespoke ceramics, vintage clothing and heaps of preserves, condiments and jarred goodies. Yulli's own eats will be up for grabs too, including ready-made dumplings, kimchi and other pickled veg (all vegan, of course). The market opens at 9am, with a barbecue of vegan hot dogs welcoming guests alongside the stallholders. But the day really kicks into gear at 11am when live acts take the stage and the bar starts slinging its namesake brews. The full brewery menu is available from noon, too.
If your idea of trifle is Aeroplane Jelly, Madeira cake from the nearest supermarket, tinned peaches and cheap rum, think again. Pastry chef and owner of Enmore's Saga Andy Bowdy — whose peanut butter and banana sundaes (once served at Hartsyard) are the stuff of legend — has reinvented the dessert, especially for Christmas. His festive trifles made their debut in 2017 and they're back for a second round. In Bowdy's words, "I know a trifle can be a little controversial, but lets face it — a trifle is basically a cake in a bowl." If you've ever sampled his cakes, you'll take that as good tidings. Exceptionally good tidings. These trifles are not just cakes, but OTT masterpieces, loaded with all kinds of goodies, like baked cheesecake chunks, caramelised popcorn and salted caramel drizzle. On the Christmas trifle menu are four options. One of them is the Ted, a blackforest-inspired concoction of chocolate fudge cake, white chocolate mascarpone, morello cherry compote and Nutella cremeux, topped with candied hazelnuts, choc-hazelnut crumb and fresh cherries, and infused with a cherry and bourbon soak. Meanwhile, the Philly takes its cue from peaches and cream. Think layers of vanilla sponge, maple custard, vanilla chantilly and peach and rosemary compote, spiked with peach and bourbon jelly, and topped with brown sugar pecans, Anzac crumbs and fresh peaches and raspberries. There's also the Jacoby's, a tropical explosion of vanilla sponge, passionfruit curd, pineapple white rum jelly, coconut custard and vanilla chantilly, with caramelised pineapple, coconut chew, milk crumb and fresh passionfruit and pineapple. Then, for Italophiles, the Tiramisu. It's not the only OTT trifle making the rounds this Christmas either, Gelato Messina's famed Christmas coma has also returned. Andy Bowdy's Christmas trifles can be ordered online now and collected from Saga, Enmore, from December 1–24. Each cake is $195 and feeds 18-22 people.
A twisty tale of high-stakes British espionage — one that spans secret identities, torrid affairs, country-hopping missions and a world-in-peril situation, too — Operation Mincemeat desperately wants its audience to know about its 007 ties. When it introduces a man by the name of Ian Fleming (Johnny Flynn, The Dig), it lets the moment linger. It drops more than a few mentions of his fondness for writing about spy intrigue as well. And, when he refers to his boss Admiral John Godfrey (Jason Isaacs, Streamline) as M, the film even has him explain why. Fleming is also the movie's narrator, literally spinning a cloak-and-dagger story from the get-go. Plus, seeing him tapping away at a typewriter is a common image. Every single touch forms part of the feature's warm, well-meaning nod to the Bond, James Bond author's early years; however, it's also a tad distracting and unnecessary. Fleming is immersed in the IRL covert mission that Operation Mincemeat explores, and removing him would've been inaccurate, but the details themselves are fascinating enough without getting viewers thinking about tuxedos and shaken-not-stirred martinis. Operation Mincemeat is a war film, set in the darkening days of 1943. It's also just as much a heist film. Whether you've only ever seen one Ocean's flick, have memorised every single word of Reservoir Dogs, or loved Baby Driver or Widows in recent years, if you've seen one caper movie you know the setup: gather a gang together, work out the nitty gritty of a bold but tricky plan, endeavour to put the scheme into action, then weather whatever comes (be it success, failure or a bit of both). Adapting Ben Macintyre's book, which also spawned a 2010 documentary, screenwriter Michelle Ashford (Masters of Sex) is well aware of this formula. With director John Madden (Miss Sloane) behind the lens, Operation Mincemeat doesn't shy away from all of the heist basics for a second. But as with all the gratuitous Bond nods, a cracking real-life tale remains a cracking real-life tale — the kind that no one, not even Fleming, could convincingly make up. The titular gambit came about as much of the Allies' efforts in World War II did: as an effort to do whatever was needed to defeat Hitler. Britain needed to make its way into occupied Europe, but everyone involved knew it — including the Germans — ensuring that any standard move would've been oh-so-easy for the Nazis to predict. Enter the operation that might've been codenamed 'Trojan Horse', except that that label would've been much too obvious. The plan: getting documents about the Allies' purported and wholly fictional scheme to invade Greece to their enemies, misdirecting them, so that the invasion of Sicily could proceed with little resistance. The crucial detail: drifting those papers into Spain, where they could be reasonably expected to end up in German hands, by placing them with a corpse dressed up to look like a British military officer. Making that ruse stick — ensuring that the Nazis didn't smell a plant, specifically — was never going to be a straightforward move. It's one thing to nail the logistics of transporting the cadaver and its faux materials to the right place, and another completely to find a body that works, forge all the necessary documentation and build up a backstory so believable that it'd stand up to enemy scrutiny. As a result, Godfrey isn't keen on the operation, which was reportedly conjured up by Fleming, but it still gets the go-ahead anyway. Tasked with both fleshing and carrying it out are Naval Intelligence officers Ewen Montagu (Colin Firth, Supernova) and Charles Cholmondeley (Matthew Macfadyen, Succession), who amass a team of helpers including Fleming, Montagu's trusty chief secretary Hester Leggett (Penelope Wilton, Downton Abbey: A New Era), plus MI5 clerk Jean Leslie (Kelly Macdonald, Line of Duty). No heist plot ever sounds as exciting as it is when boiled down to a big-picture overview, and that's true of Operation Mincemeat. It's thrilling on-screen, though, including when it dives into the tiniest of gripping specifics. Don't trust anyone who tells you they lack attention to detail and don't care otherwise; when the minutiae is this compelling, focusing on every decision made, each item required, and every possible setback and struggle flows swiftly and easily. Body decomposition rates and submarine routes prove both essential and captivating, but it's the quest to establish the fictitious Major William Martin's personal life that's even more engrossing. That's how the widowed Jean comes into the narrative, and how the best of the movie's subplots starts to unfurl, with Cholmondeley sporting a crush but the married Montagu striking up a rapport instead. Another narrative thread, this time about Godfrey's suspicions that Montagu's dilettante brother Ivor (Mark Gatiss, The Father) might be a Communist sympathiser, is far less critical. Operation Mincemeat is a saggier movie with it included — but rolling out a ripping true tale, then occasionally bogging it down needlessly, is this spy caper's approach from start to finish. Thankfully, courtesy of Ashford's witty scripting and Madden's snappy helming, the handsomely shot feature always remains solid enough to mostly float rather than drag. And it does look the polished period- and mood-appropriate picture, too — with help from cinematographer Sebastian Blenkov, who managed the same with 2016's Their Finest — and engagingly balances its dark hues and dripping tension with cosy "keep calm and carry on"-style determination. Still, it's easy to wonder if Operation Mincemeat would've come together as skilfully as it has — aside from its few soggier inclusions — with any other cast. Enlisting men who've played romantic leads in Jane Austen adaptations works out nicely, spanning Firth and Macfadyen (Pride & Prejudice's Mr Darcy on TV and in film, respectively) as well as Flynn (Emma's Mr Knightley); silent yearning is silent yearning, whether over matters of the heart or for one's country and its success in global conflict. Macdonald is also as delightful as ever, and handles the love-triangle subplot with the grace and emotion it calls for. Indeed, it too might've felt superfluous if it wasn't so sincere, and didn't offer a lower-stakes example of the deceptions people spin and cling to — and the fictions they happily escape into — to keep buoyant. In fact, if viewers needed any other proof that this definitely isn't a Bond movie and really didn't need to emphasise its links to 007 so forcefully, unpeeling Operation Mincemeat's layers makes it as clear as a gleaming Aston Martin's bulletproof glass.
When you think Tennessee Williams, you usually think steamy southern towns and tragically romantic, sweeping plantations upon whose porches wasted women have their nervous breakdowns. What you don't automatically think of are rainbow streamers. But Simon Stone's production of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof at Belvoir is a reinvented sort, and its set — a revolving turntable bisected by a dense curtain of the party-supply staple — wants to remind us that we're here under the pretence of celebration. It's the 50th birthday of family patriarch Big Daddy (Marshall Napier). He's also dying of cancer and everyone knows it but him and his overprotective, loving, stickybeaky wife, Big Mama (Lynette Curran). The inheritance of their grand plantation is, therefore, a matter on everyone else's minds. Maggie (Jacqueline McKenzie) believes it's the right of her husband, Big Daddy's favourite son, Brick (Ewen Leslie), and that it will put their faltering relationship back on track. Ageing football hero Brick is in the depths of alcoholism, self-flagellation and denial of his sexuality and cannot want for a thing like land ownership. Brick's rather square brother Gooper (Alan Dukes) thinks it would be best left to him, and his wife, Mae (Rebecca Massey), keeps exploiting their brood of six children to win the favour of their grandparents. Sadly it's Maggie who's most affected by the kids' parading, as what she really wants is a child, something she has no chance of getting as long as her husband despises her. This Cat on a Hot Tin Roof is part of a raft of productions that take classic texts and transport them to the unspecific contemporary, a place where accents are Australian but other textual references to place remain foreign. It's a legitimate approach, especially given how often audiences recoil from off accents. The aim is to find and communicate the heart of the play, and it's worked most successfully in The Wild Duck and Strange Interlude (both Stone's work). Cat on a Hot Tin Roof is a (literally and metaphorically) colourful production with swags of charm, but unfortunately, it doesn't quite present us with the raw, beating heart it was searching for. There seem to be pieces missing in conceptualising how (or whether) this story fits into a modern world. As it is, it's hard to understand the root of some of the characters' anger and repression. The actors, too, are a bit discordant. McKenzie might just be too adorable for the role of Maggie, coming across quite flatly sweet, flighty and garrulous — more bird than titular cat. The usually fabulous Leslie is good, but his Brick just seems morose, without that seething edge to make you think his depression matters to the outcome of things. Napier stepped into his key role at the last moment to replace an ill Anthony Phelan and had to keep his script on hand at opening, but a few nights on, when we finally made it along, his Big Daddy is commanding. Sandalled and Hawaiian-shirted, vociferous yet nuanced, he almost has a Hunter S. Thompson vibe, which is, of course, immensely watchable. As for that streamer-curtained set, it might have been better in theory than practice. While it creates a multifaceted entrance for the actors, it's also wafty and tangly and all up a distraction. This might sound like a litany of errors, but nevertheless Cat on a Hat Tin Roof is an entertaining and clever production. The story's beautiful tragedy is in the longing and lack of fulfilment evinced in Brick and Maggie, and it cuts through — just not to the depths it was aiming for. Cat on a Hot Tin Roof moves to the Theatre Royal from April 10-21.
Celebrate Mardi Gras at Forrester's with a two-hour bottomless brunch hosted by drag performer Queen Millenia Alcox on Saturday, February 26. Kicking off from midday, you're invited to start your weekend with two hours of drag, music, drinks and a hearty menu of Forrester's dishes. Alongside classics of a brunch spread like focaccia, salad and roast vegetables, highlights from the menu include butternut squash dip, sweetcorn and mozzarella croquettes, beer-battered fish and chilli lamb skewers – all of which will be accompanied by bottomless rosé and a show from Alcox and her partners-in-drag Raquel and Victoria Mami. Bookings can be made for groups of four or more, and will set you and your friends back $99 per person, or $109 a head if you want to add prosecco and Moon Dog Pale Ale to your free-flowing drinks options. Top image: Kitti Gould
"Today is a good day to die," announced Kiefer Sutherland in Flatliners circa 1990. The film's opening line was moody and cheesy all at once, and set the scene for the blend of sci-fi and horror to follow. Before he was battling terrorists as Jack Bauer, a blonde-locked Sutherland played a medical student convinced that he could kill himself, find out what happens next, come back to life and get famous. Even with Julia Roberts and Kevin Bacon among the cast, the final product was far from memorable. Both Sutherland and that line of dialogue pop up in the new remake, the latest Hollywood rehash no one was dying for. His involvement is amusing, though not intentionally so, while the repeated phrase feels as routine and obligatory as it inescapably is. If only the entire movie had fallen into the first category, rather than the second. With director Niels Arden Oplev (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) and writer Ben Ripley (Source Code) taking an average-at-best flick from almost 30 years ago, ditching the '90s brooding, ramping up the backstory and exposition, and throwing in some raucous party scenes because, hey, it's 2017, it was never going to be a good day for this film. This time around, Ellen Page's Courtney takes centre stage. While she says her obsession with near-death experiences is all in the name of science, an introductory car crash makes her personal motivations clear. Stressed-out classmate Sophia (Kiersey Clemons) and ladies' man Jamie (James Norton) are initially tricked into helping, but prove eager to follow in her footsteps when she returns with a better memory, a desire to knock down walls, some nifty piano playing skills and a need to bake bread. Yes, really. Ray (Diego Luna) only stumbles across the heart-stopping scheme when things go wrong, and Marlo (Nina Dobrev) literally follows him into the hospital's basement. But soon they're caught up in things as well. It's a silly premise, with the group forced to face some very obvious consequences. Dying isn't all it's cracked up to be, especially when it's accompanied by haunting reminders about their various sins. Ripley's script cares not for surprises, and Oplev shows the same lack of concern for anything other than going through the motions. Even if you haven't seen the original Flatliners, if you've seen any other spooky flick that flirts with shuffling off this mortal coil, prepare yourself for a journey into been-there, done-that territory. While it's easy to decry the growing trend towards pointless remakes, Flatliners isn't terrible just because it needlessly revives a forgettable film from a bygone era. Likewise, it'd be easy to bemoan the fact that such a talented cast has been saddled with such crumby material, but wasting Page, Clemons and Luna in particular isn't the movie's main problem. None of that helps, but the killer jolt is the film's lack of energy. While its characters take a zap to the heart to step into the afterlife, Flatliners doesn't have a pulse to begin with. Flat and bland in style, plot and emotion, it's a work completely devoid of interest and scares as a result. The only thing that stands out in Luna's man-bun — and even it has nothing on Bacon's mullet in the original. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQB35rkRSM0
Break out your stretchiest attire, prepare to start quoting Homer Simpson and make a beeline to your new Tuesday night dinner spot. Every week, Bondi's Panama House is serving up an all-you-can-eat taco feast — and it'll only set you back $25 per person. Their taco menu includes seared duck, 'tinga' chicken, market fish, rare kangaroo and pork chicharron — plus smoked mushrooms and thyme goat curd for those that don't partake in meat, as well as chickpea and salsa for those who don't eat any animal products. Washing it all down with a margarita or some Tecate is also highly recommended — and cheap — with the former (with tequila, hibiscus curaçao, lime oil and fresh lime juice) on offer for $12 and the latter for $4. Image: Richard Mortimer
UPDATE OCTOBER 11: Archie Brothers is currently closed under NSW's current public health orders. You can stay up-to-date with the latest restrictions at the NSW Health website. Since 2017 in Sydney, a trip to Archie Brothers Cirque Electriq has meant stepping inside a circus-themed arcade bar that's primed for kidulting. And, that's still the case; however, once a month from May until November, the chain is ramping its core concepts of circus, arcade fun and nostalgic activities for adults up a few levels. Run by Funlab, the group also responsible for Holey Moley, Strike Bowling and B. Lucky & Sons, Archie Brothers is kicking off a new Showtime event series. After launching on Friday, May 7 in Alexandria, it'll take place on the second Saturday of each month, turning the venue into an adults-only circus and cocktail pop-up. From 7–10pm each month, attendees can expect stilt walkers, magicians, burlesque and beverages — and tarot card readers, face painters, jugglers and snake charmers as well. The carousel-themed Archie Brothers bar will be pouring Showtime Disco Mirror Ball cocktails, which combine Red Bull, passionfruit, cranberry juice, triple sec, whiskey and lime, while the rest of the chain's usual drinks list will be on offer, too. Food-wise, the theme park and American diner-inspired menu will span sandwiches, pizzas, sliders, onion rings, mac and cheese and other dishes. And, all of Archie Brothers' usual games and activities will be on the agenda, as will prizes. So, you'll be whipping out your Mario Kart skills, hitting the dodgems, bowling and just generally mashing buttons in May, and again come June 12, July 10, August 14, September 11, October 9 and November 13. Then, you'll be trading all the tickets you amass for gaming consoles, 90s paraphernalia and more (and there won't be any kids around vying for the same goodies). Images: Zennieshia Butts.
Sydney's Australian National Maritime Museum has joined the after-hours pop-up party. Launching their very own scavenger hunt aboard the HMAS Vampire, the Maritime Museum is staying open a little later for the grown ups this Thursday, August 28. Structured as a photographic scavenger hunt, 'Dare, Danger, Destroy' is a special after-hours event from 6–7:30pm in which you snap clues with your phone around the museum's prized warship. The third of three Australian-built Daring class destroyers serving in the Royal Australian Navy, the HMAS Vampire has a few secrets hidden below decks — there'll even be a poor ol' sailor 'trapped in time' wandering around the ship ready for all the selfies. Once you've solved the puzzles and poked around the epic ship (the largest museum-owned object on display in Australia), there'll be a pop-up cash bar back on land to reward your hunting efforts. Your hard-solved clue images live stream in the waterfront bar — soundtracked by DJ Stuart Ridley (emagica). Best of all, the event and Vampire quest is free entry — when you show them the Tag Town app, the very same camera app used for Art and About — and over 18s only, so you can explore the warship and soak up the Maritime Museum without little screaming thingies running around). The Maritime announcement comes just a few weeks after the announcement of The Festivalists' upcoming Hijinks nights at Sydney Aquarium, also hinged around an after-hours scavenger hunt. But that's all sweet with us; the longer we get to spend at Sydney's museums after hours with cheeky booze on a school night, the better. 'Dare, Danger, Destroy' runs 6–7:30pm on Thursday, August 28 at the Maritime Museum. Entry is free (when you show the Tag Town app at entry), over 18s only. Image credit: Saberwyn. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.
