It has been more than a month since Australia's cinema screens stopped flickering, with the nation's picture palaces closing due to social-distancing requirements to help stop the spread of COVID-19. And while movie buffs can still get their film fix online — via the usual streaming options, as well as the big bunch of recent big-screen releases fast-tracked to digital — your tastebuds are probably hankering for some cinema-level snacks to go with your at-home-viewing. Thanks to Hoyts and UberEats, you can now get the cinema chain's popcorn and choc tops delivered to your door. On offer: four sizes of regular salted popcorn, five flavours of gourmet popcorn (including nacho and sea salt caramel) and five types of choc tops (vanilla, boysenberry, mint, cookies and cream, and salted caramel). You can also order a selection of chips, confectionary and drinks. And, if you really want to come as close as you can to recreating the out-of-the-house movie-going experience, you can get your snacks in combos. Three kinds are available, so you'd best decide whether you'd like Malteasers with your popcorn and choc top — and if you're planning to share. For a limited time, Hoyts is also giving away free choc tops — albeit with other purchases, so you will have to splash out some cash. Buy any salted or gourmet popcorn, and you'll score a choc top as well. Or, spend more than $30 in total, and you'll also nab a choc top for free. Delivery is available between 2–9.30pm each day, and you will need to live within the delivery zone of one of Hoyts' 34 physical sites in New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia and the Australian Capital Territory. Hoyts' snack range is available via UberEats, with free choc tops on offer for a limited time with any salted or gourmet popcorn purchase, or any order over $30. To order, head to UberEats.
As if the first announcement wasn't kickass enough, OutsideIn have announced the second part of their festival lineup. Locked in to be held over three levels at Manning Bar in the University of Sydney, the boutique music festival cooked up by Sydney touring and management agency Astral People and record label Yes Please returns for its third instalment on Saturday, November 29. Forecast to sell out like its 2012 and 2013 events, OutsideIn will spread its super solid lineup over three stages. Joining an already solid lineup featuring '90s US hip-hop legends The Pharcyde, Sydney's beloved electronic trio Seekae, Germany's Pantha Du Prince, America's Giraffage and Melbourne duo Client Liaison is legendary Chicago house DJ/producer Roy Davis Jr and US R&B/housemaster Brenmar, alongside Melbourne’s Noise In My Head, Adelaide’s Late Nite Tuff Guy, and Sydney's own Collarbones, Chris Barker and Basenji. With a host of both local and international artists yet to be announced, OutsideIn is back for another year of beats-you-may-have-missed and downright shindigging. OUTSIDEIN 2014 SECOND LINEUP ANNOUNCEMENT: Roy Davis Jr (US) Basenji Brenmar (US) Late Nite Tuff Guy Collarbones Noise in My Head Chris Barker FULL 2014 LINEUP: The Pharcyde (US) Seekae Pantha Du Prince (GER) Giraffage (US) Roy Davis Jr (US) Client Liaison Basenji Brenmar (US) HNNY (SWE) DJ SPINN (US) Tornado Wallace Collarbones Late Nite Tuff Guy Wookie (UK) Rome Fortune (US) Fishing Jubilee (US) Guerre Black Vanilla Retiree Sui Zhen Noise In My Head Preacha Andy Webb Moriarty Ariane Chris Barker OutsideIn is happening at Manning Bar, University of Sydney on November 29. General admission is $80 +bf. All tickets are available through Oztix. Photo credit: Voena.co
Providing fodder for all your half-drawn theories about parallel universes and/or that feeling you have that there are other yous out there (products of that time you could have sent that text and didn't, or the time you accidentally dropped that plate and smashed it, but probably could have caught it if you'd wanted to), a new production presented by Darlinghurst Theatre Company, Constellations, tells a story about the infinite possibilities of one relationship across infinite universes. The play, by young British playwright Nick Payne, opened in London in 2012 and will premiere on Broadway next January, starring your teenage heartthrob Jake Gyllenhaal. In the Sydney production, Sam O'Sullivan is Roland the beekeeper and Emma Palmer is Marianne the physicist — a convergence of occupations almost too whimsical to handle. Starting from the moment the couple meet at a barbecue and detailing particular moments in their ensuing relationship, with outcomes dependent on anything from their previous relationships to the way they phrased that last thing they said, this is one for those who like their boy-meets-girl with a side of multiverse theory. Constellations is on from August 13 to September 17 at the Eternity Playhouse. Thanks to the Darlinghurst Theatre Company, we have two double passes to give away to the preview performance on Sunday, August 10, at 5pm. To be in the running, subscribe to the Concrete Playground newsletter (if you haven't already), then email win.sydney@concreteplayground.com.au with your name and address.
The next stage of The Streets of Barangaroo has been revealed, and it's definitely the most delicious part yet. Opening today is the anticipated Wulugul Pop-Up: a collection of the country's most hyped food and drink venues along the Barangaroo waterfront. If you like fried chicken, gin cocktails and dancing in the rain, you will be very happy here. Five vendors from both Sydney and wider Australia have been chosen to christen the space. Melbourne's Belles Hot Chicken was announced as a resident earlier this month, as were roti masters Mamak, RivaReno Gelato and Darlinghurst's Edition Coffee Rosters. Gin and It — a gin bar from the guys at The Barber Shop — is the latest announcement; they'll be pre-bottling their gin cocktails daily for quick and easy consumption at the waterfront space. The pop-up currently sticks out as a bit of a rose amongst the thorns, hidden on the other side of the construction site that is the new, in-progress harbourside precinct, dubbed The Streets of Barangaroo. It's been designed by Melbourne's Foolscap Studio, and makes use of many a recycled cardboard tube and native plant. The space has the capacity for almost 500 people, and it's all undercover with plenty of seating. Dancing in the rain is still entirely feasible though. The pop-up is sticking around for a while, pencilled in for nine months while other vendors — such as Matt Moran's three-level salad bowl-shaped restaurant and the much-anticipated Noma Australia pop-up — set up shop and the surrounding tenants move in. By late 2016, there's expected to be 80 permanent dining and retail outlets in the precinct. Until then though, the Wulugul Pop-Up will have a lot going on, with talks and discussions, food festivals and live music planned for the coming months. By all accounts, it looks like it will be a good place to be — especially when the sun sets over Pyrmont and bathes everything in a golden glow. Yeah, we recommend getting there when that happens. The Wulugul Pop-Up opens today at Wulugul Walk in The Streets of Barangaroo precinct. It will be open 11am - 11pm, seven days a week. For more information, visit thestreetsofbarangaroo.com.au
Just-opened Potts Point restaurant Impromptu Dining is promising to deliver anything but an improvised experience. With an artfully curated space, an eclectic and affordable menu and an accomplished head chef, this Potts Point restaurant hits the trifecta of great dining. Plus, claiming a respect for and celebration of fresh produce, Impromptu has vowed to continue to work closely with the farmers and producers who have been with them from the beginning once they establish their new roots. Squared away in Llankelly Place, Impromptu takes that great Australian produce and transforms it to create an innovative, fine-dining experience without the extra burden on your back pocket, with nothing on the menu exceeding $30. Featuring local produce ranging from 'tempura warrigals' (after some googling, we discovered that this is deep-fried dingo) to Jack's Creek scotch fillet steak with charred cos, pearl onions and miso butter, their range of dishes showcase modern Australian cuisine with Japanese influences. And, because dessert is always worth a mention, the stand-out from the sweets table would undoubtedly be the cinnamon puftaloons with caramelised pineapple, smoked golden syrup and creme anglaise — simply because a 'cinnamon puftaloon' must be some kind of Elizabethan pant (it's actually a fried scone-like pastry). The drinks menu is also a veritable tasting plate of Australian wines and beers, with well over seventy-five percent of the boozy options ranging from the coasts of Western Australia to the grapes of Victoria, and everything in between. Not to be outdone by the ambiance and the menu itself, owner and head chef Daniel Backhouse has cut his teeth with some of Sydney's best chefs, including Serge Dansereau of The Bathers' Pavilion and Matt Kemp at The Gazebo and Boiler House. Find Impromptu Dining at Llankelly Place, Potts Point. Visit their website and Facebook page for more information.
Mary's monthly hospo party is back for 2019. Jump in the Fire sees Australia's best chefs and sommeliers put their mark on the Mary's brand with one-off food and wine pairings. It all goes down on the last Monday of each month — coinciding with the start of the weekend for many industry workers, but open to one and all. This year's event series kicks off on January 28, when renowned vegan chef Shannon Martinez of Melbourne's Smith & Daughters and Smith & Deli is in the house. She'll be slinging a range of vegan treats from the Mary's kitchen, including a meat-free version of the oh-so popular Mary's burger, vegan fried 'chicken', mash and plant-based gravy and rueben-loaded fries. For drinks, Liz Carey from Wine & Food Solutions will be pouring rare minimal intervention drops from around the world. Some of these special bottles include a pét-nat from Germany, a small-batch red blend from Catalunya and a biodynamic white from Austria. And, of course, there will be raucous tunes blasting, curated by local musicians and mates. To give you a sense of the vibe, the song 'Jump in the Fire' is a track off of Metallica's first album Kill 'Em All — a go-to at the venue. The monthly event remains free of charge, but remember it's a small joint, so get in early to nab a table for your crew.
Groceries in a hurry: that's Milkrun's whole gambit, helping Sydneysiders to get thousands of essential items brought to their doors within ten minutes of ordering (and freeing you from a supermarket trip, too). It might've saved your bacon once or twice, including by actually bringing you bacon — and now it can literally save your butt as well. If you've ever found yourself in a situation where going commando is the only option, but not by choice — because you've forgotten to pop clean underwear in your gym bag, for instance — then Milkrun's decision to add dacks to its range will be welcome news. The delivery app has teamed up with sustainable lifestyle brand Boody to offer undies in a hurry, sticking to its ten-minute timeframe and helping you out in a big way when your current skivvies just won't cut it. We can all think of plenty of situations where this'll come in supremely handy: after big nights out, when you're going straight from work to a party and don't have the right underclothes, and if you're staycationing and didn't pack enough, for example. Maybe you wore an uncomfy pair, perhaps you're keen on an impromptu dip but don't have swimmers, or you could feel like pretending you're a superhero. Whatever the situation, now there's a solution. A number of different styles are available, starting with Boody's classic bikini ($14.95) and everyday boxers ($24.95) — and also including bras, trunks, briefs and socks. Stepped in a puddle on a rainy day? The new range solves that problem, too. If you're new to Boody, it launched back in 2011, and heroes sustainable fabrics and manufacturing — making its wares with fabrics such as bamboo and lyocell. And if you're new to Milkrun, it makes its deliveries via electric bicycles across Sydney's CBD and surrounding suburbs — and now stops you getting your knickers in a twist in multiple ways. To order Boody's undies delivered to you within ten minutes, head to the Milkrun website.
Bluesfest has lifted the lid on its second artist announcement for 2018, adding 16 more names to the already hefty lineup. Heading this latest stampede is Senegalese artist Youssou N'dour, who will be bringing his 20-piece band to the five-day Easter long weekend festival just outside of Byron Bay. If the name isn't ringing any bells, you'll probably be familiar with this '90s classic. Other artists joining the lineup include greatest hit-bearers Jackson Browne and Seal, Bluesfest regular Michael Franti, and British band Gomez will return to the fest for their first tour in six years. They'll place alongside two huge headliners: Lionel Richie and Led Zeppelin's Robert Plant, who will play with his band The Sensational Space Shifters. Plant's performance at Blues will mark 50 years since he first performed with Led Zeppelin, so the gravity of the performance is sure to be pretty huge. Other acts taking to the stage Tyagarah Tea Tree Farm over the weekend include Aussies Tash Sultana and John Butler Trio, Swedish duo First Aid Kit and what will be a captivating set by José González. Bluesfest returnees Joe Louis Walker, Dumpstaphunk and Eric Gales are on there too. Anyway, here's the full lineup. Better start making Easter plans — and deciding what to eat — because tickets are already on sale. BLUESFEST 2018 LINEUP SECOND ANNOUNCEMENT Youssou N'dour Seal Michael Franti & Spearhead Jackson Browne Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit Gomez Rag 'n' Bone Man The Original Blues Brothers Band Jimmy Cliff The Wailers Benjamin Booker Hurray for the Riff Raff Canned Heat Walter Trout André Cymone The Teskey Brothers FIRST ANNOUNCEMENT Robert Plant and The Sensational Space Shifters Lionel Richie The John Butler Trio Tash Sultana The New Power Generation Chic Featuring Nile Rodgers First Aid Kit Jose Gonzalez Morcheeba Gov't Mule Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real The California Honeydrops Eric Gales Bobby Rush Dumpstaphunk Joe Louis Walker Rick Estrin & The Nightcats Bluesfest 2017 will run March 29 to April 2 at Tyagarah Tea Tree Farm, Byron Bay. More details and ticket info here. Image: Andy Fraser.
Throw those GoPros, bubble bottles and novelty gumboots in your rucksack, Splendour in the Grass is returning to North Byron Parklands for another year of festival merriment. After a fake lineup posted was 'leaked' prior to the official triple j announcement to catfish all us suckers eagerly awaiting the list of acts that will be appearing, the details for Splendour 2016 are finally here. In what is the best news we've heard this year, The Strokes (The Strokes!!!) will be Splendouring for their only Australian show. It also seems the predictions for The Cure were incredibly, amazingly correct — meaning that we'll be seeing both The Strokes and The Cure this July. It's almost too much to handle. Joining them is one heck of a lineup that includes The Avalanches — who haven't played a gig (that wasn't a DJ set) in over ten years. Fingers crossed the show coincides with new music. Iceland's Sigur Rós and Irish artist James Vincent McMorrow will also being doing one-off Australian shows at the festival, Courtney Barnett will make her first appearance at Byron, while James Blake and At the Drive-In will return, as will locals Flume and Sticky Fingers. Anyway, we know what you're here for. We'll cut to the chase. SPLENDOUR IN THE GRASS 2016 LINEUP The Strokes (only Aus show) The Cure Flume The Avalanches (only Aus show) James Blake At The Drive-In Violent Soho Hermitude Band of Horses Sigur Ros (only Aus show) Santigold Matt Corby Sticky Fingers Boy & Bear Courtney Barnett Jake Bugg The 1975 Leon Bridges Duke Dumont (DJ set) James Vincent McMorrow (only Aus show) The Kills The Preatures What So Not Years And Years Gang Of Youths Illy Peter, Bjorn & John Golden Features Crystal Fighters Ball Park Music Tegan & Sara DMA'S Jack Garratt Hayden James City Calm Down Snakehips Mark Lanegan Michael Kiwanuka Jagwar Ma King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard The Jungle Giants The Internet Motez Marlon Williams Lido Emma Louise Kim Churchill Nothing But Thieves Lapsley Kacy Hill Slumberjack Robert Forster (10 Years On) Beach Slang Urthboy Little May Boo Seeka Ganz Spring King Melbourne Ska Orchestra Fat White Family Total Giovanni Methyl Ethel Slum Sociable L D R U In Loving Memory of Szymon Blossoms High Tension Roland Tings Sampa The Great The Wild Feathers Harts Ngaiire montaigne Tired Lion Green Buzzard Jess Kent Gold Class Lucy Cliche Opiuo Mall grab Dom Dolla Paces Just A Gent Dro Carey Running Touch Wafia World Champion Suzi Zhen Remi Nicole Millar Dreller Feki Kllo Banoffee Plus... Moonbase Comander The Meeting Tree Twinsy Purple Sneaker Djs Human Movement Panete Swick Amateur Dance Ribongia Splendour will return to North Byron Parklands on Friday 22, Saturday 23 and Sunday 24 July. Onsite camping will once again be available from Wednesday, July 20. Image: Bianca Holderness.
Choosing a beer to drink should be simple. But even if you're determined to drink local and support Australian brewers, there are just so many beverages and brands to pick from. That's the dilemma everyone faces when they go to the bottle shop — so imagine how difficult it is to select the top brews at the Royal Queensland Food and Wine Show Beer Awards. The folks behind the annual accolades have managed to pick their preferred beverages for 2021, with the results announced on Wednesday, March 3. The awards span a heap of categories, with more than 480 individual beers submitted (and if you're now thinking that choosing the winners sounds like your dream job, that's understandable). Sydney Brewery earned the biggest gong of the awards, the Grand Champion Beer, for its pilsner — and that wasn't the only major field it topped. It was also named the best small/medium brewery and, in the minor categories, won for its lager. If you're a Sydneysider looking for some motivation to visit its Surry Hills site, you've just found it. Obviously, if there's a category for smaller brewers, there's one for larger outfits, which the Gold Coast's Black Hops Brewing won. And, there's also a best new brewery field, with Stomping Ground Brewing Co in Melbourne doing the honours. As for the champion brewpub, that went to Moffat Beach Brewing Co on the Sunshine Coast. [caption id="attachment_684633" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Sydney Brewery[/caption] Being held in the Sunshine State, the awards also anoint a best Queensland beer, with Aether Brewing's Hop Skip Jump IPA Draught getting the nod — and winning the strong beer field, too. Other breweries to pick up a trophy include Gypsy Fox Brewing Co from Grose Vale in New South Wales, which makes the best amber dark ale; Brisbane's All Inn Brewing Co, who do the best porter or stout; and fellow Brisbanite Felons Brewing Co, with its Dark Side Bourbon Barrel Stout claiming the hybrid beer field. For more information about the 2021 Royal Queensland Food and Wine Show Beer Awards winners, head to the show's website. Top image: Stomping Ground, David Hyde.
Musical theatre fans and opera lovers may be tempted by the upcoming Sydney Season of Cho Cho, the award-winning offering from The National Theatre of China and PlayKing Productions. Starring Chinese pop singer/composer Wang Zheng (whose piano-playing and TV judging skills have landed her comparisons to Delta Goodrem) and Aussie musical theatre star Scott Irwin (Hairspray, They’re Playing our Song), Cho Cho will appeal to anyone who likes their theatre on the musical side with a dash of puppetry. Set in 1930s Shanghai, the show is a reworking of Cho Cho San, Australian playwright Daniel Keene's own retelling of Puccini's opera Madame Butterfly. You know the story: handsome young American lieutenant meets beautiful young Chinese girl, doomed love, tragic ending. As Australia's first bilingual musical, it features new work from Chinese composer Cheng Jin and is directed by Peter Wilson (puppetry director of King Kong and most recently the STC’s Storm Boy).
Adoration opens with the seaside funeral of Theo, an event which doesn't seem to have particularly bothered anyone. His wife, Lil (Naomi Watts), and her best friend, Roz (Robin Wright), are altogether content with their lot; they live in a Garden of Eden-like seaside town and enjoy a friendship so enduring and close that people in the small community whisper that they are "lezzoes". When Roz's husband, Harold (Ben Mendelsohn), leaves for a job teaching drama in Sydney, the path is clear for them to give into temptation as each takes the other's gym-toned surf-loving son, Ian (Xavier Samuel) and Tom (James Frecheville), as lovers. At a preview screening, there were scattered laughs throughout, a worry for a film aiming for thoughtful adult drama rather than comedy. Adoration takes itself very seriously, though there are some potentially interesting ideas bubbling away underneath the slick surface, not least a sense that Lil and Roz are taking up these younger lovers for deeper reasons than a simple desire for their attractive sons — they are grasping at the memory of their own faded youth and seeking to be even closer with each other, the young men acting as substitutes for their own sublimated love. But too often the film wastes the dramatic potential of its material and settles for clunky symbolism rather than nuance; a scene where the characters sit down to eat an apple for no particular reason apart from the obvious biblical symbolism is particularly galling. Perhaps a director as versed with melodrama as Pedro Almodóvar could have made a great film out of Adoration, but this version stubbornly refuses to embrace the essential soapy silliness at its core, instead stretching for serious drama. Cue Lil looking off into the middle distance and intoning "We've crossed a line here" as she and Roz ponder their latest transgressions. A baffling development sees Tom, previously a monosyllabic lunk, declare his ambitions of working in theatre and temporarily move to Sydney, where he meets an aspiring actress, Mary (a scene-stealing Jessica Tovey), who also gets dragged into their web of adultery and deceit. Meanwhile, Lil's hapless suitor Saul (Gary Sweet) trails after her like a despondent puppy, dimly unaware of the fraught emotions of the group he longs to be part of. Blessed with a paradisiacal backdrop and shot with a stylish malevolence, Adoration is a kind of interesting failure. It isn't as bad as unintended guffaws would suggest, but it's hard to escape the feeling of missed opportunity here. https://youtube.com/watch?v=4xYrRsZpoxI
Sydney’s beloved Surry Hills barbecue restaurant Porteno has found a new pop-up home in Rushcutters Bay, following the fire that broke out last Friday in their Cleveland Street digs. Co-owner Elvis Abrahanowicz told Gourmet Traveller that while the Surry Hills fire and subsequent water damage hasn’t affected the dining area of the restaurant, repairs to the ruined areas in the upstairs bar and roof could take up to two months. So they’re popping up for a while as the adorably named Popteno, a separate endeavour to their Double Down Diner Messina team-up at the Sydney Festival Village. According to GT, Porteno's new pop-up will occupy the space formerly home to Rushcutters and Neild Avenue. The crew will no doubt be serving up a variation on the existing Porteno menu, so we're guessing a meaty, meaty Argentinian focus is in store. Poptento will launch on January 28. If you’re pining for Porteno until then, get down to the Double Down Diner at Sydney Festival village for all your American-style barbecued, fried and sauced up needs. Find Popteño at 10 Neild Avenue, Rushcutters Bay from January 28, open Wednesday to Saturday from 6pm. Via Gourmet Traveller.
A new summer exhibition at S.H. Ervin Gallery showcases 30 female Australian artists who travelled to Paris for study, work and inspiration. Featuring works from renowned artists including Dorrit Black, Margaret Preston, Grace Crowley, Stella Bowen and Margaret Olley, Intrepid Women celebrates the creative expansion and freedom from convention gained from time spent in the rich Parisian milieu. Highlighting both the courage and determination required to make such a move during the first half the 20th century (it took South Australian artist Marie Tuck ten solid years of working and saving before she was able to travel) the exhibition explores the impact Paris had on the careers of these women as they studied, exhibited in Paris salons and left bank galleries, and won awards, with some – like Dorrit Black – returning home to Australia to shake up the local scene with their first-hand understanding of the modernist movement. Head along for an inspirational show celebrating 30 truly intrepid women. Image: Dorrit Black, Nude with cigarette [cropped], 1930, oil on canvas on board, Private Collection, Sydney.
Josh Niland has had a busy few years. He opened his new Fish Butchery takeaway eatery in Waterloo, and announced that he will be taking over The Grand National Hotel while moving his signature restaurant Saint Peter into the space. Plus, he was named in the world's top 100 best chefs, won the James Beard Book of the Year Award and was listed among the world's 50 best next-generation hospitality leaders. If all this wasn't enough, he's still got time to do adventurous pop-ups around Sydney. His latest is a collaboration with Scotch whisky brand Talisker. Across two days in October, Niland and Talisker brought a culinary pop-up at a picturesque view-heavy North Head boathouse that was being erected at the Q Station in Manly. Now, it's being brought back for one last pop-up on Monday, December 12. [caption id="attachment_870812" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Image: Talisker and Saint Peter pop-up.[/caption] On this exclusive menu, you'll find four must-try dishes for any seafood enthusiast. Things will kick off with salt and vinegar garfish bathing in its own oil with Kamut sourdough for dipping and yoghurt-cultured butter. From there, you'll be served coal-fried calamari cut into thin pasta-like pieces and paired with yellowfin tuna salami and a chilli oil — all combining to create a seafood dish reminiscent of a next-level spag bol. The headline dish is whole butterflied King George whiting complimented with a finger lime and tapioca sauce that will burst in your mouth. "I wanted to capture the wild spirit of the sea paired with key aromas of Talisker — smoke, spice and a sense of sea salt spray in the morning after a storm," said Niland. "Years of maturation made by the sea has lent a full flavour to this bold dram and this menu celebrates Talisker's rich flavours while honouring the sea in a sustainable and ethical way." Tickets for the dinner will set you back $195 per person and are limited. [caption id="attachment_870810" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Image: Talisker and Saint Peter pop-up.[/caption]
In New York in the 1980s, artists such as Kenny Scharf and Robert Indianna inspired Absolut Vodka to connect with contemporary art. For over 30 years the company has combined art and alcohol in unique ways with their colorful advertising campaigns, including contributions by artists Andy Warhol, Louise Bourgeois and Francesco Clemente. Turns out, Absolut has some more tricks up its sleeve. This March, Absolut will promote their premium products with the eye-catching Absolut Art Collection at the Ray Hughes Gallery in Surry Hills, with Warhol, Bourgeois and Clemente only a few of the 20 contributing artists. But here's the twist: the night time only gallery will morph into a Absolut cocktail bar for the duration of the 10 day showcase, complete with a separate late-night lounge. The fun and funky event will run from 6pm to 11pm each night, featuring live music from local and international DJs as well as installations by local artists. Browsing an edgy collection of contemporary art while sipping on an Absolut cocktail — now that's what I call culture.
I kind of thought 'childlike wonder' was a lame cliche until I found myself with a tiny nephew who is constantly amazed by things like "it's an object that's red!" and "hey that's my hand!" That's kind of the feeling one gets from this show, with every single act who comes on having some kind of "OH MY GOODNESS HOW DO THEY EVEN?!" factor. Developed by the performers behind La Clique, it's cabaret/variety show on the trademark tiny circular stage, and it is totally clap-your-hands-with-glee escapist oohs and ahs. There's a performer with a voice that manages to uphold the promises of a serious Gown all over in gold sequins, men in pinstripes who perform feats of acrobatic strength and newspaper-reading, someone climbing dangerously high up a pile of chairs and balancing there, a contortionist who twists his body into soi-disant "rude and amusing shapes", someone in the bath, Shakespeare, things to shout and sing along to, a lady who sings and does some rather startling things with red satin handkerchiefs, and things done in land and in the air with hula hoops that you would not believe. Some deeply covetable makeup, too, where they do something that makes it look like your lips are made of the same stuff as is used for Easter Show/Schools Spectacular-style novelty sparkly bowler hats. Totally eye-widing.
Get your cat-eye sunnies at the ready, Sydney’s Fifties Fair is set to hit town this August for its 18th year running. For all you retro rookies, the annual event is held at the Rose Seidler House of Wahroonga, a Bauhaus time capsule made easily accessible by a free shuttle bus to and fro Turramurra station. The fair will be kicking off at 10am, with plenty of rockabilly acts to get you jiving, beauty parlours, smokey barbecue by the crew from Porteno, burgers from Nighthawk Diner, as well as dreamy '50s furnishings, fashion, trinkets, photography exhibitions and the like for you to ogle. So hit the road to Rose Seidler House in your Buick, 'cause August 24 is coming around faster than Betty Draper can spark up a curling iron.
Remember that five-piece indie rock band from Sydney? You know the one — their 2009 album 'Zounds' was a critically acclaimed release, nominated for ARIA and AIR Awards, and gained a cult-like success culminating in US and UK tours? Yeah, Dappled Cities! Well, they're back! Having just announced the release of their first new single in three years and East Coast headline shows, they're coming to Sydney next week. Their new single 'Run with the Wind' is said to have the potential to become their most loved track to date, and predicates how special the upcoming fourth studio album will be for them. But don't take our word for it. Coming to Sydney in late May, their new single will be played for the first time in the intimate Oxford Art Factory. And if their past work is anything to go by, this single launch will be a fun precursor to a whole new wave of fandom. https://youtube.com/watch?v=whoqSk4qVIg
It's beginning to look a lot like summer — or, as we may as well call it in Sydney, outdoor movie-watching season. One of Sydney's favourite (and most dramatically panoramic) outdoor movie events, St George Openair Cinema, has a killer 21st season in store. If you like watching homegrown films under the stars, get excited. Already announced, the 2017 program will kick off with a preview of Lion, starring Dev Patel, Nicole Kidman, Rooney Mara, David Wenham and eight-year-old newcomer Sunny Pawar. Based on a true story you might've seen splashed across the local media over the past few years, it tells the tale of Saroo Brierley. He became separated from his older brother at the age of five, first ended up nearly 1,500 kilometres away from home, and then forged a new life in Australia — before taking to Google Earth more than two decades later in an attempt to find his long-lost family. This year's a 39-night season, running between January 7 and February 17, and featuring 20 premieres and preview screenings and a selection of 2017 Oscar contenders including Jackie, Manchester by the Sea, Loving, Gold, Hidden Figures and the long-awaited sequel T2 Trainspotting. This summer's anticipated new releases are on the bill too, including La La Land, Why Him?, A United Kingdom and Passengers, as well as 2016 highlights like Nocturnal Animals, Arrival, The Founder, Allied, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Plus, on Australia Day, you can catch a preview of David Stratton's Stories of Australian Cinema. More than 1500 patrons per evening are expected to flock to Mrs Macquaries Point adjacent to Royal Botanic Gardens, so get your tickets locked down. UPDATE DECEMBER 20, 2016: St.George OpenAir Cinema has extended its season program to meet popular demand. From 9am on Wednesday, December 21, you can buy tickets to the Australian premiere of Martin Scorsese's Silence (Jan 22) and the highly anticipated Australian coming of age film Jasper Jones (Feb 19). Extra screenings of Lion (Feb 20), Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (Feb 21) and one of our ten favourite films of 2016, La La Land (Feb 22), have also been scheduled.
On Sunday, June 9, things are getting hot at The Bank Hotel. Tongue-tinglingly hot. Face-meltingly hot. Homer Simpson running, screaming and waving his hands around hot. That's what happens when you spice up your Sunday with a chilli festival, after all. Adding some zest to the long weekend and to Sydney in general, the King Street pub is hosting its third annual Newtown Chilli Festival from midday. There'll be beers — from local brewers Young Henrys, 4 Pines, Sauce Brewing and more — heaps of homemade chilli sauce and chilli barbecue specials. Aka chilli galore. And yes, there'll definitely be enough hot hot heat to help you turn several different shades. Of course, it wouldn't be a chilli festival without the spiciest event of them all: a chilli-eating competition. If you're currently thinking "I can consume anything!", there are vouchers, hot sauce and beer on offer if your tastebuds emerge victorious. To enter you'll need to submit a short statement on why you love chilli — you'll find all the details here. Our tip, and we think you'll need it: remember that milk is a chilli-lover's best friend. Newtown Chilli Fest runs from midday–7pm.
Concrete Playground favourite Freda's will celebrate Australia Day by extending their regular happy hour to a whopping six hours, and cheap drink specials will be on offer from midday to 6 pm. In addition to house beers and wines for $5, you'll also find prawns and oysters at reasonable prices. Furthermore, they promise to host a handful of surprises on the day, so you never know what may eventuate. Seafood and schooners? Sounds like a win-win situation.
UPDATE, September 14, 2020: Custody is available to stream via SBS On Demand, Google Play, YouTube Movies and iTunes. If Kramer vs. Kramer met The Shining, it would look like Custody. That's filmmaker Xavier Legrand's own description of his bleak and tough domestic thriller, and it's one that firmly fits. The French writer-director initially styles his debut movie as a social realist drama, following a divorcing couple fighting over their 11-year-old son. But as courtroom arguments give way to the family's daily reality, Custody understands the devastating terror that comes from living in fear. As strained civility is replaced by deep-seeded turmoil, the film turns the trauma of a dissolving marriage and the accompanying fallout into an unwavering portrait of horror. Everyone in Custody is afraid of something and, crucially, they know it. Anxiety overwhelms the movie, with Legrand mirroring the Besson family's shattered nerves in the film's relentless mood. Miriam (Léa Drucker) is clearly frightened of her husband Antoine (Denis Ménochet), who she has left suddenly with their two children in tow. The duo's pre-teen son Julien (Thomas Gioria) and nearly 18-year-old daughter Joséphine (Mathilde Auneveux) share her concern, although Julien is also worried that he can't protect his mother from his father. An imposing figure even when he's attempting to be calm, Antoine can't face the lack of control and power that comes with his new situation. Panicked anguish and agitation radiates from his pores, gaze and stance, turning every gesture into an act of hostility. After spending its first 15 minutes scrutinising Miriam and Antoine's court battle — she claims that he's violent, he says that she has turned their kids against him — Custody charts the aftermath of the judge's decision. Julien must stay with Antoine on alternating weekends, but the boy visibly doesn't want to go. Dread and distress build with each scene, as Julien tries to stay composed while Antoine's thin facade of restraint just keeps cracking. Every moment is weaponised, be it a hug where Julien remains blank-faced and limp, a tussle over the kid's mobile phone, Antoine's bullying determination to find out where Miriam and the children are living, or the man's overbearing behaviour when he arrives unannounced on more than one occasion. Following the same characters first seen in his Oscar-nominated short Just Before Losing Everything, Legrand canvasses the whole family's reactions and perspectives — but Julien remains the film's quivering heart. In a masterstroke of casting, first-time actor Gioria conveys the internalised pain and stress of being literally caught in the middle of a parental tug-of-war. More than that, even when he's keeping silent, he shows how terror shapes Julien's entire existence. As a result, the boy's time with Ménochet is impossible to look away from, even though it's crafted to evoke maximum discomfort. Meanwhile, the disarmingly naturalistic Ménochet never plays Antoine as a simplistic villain, although he's always a threat. Legrand purposefully cast someone who physically fills the frame, and constantly uses the hulking talent to push his other stars to the edge of the image. Indeed, it's Legrand's visual approach — particularly in his depiction of his menacing antagonist — that speaks to his film's true brilliance. The director doesn't merely want to tell a brutal tale about divorce, fear and violence. He doesn't just want his actors to express their characters' complex emotions with each breath and blink, either. And he doesn't simply want to chronicle the destruction that springs from domestic abuse, although that's one of his aims. Rather, the filmmaker is intent on trapping viewers in this incredibly fraught scenario with his protagonists, and using every means at his disposal to make the audience feel that same all-encompassing horror. Sometimes, that means shooting a scene from ground level, solely focusing on feet beneath a toilet stall. At one point, Legrand lets a rare musical moment — one that should be a celebration — swell with almost-unbearable tension. Over and over again, in his placement of the camera, he makes every composition bristle with claustrophobia. Rhythmically, as things in the narrative get increasingly out of hand, his fast and abrupt takes grow looser and longer, but no less urgent. Legrand won the best director award at the 2017 Venice Film Festival for his efforts, and it's easy to see why. Every meticulous move he makes in Custody is heartbreakingly effective, in a film that's already downright heartbreaking. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8mJT7wEtkA
Picture this: you're driving in a 4WD through a desert. There's nothing but emptiness — just sky and sand — for as far as you can see. No signs of life. Then suddenly, something emerges in the distance like a mirage. It's a collection of buildings that resembles a small village. If you think it sounds like a scene out of a movie, you're on the right track. The place we're talking about, Tin City, was actually used as a set in the legendary Australian film Mad Max (1979). The site is thought to date back to the early 20th century with two structures built for shipwrecked sailors to seek shelter in. It was expanded in the 1930s as a squatter settlement with over 36 huts and used primarily as a fishing village. The dunes fall under the remit of Worimi Conservation Lands, while the remaining 11 huts, including the old pub, are 'passed down' through families and friends. You can visit Tin City with Port Stephens 4WD Tours (though they're currently on hold due to COVID-19 restrictions). Across the two-hour tour, you'll venture to the shantytown in its purpose-built 4WD buses, plus visit some important WWII sites and try a little snowboarding. The tour costs $55 per person. Images: Destination NSW
Brilliantly unique Australian artists Emma Davis and Brian Campeau having been working together for years, ever since Brian agreed to produce Emma's first album. This November, the pair is set to light up the east coast on their Best of Friends Tour. London-born Emma was described by triple J as one of "the quiet achievers of the Sydney scene" and has been quietly achieving national radio and television time since 2011. In September, she headed into the studio with Mark Myers (The Middle East) to record another offering of her soulful, honest tunes. Brian Campeau has done pretty much everything — performing, composing, producing — and he's been critically acclaimed for all of them. Known for his originally individual arrangement and instrumentation, he's been a success both on his own and with his band, The Green Mohair Suits. Both Davis and Campeau have singles out this month, and so set off to entertain the country as colleagues and the very best of friends. https://youtube.com/watch?v=CjlE9bhwhsE
Extinction isn't permanent, apparently. Sydney's Night at the Museum-like party, Jurassic Lounge is being resurrected for a one-off event to celebrate Dia de los Muertos — the Mexican holiday Day of the Dead. Returning to the Australian Museum in collaboration with the new Aztecs exhibition, The Festivalists' beloved after-hours event will once again take over the entire museum on Saturday, November 1. Hinged around the epic Aztecs exhibition, the return of Jurassic Lounge ties Halloween-like Dia de los Muertos celebrations to their historic roots. "Day of the Dead celebrations date back to an Aztec festival dedicated to the goddess Mictecacihuatl," explains programming consultant Lupita Feint. "The festival traditionally gathers family and friends to remember those who have died and unfolds as a costumed fiesta. It has now spread around the world as a colourful cultural celebration." Scattered throughout the shadowy rooms of the museum you'll find Lady of the Dead performances by Pickled Tink and 2014 Miss Burlesque NSW winner Memphis Mae and an exhibition from Mexican photographer Roberto Duran. Mexican artist Sergio Plata is crowdsourcing a traditional ofrenda — a collection of objects placed on a ritual altar for the Day of the Dead — while you can make chocolate skulls and get your Dia de los Muertos facepaint in the arts and craft market. Jurassic Lounge favourites like Silent Disco and Date Roulette will return, alongside papel picado and piñata workshops and a Mexican dance-off — fuelled by the delights from the Mexican cantina. The one-night-only ressurection of Jurassic Lounge is most excellent news from The Festivalists, the Sydney-based, non-profit company who just opened their brand new after-hours night, Hijinks, at Sydney Aquarium. In true Festivalists style, there's sure to be plenty of happenings and Easter Eggs planned for the night. "Jurassic Lounge is back by popular demand for one night only,” says programmer Karina Libbey. "We’re putting together a huge line-up, inviting local artists and audiences to seek inspiration in Mexican culture for what should be a spectacular celebration. Expect lots of surprises on the night!" Jurassic Lounge returns to the Australian Museum on College Street on Saturday, November 1 from 6.30 to 9.30pm. Tickets are $16 (includes complimentary access to the AZTECS exhibition). Find more information and tickets here.
In Nude Tuesday, you can take the unhappy couple out of their daily routine — and slip them out of their clothes in the process — but escaping to a mountainside commune, ditching the dacks, palling around with a goat and gleaning relationship advice from the author a book called The Toothy Vulva just can't solve all woes. What that list of absurd plot points and experiences can do is fill out a film that's gleefully silly, often side-splittingly funny, and also just as perceptive as it is playful. The basic premise behind this New Zealand sex comedy borrows from plenty of fellow movies and TV shows about stuck-in-a-rut folks seeking bliss and renewal, plus solutions to bland marriages, with a gorgeous change of scenery. But helping make Nude Tuesday such a winner is every offbeat choice that's used to tell that tale. Getting naked is only part of it, given that not a lick of any recognisable language is spoken throughout the entire feature — although plenty of words and sounds are audibly uttered. Nude Tuesday understands one key point, as everyone watching it will: that relationships are all about communication. The film is also well aware that so much about life is, too — and storytelling. Here, though, expressing emotions, connections and narrative details all boils down to gibberish and bodies. This amusing movie from writer/director Armağan Ballantyne (The Strength of Water) and writer/star Jackie van Beek (The Breaker Upperers) does indeed strip down its performers in its last third, living up to its name, but it saddles them with conveying almost everything about their characters via body language before that. Each piece of dialogue spoken echoes in unintelligible nonsense, using completely made-up and wholly improvised terms. Even covers of 'Road to Nowhere' and 'Islands in the Stream' do as well. And while subtitled in English by British comedian Julia Davis (Camping), that text was penned after shooting, in one of the film's other purposefully farcical twists. The result is patently ridiculous, and marvellously so — and hilariously. It's such a clever touch, making a movie about marital disharmony and the communication breakdown baked within that's so reliant upon reading tone and posture, as couples on the prowl for the tiniest of micro-aggressions frequently hone in on. Initially, the feature needs a few scenes to settle into its unfamiliar vernacular, which takes cues from The Muppets' Swedish Chef in its cadence. Via an opening map, which situates the story on the fictional pacific island of Zǿbftąņ, Nude Tuesday's language also resembles an IKEA catalogue. But once Ballantyne, van Beek and the latter's co-stars find their groove — with a literally bloody attempt to make adult nappies sexy, a supermarket tantrum involving tossed cans and a tense anniversary dinner — everything, including the movie's chosen tongue, clicks into place. Van Beek and Australian The Tourist actor Damon Herriman play Nude Tuesday's central pair, Laura and Bruno. In the first but not last example of just how compellingly they use their physicality, the talented lead twosome paints a picture of relatable malaise from their introductory moments together. Laura and Bruno are bogged down in a dull cycle that revolves around working at jobs neither loves — she spruiks those mature-age diapers, he sells bathroom fixtures — then trudging home exhausted and exasperated to deal with their kids, and later crumbling into bed knowing they're going to repeat it all the next day. Sex doesn't factor in, and neither is content with that, but resolving their troubles themselves is out of reach. Then, they're gifted a getaway to ẄØnÐĘULÄ to assist. But this woodland getaway, run by charismatic and lustful sex guru Bjorg Rassmussen (Jemaine Clement, I Used to Go Here), wants its new guests to expose all in multiple ways. Unfurling among gorgeously lensed New Zealand scenery (with Australian Babyteeth and High Ground cinematographer Andrew Commis behind the camera), that starkers setup keeps proving savvy. It also keeps saying plenty beyond the silliness. Nude Tuesday isn't just absurdity for the sake of it, although it'd remain perfectly and thoroughly enjoyable — if slight — if it was simply that. Evoking laughs still comes fast and easily, of course, including getting giggling about coming too fast and too easily. Davis' witty subtitling fires off gags a minute, and the frequent preposterousness of it all — with orgies, drugs, a Twin Peaks-style love of logs and a penchant for ponchos all factoring in — is constantly entertaining. But there's as much heart and smarts throbbing within Nude Tuesday as there was in van Beek's also-great The Breaker Upperers, which similarly found a nifty balance between chuckle-inducing ridiculousness and insight. Here, there are as many observant layers to Nude Tuesday's dance through married misery as there are clothes shed by its cast, too — a list of performers that spans everyone from Black Comedy's Ian Zaro and Down Under's Chris Bunton to Wellington Paranormal's Karen O'Leary and Shortland Street's Yvette Parsons. Accordingly, amid the sight gags, word play, slapstick, jokes about anatomy, plus the other wonderful lashings of ludicrousness, sits a canny undressing of Laura and Bruno's deep-seated struggle to get emotionally bare-assed. At the outset, they're the strait-laced stiffs amid the unburdened and aroused. They're outsiders in this cosy, free-thinking little community of fellow A-frame cabin-dwellers, adding to the film's familiar elements. Unpacking what that means, why, how the couple became that way and what ẄØnÐĘULÄ can gift them is never a by-the-numbers journey, however. It's revelatory several times over, even if the end destination is also hardly surprising. Whether decked out head to toe or disrobing, it'd be tough to find a situation where Van Beek, Herriman and Clement didn't delight, particularly when bouncing off of each other in an anything-goes situation. Nude Tuesday's biggest names are that adaptable, that innately comedic, and that able to smoothly zip between the off-kilter and the astute. Clement doesn't have to plumb many depths, but he always plays Bjorn with the exact right dash of charm and eccentricity. Actually, Ballantyne's film itself achieves that latter feat — while finding ample emotional nooks and crannies to explore. Nude Tuesday mightn't have quite hit the spot if it had played out in English, but not because it relies upon gimmickry; rather, by peeling away the chatter, it's a sharper, savvier and funnier picture of communication struggles, and what it truly means to bare it all.
Is there anything Mx Justin Vivian Bond can't do? In a career spanning more than 20 years, the cabaret hero has played Huck Finn as a tranny prostitute; reinterpreted the likes of Radiohead, Kate Bush, and Tracy Chapman; and written an award-winning autobiography (Tango: My Childhood, Backwards and in High Heels). Along the way, Bond has picked up an Obie Award (2001), a Bessie Award (2004), an Ethyl Eichelberger Award (2007), and a Tony nomination (2007). On a return visit to Australia in late February, Bond will present a new show: Justin Vivian Bond is Mx America. Audiences can expect songs (both originals and classics), spoken word, poetry, audio-visuals, and, of course, Bond's curious mixture of outrageous humour and fragility. Needless to say, there's also bound to be a whole lot that we can't predict!
The World's 50 Best has just unveiled its long list, ranking the best restaurants in the world from 51 to 120 (expanding, for the first time, beyond 100). And there are quite a few dramatic changes. Melbourne's Attica — which was last year's top ranking Aussie restaurant at number 20 — has dropped 64 places, coming in at 84. Fellow Victorian Brae, which last year ranked 58, has this year missed out on the top 100, coming in at 101. The surprising changes don't seem to have just affected Australia's entries, either, with Eater noting that Thomas Keller's famed NY restaurant Per Se had dropped 35 places, down to 115 from last year's 81. This could mean, in seemingly sad news for Australia, that no national restaurants will feature in the top 50. But, hope is not completely lost. Seeing as it hasn't made an appearance in the long list, the 50 could, possibly, feature Sydney fine-diner Quay. This year will be the first time the restaurant, which has previously featured in the top 100 list nine years in a row between 2009 and 2017, has been reviewed by the World's 50 Best since its extensive renovations in 2018. [caption id="attachment_677791" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Quay by Nikki To[/caption] While the World's 50 Best is exceedingly popular, it's not without controversy. The awards have copped much criticism for prioritising "expensive European-esque tasting-menu restaurants run by men", as stated by Eater, and for its separate 'Best Female Chef' award. Famed chef Dominique Crenn, of the acclaimed Atelier Crenn in San Francisco, won the award in 2016 and has long been critical of the list's lack of diversity. Crenn slammed the female-specific award in an interview with the Washington Post, saying, "It's stupid. A chef is a chef." The late and great Anthony Bourdain also questioned the award's modern-day relevance — way back in 2013. https://twitter.com/Bourdain/status/319441022688051200 The World's 50 Best will be announced at a ceremony in Singapore next Tuesday, June 25. Get ready for some big changes here, too — this year, there will be an equal gender balance across the award's 1000-plus global voting panel for the first time. Plus, the awards have this year barred any former winners from being on the list, so there'll be no Eleven Madison Park nor Osteria Francescana. You can check out the full list of the World's 50 Best top 50–120 restaurants here. The top 50 will be announced on Tuesday, June 25. Top image: Attica
If you've missed out Sydney's previous warehouse plant sales, be sure to clear Saturday, August 18 and Sunday, August 19 immediately. Because there's another one on its way. The Jungle Collective is a Melbourne nursery that stocks all kinds of weird and wonderful species. After holding a few wildly successful Sydney markets earlier this year, it's gathering the leftover plants, tracking down new ones and throwing a two-day indoor plant party. While we don't know what plants will be available this time, previous sales have had everything from hanging pot plants to palms for the garden to a giant Bird of Paradise. Have a reputation for killing your cacti? Overwatering your ferns? Don't worry — there'll be horticulturalists on site on the night to give you advice and chat through any questions you might have. This one will be held in St Peters. Due to expected demand, the sale will be held in four sessions on Saturday (8–10am, 10am–12pm, 12–2pm and 2–4pm) and two on Sunday (10am–12pm, 12–2pm). Attendees will need to register for free tickets from 12pm on Monday, August 13, and best get in quick for an early session though — the previous Sydney markets were incredibly popular.
Get into the festive spirit with The Makers and Shakers Christmas Gift Market, which takes over Rozelle's White Bay Cruise Terminal from December 13–14. From 10am to 4pm, more than 140 local makers, crafters and designers will showcase Australian-made homewares, slow-fashion pieces, artisan food and drink and unique gift ideas — and free on-site parking to boot. Among the stallholders, you'll find small-batch ceramics from ThroughGood Pottery, minimalist jewellery by Mill Foundry, crystal-studded candles by Three Suns, colourful textile art by Loop LAB and sustainable kidswear by ArchieBee. Foodies can pick up pantry staples from Drunken Sailor Canning Co., Japanese-style chilled chocolate ganache from Mamé Cocoa and festive-ready spirits from Karu Distillery. Beyond the stalls, the market will also feature drop-in creative workshops, a dedicated kids zone, awkward Christmas portraits and small-scale tastings from select producers. With the terminal's breezy, light-filled setting and harbour views, it's an easy place to while away a few hours — and a tidy way to tick off your gifting list. Top image: Jacquie Manning.
Back in 2000 and 2003, the world probably didn't need a couple of films based on Charlie's Angels, with Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore and Lucy Liu taking on the hit 1976–81 television series. Almost two decades later, the world doesn't really need a third Charlie's Angels movie about a private detective agency, its formidable ladies and their globe-trotting hijinks, either. But the franchise is back anyway — with a few new faces. Also called Charlie's Angels, the latest flick both revisits the franchise's familiar scenario with a fresh cast, and reportedly continues on from both the TV show and the the first two films. Star-wise, it features Kristen Stewart, Aladdin standout Naomi Scott and British up-and-comer Ella Balinska. Elsewhere, Elizabeth Banks sits in the director's chair, co-wrote the script and plays Bosley. Well, one of them — Patrick Stewart and Djimon Hounsou both pop up as Bosley, too. Like her Twilight co-star Robert Pattinson, Stewart has made some savvy film choices since farewelling the vampire romance saga, including Clouds of Sils Maria, Certain Women and Personal Shopper — and while this upbeat action flick about kick-ass ladies saving the world clearly shares little else in common with her recent dramatic roles, here's hoping it continues her good run. She certainly seems to be having plenty of fun in the two Charlie's Angels trailers so far, with the latest combining ample espionage antics with a shout-out to day drinking. Music fans can also look forward to the new movie's soundtrack, with Ariana Grande, Miley Cyrus and Lana Del Rey all collaborating on the song 'Don't Call Me Angel' — and Grande featuring on four other tracks. The film's big collaborative tune is a bit of a throwback of its own, given that 2000's Charlie's Angels also featured a killer hit, aka Destiny's Child's 'Independent Women'. Catch the latest glimpse of the new Charlie's Angels in the trailer below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VTg3YWqHuQ&feature=youtu.be Charlie's Angels releases in Australian cinemas on November 14, 2019.
It's no secret that when it comes to cocktails, Melbourne can mix it with the best. In the past year alone, the Victorian capital has been named among Punch's top five global drinking destinations for 2023, Bar Liberty's Nick Tesar took out the title of Australia's Best Bartender and CBD bar Caretaker's Cottage nabbed a spot in the latest edition of The World's 50 Best Bars extended 51–100 list. So what more fitting place to host Australia's groundbreaking new immersive cocktail exhibition, Art of Mixology? Transforming Southbank's Kingpin into an interactive gallery space from Friday, March 3–Sunday, March 12, the showcase is set to serve up a heady fusion of art and drink design that'll shine a fresh light on the world of cocktail making. It's being brought to life with the help of award-winning production agency VANDAL and R L Foote Design Studio. [caption id="attachment_888883" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Kingpin[/caption] Gracing the adults-only exhibition are works by six renowned local artists, who've each been commissioned to reimagine a different cocktail as a signature installation, complete with striking visuals, soundscapes and other interactive elements. Among them are interdisciplinary digital artist Mikaela Stafford (whose vibrant works have appeared at the Tate Modern), celebrated artist and food designer Ryan L Foote, and projections maestro and White Night regular Nick Azidis. [caption id="attachment_888877" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Mikaela Stafford[/caption] Making your way through Art of Mixology, you'll encounter their creative interpretations of various Kingpin cocktails, resulting in everything from large-scale sculptures and visual illusions through to aromatic bubbles floating through the space. Highlighted drinks include a lychee rose martini, the Zombie and the elegant Butterfly Flower. The exhibition is designed to be explored as you would a giant interactive cocktail menu, pondering each concoction and its ingredients before settling on your chosen sip. Of course, along with the visuals and other sensory details, your tastebuds are in for a treat here — each of the six featured cocktails will be available for visitors to enjoy while they're soaking up the art. Tickets come in at $20, which includes your choice of one signature cocktail (or booze-free alternative). You can purchase more drinks while you're there, too. [caption id="attachment_888884" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Kingpin[/caption] [caption id="attachment_888879" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Kingpin's Butterfly Flower[/caption] Art of Mixology will run from Friday, March 3–Sunday, March 12 at Kingpin, 8 Whiteman St, Southbank. Tickets are $20, available online.
For the third year in a row, the Sydney Opera House has undergone its seasonal transformation into a Summer Playground. The official 2015 program has been announced today and heading it up is an alfresco beach bar, courtesy of The House Eatery by George. Open from 9am till late, seven days a week, the pop-up brings a laidback, coastal vibe to the harbourside. Kick back in a low-slung cabana chair under a beach umbrella and sample the cocktail menu, which includes the rapaska (vodka, fresh raspberry and passionfruit puree, fresh cloudy apple juice, orange juice) and the San Francisco-invented Tommy's margarita (Olmeca Altos Plata tequila, fresh lime juice, agave syrup). Food-wise, the menu is of the classic, summer-inspired variety, featuring healthy salads, finger sandwiches and hearty burgers. For a more posh option during SP, there's the Veuve Clicquot Airstream Pop-Up Bar, where you can indulge in a 2004 vintage champagne, pints of prawns, seafood platters and oysters. Meanwhile, the Opera Bar will be going troppo, with coconut cocktails, fruit-flavoured slushies and beach-hut-inspired décor. Following a recent revamp, the venue is now in the hands of the Solotel Hospitality Group, with fresh Aussie produce champion Matt Moran taking care of the menu and Goodgod’s Adam Lewis managing the live entertainment. Get to the Summer Playground ticket kiosk at midday each day to score $25 tickets to selected Summerhouse shows. Big names on this year's lineup include Tim Minchin, Roxette and Angus and Julia Stone. Finally, there'll be loads of family-style fun. Kids are invited to create LEGO sculptures, which will be turned into original musical compositions and broadcast in the Opera House's Western foyers, hang out in onsite sand pits and get along to more than sixty free and friendly-priced live performances. For more info, check out the Summer Playground program here.
Vivid Sydney today let loose their second major program announcement with their plans for Vivid Creative Sydney 2011. Creative Sydney will run from 30 May to 12 June, with over 50 global and local creative leaders coming together to explore the power of creative industries to transform society. And like everything else under the Vivid banner, it aims to bring the best of the world's ideas to Sydney and inspire the hell out of you. This year Creative Sydney is expanding to include more free sessions and for the first time a presence at the Opera House. The program includes short and snappy show and tell presentations, in-depth conversation sessions, and creative futures, where artists and entrepreneurs present their vision of the ideas that will shape society in the future. Over the next week the full range of live music showcases, debates, film screenings and parties will be unveiled, but already the lineup of speakers looks pretty awesome. Key speakers include Matthew Stinchcomb, EU director of Etsy, and will mark Etsy's first official engagement with their third largest market, and Fabian Rigall, founder of Future Shorts and Secret Cinema. Also lined up are Murray Bell and Andrew Johnstone, the founders of the internationally successful Semi-Permanent conferences, swimwear brand We Are Handsome and Ben Briand, winner of the Cannes Young Director Award and Best Narrative Video at the 2010 Vimeo Awards. Registration for the events opens 9am on Monday 2 May, and it's recommended you get in quickly with over 15,000 people expected to attend.
Not every Sydneysider has the luxury of being able to nab a cheeky beach dip in Tamarama after work. The words "hectic traffic", "epic trek", "generally CBF" start a long list of pretty solid excuses. If you're an inner-city dweller, chances are you've found your nearest community pool for cooling off and doing mad laps in. Luckily, the City of Sydney's built a fair few aquatic centres around town — five in all. And summer's the perfect time to try 'em all. For free. Over a series of Saturdays, the City of Sydney is hosting a series of free open days in their swimming pools, inviting locals to try out everything each 50-metre pool has to offer — from the insanely pretty Andrew (Boy) Charlton Pool located on the edge of the harbour, to the $40 million Harry Seidler and Associates-designed Ian Thorpe Aquatic Centre. There'll be a range of activities for all ages on the day, including tours, fitness classes, aquatic inflatables, learn-to-swim information, barbecues and face painting. Plus, you get to swim for free. The idea behind the open days is to give you a chance to test out the facilities associated with the City of Sydney's 360 card — $53.40 a fortnight for access to all five of the City of Sydney's aquatic centres across the city, and their adjoining fitness facilities. CITY OF SYDNEY SWIMMING POOL OPEN DAYS Prince Alfred Park Pool: Saturday, October 21 from 10am–3pm Victoria Park Pool: Saturday, October 28 from 10am–3pm Cook + Philip Park Aquatic and Fitness Centre: Saturday, November 4 from 10am–3pm Andrew (Boy) Charlton Pool: Saturday, November 18 from 10am–3pm Ian Thorpe Aquatic Centre: Saturday, November 25 from 10am–3pm
The reclusive E is sneaking back to our shores, bringing with him a new album and a new style. Since first appearing in the mid-'90s, his band, Eels, have swung from grunge to hip hop, folk to electronic under the more constant guise of low-fi indie. It feels somehow dirty just to label them, even with such a long list of genres, as no style can do justice to their eclectic sound. One can never be sure of what to expect at an Eels gig; in fact, I can't even be sure E will be there after recently being questioned by police under suspicion of terrorism. However, this is more a testament to E's unruly facial hair than anything else, and I hear he's been released on good behaviour. The new album, End Times, is a bit more autobiographical, perhaps as a result of E's recent introspective journey into the realm of novel-writing, and fans shouldn't miss the chance to get a bit closer to the elusive music man getting back to basics with an album that returns to old-fashioned rock 'n' roll. https://youtube.com/watch?v=YHd9-ymWvxU
Three years ago, a group of five local artists came together to realise their dream of a legal warehouse-style performance venue. The Red Rattler was born, an alternative space containing a full PA, stage, LED lighting rig, projector and screen, licensed bar, three non-residential artist studios, and a rooftop garden — all without the stress of high rent and developers. To celebrate the establishment and running success of this space, the Red Rattler Theatre Inc is throwing itself a third birthday party. The five original 'Rats', as they call themselves, dug deep into their pockets to fund the conversion of this building into the creative playground it is today. The Red Rattler Theatre Inc is a not-for-profit entity; entry to the party is by donation, which goes toward running costs and the fund to hire a part-time general manager (all current Rats work on a voluntary basis). No matter how much or how little you can contribute, stop by this event to congratulate the theatre on promoting a DIY artistic space in Sydney. Alternative donations are also accepted. Check out the website to see how to contribute.
The adage ‘never let the truth get in the way of a good story’ is an old one. But it is the exact opposite in The Legend of King O'Malley, as fallacy threatens to overshadow the true story of one of the kookiest characters in Australian political history. The play was hugely influential when it was first staged in 1970. Originally directed by John Bell, written by Bob Ellis with Michael Boddy and starring Robyn Nevin, it's a decidedly off-kilter diversion from theatrical realism that made a huge impression at the time. It's now being revived by director Phil Rouse for Don’t Look Away, a company dedicated to digging up underappreciated works of Australian theatre from the past. The play’s protagonist — King O’Malley, a Kansas insurance salesman turned bishop turned MP for Tasmania — is undoubtedly an improbable character. He is renowned not only for his contributions to Australia’s political development — as Minister for Home Affairs, he sank the first peg in the site that would become Canberra, he was instrumental in setting up the Commonwealth Bank and, adamant that American spellings would become the accepted norm, he infamously convinced the Labor Party to drop the ‘u’ — but also as a seller of pork pies. Next to his nationality (in order to run for Parliament, O’Malley falsely claimed to have been born in Canada, a Commonwealth country), one of his best-known fabrications concerns his arrival in Australia. Suffering from advanced tuberculosis, he claimed to have been befriended by an Aboriginal man who took him to a cave and nursed him back to health. Historian David Headon said of O’Malley that "He was a showman … and he knew it and he exploited it for everything it was worth." The rich subject matter was not enough for writers Boddy and Ellis, who chose to include a bizarre recurring plot in which O’Malley (James Cook) is plagued by a demon (Alex Duncan) to whom he has sold his soul. The device allows him to converse frankly and give voice to his internal moral struggle, but it is a seriously odd way to help an audience climb inside a character’s head. Regardless, Rouse and cast have held nothing back in resurrecting O’Malley. The first half doesn’t quite make it over the line and, between an entire gospel choir feigning blindness and a spot of pantomime tuberculosis, feels like it could have been cut down considerably. The second half, though, is a different beast entirely. And it is a beast; a feral and unrelenting satire which rips through Australia’s first parliament. Wild beasts in suits struggle to stand, cackling drunkenly as the earnest O’Malley seeks to join their ranks before falling foul of the petulant boy-king, Prime Minister Billy Hughes (an obnoxious and charged turn by Matt Hickey) At its best, O’Malley is reminiscent of Keating: The Musical. Though a little rough around the edges, the energy output of the cast is staggering and infectious. No doubt O’Malley, a man careful to manage his own mythology in life, would have welcomed such a song and dance in his honour.
What could be better than cracking a crisp, cold cider? Cracking one while breathing in the crisp, cool air of the Great Dividing Ranges, that's what. Cider-lovers, get ready to get your hands on some of Australia's premium fermented apple drops at the Batlow CiderFest. It's a street party of great proportions, with locals and visitors alike coming together to celebrate the end of the apple harvest and the best boutique ciders the region has to offer. There will also be gourmet food and other locally grown goodies on offer to satiate your hunger. Batlow's main street will host two stages where local talent will entertain you as you sit back, relax, bask in the refreshing mountain air and enjoy the glorious autumn leaves. There'll be buskers and street theatre performers, including a local troupe called the 'Wacky Apple Tarts' (yes, we're serious). And for those keen to learn more about the nitty gritty of the cider world, there's a cider industry conference the day before.
Take your protein pills and put your helmet on. Picture yourself face to face with David Bowie's Ziggy Stardust 1972 bodysuits, Kansai Yamamoto’s trouser suits for the '73 Aladdin Sane tour, the Union Jack coat designed by Bowie and Alexander McQueen for the '97 Earthling album cover, props from Jim Henson's Labyrinth. We know, you're sweet to start freaking out. Opening next July, the Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI) will play host to the acclaimed David Bowie is exhibition, celebrating the kickass career of the man himself. Created by London's Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A), the exhibition is a Bowiephile's dream — an unprecedented collection of over 50 stage costumes alongside tour sets (including the designs for the '74 Diamond Dogs tour), handwritten set lists and lyric sheets, Bowie's own sketches, rare live and interview videos, musical scores and diary entries, photographs and album artwork. Basically, if you're a Bowie fan, this is next level squealworthy material. "The mystery of David Bowie as an enigma is so lovingly explored in this incredible immersive exhibition you’ll feel as if you’ve stepped inside the mind of this astonishing cultural and pop icon," says ACMI Director & CEO, Tony Sweeney. "Bowie is a figure whose social and creative influence and significance far exceeds his status as a pre-eminent rock performer and in David Bowie is, his incredible career is showcased in glorious detail." Presented exclusively in Australasia by ACMI as part of Melbourne Winter Masterpieces, the exhibition explores Bowie's influences and legacy in a lengthy narrative layout (tracing Ziggy Stardust through Berlin and Thin White Duke phases), delving into his career as a musician, of course, but also reminding fans of his top notch cult film career, stints as a writer and his lifelong ability as a stage performer. V&A curators and brains behind the whole Bowie show, Victoria Broackes and Geoffrey Marsh, handpicked over 300 objects and films for the exhibition — a research process we're pretty damn jealous of. "The exhibition looks in-depth at how Bowie’s music and radical individualism has both influenced and been influenced by wider movements in art, design, film and contemporary popular culture over an incredible 50-year career and demonstrates how Bowie has inspired others to challenge convention and pursue freedom of expression," they said. The exhibition comes to Australia under a furious amount of buzz — its world premiere this March in London became V&A's fastest selling exhibition ever, recording record numbers of over 311,000 visitors. As the exclusive venue for David Bowie is, ACMI have crafted a specially-curated program of talks, screenings, live performances and special events to pair with the Major Tom-a-thon. David Bowie is will open at ACMI on 16 July 2015 as part of the Victorian Government’s Melbourne Winter Masterpieces series. Tickets go on sale to the general public in November 2014. To register for exclusive pre-sale ticket opportunities, visit acmi.net.au/bowie.
Bluesfest has lifted the lid on its first artist announcement for 2018, and heading the stampede is a pair of legendary musical figures: Lionel Richie and Led Zeppelin's Robert Plant, who will play with his band The Sensational Space Shifters. Plant's performance at the five-day Easter long weekend festival just outside of Byron Bay will mark 50 years since he first performed with Led Zeppelin, so the gravity of the performance is sure to be pretty huge. Other acts taking to the stage Tyagarah Tea Tree Farm over the weekend include Aussies Tash Sultana and John Butler Trio, Swedish duo First Aid Kit and what will surely be a captivating set by José González. Bluesfest returnees Joe Louis Walker, Dumpstaphunk and Eric Gales are on there too. Anyway, here's the full lineup. Better start making Easter plans because tickets are already on sale. BLUESFEST 2018 LINEUP Robert Plant and The Sensational Space Shifters Lionel Richie The John Butler Trio Tash Sultana The New Power Generation Chic Featuring Nile Rodgers First Aid Kit Jose Gonzalez Morcheeba Gov't Mule Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real The California Honeydrops Eric Gales Bobby Rush Dumpstaphunk Joe Louis Walker Rick Estrin & The Nightcats + more to be announced. Bluesfest 2017 will run March 29 to April 2 at Tyagarah Tea Tree Farm, Byron Bay. More details and ticket info here. Image: Andy Fraser.
Sydneysiders and dogs go together like smashed avo and toast, Bondi and backpackers or Circular Quay and unintentional photobombs. While you can now take your pup along with you to some pubs and cafes, other activities are less accommodating. Take yoga, for example. Want to up your practice, but don't want to leave your furry pal at home alone? Cue Hot Dog Yoga. The Double Bay studio allows well-behaved pooches to relax in the airy reception with Pavlova the Maltese concierge (and maybe try out a few poses of their own) while their human works on their own downward dog. And it's celebrating its first birthday with an entire day of free yoga classes. On Saturday, October 13, you'll be able to attend any of the dog-friendly studio's classes for free. Classes on the day start at 8am and run through till 4pm, range from beginner to expert classes, mellow to power flow, and are held in a heated room (the studio has rain showers, too). There'll also be a heap of treats (for humans and good dogs), discounted pass and lucky draw prizes available on the day. To register your spot head to the Hot Dog Yoga website.
In Paris, 1971, the shaggy-haired, inscrutable Gilles (Clement Metayer) finds himself swept in political unrest that has fermented since the riots of May 1968. He and his friends are key figures in an underground movement that sells leftist newspapers, meets in secret and carries out targeted attacks. When his beautiful but enigmatic girlfriend Laure (Carole Combes) abruptly leaves the country, he quickly takes up with the spirited Christine (Lola Créton) instead. Together with Christine and a loose group of friends, he takes part in a street protest which is broken up by sickening violence by the police. The group then up the ante by attacking their school, where armed with Molotov cocktails, they graffiti slogans and drop political pamphlets. Their plans come unstuck, however, when a security guard is badly injured. With the school searching for the culprits, they decide that it is unsafe for them to stay, and instead hightail it to Italy until the volatile atmosphere cools off. Away from the volatility of their home city, the pace slackens and the film’s focus turns from the political to the personal. As old relationships fray, new ones form as the painter Alain (Felix Armand) meets a wealthy American girl, Leslie (India Salvor Menuez), who is now into spirituality and enlightenment. Seemingly untroubled by fear at their recent escape from France and at a loss for what to do next, the group attend political film screenings, debate philosophy, make art, smoke constantly and generally exude ennui. It makes for a strangely low-key portrait of an era of upheaval. Interestingly, the tableaus of beautiful youths lounging about in skinny jeans and unbuttoned shirts often looks more like a Calvin Klein advert than a political gathering, possibly because fashion has long since co-opted the look so associated with youthful rebellion in this era. Increasingly drawn into arguments with Christine about their next move and whether they should get involved with filmmakers working in the revolutionary movement, Gilles still thinks of the estranged Laure and goes to meets her at her decadent and druggy new lodgings. There he shows her an artwork he has done before setting it on fire, having explained it existed for her eyes only. After May’s failure to engage is surprising given the emotional heft of writer-director Olivier Assayas’ previous work, including his last film he wrote, the superlative Summer Hours. The height of the film’s obtuseness is the performance of Hugo Conzelmann as Jean-Pierre — even when blowing up a car he maintains the blankness of a mannequin. In perhaps the film’s most telling scene, Christine says to the perpetually aloof Gilles “I can’t tell if you’re in love with me”. She will not be the only one guessing at the inner workings or motivations of these characters. After May is a fitfully interesting but ultimately frustrating portrait of a time and place.
Because we can't all go to Fashion Week, and because we wouldn't all be comfortable if we were to go, there's Fashion Weekend Sydney, now in it's seventh season. Australia’s biggest shopping, catwalk and beauty event that's open to all, it's running from Thursday, May 16, to Sunday, May 19. The event is perfect if you're in the mood to shop for a new wardrobe, watch a runway show featuring premiere and up-and-coming designers or learn some new beauty tips. The weekend features some of Australia’s leading designers including Natasha, Rodeo Show, Bec & Bridge, Christensen Copenhagen and more. Guests can buy over 100 designer brands for ridiculously reduced prices of up to 70 percent off. A highlight of the event is the glam catwalk show, including over 100 looks from various designers. This shopping and catwalk extravaganza will be accompanied by The Beauty Hub, which boasts a TONI&GUY Style Bar, Sally Hansen Nail Salon and NP Set Makeup & Lash Bar, all offering special offers and promos. After being pampered and emptying your wallet, guests will have the opportunity to have photographs taken at the Photo Studio. There are a number of different ticket options that you can choose from, and they can be purchased on the Ticketek website.
Australians really love prawns — and Ballina Prawn Festival knows it. They've dedicated an entire day in honour of everyone's favourite crustacean, and that day is November 11. Set in Ballina's Missingham Park on the banks of the Richmond River, the day will be marked by parades, music, rides and all the prawns you can eat. The festival stalls will be sizzling prawns of all sizes while events happen in every direction, including a prawn shelling competition and a signature dish competition. There will also be a boat parade celebrating the prawn industry, fireworks, amusement rides, live music and sand castle building. Yeah, it'll be the truest form of an Aussie-as day.
If you're in the mood for something a little bit different to a barbeque or day at the beach for Australia Day (and crowds don't bother you), head to the Festival of the Voice at The Rocks. As well as markets and food, it's all about the bands. Oh, and the karaoke. George Street will be renamed 'song street' for the day, and will be jam packed with musos, including award-winning Ash Grunwald and Indigenous singer-songwriter Gurrumul. DJ Shantan Wantan Ichiban, electronic-soul duo Sietta, Dubmarine, indie-folk Tin Sparrow, gothic soul and rock 'n' rollers The Preatures, indie-rock/Brit-pop boys Battleships, and Godfrey Uke and his Orchestra will also be playing. If gypsy tunes are your thing, The Margaret St. Project and their Lolo Lovina Caravan will get you going. And if you prefer to be in front of the microphone, the Karaoke Bandstand in The Rocks Square might appeal. https://youtube.com/watch?v=ZtDXezAhes8
What's better than one new Edgar Wright movie in a year? Two new flicks by the Scott Pilgrim vs the World, The World's End and Baby Driver filmmaker, of course. And, that's exactly what 2021 is delivering. Neither of the British director's latest movies fits his usual type, either — as phenomenal documentary The Sparks Brothers has already demonstrated, and the trailers for Last Night in Soho keep showing as well. Wright does indeed have a comfort zone, as his fans well and truly know. He first caught the film world's attention with zom-rom-com Shaun of the Dead, after all, and also toyed with both horror and comedy in Hot Fuzz. But he hasn't ever dived headfirst into mind-bending psychological thriller territory before, which is where Last Night in Soho dwells. No one is set to kill the undead to Queen's 'Don't Stop Me Now' here. That said, Anya Taylor-Joy (The Queen's Gambit) does play a singer in 60s-era London who appears to be a ghost. In the movie's initial teaser trailer, her character Sandie pops up when aspiring fashion designer Eloise (Thomasin McKenzie, Old) manages to venture back in time. Mysteriously travelling six decades into the past, Eloise looks in the mirror and sees Sandy's reflection, rather than her own. Both that initial sneak peek and the just-dropped new full trailer are filled with neon hues and an all-round trippy mood. In a feature that seems to take plenty of cues from horror and thriller flicks from the time it is set, things appear to get even more lurid as well. Impeccable period-appropriate set and costume design, vibrant pink lighting aplenty and an all-round dreamy feel also feature in the trailers so far, as Eloise finds herself coming face to face with her idol while plunged into a ghost story. Similarly playing a pivotal part: The Crown and Doctor Who's Matt Smith, who pops up alongside Taylor-Joy in the film's eerie 60s-set scenes. Whether following small-town cops in Hot Fuzz or jumping into the heist genre with Baby Driver — or directing late 90s/early 00s sitcom Spaced, too — Wright's work always stands out visually, and Last Night in Soho clearly promises to continue the trend. And, because the director loves his standout soundtracks, this one looks set to continue the trend. Expect glorious 60s-era tunes, obviously. Check out the full trailer for Last Night in Soho below: Last Night in Soho is slated to release in Australian cinemas on November 18. Images: Parisa Taghizadeh / Focus Features.
Stephen Hawking is an extraordinary individual. The problem with that — with all extraordinary individuals — is that over time they come to be viewed not as people but as the sum of their accomplishments. The greater the endeavour, the less we tend to know about the beating heart and restless mind behind it. Often it's not until they're visited by tragedy or professional disgrace that we're reminded of their humanity, and yet, in Hawking's case, not even the onset of motor neurone disease or an extramarital affair could detract from his almost super-human status. The Theory of Everything, then, serves as a fitting reminder that beyond the maths lies a man, brilliant — yes — but still just a man: mortal, flawed and confounded by love. Adapted from the book Travelling to Infinity: My Life With Stephen, The Theory of Everything offers us a portrait of Hawking from the perspective of his first wife, Jane (Felicity Jones), and it is, in effect, a love story. Two love stories, rather: the conventional tale between a pair of enamoured Cambridge students, and the stranger yet better known one of Stephen’s infatuation with the universe. Both are heartwarming, exhilarating and profoundly complicated. In the role of Hawking’s wife, Jones is sublime. Her performance is an accomplished blend of fierce determination to see her husband survive, and private frustration at the professional sacrifices that selflessness wrought. As for Redmayne, perhaps the most fitting compliment is that it is now impossible to look at him and not see the professor. It is an extraordinary example of transformation, both physical and performative. Redmayne, like the man he portrays, is robbed of that which most actors find essential: movement, first, then sound. Yes, there is the iconic digital voice to accompany the performance, but voiceover is no more useful to an actor at the time of recording than a ping pong ball affixed to a green screen to denote what will eventually come to be. With the disarming smile of Redford and the ‘everyman-ness’ of Hanks, Redmayne is the acting equivalent of an unputdownable book, almost daring you to try to look away. For a film entitled The Theory of Everything, the story is, in the end, almost infinitesimal. Ours is a galaxy of some 400 billion stars in a universe roughly 13.8 billion years old. On such a scale, humanity is scarcely perceptible, an insignificant evanescent blip of history in which a single, unsettled romance between two people is as close to nothing as science will permit. And yet it is also everything, because it contains within it some of the finest qualities that define the human existence — that showcase the unconquerable spirit and boundless possibilities of the mind. Hawking’s accomplishments almost defy belief, even if they’d been achieved without disability, and while they’re acknowledged in this film, the focus is not on the ‘what’, but the ‘who’ and the ‘how’. Moving, astounding and, perhaps most of all, enlightening, The Theory of Everything is a sensitive yet unsentimental engagement with genius and the actualities of love.
Director Takashi Miike transports us back in time — not only into the cruelly executed hierarchy of the 17th century samurai but also into Japanese cinema's Golden Age. His expressive tale of solitary heroism moves with an arthouse patience and poise, and the violence is deeply affecting, rather than for effect. In this respect, Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai represents a departure from the spectacularly bloody epics for which Miike is known, such as 13 Assassins and Audition. This should come as no surprise, though, for those intimately acquainted with the prolific Japanese director's work, which includes at least 70 productions. His filmmaking has never been confined to creativity-crunching limitations — he's dabbled with comedy, children's films and period drama. A story-within-a-story structure propels the narrative. Hanshiro (Ebizo Ichikawa), an out-of-work samurai, seeks permission from the House of Li to commit seppuku (honourable self-disembowelment). Suspicious that Hanshiro might be another in a line of poverty-stricken warriors who have been attempting "suicide bluffs" for financial gain, the feudal lord, Kageyu (Koji Yakusho) regales him with the tale of Motome (Eita). A young man who came seeking a few coins to save his dying family, Motome was forced to self-disembowel on a bamboo sword, having already sold his own. What Kageyu does not realise is that Motome and Hanshiro knew each other well. Hanshiro is on a mission to avenge Li's lack of humanity and expose the lie beneath the front of "honour", which enables the condemnation of the lower classes to unemployment, sickness and death. Miike does not hold back in his critique of sadism. Putting aside broad-brush depictions of bloodletting, he reaches his viewers through specific experiences and emotional investment in character. Motome's horrendously slow suicide is depicted so viscerally, it's not easy to keep your eyes on the screen. As his increasing physical and mental agony is mirrored by the gradual snapping of his pathetic bamboo sword into impossibly blunt pieces, the feudal authorities seem to have no limits on their capacity for brutality. Cinematographically, Hara-Kiri inhabits a shadowy world. Symmetrically positioned characters and 17th-century architecture frame the drama. Contrast is subtle, rather than extreme, achieved through the natural rhythms of day and night and the passing of the seasons — bursts of spring sunshine, fiery autumn leaves and silent snow showers — intensified by Ryuichi Sakamoto's restrained yet haunting score. Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai is one of Miike's finest, saddest and most important films. It's a brave depiction of a brutal world whose romantic mythology has often curtained a pitiless and unjust reality. https://youtube.com/watch?v=R-sp6Xw0jJU
