We think the latest dessert craze may have just landed in Sydney. Demochi Donut has opened on the streets of Banksia, and owner Dennis Chan (Dirty Bird food truck) has somehow managed to fuse the airy, crispy elements of a doughnut with that chewy mochi texture — and we can't wait to get our hands on a whole box of 'em. Chan started working on these mochi masterpieces after finding a similar fusion doughnut served at a shop in Tokyo. He spent over five years perfecting his own recipe, and has finally released the hybrid sweet to the masses. To get your hands on one (or many), head out to Banksia every Friday and Saturday evening, when the Demochi Donut stand sets up outside the Banksia Hotel. The brand's signature honey-glazed doughnut will be available each weekend, alongside one specialty flavour that will change regularly. Some of the flavours you might come across include familiar mochi varieties like yuzu-mint, roasted black sesame and matcha, as well as more traditional doughnut flavours such as strawberry or chocolate glaze. Whackier varieties may include doughnuts frosted with cereal and milk and a fairy bread number. You can also grab savoury bites from the Dirty Bird food truck, which sits adjacent to Demochi and is serving up its much-loved hot wings and southern fried chicken burgers every weekend, too. We suggest getting there early, though, because these are bound to sell out. Down the line, you'll be able to snag Demochi across cafes all over Sydney, and a brick-and-mortar shop is also in the works, so keep an eye on this space. Find Demochi Donut at 286 Princes Highway, Banksia (next to the Banksia Hotel) every Friday and Saturday from 6–9pm. Keep an eye on the Instagram or Facebook for the latest flavours.
Having undergone a 12-month revamp, Ambarvale's local pub has finally reopened. The Ambarvale Hotel features your standard pub attributes — including a sports bar, VIP lounge and a bistro — but now it's also home to a lush garden atrium and its own brewery. An anomaly in Sydney's southwest, the super pub follows a family-friendly, all-encompassing concept similar to Merivale's The Newport, but with the added bonus of its own on-site microbrewery. Dubbed Ambarvale Brewing Co, it's expected to produce 68,000 litres of beer each year, with brews of every flavour profile — from pale ales to chocolate stouts, as well as limited release sours. If you're after a feed, the industrial Brewery Bar and Bistro serves up classic pub fare, burgers, chorizo and manchego doughnuts, pizzas from the central woodfire oven and its signature rotisserie chicken. Plus, there's a huge selection of meat cuts, including flat iron steak, wagyu rump, sirloin and an epic 1.6-kilogram tomahawk. On the other end of the spectrum — and other side of the pub — the garden-style atrium, fittingly called The Greenhouse, offers more of a casual setting, packed with potted and hanging plants, copper pendants and a tiled mosaic floor. For the no-frills crowd, there's the sports bar and for the families there's an impressive play area. It's a pub for all walks of life. Find The Ambarvale Hotel at 57 Woodhouse Drive, Ambarvale. It's open Monday through Saturday from 10–2am and from 10-12am on Sundays.
Opening in late-2015 and closing its doors one year later, you could've blinked and missed Master. But if you did manage to make it into the Surry Hills restaurant during its short tenure, you'll definitely remember it. Blackened quarters of cabbage lathered in fish sauce butter, silky strips of scallop with XO and a side of heavy-metal tunes — Master stood out on its quiet stretch of Crown Street. And now, it's making a comeback — for two nights only. Chef John Javier is resurrecting the restaurant's menu for two nights, on January 18 and 19, at his current haunt, the Lord Wolseley Hotel in Ultimo. And while the setting is different — Sydney's narrowest pub bears little similarity to Master's former, two-storey monochromatic home — the menu will feature all the favourites. As well as the aforementioned scallop and cabbage, the ten-course share-style dinner will include a dish of raw lamb with oyster emulsion, ash and enoki; salt-and-pepper veal sweetbreads; and anise-spiked diamond shell clams topped with ribbons of honeydew. Master devotees will be happy to know that the famed sweet-savoury 'roasted potato' dessert will be making a return, too. If you're yet to encounter this dish — and are maybe skeptical of its viability — trust us, it's good. Potato ice cream is deep-fried and served with a crust of malt crumb and freeze-dried vinegar. This decuplet of dishes, plus a few snacks, will set you back a very reasonable $100. If you'd like to spend more on dinner, you can — Javier is offering up a limited number of black pepper mud crabs for $200 a pop. To snag a crab, and a spot at the dinner — we're expecting they'll both get snapped up pretty quickly — email masterdiningpopup@gmail.com. The Master Pop-Up is open from Friday, January 18 to Saturday, January 19, from 6pm at the Lord Wolseley Hotel, 265 Bulwara Road, Ultimo.
A great fringe festival thrives on surprises. It showcases anything and everything, and it loves inducing whiplash when people peruse its program. RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under 2022 winner Spankie Jackzon, then reimagined Radiohead songs, then a recreation of Titanic? Absurdist Polish theatre, then a dance piece about love, then a game with the grim reaper? That's the clash of shows you'll find on the 2023 Sydney Fringe Festival lineup. This year's fest takes place from Friday, September 1–Saturday, September 30, and started dropping highlights back in June. From that initial reveal, the musical-comedy version of The Marvellous Elephant Man the Musical, Ancient Greece-set comedy GODZ and the all-ages-friendly CIRCUS — The Show were already on the lineup. The full program doesn't hit till early August, either, but Sydneysiders have a few more performances to now look forward to. Jackzon is bringing solo show Just the Tip to Sydney Fringe, playing Darling Quarter's new Hello Darling tent with a combination of drag, music and comedy. Also at the same venue: fellow Drag Race alum Beverly Kills, Timberlina and Friends: A Drag Cabaret and the burlesque variety stylings of Decadence and Debauchery. Thom Yorke fans will want to check out Radiohead Uncovered: How to Disappear Completely. Here, audiences will be treated to 24 original choral and instrumental arrangements featuring 12 voices, as well as computer-generated imagery, live camera projections and 13 short films. Each of the latter has been crafted by local and international filmmakers especially for this show — all worshipping the English band. For the second year in a row, Sydney Fringe will also pay comic tribute to the movie that got Celine Dion's 'My Heart Will Go On' stuck in everyone's heads forever. Yes, that means that Titanic is sailing into this year's fest again — Titanic: The Movie, The Play, to be exact, this time into the Spiegeltent Festival Garden at the EQ Showring in Moore Park. If you missed it last year, it recreates the tragic romance of Kate and Leo as two lovestruck ship-dwellers attempting to overcome their different backgrounds, ignoring any rules about getting hot and steamy in someone else's car, and trying to avoid a pesky iceberg. And, you're meant to laugh along. Even now before the entire program drops, the list goes on, with The Mother hailing from Warsaw's Kropka Theatre, then Love/Love/Love/Love/Love featuring New Zealander Tessa Redman and Lilies and Dust getting teams sleuthing in a pop-up puzzle room to save a dead cat's soul. Or, there's also a trio of Sydney theatre pieces in Blacklisted, Betty Is a Butcher and Plenty of Fish in the Sea — the first about borders and belonging, the second a black comedy and the third pondering looking for romance. Throw in US play Monsters of the American Cinema, ABBA-themed queer bingo and reflections on being raised in a cult, and Sydney Fringe 2023 won't be lacking in vastly dissimilar events for audiences to choose from. Sydney Fringe Festival 2023 will take place from Friday, September 1–Saturday, September 30, with the event's full program set to be announced in the coming months. For further information in the interim, head to the fest's website.
Italian wines and Roman-inspired dishes from a former Shell House chef have arrived at the former Macleay Street home of Monopole in the form of Enoteca Ponti. This 79-seat wine bar and restaurant opened its doors last month, coming to Potts Point from the team behind beloved Sydney French spot Bistro Rex. Chef Aldo Farroni has moved over from the CBD's new multi-storey mega venue to helm a kitchen focused on producing fresh takes on Roman-style classics with seasonal produce. Not many menus in Sydney stay the same these days, and Enoteca Ponti is no different, adjusting to what's freshest and most in-season at any one time. The inaugural menu features expected players like a tomato and pecorino rigatoni, burrata with basil oil, veal tartare and appellation oysters, but there are plenty of unexpected twists throughout the menu. Kick your meal off with lasagne spring rolls accompanied by a fermented chilli aioli, or tuna noodles intensified by a wasabi emulsion. Make your way down the menu and you'll find beetroot risotto made with yoghurt, dill and capers; ox tongue with salsa verde; and roasted spatchcock paired with caramelised witlof. For meat-lovers, the crowning jewel of the menu is a 600-gram Westholme t-bone steak with an MBS between six and seven. "My food, my vision for Enoteca Ponti, is to bring the Italian cuisine of my heritage and evolve it to suit a modern, global context," Aldo said. "I want Enoteca Ponti to mirror the authentic Italian dining experience – sharing great food and wine at the table with friends." As for both the drinks selection and the romantic fit-out, Enoteca Ponti pays homage to 1950s wine bars of Rome with geometric tiles reminiscent of Italian architect Gio Ponti, and an extensive list of European wines. While there's plenty on for fans of classic wine — a Venetian pinot grigio or a Tuscan red, for example — the wine list doesn't shy away from new-age mould-breaking winemakers. There's a 2018 Venetian Il Castagnucoli orange wine available by the glass and a pét-nat out of Geelong among the selection of Italian and French sparking wines. Enoteco Ponti is located at 71A Macleay Street, Potts Point. It's open 5pm–late Monday–Thursday and midday–late Friday–Sunday.
Cinephiles of Sydney, choose your soundtrack: at the 11th Antenna Documentary Film Festival, are you going to get Australian punk tunes stuck in your head or Italo disco? Docos about both are on the bill, as part of a wide-ranging lineup that spans 52 titles, all showcasing the possibilities of factual filmmaking. Antenna has already held a festival in 2022, its tenth back in February; however, usually it's an October affair. Because the past couple of years have thrown that schedule out of balance with lockdowns, restrictions and the like, the event is doubling up to get back on schedule. Yes, homegrown doco Age of Rage: The Australian Punk Revolution, plus the Aussie premiere of Italo Disco: the Sparkling Sound of the 80s, are among the highlights. There's no shortage of viewing options between Friday, October 14–Sunday, October 23 — or places to get the fest experience, with Antenna popping up at Dendy Newtown, Palace Chauvel, Palace Verona, MCA Australia, Powerhouse Museum, the Ritz in Randwick and Event Cinemas Parramatta. The fest is also bringing back its day-long industry chat about the medium, which'll cover topics such as streaming's impact upon feature-length documentaries and the use of deep-fake technology. The overall theme, as it is in every iteration of the fest: that there's really nothing quite like a true story, whether it's a wild, chaotic, so-strange-it-can-only-be-true kind of tale or an informative, eye-opening yarn. For this festival run, Antenna is making that plain with titles such as opening night's Retrograde, which hails from Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Matthew Heineman (Cartel Land, City of Ghosts) and captures the situation on the ground in Afghanistan as American troops pull out. Or, there's Fairytale by Russian Ark filmmaker Alexander Sokurov, which uses deepfake archival footage to imagines a reunion in purgatory between Hitler, Stalin, Churchill and Mussolini. Other standouts include Chilean effort My Imaginary Country, which looks at the Santiago uprising of 2019; Outside, about Roma, who became the poster boy of the Ukrainian revolution as a 13 year old; McEnroe, with the tennis player himself stepping through his career; and 107 Mothers, which tells the tales of 107 incarcerated women. Or, there's Senses of Cinema, about film movements challenging the mainstream in Australia's history; Riotsville USA, focusing on the fictional town built by the US military back in the 60s to use a training ground; Last Stop Before Chocolate Mountain, which surveys California's Bombay Beach; and How to Save a Dead Friend, about teens in Russia. Plus, The Hole heads into the Bifurto Abyss in Southern Italy, which was once considered the deepest cave on Earth, and Blue Island explores Hong Kong after its 2020 national security law. And, likely not for the squeamish, De Humani Corporis Fabrica sees filmmakers Lucien Castaing-Taylor and Verena Paravel (Caniba, Leviathan) use microscopic cameras, X-rays, ultrasounds and endoscopic images to take a deep look inside the human body. Antenna Documentary Film Festival's second 2022 fest runs from Friday, October 14–Sunday, October 23 at Dendy Newtown, Palace Chauvel, Palace Verona, MCA Australia, Powerhouse Museum, the Ritz in Randwick and Event Cinemas Parramatta. For more information and to buy tickets, head to the festival's website.
Indie vibes, great coffee, even better food, and a nightlife that cannot be beaten? We're obviously talking about Newtown. The best part about this inner west neighbourhood is that there's no single thing that makes it great — its beauty lies in the fact that it is so eclectic. And no matter what has brought you to this part of town, with so many excellent businesses along King Street (and beyond), you're sure to find the thing you're looking for. Together with American Express, we've highlighted some of the local businesses that make Newtown such an amazing part of town to eat, shop and play in. Read on to discover where to buy last-minute gifts, a midweek meal staple and one of the best bottle-os in town.
Improved strength and flexibility, a clear and calm mind, reduced stress and anxiety and better sleep — experience the many mental and physical benefits of a regular yoga practice at YogiShed. Located in Collaroy, YogiShed is a school specialised in yoga and wellbeing, which aims to promote health and personal development in a supportive and welcoming environment. At YogiShed, you'll meet new friends and become part of a community of like minded people while limbering up your body and slowing down your mind. There's group classes for all levels including prenatal classes, mums and bubs, as well as private classes and even yoga by the beach. If you've never done a sun salutation, and want to learn the difference between a downward dog and a tree pose, try YogiShed's introductory offer where you can test out an unlimited amount of classes over one month for $70.
Butter just keeps giving Sydneysiders more reasons to go absolutely crazy for it. The cult favourite is already a palace of fried chicken, sneakers and champagne — and every now and then it adds ramen to that list as well. If you're particularly fond of slurping down its brothy bowls, then you'll be immensely excited about its plans for the next six months. The chain won't just be serving up one type of ramen, but will be lining up six limited-edition versions. Executive Chef Julian Cincotta is once again whipping up Butter's super-popular fried chicken ramen. It combines fresh thick cut ramen noodles, a marinated soft boiled half egg and enoki mushrooms in a chicken and dashi-based broth, and includes Butter's crispy fried chicken tenders, too — and it hits the menu from Tuesday, April 20 through until Monday, May 17. But, it's just the first round in the chain's new Butter Ramen Club Tour. After that, a different ramen created by a different chef will feature each month until October. From Wednesday, May 19–Monday, June 21, Ume Burger Head Chef Kirby Craig will do the honours. His dish will use a miso-based tare, corn and Butter's chicken broth. Then, from Tuesday, June 22–Monday, July 26, it's Rising Sun Workshop Director Nick Smith's turn. His ramen will feature Butter's fried chicken, but with a burnt ends glaze. Next, Louis Tikaram from Stanley in Brisbane will give Sydneysiders a taste of his spice fragrant ramen — which'll use a mix of Cantonese and Japanese flavours, and Butter's fried chicken — from Tuesday, July 27–Monday, August 30. Then, Cincotta will be back with a French dip ramen fried chicken sandwich from Tuesday, August 31–Monday, September 27. Finishing things up is LP's Quality Meats owner and Head Chef Luke Powell, who'll be doing a smokey small-good number from Tuesday, September 28–Tuesday, October 26. Each type of ramen and ramen-inspired dish will only be available in-store, so you won't be able to get it via a delivery platform. Butter Surry Hills, Parramatta and Chatswood will all be plating them up, but each venue will only be making a limited number each day. Still, if you're fond of both ramen and fried chicken — and who isn't? — it's an easy way to pick what you'll be eating each month. Butter Ramen Club Tour runs from Tuesday, April 20–Tuesday, October 26 at Butter Surry Hills, Parramatta and Chatswood. For further details, head to the Butter website. Images: Sean Alcantara.
There's more to stunning Jervis Bay than just sunbathing and swimming. In fact, one of the best ways to explore this stretch of coastline is by going for a stroll. We're not saying work up a serious sweat (unless you want to), but you can catch some pretty amazing views on foot. For a gentle stroll, take the White Sands Walk and Scribbly Gum Track. The leisurely 2.5-kilometre loop takes you past the white sands of Hyams, Greenfields and Seamans, as well as through the coastal forest by the shores of Jervis Bay. You can cool off with a swim along the way, plus spot birds and dolphins. The walk takes between 30–90 minutes. Make sure you check the National Parks website for any alerts before you venture out. [caption id="attachment_770531" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Hyams Beach by Tourism Australia[/caption] Top image: Scribbly Gum Track, National Parks NSW
In what was the state's largest ever purchase of private land for national parks, the NSW Government acquired the 153,415-hectare Narriearra Station earlier this month. The huge swath of land stretches across Channel Country, the Bulloo River floodplain and wetlands in the far north west corner of NSW, near the Queensland border. Most importantly, though, it's home to more than 25 threatened animal species — including 90 percent of the state's habitat and breeding grounds for the endangered grey grasswren. The park, which is set to be named by the Tibooburra Local Aboriginal Land Council, is also home to many significant stone artefacts, tools and stone arrangements that provide evidence of First Nations peoples' history in the region. Environment Minister Matt Kean says the acquisition of the outback station has put them on track to achieve the 200,000 hectares of new national park land he promised last year. "Narriearra along with the nearby Sturt National Park, will create a vast near-contiguous conservation area of almost half a million hectares, or twice the size of the ACT," Kean said in a statement. While a visit to the new national park certainly won't be achievable in a weekend — it's located around a 13-hour drive northwest of Sydney — it'll be a worthy adventure, especially if you're a budding ornithologist. Within the park, you'll find the Caryapundy Swamp, which is home to tens of thousands of waterbirds, including pelicans, egrets, whiskered terns and a relative of the misunderstood bin chicken, the straw-necked ibis. As well as bird-filled swamp, there is also saltbush shrubland, sandplains, lakes and coolabah-lined channels. For more information about the Narriearra Station, head to the NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment website.
When a global pandemic has left you spending two months indoors, at home and under lockdown, there isn't all that much to say cheers to. That's been the reality for Sydneysiders since late June, but Young Henrys has come up with one way to get folks clinking their glasses again: free beer. Yes, it's a simple idea. Yes, it's a welcome one, too. And, because it involves the Newtown brewery and schooners, Young Henrys has dubbed the concept the 'Young Henrys Deliverschoo'. Here's how it works: each Friday that Sydney remains under stay-at-home conditions — so, at this stage, on at least Friday, August 20 and Friday, August 27 — the Young Henrys' van will hit visit one particular Sydney suburb and let the free beer flow. It'll be doing contact-free delivery in that specific suburb, with up to 100 schooners available each week, and a four-beer cap per household. Wondering how the brewery will pick which spot to focus on? It's calling upon your submissions — and asking you to use your Instagram account. Each week, you'll submit your suburb on Young Henrys' Instagram Stories, and the brewery will then make its pick. That lucky suburb will be announced on Thursdays and, if you live there, you'll need need to send Young Henrys a DM with your name, address and number — still via Instagram — to be in the running to get that free beer brought to your door. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Young Henrys (@younghenrys) Obviously, this now means you'll be spending some of your lockdown time obsessing over Young Henrys' Instagram account — but when free beer is the reward, that's time well spent. And if you're thinking that 'deliverschoo' sounds a lot like Deliveroo, so is the latter. The delivery service isn't officially involved; however, it has reached out to Young Henrys with a 'cease and assist' letter. "We are certainly flattered by your imitation of Deliveroo and we applaud your team's ambition to "Serve The People" and bring the pub experience home," said Deliveroo's Ed McManus — and announced that the company will give a $100 Deliveroo credit to each of the 20 winning households who nab a free brew as part of Young Henrys' giveaway. The Young Henrys Deliverschoo will start delivering 100 free brews around Sydney each Friday during lockdown from Friday, August 20. For further details, head to Young Henrys' Instagram account. Updated August 20.
There are plenty of aspects of lockdown that suck, but one giant ray of sunshine through the whole experience has been all the top-notch, inventive takeaway options coming from some of our favourite Sydney businesses. One such restaurant is Redfern's Bart Jr. The Pitt Street spot is cooking up a range of lockdown specials including date night packs, heat-at-home meals and fancy panko-crumbed market-fresh ling Fillet-O-Fishes — but the crowning jewel of Bart Jr's lockdown menu is its lobster roll. Piled high with fresh WA Rock Lobster, NSW Clarence River king prawns, tarragon, chive and horseradish, Bary Jr's lobster rolls are available every Friday from the restaurant's takeaway window — lovingly named Bart Mart. With local lobster prices lower right now due to slower international trading, the Bart Jr team jumped at the opportunity to add a more affordable lobster dish to its menu. The rolls were originally created as a one-off dish, but after a huge community response, they've been added to the Bart Mart menu as a weekly Friday item. "I had about 50 people on Instagram message me asking if they could pre-order for next time, and so many people came by afterwards and said, 'please do it again'," Bart Jr owner George Woodyard said. [caption id="attachment_824127" align="alignnone" width="1920"] George Woodyard, Destination NSW[/caption] If you miss out on a lobster roll you can pre-order a beef brisket roll packed with cheddar, zucchini pickles and chipotle mayo, available every Saturday. You can also keep your eyes on the Bart Jr Instagram for weekly deals. Last week's date night pack was filled with fried halloumi dusted in a za'atar-spiced semolina, 12-hour slow-roasted lamb shoulder, orange and polenta cake and a set of two bottled cocktails. At Bart Jr's Instagram you'll also find the details on how you can pre-order both hot rolls and DIY at-home dinners. Once you pre-order, you can pick up your lockdown dishes between 12–3pm, Thursday–Saturday. Bart Jr is open at 92 Pitt Street, Redfern. During lockdown, Bart Mart is open 12–6pm, Thursday–Saturday. Remember to wear a mask and social distance, and you can keep up-to-date with the latest restrictions including mask-wearing and travel limitations via the NSW Health website. Top image: Destination NSW
There's rarely a bad time to wander through a rainforest, especially after a year that's had everyone spending more time at home than usual. But if you're planning a trip to the Blue Mountains to take in its vivid greenery, visiting during April 2021 is particularly recommended. That's when Sculpture at Scenic World will return to the area after a two-year break, after its 2020 event was cancelled due to the pandemic. The exhibition is as straightforward as it sounds, and also as striking. Between Thursday, April 1–Sunday, May 2, Scenic World in Katoomba will place dozens of large-scale sculptures and installations throughout its ultra-scenic surroundings, with visitors able to mosey through them and enjoy their oversized sights at their own pace. You'll walk past trees, peer at giant artworks and find yourself in an openair gallery — and, you'll be checking out pieces from both emerging and established artists in the process. Exactly which artworks be popping up around the leafy spot is yet to be revealed, but everything on display will compete for the Scenic World Major Award, as judged this year by National Art School's Head of Sculpture Hany Armanious, Sydney-based sculptor Margarita Sampson and The Lock-Up Artistic Director Courtney Novak. [caption id="attachment_802600" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Jono Gooley[/caption] The 2021 event will feature sculptures not only in the rainforest, but, as part of a free outdoor exhibition called Twist & Shout, it'll extend to sites such as the Carrington Hotel, Mountain Heritage Hotel, and the Fairmont Resort and Spa. The aim: to get folks heading to the area to not only explore Sculpture at Scenic World, but to take in everything that the Blue Mountains region has to offer. "It has been a whirlwind year for the tourism industry, but it is encouraging to see such strong demand for authentic tourism experiences in our backyard," said Scenic World Chief Experience Officer Amanda Byrne. In 2020, Scenic World's Dinosaur Valley experience was extended for four weeks, into 2021, due to popular demand. Entry into Sculpture at Scenic World comes with a regular Scenic World ticket, which means that attendees can also enjoy the venue's skyway, railway and cableway while they're there. Sculpture at Scenic World runs from Thursday, April 1–Sunday, May 2, 2021. For further details or to buy tickets, head to the event website. Top images: Nick Warfield, Georgina Galea, Mark Surtees and Hannah Surtees, David Jensz, Jono Gooley.
Now that house parties are back on the cards — and going out isn't quite back to what it once was — it's time to get your home bar set-up in good shape. Yes, you need to stock up on liquor, nab some good-looking (but easily replaceable) glasses and work on your bartending skills, but you should also make sure your bar offering stands out above the rest. How? Well, you could add a tap machine that keeps your booze nice and chilled, for one. Lucky for you, we've partnered up with Jägermeister to give away just that, so you can save your money for the party snacks. The compact, OTT house party accessory holds one bottle and is perfect for when you want to serve up well-poured, ice-cold shots of Jäger — whether that's as your mates arrive or late into the night when you're cutting shapes on your makeshift living room dance floor. Yep, you'll be sipping the stuff at a cool -18 degrees celsius, which is apparently the ideal way to drink it. Oh, and we're throwing in three bottles of Jägermeister to help get the party started, too. Keen to take your next house party to great new heights? See details below to enter. [competition]799444[/competition]
Summer is well on its way, which means it's time to kick back with mates in the sun, sip cocktails and and feast on delicious snacks. And you deserve to live it up a little (or a lot) after a few tough months. That's why we've teamed up with the folks at Disaronno to give away an epic brunch at your place. You and nine of your nearest and dearest will be treated to a fully catered Italian feast in your home or sunny backyard, which will be decked out with stunning flowers as part of the prize. You'll be tucking into the likes of stuffed olives, creamy burrata, antipasti, parfait and plenty of fancy cheese. And you'll score two bottles of the fine Italian liqueur, as well as your very own bartender to whip up elegant Disaronno Fizz cocktails. Keen to enter? Check out details below to be in the running. [competition]785612[/competition]
Back in June, Great Southern Nights promised to bring 1000 gigs to the greater Sydney and regional NSW regions this November. Now, it has delivered, unveiling hundreds of gigs across over 300 venues all taking place next month. More than 2500 artists will take the stage across Sydney and in regional hubs including Wollongong, Newcastle, Albury, and Bowral this November in a much-needed leg-up for the NSW live music, hospitality, and tourism industries. Some highlights you'll be able to catch around Sydney include Jimmy Barnes performing at the Sydney Coliseum Theatre in Rooty Hill with his daughter Mahalia Barnes, Amy Shark performing a stripped back solo set at Leichhardt's Crowbar, Alex the Astronaut's intimate shows at Marrickville's LazyBones Lounge, and teenage heartthrob Ruel taking to the MCA rooftop in Circular Quay. Regional NSW will be treated to Missy Higgins, Matt Corby, Kasey Chambers, and The Jezabels' Hayley Mary in venues that stretch from Brunswick Picture House to the Albury Entertainment Centre. The Great Southern Nights website even provides a road trip feature that allows you to see which parts of regional NSW have been blessed with gigs. So, if you've been looking for an excuse to get out of Sydney for the weekend, what better reason than catching Sneaky Sound System at the Lake George Winery. [caption id="attachment_750114" align="alignnone" width="1920"] MCA rooftop by Jacqui Manning[/caption] "NSW will come alive with great Australian music in November," NSW Minister for Jobs, Investment, Tourism and Western Sydney Stuart Ayres said in a statement, while affirming how important this initiative is to everyone involved in the music and hospitality industries. A survey conducted by the Australian Live Music Business Council in August spotlighted the worrying state of our live music industry, with nearly 70 percent of Australian live music venues saying that would not survive the next six months without government support. Great Southern Nights is the initiative of several NSW organisations including Destination NSW, ARIA and the Australian Council for the Arts. ARIA Chairman Denis Handlin summed up the excitement around the return of gigs, saying, "music fans will once again have the opportunity to experience those spine-tingling moments that the power of artists and live music provides." Tickets are already on sale for the gigs, so if you're keen to get out there and enjoy some live music, head on over to the Great Southern Nights website. The gigs will kick off from Thursday, November 5. You can find them and buy tickets through the Great Southern Nights gig guide. Top image: Destination NSW
While we were lazing around in sun-drenched parks and sneaking in end-of-autumn ocean swims this past weekend, we didn't think that Sydney would ever turn cold. But today it has — and quite quickly. According to the Bureau of Meteorology, the temperature in the city dropped six degrees between noon and 1.30pm — the result of the first of a couple of cold fronts expected to cross over NSW in the next few days. If you haven't been outside since your morning coffee run, you might be in for a bit of a shock. It's currently a crisp 12.7 degrees outside, which the BOM says 'feels like' around four degrees. A fair cry from Saturday's top of 27.1 degrees, at any rate. Winds have also picked up considerably — so much so that, as of 5pm, the BOM has issued a severe weather warning for damaging winds. It predicts that winds could pick up to 50–70 kilometres per hour — and get as gusty as 90 kilometres per hour — this evening before easing off later tonight. Sydney is within the warning zone, as is Newcastle, Wollongong and the Illawarra, Bowral, Nowra and parts of the Blue Mountains. https://twitter.com/BOM_NSW/status/1132903900468699136 Speaking of the Blue Mountains, lower towns like Katoomba and Blackheath have today copped their first dustings of snow for the season. And Thredbo has recorded a whopping 20 centimetres of snow. https://twitter.com/ThredboResort/status/1132901393377910784 So, yeah, it's gonna be a chilly one tonight. Time to pull out your second doona. And stay safe. The State Emergency Service recommends that you move your car away from trees (if possible) and secure any furniture you might have in your backyard or balcony. There have already been power outages in the Ryde area today — so keep an eye on Ausgrid's Twitter for any updates. The winds are expected to die down later tonight but are likely to pick up again tomorrow afternoon.
Just as the cold starts to set in, Vivid comes to light up Sydney, enticing us to stay out of hibernation for just a little longer. This year, the festival is bigger and brighter than ever with a jam-packed lineup of gigs, parties, art installations, talks and, of course, all the pretty lights. Attracting a bevy of tourists and locals alike, Vivid's ever-growing popularity means ever-growing crowds to navigate. Never fear though, with the help of our friends at American Express, we've put together a cheat sheet on how to see some key sights without battling the hordes. Plus, we've made it friendly for all — from penny pinchers to high rollers and everyone in between. Whether you're after a cheap and cheerful twilight picnic in a harbourside park or an extravagant night of feasting at one of Sydney's finest, we've tracked down the best spots to catch some Vivid views sans crowds, no matter your budget. FREE: LAVENDER BAY Want to sip a glass of red in a fairy garden for grown-ups while soaking in Vivid from afar? Too niche? Not in Lavender Bay. Head to Wendy's Secret Garden to picnic in the dark while Sydney Harbour lights up the night. Sure, it may be a bit chilly, but the vista of the harbour and the bridge is well worth it. Besides, it's the perfect opportunity to bring a blanket and get cosy with that special someone. If FernGully vibes aren't your thing though, Lavender Bay Parklands has some more spots with stellar Vivid views and elbow room to boot, including Clark, Watt and Quibaree parks. There's plenty of grass for all; just be sure to pack a jumper. FREE ENTRY: AMERICAN EXPRESS VIVID LOUNGE Sometimes all the Vivid hubbub in Circular Quay can be a bit too much. If you still want to enjoy the heart of the festival without dealing with the masses, head to this rooftop. American Express has set up a Vivid Lounge throughout Vivid where you can lounge about, drink in hand, and take in all the surrounding lights. You don't even need an American Express card to get in — just register for access here. Sitting atop the Overseas Passenger Terminal, the lounge has access to unparalleled views, including a perfectly framed Opera House. [caption id="attachment_722257" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Destination NSW.[/caption] UNDER $30: TARONGA ZOO Tap into your childlike wonder at Taronga Zoo, where 300 large-scale animal light sculptures sit alongside all the real furry critters that live there. Not only will you get to roam around the zoo after dark here, but you'll also get to take in some spectacular views across Sydney Harbour. Plus, Taronga's Lights for the Wild is supported by American Express, meaning if you already have an Amex Card, you'll receive ten percent off tickets (otherwise priced at $26.95) and a complimentary Sky Pass for the zoo's cable car. Take in the city skyline before you and the glowing, colourful animals around you; this is one of the best spots to avoid that Circular Quay scrum. UNDER $40: LUNA PARK Back for a second year, the Luna Park precinct has heaps of over-the-bridge Vivid activations, plus harbour views aplenty. Thousands of LED lights have been strung across the ferris wheel and thrill ride Volaré, but the best views in the house are from atop the glittering wheel. Snag a $37 twilight saver ticket and you'll get unlimited rides (and views). As you wander around, keep an eye out for street performers twirling and whirling about in illuminated costumes, too. If all the fun gets you hungry, the park's waterfront Mediterranean-inspired restaurant Altum has sweeping views of the lights on the Sydney Harbour Bridge, Sydney Opera House and Circular Quay. UNDER $100: BEL & BRIO It may not be the main event, but Barangaroo is still hosting quite the spectacle, transforming into a glowing winter wonderland — a Winter Camp to be exact. The installation has taken over Exchange Place with a glowing six-metre-tall puppet called Marri Dyin — a spirit who portrays the important influence of First Nations women. Sit with Marri Dyin by a fire and share in the practice of hunting and gathering before stopping into Bel & Brio for a feed and tipple. Fuel up on European-inspired share plates to prep for the Vivid Light Walk crowds. Or you could opt to settle in for a while, away from the light-seeking hordes, and order the $78 banquet share menu. [caption id="attachment_624496" align="alignnone" width="1920"] James Horan.[/caption] OVER $100: ON THE WATER Crossing the seas seems a pretty extreme move just to leave the masses behind, but sometimes it's necessary — and highly rewarding. With Sydney Habour as Vivid's playground, there's nowhere quite like being on the water to take it all in. While catching a ferry provides such views, you won't be the only one with this bright idea. If you want a primo view without fighting your way to the best seat, get a bunch of mates together, book a private boat and scoot around the harbour, catching Vivid at every angle. For a blow-you-out-of-the-water experience (with prices to match), Sensational Sydney Cruises offers exclusive boat hire — with canapes, an open bar and unrivalled harbour views — at $2000 for up to 16 people (that's just $125 per person if you can round up 15 friends). If you're after something a bit lighter on the wallet though, Captain Cook Cruises, Australian Cruise Group and Tribal Warrior Cruises are good options if you don't mind a bigger (shared) boatload. OVER $200: QUAY After a hefty renovation last year, Quay's dining room now faces both the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge and only seats 80 — meaning the most epic of Vivid views and just an intimate number of people to share them with. The Sydney fine diner has been an institution since opening back in 2001 and continues to be one of Australia's most celebrated restaurants, with famed chef Peter Gilmore at its helm. With the new facelift, Quay is a hard one to beat when it comes to dining out during Vivid (or any time of year, really). The ten-course tasting menu ($275) best showcases Gilmore's passion for rare and beautiful ingredients and, although it will set you back a pretty penny, it's one of the finest feasts in town. Even more so with all the Vivid theatre as a backdrop. When you need a break from the crowds but not the lights this Vivid season, American Express has your back. Gain access to the American Express Vivid Lounge — even if you don't yet have an American Express card. All you have to do is sign-up here. Top image: Courtesy of Destination NSW.
'The mormons are coming', posters popping up all around Brisbane started promising this week. Come March 2019, they'll officially be here. If you didn't make it to Melbourne to catch The Book of Mormon, and haven't headed down to Sydney yet either, don't worry — Trey Parker and Matt Stone's hit musical is bringing its hilariously irreverent self to QPAC's Lyric Theatre. After playing most of the last two years down south, with the show's Sydney run due to end in October, the multi-award-winning production will settle in for a Brisbane season from March 16, 2019. Tickets go on sale on Tuesday, August 7 for its third Australian stint, and given that both Melbourne and Sydney experienced sell-outs, it's certain to prove a hot ticket. Written by South Park and Team America's notoriously puerile creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, together with Robert Lopez of genius grown-up muppet show Avenue Q, The Book of Mormon is probably one of the most lauded comedies ever to have centred on the Church of Latter Day Saints, African missions, AIDS, bum jokes and super ironic racism. If it wasn't so smart and so funny, few would forgive it. But since it is, The Book of Morman has picked up nine Tonys, four Olivier Awards and a Grammy since it debuted in 2011, and has been called "one of the most joyously acidic bundles Broadway has unwrapped in years". If you've been envious of the throngs seeing the musical in New York, Chicago, London or elsewhere in Australia, then you'll be plenty excited that you'll now get the chance to go learn all the idiosyncratic details of Mormonism, meet war criminal General Butt-Fucking Naked and know the true meaning of the hakuna matata-like saying 'Hasa Diga Eebowai'. The Book of Mormon plays QPAC's Lyric Theatre from March 16, 2019. Tickets go on sale on Tuesday, August 7, with the waitlist now open at BookOfMormonMusical.com.au. Image: Ryan Bondy, Zahra Newman, Nyk Bielak and company in The Book of Mormon, AUS 1411. (c) Jeff Busby.
The Domain is set to score a massive infusion of music this January, with the launch of a brand new series of music festivals and parties. To kick off the Sydney Summer Series, which will run throughout January at The Domain, is a disco-filled lineup of international music legends on Saturday, January 12. The inaugural event will feature rock 'n' roll royalty The Jacksons, along with Kool & The Gang and The Village People. Heading the bill, The Jacksons are set to make their first Aussie appearance in five years, with four of the original crew — Jermaine, Jackie, Tito and Marlon — dishing up hits like 'ABC', 'Blame It On The Boogie' and 'Can You Feel It'. They'll be joined by acclaimed artists Kool & The Gang, tapping into a back catalogue of tunes like 'Cherish', 'Celebration' and 'Jungle Boogie', as well as disco kings Village People, unleashing iconic songs like 'YMCA', 'Macho Man' and 'Go West'. California R&B trio The Pointer Sisters are also coming along for the ride, with Sister Sledge and Sounds of The Supremes rounding out that huge serve of old-school disco magic. They'll all play under the stars, embracing summer at one of Sydney's best CBD al fresco venues. There's no word yet on who else will head down under for the new Summer Series, but let's hope it continues the impressive trend of the kick-off event. Sydney Summer Series' inaugural event will be held on Saturday, January 12, 2019, at The Domain. Tickets go on sale here on Tuesday, August 14.
If brunch, lunch, dinner or drinks at Surry Hills' bills has long been one of your weekend go-tos, you'll want to rush into the Crown Street site before 3pm on Sunday, July 29. After that, the digs the eatery has called home for 23 years will be emptied out as the restaurateur Bill Granger makes a move. Don't worry, he's just shifting the place to the spot next door. To facilitate the move, the venue will shut down for four days before reopening at 7am on Friday, August 3 at the site previously occupied by Marque restaurant. Patrons will spot a few differences apart from the change of location — the new site will seat more customers (90, up from the current 74), and will also feature custom terrazzo tiles, Italian glass wall lights and an array of Australian artworks. A few pieces from the existing site will make the jump, however. "I love Surry Hills and the neighbourhood and those regulars who have joined us for breakfast, lunch and dinner for all those years. We are thrilled to be staying in the 'hood and moving into what is already a beautiful room," says Granger. Architects Meacham Nockles have overseen a refresh that highlights honey tones, deep neutrals and a modern vibe, with an aim of feeling fresh during brunch and cosy once evening hits. Find bills at 359 Crown Street, Surry Hills until 3pm on Sunday, July 29, and then at 355 Crown Street, Surry Hills from 7am on Friday, August 3. For further details, keep an eye on the eatery's website.
Come springtime, you'll have yet another utterly worthy excuse to take a sneaky getaway to the dreamy waters, pristine beaches and magnificent sunsets of Port Stephens, which is just two and a half hours' drive north of Sydney. That's because Bannisters — the Mollymook retreat known for its laidback luxury — is opening brand new digs this September. And, to celebrate, we're teaming up with the team to give some lucky legend a weekend getaway. Should you get your mitts on this glorious prize, you and a lover (or a buddy) will be spending two lazy nights in a Luxury Suite. With breakfast included each day, this treat is worth a cool 950 bucks alone. To that you can add a meal at Rick Stein at Bannisters, where you'll be tucking into $150 of perfect local seafood. Bannisters is perched right on the water, backdropped by spectacular Soldiers Point and surrounded by koala-filled bushland. While some rooms front onto the bay, others face forest. Luxury Suites do both, with private balconies overlooking serene watery vistas, foregrounded by treetops. Expect a king-sized bed, a separate lounge room and 50 square metres of space. You can claim your prize at any point up until September 2019 (excluding school holidays), giving you ample opportunity to carve out a little pocket of me-time. Whether you want to use it as a base for exploring the Hunter Region — which is only an hour away — or stay put for an ultra-relaxed vacation, this is one prize that's sure to make your mates jealous — unless you can convince them to join you. To enter, see details below. [competition]679304[/competition]
If you're tired of standing in massive outdoor gear stores, trying to sort the cheaply made stuff from the high-quality goods, Sydney's new adventure store is for you. Founded by local explorer Brendan Ives, The Adventure Collective in Annandale offers a tightly curated selection of equipment. Each and every item on the shelves is there because it does its job well and is made to last. Forget racks and racks of microfibre towels, packing pods and and torches. Instead, you'll be presented with a very limited choice and, for some items, no choice at all. If the sales assistant offers you just one pocket knife, you can assume that, in Ives' experience, it's the best pocket knife for the price in the world. The Adventure Collective also aims to provide gear that suits your adventure style. Whether you're a coffee cruiser who likes an easy bush walk ending at a wine bar or a Bear Grylls who sets off into the bush, hoping to avoid all another humans for weeks, you can expect to be kitted up just right. And you won't be pushed into buying items you don't need. Brendan Ives spent several years adventuring around the world before landing in London, where he worked in a travel agency's sales department. Frustrated by the use of unreliable, inefficient gear, he returned to Australia, where, in 2012, he established Bear Rentals, a fleet of Land Rover 4WD campers, which he set up and test drove before renting out. While kitting out the cars, Ives collected and tested out a massive range of outdoor products — and then decided to share the very best of the best with Sydneysiders. So next time you plan to head of on an overnight or multi-day hike, or an ambitious camping trip, pop your head into The Adventure Collective before you head off. The Adventure Collective opens this Friday, 24 August, at 16 Cahill Street, Annandale.
You have your long weekend sorted. You're heading out to brunch, you might do some shopping, maybe you have drinks and a movie planned for later. Everything seems perfect. But, let us tell you: it's not. Instead of walking or catching the train to these engagements like a monumental chump, you could be kicking things up a notch in a badass lipstick red Ferrari. For this weekend only, Uber is giving away free rides in a selection of luxury cars to celebrate the release of new racing game Forza Horizon 2 on Xbox. From October 3-5 you can cruise around Sydney in a Lamborghini Aventador, a Ferrari 456 Italia or a Nissan GT-R free of charge. Though the cars will understandably be in high demand, you can access the service by downloading the Uber app, creating an account and entering the promo code 'UBERFORZA'. Select the 'FORZA' option, and request your car like normal. Because they're incredibly impractical cars, each Uber can only take one passenger at a time, but they will transport you anywhere within the CBD, eastern suburbs and inner west. The promo will last from 9am-6pm today and finish up tomorrow from 8am-4pm (Sunday, October 5). It's time to live out all your Grand Theft Auto fantasies.
The Sydney Vegan Festival has arrived, and ethically minded eaters could not be happier. Topping the bill is Thug Kitchen, the infamous creators of the cookbook that told us all to "eat like you give a fuck" in 2014. "You bet your sweet ass everything we do is vegan. Every recipe on our site is completely plant-based," say creators Matt Holloway and Michelle Davis, the big vegan tickets for this year's festival. Jim Morris, a 79-year-old American bodybuilder, will also be in attendance and we're keen to hear how he keeps on keeping on. For those interested in vegan-focused business, there's Suzy Spoons of Suzy Spoons Vegetarian Butcher and Sadhana Kitchen's Maz Valcorza Pugoy. Considering the Vegan Festival will be held at the Factory Theatre, there's no way the event could go by without a bit of music, so Gaea will be performing. Food comes from the likes of Suzy Spoons, Superfood Sushi, Herbisaurus Green Goodness, Pana Chocolate, Funky Pies and Nomadic Cafe. Festivities continue until 6pm.
When it comes to musical families it doesn’t get much more talented than Kitty, Daisy and Lewis Durham. This sibling trio's live shows cover everything from R&B, swing, jump blues, country and western, blues, Hawaiian, and good old fashioned rock 'n' roll, so get ready to fly from one genre to the next. On top of this, the Durhams are multi-instrumentalists, who easily move between guitar, piano, banjo, lapsteel guitar, harmonica, double bass, ukulele, drums, trombone, xylophone and accordion throughout their sets. Singles ‘No Action’ and ‘Don’t Make A Fool Out Of Me’ are straight-up excellent tunes to get sassy to, so do yourself a favour and drop in on these guys while they’re in town for Splendour.
The Historic Houses Trust's service-entrance festival Sydney Open 2012 invites Sydneysiders to have a look behind the scenes at private spaces and buildings around Sydney for a Friday to Sunday three day weekend of upcoming sanctioned nosiness. The festival throws in its first free event this year, indulging in a Festival First Night-style Sydney Open Night on Friday night, turning the key on five buildings at no charge. Parliament House, the Barracks, On Seven at DJs, St James Church and the Chief Secretary's Building (backdrop to the Chaser's accidental APEC over-achieving) will be the first venues to be thrown open to the looming crowd, with the rest of the festival's 50 plus venues to follow over the weekend. Saturday sees a series of smaller-grouped Focus Tours. These single-serving jaunts take detours to more narrow, private or subterranean parts of Sydney, including the iconic Tank Stream, old favourite the Central Station Ghost Tunnels, the cavity around of the QVB dome, Catalanista Rosly Street Commerical and the colour-coded, sparse Strelein Warehouse. Sunday opens the CBD to the wandering multitude, as the bulk of the properties open their doors at the price of a city pass, including the newly-circular 1 Bligh Street, Hong Kong House, the Tetsuyas-fronting Old Judge's House, Government House, the Great Synagogue and a repurposed Woolloomooloo sewer. On the move, you can orient yourself with a mobile site or a new, handy-looking iPhone guide. Like the Biennale, Underbelly Arts and the better seasons of True Blood, this city-wide show pops up only once every two years. Tickets are on sale already, and they regularly sell in advance. (Some tours are already sold out.) So, if the Saturday or Sunday legs of this look behind the city-wide curtain grabs your interest, get booking. Sydney Open is part of the Sydney Architecture Festival.
Staging the stories of holocaust survivors can be tricky business, particularly when pivoting between multiple generations. But theatre can also be a therapeutic means of exorcising the demons of history and finding glimmers of optimism. Written and performed by Olivia Satchell, My Name is Truda Vitz at the TAP Gallery, is a musical and semibiographical play that manages to strike the right levels of light and shade. Directed by Pierce Wilcox, it is a profoundly personal tale that sees a modern-day Sydneysider step into the shoes of the grandmother she never met. In many ways, this production occupies the imaginative space of what could have been. In terms of the facts, Truda Vitz, a Czech-Viennese Jew, fled Austria upon the outbreak of World War Two and lived as an Enemy Alien in England for several years. However, Satchell invents fictional details, bridging the gaps between actual events and elusive recounts in order to enrich the legacy of her grandmother. As the branches of her family tree unfurl, Satchell meditates on the effects of transgenerational trauma. Everything is in first person as she subtly shifts between characters, re-enacting past conversations and rehearsing new ones. However, she is most relaxed in her own skin, speaking candidly and self-reflexively about writing and performing the play as well as anticipating its reception. The transitions between scene and character are aided by musical interludes. An assured cellist, Satchell plays mournful, nostalgic and upbeat pieces that redirect the mood and allow space for reflection. The instrument is also well-utilised as a prop. As Satchell handles it with utmost care, the cello becomes a convincing human companion, whether it be a dance partner or a sleeping body. Satchell’s tightly worded script is rich with dates and details, roaming between Vienna, London, Sydney and Dunedin. This may account for the occasional stumble or a slightly laboured delivery at times. Nevertheless, there are plenty of poetic phrases and memorable anecdotes scattered throughout. For example, Satchell affectionately speaks about Truda's habit of adding jam to strong coffee. There's also the way she describes the aged hands of Truda’s dying mother as “fingers dipped in the sun” while tenderly cradling the cello. Played out against Isabella Andronos's elegant set design, it is a touching image. Driven by a spirit of curiosity, the bravery of Satchell’s script and performance is commendable, not only for its theatrical scope but also for its personal interrogation. At one point, she admits that although Truda's lover, David, may not have actually read her Goethe's love poems, somewhere they were read to someone. In this way, My Name Is Truda navigates the twists and turns of familial and romantic love. It speaks to our perpetual need to be affirmed and make sense of who we are and where we come from.
Beijing Silvermine is a rare and unique collection of photographs capturing everyday life in China during the decades following the Cultural Revolution. Dug out of family archives, the anonymous subjects of these photographs become unknowing participants in mapping a period of immense social change. Since 2009, Beijing-based collector Thomas Sauvin has amassed, edited and archived more than half a million photographic negatives. He struck up a deal to buy the 'silvermine' of abandoned memories, which were destined for destruction. From moments of exquisite intimacy between lovers through to the static poses of holiday-makers, Sauvin injects the photographs with a retrospective significance by re-casting the subjects as forgers of modern China. As much as the fascinating content, Bejing Silvermine also celebrates the perishable quality of film and vernacular styles of photography. There is a feeling of nostalgia attached to the imperfect beauty of the 20th-century image, bearing the inevitable taint of time. The exhibition will also feature two video animations produced by Beijing-based animator Lei Lei in collaboration with Sauvin, compiling the collection into a surreal imagescape. https://youtube.com/watch?v=QzCls2dHePo
Remember that scene in Juno where an angsty Ellen Page disses one of the best guitarists of all time by saying that Sonic Youth suck and that they’re “just noise”? Well maybe Thurston Moore’s new stuff is more up her alley – the stuff some people are calling folk but which actually isn’t; which is comprised of nine beautiful songs and nary a distorted guitar in earshot. Let’s just get it out there — Thurston Moore is no longer a college dropout rollicking through the dirty streets of 1970s NYC. His new album Demolished Thoughts reflects this without totally abandoning the Sonic aesthetic. The guitars are now acoustic, there are harps and violins, but the sound and lyrics are as intimate as ever. It’s also produced by Beck, which is reason enough to start fanning out even before you’ve listened. His show at The Hi-Fi will have Moore playing tracks of this latest album plus a few from his solo back catalogue.
Minimalist Aussie clothing designer Assembly Label is currently hosting a massive online charity sale so you can upgrade your WFH wardrobe with linen pants, baggy tees and a big cosy jumpers — and help Aussies doing it tough. With both men's and women's wear on offer, you'll find winter essentials such as denim, basic tops, jumpers and jackets, plus swimwear, dresses and shorts if you're already dreaming of hitting up the beach once the cold months pass. Best of all, you can nab it all at up to 70 percent off — and with free shipping across Australia, too. Because the label is known for its chic-yet-comfy casual staples, it'll now take you from going to grab your morning coffee, working in your living room and lounging around on weekends — really, you won't need much else while you're spending more time at home. If you've been shivering through the current cold snap, you'll probably want to snap up something like this super warm turtle neck ($90). As part of the sale, Assembly Label has a choose-what-you-pay initiative raising money for the Red Cross Disaster Relief and Recovery Fund. When you buy a sale item, you can choose to pay an extra $5, $10 or $15, with that amount then matched by Assembly Label and donated to The Red Cross. So, you can grab some new threads and feel good about it too.
Whether it's a dog in a superhero costume or a cat wearing, well, whatever you can manage to get a cat to wear, animals donning outfits ranks among the cutest sights your eyes can ever see. Puppers popping on Santa hats and baubles and posing for portraits might just raise the adorable stakes beyond previous levels, however — and it's not only on offer on Saturday, November 14 and Sunday, November 15, but you can also take a souvenir home with you. If your pet pooch deserves to be the on the front of this year's Christmas card, march on down to the Zetland Store Gallery between 11.30am–4.45pm on Saturday and 10.15am–4.45pm on Sunday. That's when Dog Photog will be snapping pics of your four-legged furball as part of its two-day pop-up. If you missed out last time, then you'll want to be there — and this one is white Christmas-themed. Bookings are essential, and getting a gorgeous portrait of your cute canine will set you back $55 — or $85 if you have two dogs in the same household. You'll receive a 15-minute session, plus two jpegs per dog. And if you'd like to order a print to hang on your wall, you can do so on the day.
Looking for a seriously good photography exhibition in your life? This compelling solo show is made up of a collection of photographs from Sydney photographer McLean Stephenson’s recently released book, Extracts, which documents six years of photography. There is an ethereal and cinematic quality to his photographs — a soft depravity which seems to combine Francis Bacon with Alfred Hitchcock. Featuring an eclectic range of subject matter, there is a quiet sense of disruption that courses through these photographs. However, all of them feel painfully honest. Wavering between controlled execution and chance, there is a curious roughness to these photographs, which manage to retain a sense of intimacy. In many ways, Extracts is a celebration of photographic imperfections. Stephenson exposes the cuts and scratches that evidence the process of creating an image.
Did you know there was a Quidditch league in NSW? No? It wasn't long ago that people around Sydney didn't know we had a Sydney Roller Derby League either. Sydney's is five years old, with interest no doubt egged on by the kinetic 2009 Ellen Page vehicle Whip It. And as part of its ongoing guide to teach you how to do things that you'd never realised you wanted to, the Oxford Street Design Store are inviting you to be seduced by the glory of hammering into people in motion with A Guide to...Roller Derby. Sydney league insiders the Fabulous Sebastian and Tomahawk Geronimo will ply you with information, history and some instruction before giving you a hands-on turn in what's likely the world's first attempt to cram a full-on Derby jam into the Design Store's narrow halls. Original image by Gamma Man.
Back in 1962, in the first-ever Bond film Dr No, the suave, Scottish-accented, Sean Connery-starring version of 007 admires a painting in the eponymous evil villain's underwater lair. That picture: Francisco Goya's Portrait of the Duke of Wellington. The artwork itself is very much real, too, although the genuine article doesn't appear in the feature. Even if the filmmakers had wanted to use the actual piece, it was missing at the time. In fact, making a joke about that exact situation is why the portrait is even referenced in Dr No. That's quite the situation: the debut big-screen instalment in one of cinema's most famous and longest-running franchises, and a saga about super spies and formidable villains at that, including a gag about a real-life art heist. The truth behind the painting's disappearance is even more fantastical, however, as The Duke captures. The year prior to Bond's first martini, a mere 19 days after the early 19th-century Goya piece was put on display in the National Gallery in London, the portrait was stolen. Unsurprisingly, the pilfering earned plenty of attention — especially given that the government-owned institution had bought the picture for the hefty sum of £140,000, which'd likely be almost £3 million today. International master criminals were suspected. Years passed, two more 007 movies hit cinemas, and there was zero sign of the artwork or the culprit. And, that might've remained the case if eccentric Newcastle sexagenarian Kempton Bunton hadn't turned himself in in 1965, advising that he'd gotten light-fingered in protest at the obscene amount spent on Portrait of the Duke of Wellington using taxpayer funds — money that could've been better deployed to provide pensioners with TV licenses, a cause Bunton had openly campaigned for (and even been imprisoned over after refusing to pay his own television fee). First, the not-at-all-inconsequential detail that's incongruous with glueing your eyes to the small screen Down Under: the charge that many countries collect for watching the box. Australia and New Zealand both abolished it decades ago, but it remains compulsory in the UK to this day. As played by Jim Broadbent (Six Minutes to Midnight), Bunton is fiercely opposed to paying, much to the embarrassment of his wife Dorothy (Helen Mirren, Fast and Furious 9) whenever the license inspectors come calling. He's even in London with his son Jackie (Fionn Whitehead, Voyagers) to attempt to spread the word about his fight against the TV fee for pensioners when Goya's painting is taken — that, and to get the BBC to produce the television scripts he devotedly pens and sends in, but receives no interest back from the broadcaster. Even the Bond franchise couldn't have dreamed up these specifics. The Duke's true tale is far wilder than fiction, and also so strange that it can only spring from reality. Directed by Roger Michell (My Cousin Rachel, Blackbird) — marking the British filmmaker's last fictional feature before his 2021 passing — it delivers its story with some light tinkering here and there, but the whole episode still makes for charming viewing. Much of the minutiae is shared during Bunton's court case, which could've jumped out of a Frank Capra movie; that's the feel-good vibe the movie shoots for and easily hits. Such a move couldn't be more astute for a flick that surveys an incident from more than half a century ago, but reaches screens in a world where the chasm between the haves and the have-nots just keeps widening. Yes, it's basically a pensioner-and-painting version of Robin Hood. Decrying the gap between the wealthy and the not-so, calling out government priorities that only broaden that divide, fighting against injustice, sporting a healthy distrust of the powers that be: these all flicker through Bunton, his TV license crusade and his portrait-stealing trial, and through the movie itself. Michell and playwrights-turned-screenwriters Richard Bean and Clive Coleman (Young Marx) aren't shy about the anti-authoritarian sentiment, but package it up with can-do underdog cheekiness — the brazenness of the little guy sticking it to the man, naturally. That class clash gives The Duke depth as it dances through its caper, and does so with an upbeat, congenial and even farcical tone. Here, a feature can stress a point about the money-coveting state of the world and its impact upon the working class, and it can have an affable time saying it. Most opportunities to surprise disappear along the way, but the result is endearing and likeable rather than routine or pandering. The Duke's story was always going to demand notice, but it mightn't have proven so pleasing — so crowd-pleasing, to be precise — with any other casting. Although he ensures that it appears otherwise, the ever-reliable Broadbent doesn't have a simple role; veer too far in one direction and Bunton could've been seen as foolish, tip over to the other side too forcefully and he might've just been lecturing and scolding. When it comes to balancing the amiable and the passionate (someone winsome but with the strength of his convictions), the veteran on-screen talent hits the jackpot. Mirren and Whitehead's parts have fewer layers, but they each turn in engaging performances. And in Mirren's case, after her aforementioned spot in the Fast and Furious franchise, plus The Good Liar and Woman in Gold on her recent-ish resume, her love of heists and/or subterfuge shines through from beneath Dorothy's sterner surface. There's a cosiness and gentleness to The Duke, and an ease, sentimentality and sweetness. They all couldn't suit the film better, actually. With cinematographer Mike Eley (The Dig, Off the Rails), Michell gives the movie a comforting look and feel, too, but it's also lively, resonant and charismatic as well. It's little wonder, then, that feature slides nicely into the director's body of work alongside the likes of Notting Hill, Venus and Le Week-End. As many of those pictures did — and the tonally heavier The Mother and Enduring Love as well — The Duke has more than just entertaining in mind, though. Charting an escapade that no screenwriter could've convincingly conjured up, it rallies against societal divides and also wades through grief. Little is too shaken or stirred, but it all goes down smoothly and delightfully — and with some bite.
"Player or watcher?" Nerve asks, and it's not an easy question to answer. The query may stem from the fictional dare-based game that gives the film its name, but there's no missing the real-world parallels. In these Snapchat-sending, Vine-streaming, Pokemon GO-playing times, this tech-savvy thriller feels relevant to the minute. With our lives increasingly lived through screens, our connections and conversations more often virtual than physical, and our days whiled away either posting selfies, or watching others do the same, the question needs to be asked: where do we draw the line? These are the big issues touched upon in Nerve, a film that's hardly subtle about the negative influence the internet has had on human behaviour. Thankfully, the film never tries to lecture millennials about their preferred pastimes. Instead, Catfish directors Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman keep toying with their favourite topics via a slickly and swiftly-told tale that never fails to entertain, even if the underlying narrative doesn't always stand up to scrutiny. But hey, when you're making a film about people doing reckless things for online fame and fortune, a certain number of illogical choices are to be expected. When Venus Delmonico (Emma Roberts) musters up the courage to participate in the live-streamed game, her spur-of-the-moment decision ends up being the first of many. The studious 17-year-old is motivated in part by the prize money she could put towards attending a Californian college, but also by a desire to venture beyond her comfort zone after being rejected by her football hero crush (Brian Marc). Kissing a stranger is Vee's first task, and when she locks lips with Ian (Dave Franco) in a diner, she discovers that he's playing the game as well. At first the viewing public seems eager for them to pair up, venture into New York, try on fancy clothes and get tattoos. But as the young duo begins to lure in more eyeballs, the dares become not just more lucrative, but more dangerous as well. Much of this movie's charms come from simply watching Vee and Ian roam around Manhattan, reacting to the challenges thrown their way and letting their mutual attraction flourish. Indeed, the film's first half doubles as a different take on the usual walk-and-talk movie date scenario. That Roberts and Franco make an engaging and enthusiastic pair helps; that Joost and Schulman are just as vibrant and energetic in their pacing and style does as well. Of course as enjoyable as it is watching the two lead actors race around attempting ridiculous feats, this effort about online entertainment isn't all fun and games. When Nerve wanders deeper into darker territory more akin to David Fincher's The Game, it's not always as successful – in fact, the feature's third act is positively silly. But by then, you're a watcher, and you can't tear your eyes away.
Sixty years after his death in a car accident at the age of 24, James Dean remains both an icon and an enigma. Much about him, including his hair and stare, have become instantly recognisable and commonly copied. Just as much about him, such as the contrast between his rebellious attitude and his evident shyness, still defies proper description. In Life, writer Luke Davies and director Anton Corbijn attempt to replicate what was seen on the outside and unpack what lurked on the inside of James Dean. That Davies wrote the novel and co-wrote the script of Australian drug drama Candy gives an indication of the intimacy of the storytelling. That Corbijn made his leap from photographs to music videos to movies with Control, a portrait of Joy Division's Ian Curtis, shows the style, patience and perceptiveness so keenly needed in such a biopic. Their approach to the smouldering Dean (as played by Dane DeHaan) is to show rather than tell the essence of the moody star, as seen in a snapshot spanning the lead up to the world premiere of his first film, East of Eden, plus his attempt to secure a role in his second, Rebel Without a Cause. Their entryway into his tragic narrative comes via 26-year-old Dennis Stock (Robert Pattinson), then an aspiring but struggling photographer looking to turn paparazzi gigs into acclaim, art and ongoing work. History already dictates that one of Stock's big breaks came courtesy of the series of candid images he snapped of Dean; however, they only eventuated after much convincing. From first meeting at a Hollywood party to exploits across Los Angeles, New York and Indiana, Life tracks Stock's efforts, Dean's reactions, their problems and personalities, and their blossoming friendship. The film bears the name of the magazine that would ultimately publish the photos, though that it doubles as an expression of a pivotal chapter in both its subjects' existences is always clear. Forget on-set antics and other markers of glitz and glamour, though, with the movie determined to stress that Dean didn't ever want to subscribe to the usual star behaviour. "I don't want to play their stupid games," he complains — and that he's often earning the ire of studio head Jack Warner (Ben Kingsley) by avoiding his publicity tasks also makes that evident. Indeed, Dean is painted as a picture of complexity above all else, and afforded a portrayal to match. DeHaan may be following in James Franco's footsteps again — after playing Spider-Man's Harry Osborn, too — but his efforts here do more than impersonate either figure. His mannerisms conjure the famous actor's mix of awkwardness and panache, so much so that taking your eyes off of him is impossible. That's not to discount Pattinson's latest impressive post-Twilight performance, nor the rapport that springs from the two circling around each other — it's just to highlight DeHaan's intensity. A similar level of concentration and attention to detail emanates in the graceful helming of Corbijn — and the visual precision of cinematographer Charlotte Bruus Christensen. The end result doesn't just step beyond the facade of a cinema treasure or tell the tale behind iconic images, it helps to create the same itself. Indeed, there's ample life in this film, which succeeds in capturing something and someone elusive.
When Memoria begins, it echoes with a thud that's not only booming and instantly arresting — a clamour that'd make anyone stop and listen — but is also deeply haunting. It arrives with a noise that, if the movie's opening scene was a viral clip rather than part of Thai filmmaker Apichatpong Weerasethakul's spectacular Cannes Jury Prize-winning feature, it'd be tweeted around with a familiar message: sound on. The racket wakes up Jessica Holland (Tilda Swinton, The Souvenir: Part II) in the night, and it's soon all that she can think about; like character, like film. It's a din that she later describes as "a big ball of concrete that falls into a metal well which is surrounded by seawater"; however, that doesn't help her work out what it is, where it's coming from or why it's reverberating. The other question that starts to brood: is she the only one who can hear it? So springs a feature that's all about listening, and truly understands that while movies are innately visual — they're moving pictures, hence the term — no one should forget the audio that's gone with it for nearly a century now. Watching Weerasethakul's work has always engaged the ears intently, with the writer/director behind the Palme d'Or-winning Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives and just-as-lyrical Cemetery of Splendour crafting cinema that genuinely values all that the filmic format can offer. Enjoying Memoria intuitively serves up a reminder of how crucial sound can be to the big-screen experience, emphasising the cavernous chasm between pictures that live and breathe that truth and those that could simply be pictures. Of course, feasting on Weerasethakul's films has also always been about appreciating not only cinema in all its wonders, but as an inimitable art form. Like the noise that lingers in his protagonist's brain here, his movies aren't easily forgotten. With Weerasethakul behind the lens and Swinton on-screen, Memoria is a match made in cinephile heaven — even before it starts obsessing over sound and having its audience do the same. He helms movies like no one else, she's an acting force of nature, and their pairing is film catnip. He also makes his English-language debut, as well as his first feature outside of Thailand, while she brings the serenity and magnetism that only she can, turning in a far more understated turn than seen in the recent likes of The French Dispatch and The Personal History of David Copperfield. Yes, Weerasethakul and Swinton prove a beautiful duo. Weerasethakul makes contemplative, meditative, visually poetic movies, after all, and Swinton's face screams with all those traits. They're both devastatingly precise in what they do, too, and also delightfully expressive. And, they each force you to pay the utmost attention to their every single choice as well. As Jessica, Swinton plays a British expat in Colombia — an orchidologist born in Scotland, residing in Medellín and staying in Bogota when she hears that very specific din. After explaining it in exquisite detail to sound engineer Hernán (Juan Pablo Urrego, My Father), he tries to recreate the noise for her, but only she seems to know exactly what it sounds like. At the same time, Jessica's sister Karen (debutant Agnes Brekke) is in hospital with a strange ailment. Also, there's word of a curse that's linked to a tunnel being built over a burial ground, and Jessica consults with an archaeologist (Jeanne Balibar, Les Misérables) before heading from the city to the country. Grief echoes as strongly through Jessica's life as the bang she can't shake, and she wanders like someone in a dreamy daze, whether she's roaming around an art gallery or crossing paths with a rural fisherman also called Hernán (Elkin Díaz, Besieged). No plot description can ever do Weerasethakul's films justice, and Memoria doesn't even consider tying its various threads in an obvious way. Rather, it invites viewers to unlock its puzzles by soaking in every patient 35-millimetre shot and exacting sound, and it's a mesmerising cinematic experience. Part of the film's hypnotic thrall stems from the connections gleaned, too, especially for the filmmaker's fans. Sleep, one of his favourite topics, is inescapable. Spying the hospital-set scenes and not thinking of Cemetery of Splendour is impossible. In the movie's latter sections, when it revels in the Colombian countryside, it's just as difficult not to recall Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives. And there is indeed another past that's being conjured up here, separate from Weerasethakul's cinematic background (plus the fact that Memoria's lead is named after 1943 voodoo horror I Walked with a Zombie): that of its setting, its history of violence and the shadow that remains today. How the past, present and future bleed into each other — or drip like water falling into a well, then pool together — sits at the heart of Memoria. That too isn't new for Weerasethakul, but he can't be accused of repeating himself. He also ponders what sticks and fades, and how and why. Witnessing its two Hernán sequences, both of which are sublime in their own fashions, cements this train of thought. In the first, the young audio engineer searches his database of movie sound effects, trying to locate something universal to match a noise that's clearly so personal to Jessica — and observing their to and fro, absurdity included, ranks among the best scenes Weerasethakul has given cinema. In the second, which is loaded with queries about whether the two men with the shared name are one and the same or alternate versions, how life can resemble a mere reverie gets thrust to the fore amid spellbindingly vivid greenery. They aren't straightforward, but there are answers in Memoria. Better than that, there's a powerful and provocative commitment to surprising and challenging that resounds right down to the movie's final glorious reveal. We catalogue and contemplate the past in a plethora of ways, and shifting, shattering and distorting is a natural consequence, as Weerasethakul tells us with his intoxicating frames and soundscape. He gets stunning help from cinematographer Sayombhu Mukdeeprom (Suspiria, Call Me By Your Name and also plenty of Weerasethakul's work) and sound designer Akritchalerm Kalayanamitr (another of the filmmaker's veterans), because his features are always technical powerhouses — but being on Swinton's ethereal wavelength is essential. She's the audience's guide through a beguiling mystery, her director's surrogate in this quest through Colombia, and an anchor in an achievement that feels like just what the best cinema is meant to: a dream with our eyes and ears wide open. Top image: Sandro Kopp © Kick the Machine Films, Burning, Anna Sanders Films, Match Factory Productions, ZDF-Arte and Piano, 2021
Blockbuster effects can't mask bland storytelling, as the execs at Disney dip back into their classic library with less than impressive results. An alternate take on the tale of Sleeping Beauty, the studio's latest sees the cackling, leather-clad sorceress recast as a figure of sympathy. Hard to pronounce and harder to sit through, Maleficent is a movie very much in the same vein as Oz the Great and Powerful or the recent Alice in Wonderland — which is to say that it's heavy on expensive-looking digital wizardry and light on just about everything else. Clumsy voiceover sets the scene, in a run-of-the-mill fairytale forest home to pixies, trolls and a curious winged girl named Maleficent (Isobelle Molloy). Although wary of the human kingdom that exists beyond the forest borders, when Maleficent catches an orphan boy named Stefan trespassing, a fledgling romance seems destined to ignite. But humans are a fickle bunch, and so as Stefan grows older he becomes swept up with ambition, culminating in a brutal betrayal in which he cuts off Maleficent's wings in order to secure a place on the throne. Devastated, a now adult Maleficent (Angelina Jolie) embraces her dark side, swearing vengeance on Stefan and placing a curse on his newborn baby, Aurora — spinning wheel, eternal sleep and all. The idea of a Wicked-style reversal on a classic Disney villain is an interesting idea, but first-time director Robert Stromberg — better known for the production design on films like Avatar and Alice in Wonderland — botches the execution. The sporadic voiceover and muddled editing makes the film seem oddly lacking in structure; much of the first half feels like a prologue, setting up what turns out to be an incredibly short and perfunctory climax. The CGI is admittedly pretty immaculate, but none of the designs are in the least bit distinctive. If one the creatures from Maleficent popped-up in The Hobbit or Snow White and the Huntsman, you wouldn't bat an eye. Angelia Jolie is enjoyable as the eponymous spell-crafter, especially in the one or two scenes where she gets to really lay the villainy on thick. On the other hand, the talented Elle Fanning is seriously underutilised as the teenaged iteration of Aurora, whose insipid purity melts Maleficent's heart while putting audience members to sleep. You could argue that the film deserves some credit for its empowered female characters, although the fact that Maleficent's arc is catalysed by a man does somewhat muddy those credentials. On a sidenote, one could also potentially read the film as a kind of PG rape-revenge narrative. The rawest emotional moment in the film comes when Maleficent awakens from a drug-induced sleep only to realise that her lover has forcibly removed her wings. The allegory is obvious, and Jolie completely sells the agony of violation. Ultimately though, any and all subtext is either mishandled, squandered or lost under a wave of glossily rendered pixels. In other words, it's business as usual for the folks at the Mouse House, who apparently don't even respect their own canon enough to get a reboot right. https://youtube.com/watch?v=w-XO4XiRop0
When it comes to originality, place Violent Night on cinema's naughty list: Die Hard meets Home Alone meets Bad Santa meets The Christmas Chronicles in this grab-bag action-comedy, meets Stranger Things favourite David Harbour donning the red suit (leather here, still fur-trimmed) and doing a John Wick impression. The film's beer-swigging, sledgehammer-swinging version of Saint Nick has a magic sack that contains the right presents for the right person each time he reaches into it, and screenwriters Pat Casey and Josh Miller must've felt that way themselves while piecing together their script. Pilfering from the festive canon, and from celluloid history in general, happens heartily and often in this Yuletide effort. Co-scribes on Sonic the Hedgehog and its sequel, the pair are clearly experienced in the movie version of regifting. And while they haven't solely wrapped up lumps of coal in their latest effort, Violent Night's true presents are few and far between. The main gift, in the gruff-but-charming mode that's worked such a treat on Stranger Things and in Black Widow, is Harbour. It's easy to see how Violent Night's formula — not to mention its raiding of the Christmas and action genres for parts — got the tick of approval with his casting. He's visibly having a blast, too, from the moment his version of Santa is introduced downing drinks in a British bar, bellyaching about the lack of festive spirit in kids today, thinking about packing it all in and then spewing actual vomit to go with his apathy (and urine) from the side of his midair sleigh. Whenever Harbour isn't in the frame, which occurs more often than it should, Violent Night is a far worse picture. When you're shopping for the season, you have to commit to your present purchases, but this film can't always decide if it wants to be salty or sweet. Harbour's Kris Kringle: saltier than a tub of beer nuts. Still, after his sloshed pub stint, he keeps grumpily doing his job, because Christmas Eve isn't really the time to quit. Then, at the Lightstone abode, aka "the most secure private residence in the country" as viewers are told, more booze and a massage chair calls him — and that butt-vibrating rest sees him unwittingly caught up in an attack on the property. As wealthy matriarch Gertrude (Beverly D'Angelo, Shooter) lords over her adult children and their families, mercenaries storm in with their sights set on the mansion's vault. What the self-described Scrooge (John Leguizamo, The Menu) and his interchangeable colleagues aren't counting on, of course, is a formidable Father Christmas skulking around. He's trying to get away more than initially save the day, but he'll happily dispense season's beatings to do both. Just as the John Wick films, then Atomic Blonde, then Nobody all knew — Bullet Train director David Leitch has either helmed or produced them all, doing the latter with Violent Night — there's visual poetry and visceral thrills to be found when someone super-competent at holding their own dispenses with nefarious foes. That's the case even when they're battling scenery-chewing, "bah humbug"!-spouting, Hans Gruber-wannabe antagonists like Scrooge, plus his flimsier henchmen. As that's happening, and frequently, Violent Night ticks off many a movie's wishlist, but that's only part of the premise here. Those Lightstone offspring include Jason (Alex Hassell, Cowboy Bebop), who has his ex Linda (Alexis Louder, The Terminal List) and seven-year-old daughter Trudy (Leah Brady, The Umbrella Academy) in tow, and wants this Christmas jaunt to be a permanent reunion. That's a layer of drama Violent Night doesn't need, adding nothing but filler, just like Jason's sister Alva's (Edi Patterson, The Righteous Gemstones) Succession-esque clamouring for the family company. There's usually never a bad time to eat the rich, but Violent Night's efforts are a half-chomp at best — the gun-toting crew of intruders trying to rip off millions of dollars are always the real bad guys, after all. Casey and Miller haven't penned a movie with much in the way of depth, and attempting to pretend otherwise proves as clunky as it sounds. The saccharine side that Trudy's presence brings is similarly just a way to take up time; Bad Santa's bad Santa has a pint-sized offsider, which means this flick's does as well, apparently. Trudy has also just watched Home Alone and screams about it (yes, the nods are that blatant). The sizeable scene that puts her fandom to good use, nails, bowling balls, sabotaged ladder rungs and all, is among Violent Night's most entertaining, though. The film knows how to make its familiar parts gleam when it wants to, but that isn't often enough. Director Tommy Wirkola must've been a simple hire for the job, however, thanks to Dead Snow and its sequel, plus Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters. The filmmaker has stuffed his stocking with high-concept this-meets-that flicks, the exact type of movie that Violent Night is from go to whoa to ho-ho-ho. Unsurprisingly, he fares best when his picture is letting loose and living up to its enticing idea, complete with kinetic fight choreography, blood and gory deaths, and everything from icicles to lit-up star tree-toppers used as weapons. In pure action terms, there's an around-the-world sleigh ride's worth of mileage in a literally killer Santa Claus turning slasher not in a horror-flick fashion (despite its many borrowings from elsewhere, this isn't a Silent Night Deadly Night do-over), but to play hero. Comedy isn't Wirkola's strength, or the feature's — see: the laboured attempts at laughs around Alva's actor spouse Morgan (Cam Gigandet, Without Remorse) and aspiring-influencer son Bert (Alexander Elliot, The Hardy Boys) — which is why all those nods to Gremlins, The Ref, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation and more land with the hollow thud of an empty box. Holiday schmaltz and reminders that there's more to the festive season than material aren't highlights either, and Casey and Miller haven't stretched themselves in trying to come up with either amusing or heartfelt dialogue. Even with a The Northman-style backstory part of Violent Night's take on the jolly man, that leaves Harbour with a heap of heavy lifting in the film's first two thirds. He's up to the task — again, it's an ace premise with ace lead casting — but he's never walking audiences through an ultra-violent Christmas movie wonderland.
Imagine being brought up by cinema. Imagine your world shaped and informed by the films you spent hours and hours watching and rewatching, and your understanding of almost everything that lurks outside your home and family coming from what you see on a screen. Even the most avid cinephiles can't say they've had this experience to the same extent as the Angulo siblings. For the majority of their lives, these seven black-wearing, longhaired children remained inside their Manhattan apartment watching movies. The exploits of Bhagavan, Govinda, Narayan, Mukunda, Krsna and Jagadisa, plus their sister Visnu, fall into the categories of so outlandish it must be true and needing to be seen to be believed. First-time documentarian Crystal Moselle enters the family's sanctuary, captures a slice of their existence, and gives the teenage and twenty-something male members of this band of film fiends a chance to chat to the camera. Their tales — and their passion — prove striking, but these brothers don't just spend all their time staring at the television. When the documentary starts, they've never actually been to a movie theatre; however, watching whatever they can on DVD isn't their only form of interaction with cinema. They also transcribe the dialogue of their favourite fare, create scripts, then re-enact and record elaborate re-stagings. They're dedicated to getting things just right, too, obsessing over costumes and accessories, and handcrafting accompanying posters. It's a fascinating real-life scenario, made all the more so by the shadow of the father who has kept his kids confined to his realm with only films as their method of escape. It's also one that Moselle is content to simply watch and wonder at, rather than probe or peer deeper into. Said family patriarch is seen, and his wife too, yet any delving into his attempts to create his own isolated brood and her inability to do anything about it remains slight and superficial. Accordingly, as a portrait of the impact film can have upon those so enamoured with it that it becomes their whole life — albeit in strange and heightened circumstances — The Wolfpack engages, but that's all there is. Indeed, as a dissection of how and why the Angulos became such avid movie buffs, it never dares to diverge from the most standard of scripts. Thankfully, sharing in the joy of the former helps temper the latter, particularly when spirited, homemade reenactments of Reservoir Dogs, The Dark Knight, No Country for Old Men and Pulp Fiction rank among the documentary's highlights. Of course, that Moselle has done little more than serve up a fly-on-the-wall look at subjects she was certainly lucky to come across is never forgotten, as enthusiastic as their love of cinema — and as eye-opening as their stories and subsequent breaking out of their comfort zone — ultimately are.
Nothing is scarier than outer space. Think about it for just a moment: On one hand: your stock horror movie assemblage of psycho killers, poltergeists, zombies and monsters. On the other hand: the void of space, black holes, supernovas, the certainty of tissue-crushing death just beyond your vessel, aloneness with zero human life for infinity, ohmigod infinity. So it's strange that while we've seen a number of dramas that play off this setting (not least 2001: A Space Odyssey), we haven't seen a major film directly about it. Enter Gravity, an extremely visceral, sensorial journey into our shared fear of drifting into outer space. Apparently director and co-writer Alfonso Cuarón (the consistently solid genre-hopper behind Children of Men, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and Y Tu Mama Tambien) wanted to be an astronaut as a child, though there's no trace of idealised fantasy here. Gravity stars Sandra Bullock and George Clooney as two astronauts making repairs to the Hubble Telescope that orbits Earth. Clooney's Matt Kowalski is an extroverted veteran, casually whizzing around on an untethered space walk by way of a thruster pack. Bullock's Dr Ryan Stone is a reticent newbie just trying not to throw up from extreme motion sickness. They haven't been at the Hubble coalface for long when their suddenly grim colleagues at Mission Control warn them of an incoming wave of debris from a Russian anti-satellite test. Sure enough, it strikes soon and strikes ferociously, leaving Bullock and Clooney floating in space with no incoming communication from Earth. Before seeing Gravity, I would've assumed this was the end of the line. As it turns out, there are a number of measures open to a resourceful, fast-thinking survivalist in the great emptiness of the heavens — and faced with rotten bad luck, they're going to have to try a great number of them. Gravity, however, is more about experience than plot. It is the single most stressful two hours you can have in a movie theatre — in the best possible way — as it puts you in the position of the stranded astronauts. Long shots subtly convince you that the subjects are not surrounded by a crew of cameramen, while the view from inside their helmets is frighteningly limiting and disorientating. While there is music (composed by Steven Price), Cuaron also exploits the soundlessness of space to great effect, with sound carried through vibration coming across tinny and foreign and Bullock's fluctuating breathing your faithful guide throughout. The incomparably stunning visuals alone are enough reason to see this film, a milestone in 'grown-up 3D'. At the same time, Bullock's performance is deeply compelling. Even when Gravity's relentless series of obstacles seem to become ludicrous (and there is a point), you're so invested in her survival that it's forgiven. Gravity is an unforgettable ride that will make you appreciate the feeling of the ground beneath your feet. https://youtube.com/watch?v=OiTiKOy59o4
Stock characters and clunky, heavy-handed storytelling keeps Healing, the new Australian drama from Peaches director Craig Monahan, well and truly tethered to the ground. Co-scripted by Monahan alongside veteran TV writer Alison Nisselle, the film takes its inspiration from a real-life state prison program, in which inmates in minimum security help rehabilitate injured birds of prey. Despite the unique premise and setting, however, the film soon grows dreary and unfocused — leaving an unfortunate cast of workman local actors with no opportunity to soar. The most interesting thing about Healing is the location in which it takes place. A minimum security jail in bushland Victoria, the facility looks more like a camp site than a penitentiary, and offers an original spin on the traditional prison setting. The men housed here are at the end of their sentences, or have been convicted of lesser crimes. The focus is no longer on punishment, but on rehabilitation. It's in this setting that dedicated prison case-officer Matt Perry (Hugo Weaving), working in conjunction with staff at the nearby Healesville Sanctuary, decides to establish the avian care program. The timing coincides with the arrival of a new batch of prisoners, including sullen 18-year murder veteran Viktor Khadem (Don Hany). Despite the objections of his supervisors, Perry decides to put Viktor in charge of the initiative, in the hopes that caring for the animals will help prepare him for his imminent release. While the birds, particularly Viktor's favourite wedge-tailed raptor Jasmine, are undeniably majestic, animals yearning for freedom is a ham-fisted motif for a prison movie. Sadly, such clumsiness is all too typical of Niselle and Monahan's screenplay, in which plot points seem to vanish and personalities change drastically from scene to scene. Viktor goes from serene one minute to intolerably bull-headed the next, while antagonistic inmate Warren (Anthony Hayes) sneers constantly with one-dimensional villainy. Even worse, the arc of the film's most intriguing character — Viktor's drug-addled bunkmate Shane (a twitchy Mark Leonard Winter) — gets no resolution at all. Hany and Weaving are solid as always, but both have been far better elsewhere. For that matter, so has Monahan. Both Peaches and his debut feature The Interview had a certain edginess. Healing, on the other hand, feels safe to the point of total blandness. https://youtube.com/watch?v=RG7hQuVffOg
UPDATE, October 8, 2021: Supernova is available to stream via Stan, Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Amazon Video. Stanley Tucci and Colin Firth aren't lazy, bad or bland actors. The former has an Oscar nomination for The Lovely Bones, the latter won for The King's Speech, and neither can be accused of merely playing the same character again and again. And yet, whenever either pops up on-screen, they bring a set of expectations with them — or, perhaps more accurately, they each instantly remind viewers of the traits that have served them so well over their respective four-decade careers. In features as diverse as The Devil Wears Prada and the Hunger Games films, Tucci has given a distinctive sense of flair and presence to his many parts, as well as his innate ability to appear bemused and sarcastic about life in general. Whether as Mr Darcy in Pride and Prejudice or as Mark Darcy in the Bridget Jones movies, Firth has enjoyed immense success playing reserved, introverted, dry-witted men who are more likely to ruminate stoically than to outwardly show much emotion. Teaming up in Supernova, both talents draw upon these characteristics once more, as writer/director Harry Macqueen (Hinterland) wants them to. But here's the thing about this pair of stars, who shine particularly bright in this affecting drama: far from ever settling into their own comfortable niches, they're frequently delving deeper, twisting in different directions and offering up untold surprises. A famed novelist less interested in putting pen to paper than in peering up at the stars, Tucci's Tusker knows how to defuse any scenario with his charm in Supernova, but it's apparent that he often uses that canny ability to avoid facing a number of difficulties. An acclaimed musician with an eagerly anticipated concert in the works, Firth's Sam often says little; however, the fact that he's grappling internally with feelings he can't quite do justice to in words always remains evident. Travelling around England's Lakes District, they're not just on an ordinary campervan holiday. Neither man has simply been whiling away their time before their long-awaited returns to performing and writing, either. With stops to see Sam's sister (Pippa Haywood, Four Kids and It) and her family, and to reunite with old friends, the couple are making the most of what time they have left together. Tusker is unwell, with early-onset dementia increasingly having an impact on not only his everyday life, but upon the shared existence they've treasured for decades. Tucci and Firth serve up big performances in Supernova, but never overt ones. Actors can command the screen and the audience's attention while delivering disarmingly intimate, delicate and intricately drawn portrayals, which is what this stellar pair manage here repeatedly. Indeed, viewers can feel the force behind their heartbreaking efforts — as is to be expected in a film about life, love, loss, mortality, ageing and illness — but these aren't forceful turns. Rather, they're so detailed, textured and lived-in that they fill every frame and scene, and every room and wide-open space that Tusker and Sam find themselves in. Both Tucci and Firth are in career-best form here, and continually referring to them together comes naturally. Their rapport is as lively, thorough and authentic as anything in the movie, with Tusker and Sam's relationship always in Macqueen's view. This isn't just a feature about one man's experiences as his mind starts to fail him, he faces the end that awaits as all and he tries to claim what control he can over a situation that keeps stripping any sense of agency away; it's a devastating portrait of a couple confronting the waning of their life together far sooner than either had ever wanted or imagined. From its early scenes of Tusker and Sam beneath the sheets to the tough moments and conversations that arrive later, when dementia proves a topic that can no longer be ignored on their otherwise cosy road trip, Supernova is a thoughtful and tender love story through and through. Given the subject matter, that really isn't a standard feat. Unlike some films about sickness — too many, in fact — Supernova doesn't render its unwell figure a supporting player in his healthy partner's story. Similarly and welcomely, it doesn't posit that Sam's ordeal at Tusker's side is the true tragedy. In his warm, intuitive and compassionate screenplay and in his graceful direction as well, Macqueen has time for both men, their circumstances and their expectedly complicated emotions. But, in repeatedly showing how Tusker feels when he can't remember words and starts to forget where he is, conveying how his uncertain future is already taking a heavy toll upon his lucid moments and expressing the weight he feels in being acutely aware that he's losing his sense of self, the film never even dreams of sidelining its ailing point of focus. Awards and nominations typically follow dramas that wade through comparable terrain; for Michael Haneke's shattering Amour, Julianne Moore's superb performance in Still Alice and this year's Anthony Hopkins-starring standout The Father, they have in the past decade alone, for example. A plethora of shiny trophies and nods haven't yet come Supernova 's way, though — it is sometimes a little too neat and literal in its story, and in its stylistic choices as well — however, this is always a beautifully conceived, observed, performed, shot and executed film. Its leading men make the last flourishes of Tusker and Sam's romance, and of Tusker's mind, feel as explosive as the astronomical event that gives the movie its name. Cinematographer Dick Pope (Peterloo, Mr Turner) ensures that starry skies, green fields and cramped caravans alike all hover between the commonplace and the otherworldly. That contrast of the everyday and the ethereal sums up Supernova perfectly, and encapsulates every grand romance, too. Falling in love and spending your life with someone feels like entering into another universe, after all — and when that threatens to turn to stardust, it does so with a bang. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1SEoi8r1Z4Y
