The fact that it took 50 years to bring Misbehaviour's true tale to the screen is nothing less than remarkable. Following the protests staged by the women's liberation movement at the 1970 Miss World Pageant in London, it harks back to a noteworthy and important chapter of history — so much so that you would've expected filmmakers to have been clamouring to give it the cinematic treatment. A plethora of compelling topics are baked into this story, after all, including calling out the gross sexism inherent in objectifying women and ascribing their worth according to their looks, questioning society's narrow view of beauty and making plain the racial prejudice that's also frequently in play. But you don't need a movie about all of the above to tell you the obvious, and also the probable reason that a film about this incident hasn't existed until now. Much may have changed in the past half-century, but the feminist quest for recognition, fairness and equality in every way isn't over yet. Indeed, it's galling how many of Misbehaviour's observations about the way women are treated — and how women of colour fare on top of that — continue to ring true in 2020. Also rather telling: that, of the two big controversies that surrounded the pageant that year, this is the one that has finally reached movie-watching audiences. Again, Misbehaviour focuses on crucial events. It's a tale that should be told, about a battle that isn't over yet, and focusing on women who helped kickstart the progress that has been made over the last five decades. Still, the uproar that arose afterwards in response to the pageant's winner also speaks volumes. The result was questioned, for reasons this review won't give away even though it's a simple matter of record, and the extent of the narrow-minded attitudes cultivated and encouraged by such exercises in objectification couldn't have been more blatant. This film comes to a conclusion before then, however, simplifying what deserves to be a complex and multifaceted examination of the entire affair. Audiences might've endured a hefty wait to see the 1970 situation get any big-screen attention, but they don't have to wonder why Misbehaviour favours the approach its does for very long. Director Philippa Lowthorpe (Swallows and Amazons) and screenwriters Rebecca Frayn (The Lady) and Gaby Chiappe (Their Finest) are eager to pay tribute to pioneering feminists, but they're also very keen to make a feel-good, cheer-inducing movie that fits a clear formula. So it is that a seemly mismatched group comes together, united by the shared goal of improving how women are regarded by society, and decides to target the giant, glitzy and televised spectacle that is the Miss World Pageant — which 100 million people will watch. The two main instigators, aspiring history academic Sally Alexander (Keira Knightley, Official Secrets) and graffiti-spraying anarchist Jo Robinson (Jessie Buckley, I'm Thinking of Ending Things), are initially worlds apart, but squaring off against a common enemy has a way of bringing people together. Making a TV appearance after the protestors make their plans publicly known, Sally stresses one huge point: they're not rallying against the Miss World contestants themselves, but at the institution they're interacting with. Misbehaviour takes that view too, splitting its time — not in equal portions, though — between Sally, Jo and their pals, and also the women vying for the sash and crown. Jennifer Hosten (Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Farming), aka Miss Grenada, receives the lion's share of attention among the contenders. That said, Swedish favourite Maj Johansson (Clara Rosager, The Rain), US entrant Sandra Wolsfeld (Suki Waterhouse, The Broken Hearts Gallery) and 'Miss Africa South' Pearl Jansen (Loreece Harrison, Black Mirror) — a late addition after a journalist constantly questions why South Africa's competitor is always white — also get their moments. The film spends time with pageant founder Eric Morley (Rhys Ifans, Berlin Station) and the year's host Bob Hope (Greg Kinnear, Strange But True) as well, serving up two prime examples of the kinds of attitudes that Sally and Jo are trying to tackle. The result is exactly the type of rousing, overt and easy movie that Lowthorpe and her colleagues set out to make — a film that ticks all the boxes it has placed on its own checklist, but doesn't do anything more. That makes Misbehaviour spirited, heavy-handed and well-intended in tandem, and also immensely straightforward. Anyone familiar with the likes of Calendar Girls, The Full Monty and Swimming with Men will able able to spot the template at work, for instance, even though the narrative specifics vary significantly. Misbehaviour has the same shine and energy, too, and the same crowd-pleasing nature. Its recognisable cast all do what's asked of them as well, as seen in Knightley and Buckley's fight against the patriarchy, Mbatha-Raw's quiet determination to give women of colour more prominence, Ifans and Kinnear playing the slimy villainous roles, and Keeley Hawes (Rebecca) and Lesley Manville (Maleficent: Mistress of Evil) as the latter pair's other halves. In other words, being caught up in Misbehaviour's plot, purpose and impressively staged climax is almost a foregone conclusion. Being happy that it's hitting screens and telling this tale at all after all of these years is as well. But so is knowing that this is the most standard and clearcut rendering of this story possible — and noticing that, even as it completely avoids one big part of the pageant's aftermath, the film always keeps viewers well aware that there are other tales related to these events it could and definitely should be exploring and unpacking in more detail. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cp3WjuJJYB8
After introducing its cookie pies to the world earlier this year — and serving up an OTT red velvet version, a gooey choc-hazelnut-filled one and a peanut butter and jelly variety as well — Gelato Messina is bringing the decadent dessert back yet again. This time, though, it's quite the Frankenstein's monster of a dessert. If you like fairy bread, cookie pies and Messina's gelato, prepare to get excited. Hang on, a cookie pie? Yes, it's a pie, but a pie made of cookie dough. And it serves two-to-six people — or just you. You bake it yourself, too, so you get to enjoy that oh-so-amazing smell of freshly baked cookies wafting through your kitchen. Now that you're onboard with the overall cookie pie concept, the fairy bread version really is exactly what it sounds like. That crunchy, crumbly cookie dough is filled with vanilla custard, then topped with more 100s and 1000s than you've probably seen since your childhood birthday parties. On its own, the indulgent pie will cost $20. But to sweeten the deal, the cult ice creamery has created a few bundle options, should you want some of its famed gelato atop it (vanilla is recommended for this particular pie). You can add on a 500-millilitre tub for $28, a one-litre tub for $36 or a 1.5-litre tub for $39. If you're keen to get yourself a piece of the pie, they're available to preorder from Monday, July 27 — with pick up between Friday, July 31 and Sunday, August 2 from your chosen Messina store. Once you've got the pie safely home, you just need to whack it in the oven for 25–30 minutes at 165 degrees and voila. You can preorder a Messina fairy bread cookie pie from Monday, July 27, to pick up from all NSW, Vic and Queensland Gelato Messina stores (except The Star). Melburnians are currently instructed to only visit their local cafe or shop, with Messina's Melbourne stores located in Fitzroy, Richmond, Windsor and, as a pop-up, in Brunswick East.
If you watched Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi's vampire sharehouse mockumentary What We Do in the Shadows back in 2014, then instantly found yourself yearning for more, that's understandable. Smart, silly and hilarious, the undead flick is one of the past decade's best comedies. Thanks to two TV spinoffs, that dream has come true, letting viewers keep spending time in the movie's supernatural world — and that's not going to end any time soon. In 2018, the New Zealand-made Wellington Paranormal made it to screens, following the movie's cops (Mike Minogue and Karen O'Leary) as they keep investigating the supernatural. It proved a hit, unsurprisingly, with the first half of the show's second season airing in 2019 — and set to continue in 2020. In 2019, an American television version of What We Do in the Shadows also made its debut, focusing on a group of vampire flatmates living in Staten Island. Featuring Toast of London's Matt Berry, Four Lions' Kayvan Novak, British stand-up comedian Natasia Demetriou, The Magicians' Harvey Guillen, The Office's Mark Proksch and Booksmart's Beanie Feldstein, it sticks to the same basic concept as the original movie, just with memorable new characters. And yes, it too was renewed for a second season — which is due to air this year, and has just released its first puppet-filled teasers. Created and co-written by Clement, and executive produced by the Flight of the Conchords star with Jojo Rabbit Oscar-winner Waititi, the US take on What We Do in the Shadows was first hinted at back in 2017, and then confirmed in May 2018. While the duo don't star in the new-look series, Berry, Novak and company have been doing them proud as the next batch of ravenous — and comic — vamps. Novak plays the gang's self-appointed leader, 'Nandor The Relentless', who dates back to the Ottoman Empire days and is somewhat stuck in his ways. As for Berry's mischievous British dandy Laszlo and Demetriou's seductive Nadja, they're like a blood-sucking Bonnie and Clyde (but much funnier). Guillén plays Nandor's familiar, who'd do anything to join the undead, while Proksch's Colin is an 'energy vampire'. And Feldstein's Jenna is a college student with a new craving. Can't wait to sink your fangs into more? The new batch of episodes will continue the story — charting Nandor, Laszlo, Nadja and the group's undead antics in the New York borough. It wasn't easy being a centuries-old bloodsucker in Wellington in the movie, and it's just as tough (and amusing) on the other side of the world. Check out the first two season two teasers below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=il1t77obp-8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9rX8BT97qI What We Do in the Shadows' second season starts airing on April 15 in the US — expect it to hit Foxtel in Australia sometime this year, with exact local airdates yet to be revealed.
Film-makers are still struggling to make a really good version of Romeo and Juliet. In the meantime, people like the Sydney Shakespeare Festival keep putting it on in real life. Lots of Shakespeare's plays were originally performed under an open sky — as many people already know if they study his work, or watch Doctor Who. It's a great way to get to know the plays. The comedy and drama thrive on the extra informality. And while indoor shows are more common these days, outdoor performances remain pretty popular both here and overseas. The Sydney Shakespeare Festival is a more recent arrival than its sage contemporary Shakespeare by the Sea, staging its plays on the foreshore at Glebe's Bicentennial Park. The 2011 Festival alternates between A Midsummer Night's Dream and Romeo and Juliet, mixing both cast and genders between the plays as much as Romeo and Juliet mixes comedy with its tragedy, or A Midsummer Night's Dream takes in fairies with its classical myth. So if you're searching for a most rare vision, get over to Glebe and report how their Dream was. Performances run Thursday to Sunday.
Fans of juicy burgers (i.e. everyone with functioning tastebuds), listen up! The team behind those tasty $10 creations at Chur Burger in Surry Hills are opening a brand spanking new pop-up at The London in Paddington. From the eatery's opening on November 8, any Paddo dwellers who can’t be bothered travelling to the Albion Street location will be able to throw a stone and find themselves elbow-deep in sweet potato fries, salted caramel milkshakes and a perfectly constructed pulled pork burger. Since the Albion Street Kitchen reopened its doors as Chur Burger earlier this year, Warren Turnbull and his crew have been smashing out the burgers to seemingly insatiable palates in Surry Hills. We can say from experience that the shakes are sweet, the fries are crispy and the burgers are totally delicious (and at a pretty damn good price). We just hope that those crispy quail eggs are on the pop-up menu.
The year is 2028, and Detroit crime is out of control. At least, that's what we're told. The city, frankly, has never looked better. But trust us: lots of crime. Omnipresent corporation OmniCorp is trying to get its new robot cops approved for use in the US, but Washington won't allow machines to have control over life and death. Enter noted human Alex Murphy, An Honest Detroit Cop who, thanks to a pesky explosion, is now in desperate need of a robotic suit that will keep him alive and also help fight crime. The two were meant to be together! If you haven't seen the original 1987 RoboCop, then fix that right now. It combines the two best things about 1980s cinema: a dystopian science fiction setting and a cop taking out drug dealers and other corrupt cops. But it's remembered as a classic, however, because of how sharply it satirises American culture. It may look like a dumb action film, but it's clever as hell. This 2014 remake is, at least, clever enough to aim for the same target. It opens with a right-wing talk show pundit and a futuristic — but all too familiar — Middle East war on terror. Rather than simply imitating classic scenes from the original, this new film sets out to do its own thing, to update the references, and that attempt is admirable. The problem is that this satire — which we'll come back to — is hung upon a fairly piecemeal story. There's little that propels it forward, and we're never left wondering how things could possibly turn out for our heroes. The mysteries are barely concealed; the nefarious plots, basic; the villains, flagged in the opening scenes. Minutes after the film is over, you'll be left with a few key images, but no idea what actually happened. Joel Kinnaman plays Murphy/RoboCop, and does a decent job with it. Murphy's hardly the most compelling character, but the struggle to maintain his humanity is handled with more care than most films of this ilk would bother with. The rest of the cast is more recognisable, filling out supporting roles with the likes of Samuel L Jackson, Gary Oldman, Michael Keaton, Abbie Cornish, Jackie Earle Haley, Michael K Williams, Jennifer Ehle and Jay Baruchel. The satire, though welcome, ultimately fails. Samuel L Jackson's talk show host gives the feeling that they reverse-engineered a conservative pundit based on Stephen Colbert's famous parody, and his appearances consistently bring the film to a screeching halt. Not only could these scenes be lifted out without any noticeable change to the story, but the film would actually flow better without this particular social commentary. And maybe that's the most trenchant point of all. https://youtube.com/watch?v=xPLSpmAtc1Q
After years of hype, Australia's first surf park is finally set to to open this summer — and its bringing some of Sydney's top chefs with it. Urbnsurf Melbourne has teamed up with Darren Robertson, Andy Allen and Mark LaBrooy to bring the fifth instalment of their farm-to-table eatery Three Blue Ducks to our city. "We all love Melbourne and we all surf, so when [the Urbnsurf team] met with us about this space, we felt it was well suited, and was also quite different from our other venues," says Robertson, who co-owns the current Three Blue Ducks in Sydney, Byron Bay and Brisbane. Located around the corner from Melbourne's Tullamarine Airport, the all-day restaurant will built inside the two-hectare surfing lagoon. The two-level venue will boast high ceilings, a big open bar and an expansive, greenery-filled deck out front — so diners can watch the surfers in action. As with other Three Blue Ducks outposts, the open kitchen will feature a woodfired pizza oven, a rotisserie grill and a charcoal pit, all helping to prepare a signature menu of sustainably and ethically sourced eats. Seasonal ingredients will be sourced from local farms, wineries, craft breweries and other artisans around Victoria. A dedicated kitchen garden will also grow herbs and native Aussie plants, including lemon myrtle and salt bush. [caption id="attachment_591172" align="alignnone" width="1280"] Three Blue Ducks Rosebery[/caption] "We'll move down to Melbourne in the coming weeks and just get to know suppliers through farmers markets and visits to the farm — then write the menu based on what we find," says Roberston. Many of the venue's favourite dishes will make an appearance, though the exact details are still in the works. We're hoping for the the corn fritters with guacamole, fermented cabbage, herb salad, labneh and poached eggs for brekkie; and the coal-roasted lamb with parsnip purée for dinner. Other likely contenders include whole steamed fish and roasted chook served with salads, ferments and pickles. For drinks, Sydney's Single O has again signed on for the coffee side of things. And beer, wine and kombucha will all be served on tap. The tap drinks tie in with the team's ongoing commitment to sustainability, with an onsite composting facility and limited use of plastic also in the plan. Three Blue Ducks and Urbnsurf are due to open in summer 2019 along Airport Drive, Melbourne Tullamarine. Keep an eye on this space for updates closer to. Top Images: Three Blue Ducks and UrbnSurf's founder Andrew Ross; Wavegarden San Sebastian by Ed Sloane (courtesy of Urbnsurf); and Three Blue Ducks Rosebery.
Two decades after Hae Min Lee's murder, the Baltimore high school student's horrific plight continues to dominate the true crime landscape. After featuring on the first season of Sarah Koenig's grimly addictive podcast Serial, it's now the basis for a new documentary series, The Case Against Adnan Syed. The four-part HBO series picks up where everyone's 2014 obsession left off — the trailers below promise to reveal 'a new chapter' — not only exploring 18-year-old Lee's death in 1999 and her ex-boyfriend Syed's conviction in 2000, but the latter's ongoing quest to have the extremely complex legal matter reassessed in the years since he was found guilty. Everything from Lee and Syed's relationship, to the original police investigation and trial, to the developments up until now will feature, with the film gaining exclusive access to Syed, his family and his lawyers. The series couldn't come at a more crucial time for Syed, who was convicted of first-degree murder, sentenced to life in prison, and continues to fight his case through the courts. While he was granted a new trial in 2016, that ruling was subsequently appealed by the State of Maryland — only for the Court of Special Appeals to agree to vacate Syed's conviction and finally give him that retrial last March. A date for the actual retrial hasn't yet been set, however. Splashed across the small screen, it's certain to make for compelling viewing — but if you think you've spent too much time mulling it all over across the past five years, filmmaker Amy Berg has you beat. Unsurprisingly given how complicated the matter is, the director has been working on the project since 2015. And, with her excellent doco background — with Berg helming 2006's Oscar-nominated 2006 Deliver Us from Evil, about molestation in the Catholic Church; examining the West Memphis Three's quest for freedom in 2012's West of Memphis; and tackling the sexual abuse of teenagers in the film industry in 2014's An Open Secret — her new venture is certain to be thorough. Mere weeks out from launching the series, which airs weekly on HBO from Sunday, March 10, US time, the network has dropped a full trailer. It comes hot on the heels on the first sneak peek earlier this month, which mentioned the investigation of other suspects and new evidence — saying, "the closer you look the more you see". Watch them both here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQaTa5eTxnk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VA1qzo2WEew As they did for West of Memphis, Nick Cave and Warren Ellis will provide the score. 'The Case Against Adnan Syed' will air on HBO from Sunday, March 10, US time — and then hit Foxtel for Australian viewers later this year. It's not clear yet if the show will air or stream in New Zealand. We'll update you as soon as further release dates have been announced. Image: Adnan Syed via Syed Family / Courtesy of HBO.
A trip to Canberra — to visit the Heath Ledger exhibition, perhaps — isn't something you'd usually consider doing in a day, but it could be if the NSW Government's proposed Fast Rail Network Strategy goes ahead. Announced by Premier Gladys Berejiklian, the rail network would see a typical four-hour train trip — or three-hour drive — to Canberra cut down to just one hour. The speedy Canberra trip, called the Southern Inland Route, would only be one arm of the network, too, with plans for a total of four potential routes travelling to popular cities within 300 kilometres of Sydney. The Northern Route would travel through the Central Coast to Newcastle (in 45 minutes) and Port Macquarie; the Western Route would take a quick trip out to Lithgow, Bathurst and Orange; and the Southern Coast Route would bolt down to Wollongong (in 30 minutes) and Nowra (in 45 minutes). To reach these destinations at such speed — an estimated 75 percent faster than current NSW trains — new rail networks would allow for speeds of over 250 kilometres per hour. For comparison, Japan's Shinkansen (bullet train) reaches speeds of around 320 kilometres per hour. [caption id="attachment_700519" align="alignnone" width="1920"] The proposed fast rail network.[/caption] While this all sounds great, for the next stage of planning to go ahead Ms Berejiklian needs to be re-elected at the polls on March 23, 2019. If Ms Berejiklian is re-elected, the next stage of the fast rail network would be confirmation of the best routes, train speeds, station locations, cost and timing by a panel of infrastructure experts. After that, the project would kick off with the upgrade of existing rail routes and new trains, before dedicated high-speed lines were erected. Ms Berejiklian has denied that the high-speed rail is an 'election stunt', but it's possible she is looking to Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews for inspiration. Mr Andrews was re-elected just last month, after promising high-speed trains and a $50 billion underground railway network, amongst many other high-stakes projects. At this stage, it's also possible that the Liberal party — and the newly appointed Opposition Leader Michael Daley — could put forward its own high-speed rail network plan, too. We'll be sure to update you if that ends up being the case. We're hoping, if it does go ahead, that the rail network's build is as speedy as its name suggests — and it's not quite as delayed (and over budget) as the NSW Government's embattled light rail project.
If you can find a better date than hearing talks and seeing live music over cheeky vinos in an art gallery, we'd love to hear about it. This spring and summer, the Art Gallery of New South Wales’s Art After Hours program is extending the The Greats love to live music. Each Wednesday night, AGNSW will be brimming with after-hours shenanigans for free in the Gallery’s entrance court, in conjunction with the epic exhibition from the National Galleries of Scotland. Each week will see a different lineup of art-inspired happenings in the Gallery, from comedy to talks and music. Want to get a serious art education? Comedian Hannah Gadsby will be getting serious about art history. Apparently Gadsby has a secret identity as a 'serious art nerd'. Every week, she'll be putting on her serious art scarf and delving into the great eras of Western art history, tackling a different theme each week with her serious art brain. According to the Gallery, "Please note, this is not stand-up comedy. IT WILL BE VERY SERIOUS. It will be very silly. SERIOUSLY." If you're a snuggle-into-a-dark-cinema type of person, check out the European Cinema Classics series — bi-weekly showings of iconic motion pictures from all across the continent. Held on select Wednesday and Sundays between now and the first week of February, the program features ten films in total, spanning more than five decades in European film history. Highlights include Roman Polanski’s violent adaption of Macbeth, Pier Paolo Pasolini’s biblical drama The Gospel According to St. Matthew, Werner Herzog’s medieval epic Aguirre: the Wrath of God and Ingmar Bergman’s undisputed masterpiece The Seventh Seal. If you're an earlybird who can't wait to bust out of the office and head to the Gallery, each Wednesday at 5.30pm will see exhibition talks — the 'masterpiece series' will see one expert a week discuss, in detail, one work in The Greats exhibition they're particularly fond of; rom Dr Michael Hill from the National Art School discussing Georges Seurat’s La Luzerne, Saint-Denis to artist Michelle Hiscock picking apart Camille Corot’s Ville-d’Avray: entrance to the wood. Art After Hours runs till 10pm every Wednesday night, except December 16, 23 and 30 — the Gallery closes at 5pm then. While you're there, why not check out the The Greats? Here's six artworks not to miss from the exhibition to start. By Shannon Connellan and Tom Clift.
Do you like scary movies? If your answer is yes — and that question has you itching to revisit Scream — then Jakop Ahlbom's Horror is for you. The acclaimed Swedish director and film aficionado has turned his love of all things frightening into an internationally acclaimed physical theatre production, and it's making its first trip to Australia Serving up spine-tingling thrills while nodding to everything from The Shining to Rosemary's Baby to The Exorcist, Horror blends black humour with the genre that gives the show its name, complete with a host of cinematic special effects that aren't usually used in live theatre. That means not just blood-splatter aplenty and slasher flick-style orchestral screeching, but swinging an axe through a wealth of classic movies and tropes in a head-spinning fashion. Expect more than a few chills when it heads to the Sydney Opera House from August 29 to September 2. Still game? The smart, sinister homage sets its creepy fun in a haunted house — where else? — where a young woman and her friends are forced to confront vengeful spirits still smarting from a traumatic family event. Trading dialogue for illusion, mime, movement and music, it'll make you feel like you're a mere few steps away from a real-life horror flick. And, thanks to Ahlbom's stage magic, you will be. Images: Sanne Peper.
Choosing to forge a career as an absurdist comedian isn't the easiest decision to make. It's arguably the toughest type of comedy as you never quite know what to expect from yourself or the audience, and so it requires a big case of cahones. When it does come together though, it's majestic to behold and that is just what happens when Aunty Donna take the stage. You've likely already caught this Aussie trio on your screens without even realising it — they've been all over ABC's iView and their YouTube channel has had a casual 5.5 million views to date. If you've somehow missed them then go ahead and check out a couple of sketches quickly before coming back and reading the rest of this preview. We recommend starting with 'Trendy Cafe' and 'The Man Who Can't Roll Up His Sleeves' for a few giggles. Now that you've got a taste of these self-described "bunch of fucc bois who like to party", you can see why heading down to Giant Dwarf for an hour of their award-winning show is a no brainer. They've previously sold out at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival and the Edinburgh Fringe Festival so grab your tickets now.
Cards on the table: thanks to Russian Doll and the Knives Out franchise, Natasha Lyonne and Rian Johnson are both on a helluva streak. In their most recent projects before now, each has enjoyed a hot run not once but twice. Lyonne made time trickery one of the best new shows of 2019, plus a returning standout in 2022 as well, while Johnson's first Benoit Blanc whodunnit and followup Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery were gems of the exact same years. The latter also saw the pair team up briefly — Lyonne and Johnson, that is, although getting a Russian Doll-meets-Knives Out crossover from the universe, or just the Netflix algorithm, would be a dream. Until that wish comes true, there's Poker Face. It's no one's stopgap or consolation prize, however. This new mystery-of-the-week series is an all-out must-see in its own right, and one of 2023's gleaming streaming aces already. Given its components and concept, turning out otherwise would've been the biggest head-scratcher. Beneath aviator shades, a trucker cap and her instantly recognisable (albeit sun-bleached here) locks, Lyonne plays detective again, as she did in Russian Doll — because investigating why you're looping through the same day over and over, or jumping through time, is still investigating. Johnson gives the world another sleuth, too, after offering up his own spin on Agatha Christie-style gumshoes with the ongoing Knives Out saga. This time, he's dancing with 1968–2003 television series Columbo, right down to Poker Face's title font. Lyonne isn't one for playing conventional detectives — not that she couldn't, or wouldn't nail it hands down. Streaming on Stan in Australia and TVNZ On Demand in New Zealand, Poker Face casts her as Charlie Cale, who starts poking around in sudden deaths thanks to an unusual gift and a personal tragedy. As outlined in the show's ten-part first season, four episodes of which arrive on Friday, January 27 with new chapters dropping weekly afterwards, Charlie is a human lie detector. She can instantly tell if someone is being untruthful, a knack she first used in gambling before getting on the wrong side of the wrong people. Then, when a friend and colleague at the far-from-flashy Las Vegas casino where Charlie works winds up dead, that talent couldn't be handier. Poker Face's 1970s-inspired debut episode sets up three whys: why its charmingly wry and affably no-nonsense protagonist knows when anyone around her is fibbing, why the series itself follows her road-tripping across America in a rundown Plymouth Barracuda, and why an episodic array of murders in different places is in her future. Courtesy of her gift, she's soon fleeing casino boss Sterling Frost Sr (Ron Perlman, Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio) and his enforcer Cliff Legrand (Benjamin Bratt, DMZ), then taking whichever odd jobs she can find from town to town. The show's second instalment sees her car break down, requiring a mechanic to patch it up — while its third takes her to a famed brisket barbecue business, and its fourth involves a hit 90s metal band attempting to reclaim past glories on tour. In Poker Face's fifth episode, an aged-care home is the scene of a crime. And in its sixth, two former TV co-stars bicker their way through a play until someone becomes a victim. "Why?" isn't just a question that Johnson — as Poker Face's creator, the writer and director of its first instalment, a helmer twice more, plus a scribe once again as well — has to establish, and fast. As Charlie notes about her preternatural ability, "the real trick of it is figuring out why: why somebody is lying". People spout fabrications and deceptions all day every single day, as she can't avoid everywhere she goes. Mostly, they're minor and have little impact on anyone else, Charlie advises. But it's the reasoning behind the bigger falsehoods that she's interested in. So, the show moves her from place to place, has her hear a lie just as a body shows up, then saddles her with puzzling out what's going on — and, yes, why. Poker Face doesn't hide its own formula, laying it bare from the outset. In its opening episode and all that follow, the focus initially sits with someone who isn't long for this world, their killer and the surrounding players. Viewers watch what happens to that chapter's fated person, scope out all the connected parties, then team up with Charlie — learning where she fits in and witnessing her getting to the bottom of the latest death. Poker Face's audience has the advantage of already seeing what occurred, of course. But, as it does for Charlie, the why still requires unravelling. Often she's putting together what viewers know, but adding further details or context, or seeing the various pieces from different angles. She's also openly calling bullshit frequently, with Lyonne uttering it as often and distinctively as she does "cockroaches" in Russian Doll. In the era of peak TV — peak streaming also — as populated by hook-heavy series demanding non-stop binges, Poker Face does something old-fashioned: it revels in its standalone chapters. Wanting to watch one after another after another is still the end result, but soaking in each mystery rather than constantly setting up the next twist is the show's main aim. Some elements bleed from one instalment to the next, as Charlie keeps trying to evade her pursuers. But for between 45–60 minutes per episode, there's a whodunnit to solve, a contained cast of players, and plenty of Lyonne being a sharp, droll and astute delight. Sometimes she's tasting pieces of wood, too, or calling a dog a fascist. In fact, in the same very episode that contains the timber chewing and canine altercations, she also introduces someone to Bong Joon-ho's Okja — because Poker Face's small joys are many. As comes with the case-of-the-week territory — see also: one of the all-timers in this genre, Law & Order — this series' sweet sleuthing baby is joined by a masterful cast of familiar guest stars. When Lyonne isn't squaring off against Adrien Brody (See How They Run), she's hanging out with The Menu's Hong Chau and Judith Light, or with Lil Rel Howery (Deep Water) and Danielle MacDonald (The Tourist). Her Russian Doll mother Chloë Sevigny (Bones and All) leads those aforementioned metal rockers, while Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Pinocchio), Ellen Barkin (Animal Kingdom), Nick Nolte (The Mandalorian), Cherry Jones (Succession), Jameela Jamil (She-Hulk: Attorney at Law) and newly minted Oscar-nominee Stephanie Hsu (Everything Everywhere All At Once) also feature. Throw in Johnson's own history with mysteries, hailing back to his stellar 2005 movie debut Brick and also including Looper, and Poker Face couldn't boast a better winning hand. Going all in for the series and its big bag of fun is the natural response. Check out the full trailer for Poker Face below: Poker Face streams from Friday, January 27 via Stan in Australia and TVNZ On Demand in New Zealand. Images: Peacock.
There's a line of dialogue, right towards the end of Obvious Child, when Donna (Jenny Slate) bemoans the overabundance of romantic comedies on TV. "I just hate that kind of film," she quips. "I just don't connect." In that moment, it's as if writer-director Gillian Robespierre is talking to the camera herself. A smart, candid, foul-mouthed and thoroughly charming subversion of sugary romantic fantasies and stereotypical representations of women on screen, Obvious Child ranks among the very best in the much maligned rom-com genre. It's also the funniest movie about abortion you're ever likely to see. Indeed, Robespierre's script feels largely like a response to the weirdly conservative position espoused — intentionally or not — in pregnancy comedies like Juno and Knocked Up, in which abortion is quickly brushed over for a more conventionally heartwarming alternative. In stark contrast, when Donna finds out she's pregnant a few weeks after a drunken hook-up, the best course of action is clear. An aspiring stand-up comic in her late-twenties with no steady source of income and no real sense of direction, there's just no way on earth Donna's ready to have a child. What's refreshing about Obvious Child isn't just the path that our heroine takes, but how resolutely she sticks to it. There no handwringing or moralising about her decision, because it's obviously the most responsible thing to do. The frank, open-minded approach with which the film treats not just pregnancy, but sex and female sexuality in general, is the sort of thing that mainstream movies could use more of. Which isn't to say that the film is preachy. Save for a frustrated rant from Donna's roommate (Gaby Hoffmann) about the "weird old white men in robes [who] get to legislate our cunts," Obvious Chid avoids the prickly politics of abortion. This movie is primarily a comedy, and a pretty hilarious one at that. Best known for her recurring role on Parks and Recreation and a short-lived stint on SNL, Slate gives what is easily one of the breakout comic performances of the year. It's clear from Donna's stand-up that she's a person who says whatever's on her mind — which tends to mean a lot of talk about sex and bodily functions. And yet, somehow, the film also manages to be sweet. Even as Donna prepares to terminate the pregnancy, she finds herself growing closer to the baby's father, the endearingly white-bread Max (Jake Lacy). They don't make for the most conventional pairing, admittedly. But then again, not being conventional is what makes the movie so great in the first place. https://youtube.com/watch?v=r2GN3wdfqbA
One of Liverpool's last remaining, 20th century industrial buildings is getting a new lease on life, with Sydney's Coronation Property announcing plans to transform The Paper Mill into a buzzing cultural and community precinct. Once home to Australia's first paper manufacturing business, the historic riverfront site will soon play host to the area's new drinking, dining, and shopping destination — complete with a broad-ranging food and drink offering, 1,400 square metres of retail space, and a contemporary mix of indoor and al fresco dining areas. Slated to be up and running by the end of this year, a substantial part of the project is the rejuvenation of the heritage-listed mill warehouse, which will feature an open plan dining venue beneath its carefully-restored, iconic sawtooth roof. A diverse collection of vendors will include the likes of a wood fire pizza kitchen, an artisanal bakery and cafe, dessert carts and even an in-house brewery — primed for lunchtime pit-stops, dinner feasts, and mid-shopping snack sessions alike. And, in keeping with Liverpool's booming population, the site has also been earmarked for its own residential community, with 882 Coronation Property apartments set to take advantage of that prime riverfront real estate in the not too distant future.
Without props, costumes or inhibition, Charles Ross is returning to Australia to tell J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings like its never been told before. After the success of One Man Star Wars, Ross will now tackle the trilogy its entirety in his new riveting one-man show: One Man Lord of the Rings. Deemed a five-star performance by the British Theatre Guide and the Toronto Star, the show is pure entertainment. In just an hour, you will be taken from the green pastures of the shire to the fire of Mount Doom to experience the struggles of Frodo, Sam, Gandalf, Gollum and the entire cast of characters. Ross' many personalities and sound effects will throw you for a loop as he performs the journeys, fights and rescues alone on stage. Hold on tight, because the adventure flashes by at lightening speed. https://youtube.com/watch?v=d98XXlvZalE
For years now, you've probably thought about The Dolphin in Surry Hills in the same way you think about your local Starbucks chain… has various amenities, there when you need an average bev, not explicitly offensive but is taking up some valuable real estate that could be used for something much more creative. Well, that something has officially arrived at The Dolphin thanks to restaurant mover-and-shaker, Icebergs' Maurice Terzini. One of Australia's influential foodie heavyweights, Terzini has reinvigorated the Surry Hills pub with a brand new cake icing look. The Dolphin Hotel now features three distinct spaces: the 'Dining Room', 'Wine Room' and a public bar with an open-air terrace. And while the public bar opened last week, we've been sitting on our hands waiting for the Dining Room to do the same. Today it was announced that the Dining Room will open for dinner for the first time tomorrow, Friday, 17 June. Executive chef Monty Koludrovic leads a team of more than 30 chefs, including Dan Medcalf (Icebergs) as head chef of the Dining Room. They've traded in the old pub staple menu for some modern Australian-Italo fare, including some famous dishes from Terzini's Caffe e Cucina. On the menu there's heaps of seafood, like mussels, grilled octopus and a dreamy-sounding spaghettini with blue swimmer crab. You can pair that with some lamb gnocchi, pappardelle Bolognese and a host of favourites like polenta chips, burrata and a selection of salumi. There's also a pizza list, which should be akin to Terzini's beloved Da Orazio pies. Still to open is the Wine Room, which will be led by chef Sam Cheetham (ex-Becasse and Victoria Room) and 2015 Sommelier of the Year, James Hird. Time to make a dinner date at The Dolphin. Words: Lauren Vadnjal and Imogen Baker.
Everyone should play tourist in their own town. For fans of horror movies in the Harbour City, everyone should see Sydney's historic spots in a whole new light while a frightening flick rolls and Haus of Horror throws a party. That's the immersive cinema outfit's setup, and it has both the winter solstice and the Old Darlinghurst Gaol in its sights next — plus getting eerie with the American remake of The Ring. In the past, for over a year, Haus of Horror has popped up everywhere from Parramatta Gaol and Camperdown Cemetery to Cockatoo Island, showing The Exorcist, the OG Scream, Beetlejuice, A Nightmare on Elm Street and more. Now, before you truly get into the winter spirit, you'll see The Ring inside a cellblock with a full moon in the sky outside. You have two sessions to choose from, both on Saturday, June 22 (technically a day after 2024's winter solstice, but this kind of event was always going to be more fun on a Saturday instead of a Friday). So, either head through the doors at 5pm for a 7pm screening, or mosey through at 7.15pm for a 9.15pm showing. Either way, a date with Samara is only a portion of the party. Prior to the movie flickering through the projector, you'll be given time to explore the site — a place that dates back to the 1820s, housed prisoners from 1841–1914, then became a technical college and later the National Art School. The old gaol has turned the former women's prisoner wing into a theatre, which is where you'll be watching. If you need to peel your eyes away from the screen, look out for remnants of the space's previous use etched onto the walls. Haus of Horror is also setting up scare zones, a photo booth, and markets selling handmade and vintage wares. A fortune teller will get clairvoyant with attendees, a DJ will be spinning tunes, good vendors will have bites to eat on offer and a bloody-themed cocktail will be available at the bar. The crew behind the event is calling this their inaugural winter solstice shindig, aiming to turn it into an annual tradition — meaning that 2024 is the only time that you can say that you were there when this party began. Haus of Horror's Winter Solstice Party featuring The Ring takes place on Saturday, June 22, 2024. Head to the Haus of Horror website for tickets and further details.
Some subjects are just perfect for the medium of cinema. A world where dreams bleed into reality, where reality seems like a dream, where a window is cracked open to reveal an alternate existence pushing up against ours — the world of mental illness — is one of them. Jeff Nichols' Take Shelter is set in the American Midwest, in a small town where men sit in bars, women sit in sewing circles, pastures are mottled green and skies are threatening. Lowly sand miner Curtis LaForche (Michael Shannon — you know, the awesome, faintly bug-eyed shapeshifter you loved in Boardwalk Empire and Runaway) dreams of a massive storm with motor-oil rain, and he wakes up shaken. As the nightmares return night after night, they get more vivid, more violent and more reluctant to release him from their grasp — they cause him real injury, and their motifs creep into reality as hallucinations. He is gripped by fear on two conflicting fronts: he fears the apocalyptic storm he believes to be coming, from which he begins building an elaborate tornado shelter; and he fears he is mirroring his mother's decent into paranoid schizophrenia, which began when she, too, was in her thirties. Meanwhile, his observant and strong-willed wife, Samantha (Jessica Chastain), tries to keep him present in reality. If this sounds intense and slow burning, well, it is. It's also exquisitely, unostentatiously made, getting under your skin to make you feel jumpy, much like Curtis is. You're never really sure which eerie, pastoral scene is dream or reality until it's already gone way off-kilter. Take Shelter is out to make us rethink what we know about mental illness. It poses the question of whether Curtis is a patient or a prophet, and it opens the door to the latter prospect more than you might expect. It also builds to an unforgettable ending that may cause some controversy in the car on the way home. https://youtube.com/watch?v=1dzsmKv1GrA
In Cabinet, the lovely people from Underbelly Arts bring you things to treat your eyes, ears and dancing shoes. A night of music, art and performance from a collection of Sydney's emerging creative folk, Cabinet is incredible value for money at just $7 on the door. The first instalment on Cabinet for 2012, on Saturday, April 14, will be showcasing the band Bark Lanterns, led by Nick Cassey and Eden Ottignon, new on the Sydney music scene and fresh from recording their single 'The Box' in the luxurious surroundings of their lounge room. With catchy riffs and good old-fashioned pop music, their first-ever gig looks very promising indeed. This will be accompanied by an absurd new performance by Matt Prest and James Brown, which looks set to be a bit like the Mighty Boosh with glow sticks. The night will also feature interactive digital fun created by Dan MacKinlay. All of that, and there's a lantern-making workshop for single folk thrown in to boot, as well as a DJ playing tunes all night to get the Red Rattler dance floor shaking.
Maya Hawke. A mall. Retro clothes and tunes aplenty. Combine the three, and that's how Fear Street Part 1: 1994 opens. That deja vu you're feeling? That's because they all played a significant part in the third season of Stranger Things, too — but while Hawke is still popping up on Netflix here, she definitely isn't in Hawkins, Indiana anymore. Instead, her character Heather is working at a mall in Shadyside, Ohio. As the movie's moniker makes plain, the year is 1994, so Hawke has jumped into a new decade. Heather is doing the closing shift at a book store, and viewers first see her gushing over an eerie title, fittingly — only for the customer that's buying it to proclaim: "it's trash; lowbrow horror". Fear Street Part 1: 1994 might begin with a wink to its source material — that'd be the teen-oriented RL Stine horror books that hit shelves between 1989–2005 — but that isn't the only nod it serves up. Directed and co-written by Leigh Janiak (Honeymoon), this slasher flick splashes its debts to everything from Halloween to Scream across every frame. That's part of the package, as is plenty of blood, gore, bumps and jumps. The end result is unmistakably formulaic, but aptly so; every novel in Stine's series also earned the same description, as did every Goosebumps book as well. As frequently happens in the opening scenes of horror flicks, Heather's day quickly takes a turn for the worse. That's a rather standard outcome when there's a masked killer on the loose. The next day, the town is shocked and scandalised, although not as much as it really should be — because, unlike its wealthier neighbour town Sunnyvale, Shadyside has a history of these kinds of terrible events. Conspiracy buff Josh (Benjamin Flores Jr, Your Honor) likes to chat about these sinister happenings online. The town even has a witch's curse in its past, too, so there's plenty to discuss in his 90s-era chat rooms. His older sister Deena (Kiana Madeira, Giant Little Ones) doesn't put any stock in the local ghost stories — she has dramas with her ex Sam (Olivia Scott Welch, Unbelievable) to worry about instead — but then the killer heads her way, because of course that's what happens. From there, Fear Street Part 1: 1994 does two things: follows Deena and her friends as they attempt to evade an ancient evil that's plagued the town for centuries, and sets up a trilogy that'll continue in Fear Street Part 2: 1978 and Fear Street Part 3: 1666. A different film will hit Netflix across the first three Fridays in July to add some retro scares to your winter — with Part 2 taking its cues from Friday the 13th by heading to a summer camp in its titular year, and Part 3 pondering the origins of Shadyside's curse in the 1600s. And yes, in its noticeably by-the-numbers fashion, this page-to-screen series thankfully fares better than Goosebumps did when it made the same jump. Check out the trailer for Fear Street Part 1: 1994 below: Fear Street Part 1: 1994 will be available to stream via Netflix on Friday, July 2 — followed by Fear Street Part 2: 1978 on Friday, July 9 and Fear Street Part 3: 1666 on Friday, July 16. Top image: Netflix
Sydney Festival Director Olivia Ansell knows what it takes to present a world-class program — even in less-than-ideal conditions. When it was announced in 2020 that she would be taking the reins of New South Wales' flagship arts event from her predecessor Wesley Enoch, the world was gripped by pandemic lockdowns. Unable to travel internationally in search of exciting new works for her debut program in 2022, Ansell did what many resourceful creatives did to meet this unprecedented moment: she pivoted. "That time, in 2020, was an uncertain time to come into any role," she reflects. "But without [international productions] the focus then became: how can we help the creative sector recover here in Australia? How can we work with the sector and restore livelihoods and make sure that artists are getting back to doing what they absolutely should be doing, which is writing new Australian stories, commissioning new work and seeing that work fly around the country. We worked really closely with our city and state stakeholders, our partners, and our supporters to make sure that artists could practise their art, could perform, could write these stories and dream." [caption id="attachment_979110" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Olivia Ansell, Wenndle Theodoro[/caption] Even after the end of lockdowns and the eventual reopening of international borders, Ansell has had to contend with torrential drenchings from a persistent La Niña washing-out al fresco performances and, most recently, the economic headwinds of the cost-of-living crisis. But much as she did in 2020, innovating past these problems has helped her shape a festival that fits with the times. As such, affordability has been a chief concern in the development of 2025's program, which will be Ansell's final offering as Sydney Festival Director. To mark the fest's 49th year, some of the very best seats at headline productions are up for grabs for just $49, if purchased before December 2. Alongside these discounted early bird bargains, there are also plenty of free events, so Sydneysiders truly have no excuse to miss out on the creative bonanza that will sweep the city, January 4–26. For Ansell, making the festival financially accessible to all is the best way to celebrate its (almost) half-century milestone. "We've always been a festival deeply rooted in communities, that celebrates Sydney in summer and brings people together to experience compelling, groundbreaking new Australian stories, as well as international artists from all across the globe. It's our job to present work that challenges and inspires, and that invites people who have maybe never been to an arts event or a theatre production before. Making sure anyone who wants to can access a ticket or a free event is essential — whoever you are, wherever you're from, we can absolutely offer you a summer festival experience." Here are just a few of Sydney Festival 2025's best shows with early bird tickets for just $49, discounted until December 2.
From WorldPride to the Women's World Cup this year, Sydney has proven to the world that it knows how to throw an epic party. It's no wonder then that the harbourside city has been chosen for SXSW's first iteration outside the US. SXSW Sydney will take over numerous venues across the CBD, Darling Harbour, Haymarket, Surry Hills, Ultimo and Chippendale for a week from Sunday, October 15 to Sunday, October 22. Music has always been an integral part of SXSW — the inaugural event in 1987 started as a music festival with only 177 artists and 15 panels. Now, the music portion of SXSW Sydney includes 300-plus live music performances in 25 venues from Wednesday, October 18 to Saturday, October 21, showcasing homegrown musos and global emerging artists alike. There will also be various brand activations, including Tkay Maidza performing at the Defender House pop-up in the CBD and Spotify House taking over The Lansdowne Hotel. In partnership with Jack Daniel's, we've compiled a guide on the top spots for live music and a late-night boogie around the SXSW precinct. For those without a wristband or badge, we've even included a few spots that aren't part of the festival, so you can still feel like you're in on the action.
If you happen to be in the Illawarra region on a Sunday, then make tracks to Bulli Showground. From 9am–2pm on the second Sunday of every month, the space is filled with local makers selling artisanal produce and wares. The stallholders rotate but you can expect to find baked goods from Flour Water Salt and Common Ground Bakery, handmade bath goods, art, fashion and live music. Foragers Markets also hosts a weekly after-dark street food market from 5–9pm every Thursday and a fresh market on Fridays between 9am–2pm, both in Wollongong's Crown Street Mall.
Strange as it may seem, the difference between a good action movie and a great one isn't actually the action. It's the story. You can have the greatest action sequences of all time, but without a compelling story to back them up they'll end up falling flat, and viewers will struggle to care about why their hero is enduring it all. This characteristic was key to the success of the first Bourne trilogy, which chronicled the relentless attempts of Matt Damon's protagonist to pierce the veil of his amnesia and discover the truth about his past. Less so the follow up, The Bourne Legacy, which again contained outstanding action, but struggled in the later stages when the hero's sole motivation was tracking down medication to keep him functioning as a super soldier. The stakes were lessened, and – as a consequence – so too the audience's regard. As the name suggests, Jason Bourne returns the focus to the heart of this franchise, picking up the story with Matt Damon's character now limping through life in Athens as a bare-knuckle fighter in an illegal gambling ring. When an old face resurfaces and provides him with hacked CIA documents suggesting his past mightn't be as clear-cut as he previously thought, he's forced to resume a cat-and-mouse game with his former employers as they try to kill him, and he tries to find out what they did to him during his recruitment. In that sense, Jason Bourne is back on familiar ground. But with deception supplanting amnesia as the obstacle to his clarity, it's something of a Jason Bourne movie without quite the same level of Jason Bourne magic. As always, the villains – in the form of the CIA and their ominously named 'assets' – spend the bulk of their time in darkened surveillance rooms, delivering almost comically jargon-heavy dialogue with unblinking, stone-cold faces. This time round the team is led by Tommy Lee-Jones as CIA Director Robert Dewey, and Alicia Vikander as his ruthless senior analyst Heather Lee. If nothing else, Jason Bourne is a terrifying insight into the technological capabilities now available to the world's top spy agencies, able to surveil the faces of thousands of people instantly and simultaneously within a riot, remotely shut down the power of a building in Reykjavik, and delete the files off a computer via a mobile phone in the same apartment. The emphasis on technology, however, pulls focus away from the man at the heart of the story, and the movie feels slightly hollow because of it. Director Paul Greengrass's preference for minimal dialogue and frenetic, shaky cinematography is well known. In this film he constantly pushes the limits of continuity, resulting in the need for clumsily inserted markers just to keep the audience up to speed. Maps are helpfully labelled "SEWER SYSTEM" in giant letters, every text message is sent in all-caps, and when Bourne nabs several items from a tech convention, they're beneath signs saying "Remote Surveillance Camera" and "Wireless Tracking Device". It's an unfortunate dumbing down of a traditionally intelligent franchise, feeling almost as though the script notes for the props department somehow ended up on screen. Even the action, whilst constant and thrilling, lacks some of the Magyver-esque charm of the earlier films, in which Bourne improvised lethal weapons out of everyday items like biro pens and rolled up newspapers. In a word, it's all very conventional, taking the franchise out of its genre-defining position and dropping it squarely back into the middle of the pack. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v71ce1Dqqns
Do you need a winter hangover cure? You’re in luck, ‘cause the Festival of the Winds is here to nurse the headache at Bondi Beach on Sunday, September 13. Colourful cartoon characters, giant animals and flowers, fighter kites, box kites, delta kites and more will appear at the festival, which kicks off at 11am on what we hope will be a sunny spring day. Internationally renowned kite flyers (yes, they exist) will be showing off some pretty spectacular flying skills with their handmade creations. So dust off that kite you packed away at age ten, or join in on one of the kite-making workshops on offer throughout the day. There'll be activities throughout the day both children and the nostalgic can enjoy. Image: Dollar Photo Club.
Gearing up for one last hoorah, celebrated partystarters Yacht Club DJs are hitting the road for their nationwide farewell tour set to be a shindig like no other. Lining up 14 shows in the space of just three months, Ballarat-born pair Gaz Harrison and Guy Chappell will be spinning their way from coast to coast for one final escapade. The past six years have seen these two tackle some seriously epic projects. Regulars in both Sydney and Melbourne, the crew have three stellar appearances at farmland Victoria’s iconic Meredith Music Festival under their belt, after supporting the likes of Haim and Mumford and Sons abroad. From all reports, these guys know how to put on a killer show. Sydneysiders can nab a slice of 'The Hooroo! Tour' in mid-November at the Oxford Art Factory. Faithful fans and newcomers alike, it's a mighty fine excuse to dust off those dancing and/or boat shoes.
On hearing that he was to be executed in Bolivia, Che Guevara reportedly turned white and said "It is better this way." Dying Capuchin monks made churches with their deaths, their bones used for the deeply serious skeletal collages which still sit oddly in their Italian crypts. The point was to be an artistic momento mori — a Latin reminder to remember death, and presumably the coming judgement. Most talk about death is less immediate, but just as urgent. Morte — Lo-Fi Collective's next exhibition — invites you to gaze on images of skulls and other paraphernalia of death. But, unlike the capuchins, it leaves the judgement up to you. Like life, a good night out or the Lo-Fi itself, the exhibition is transient. Staged off Taylor Square for one night only — Thursday, October 21 — this exhibition features work from over twenty-five Australian artists, versed in tattoos and other visual arts. It's curated by internationally sought-after tattoo artist Josh Roelink. Lo-Fi's weekly, second-floor series of exhibitions give you the chance to get up close and personal with Sydney artists and their work. The life of Morte is brief, but ambitious. Don't let it finish before you go. Image via perpetualplum.
Inner west pub goers will no doubt be familiar with The Oxford Tavern — the Petersham pub is known for its barbecue (sweetly dubbed Black Betty) and sunny courtyard. But, since the pub changed hands in January, it's synonymous with something else: craft beer. Brothers James and Josh Thorpe — who currently own Darlinghurst beer pub The Taphouse and, more recently, its sour ale and natural wine bar Odd Culture — cite the pub is one of their favourite inner west venues, and, since getting the keys at the start of the year, they've injected it with their passion for local beer. The Oxford Tavern bar now has 13 beers on tap (with three more coming), all pouring beers from locally owned, independent breweries made within a five-kilometre radius of the pub — at the moment you can get your mitts on brews from The Grifter, Yulli's, Nomad and Wayward. If you don't want a beer, you can opt for an Aussie gin with tonic, a spritz or a cocktail jug made with soda from PS40. Happy hour runs from 5–7pm Monday to Friday with schooners, wines and Aussie spirits all just five bucks. The kitchen's smoked barbecue offering Black Betty won't be going anywhere — it's still been pumping out about 200 kilograms of meat each weekend. It is doing some different offerings, though, including a barbecued version of The Taphouse's signature Sunday roast and an all-vegan offering on Thursdays — along with $7 pints of Yullis and $10 glasses of natural wine. The courtyard has had a green makeover, too, and now looks like it's permanently hosting a plant sale. Excitingly, Friday nights will be dedicated to live music, with No Hot No Play kicking off on March 22. And, in addition to a sprawling craft brew offering, there are plans to eventually install a brewery on-site and launch a beer label. This is not the first time the pub has changed hands in recent years. It was taken over and given a completely new life by the Drink 'n' Dine Group — which, when it was still operational, was run by Jaime Wirth, who just re-did The Duke — back in 2012. It was then sold to (what's now known as) the Australian Venue Co. in 2016, who were reportedly looking for new publicans to run The Oxford Tavern last year. The pub appears to have sold instead. Find The Oxford Tavern is located at 1 New Canterbury Road, Petersham. It's open from midday seven days a week. Images three and four: Katje Ford.
If rom-coms have taught us anything, it's that spontaneous dates are the quickest way to win someone's heart. From the surprise paintball date in Ten Things I Hate About You, which sees a paint-covered Heath Ledger and Julia Stiles kiss for the very first time, to the impromptu IKEA meetup in 500 Days of Summer that begins with the couple looking for trivets and ends with them planning their future home — it's clear that off-the-cuff dates result in a whole lotta love. Well, good news lovebirds, spontaneity isn't solely reserved for the silver screen. You too can sweep your main squeeze off their feet with a surprise date this summer. To make sure your meet-cute is suitably special, we've partnered with Henkell, purveyors of quality bubbles, and pulled together five spontaneous date ideas that are sure to put a sparkle in your partner's eye. Have fun, lovers. BUBBLES AND A BOARD GAME BY THE WATER While competitive activities can be slightly risky on a date — depending on how cut-throat you or your lover is — they're also a great way to bond and learn about your partner. For instance, you can play some Scrabble to test their vocabulary or, better yet, Twister for some shameless physical flirting. (No judgement, we've all been there.) We suggest grabbing a bottle of Henkell Blanc de Blancs sparkling then heading to Parsley Bay in Vaucluse. This secluded hang-out has a nice patch of grass for gaming, as well as stunning water views to enjoy once that competitive spirit has wanned. SHOP FOR VINTAGE OUTFITS THEN HEAD FOR A BOOGIE Take your date to Newtown and peruse the many op shops that line King Street. It's a great way to keep things cheap and cheerful, give back to the community and rebuff fast fashion. It also gives you a chance to goof around trying to find each other over-the-top outfits like you're in some sort of cutesy rom-com montage. Once you've picked out some vintage gems for one another, head to The Imperial for a night of dancing. This bars effusive and colourful atmosphere — best showcased during 'Drag and Dine' at Pricillas — will match your eclectic outfits. Get set for a memorable night. STARGAZE WITH SOME SPARKLING AND A PICNIC The balmy nights of summer are perfect for an al fresco dinner underneath the stars. Let's face it, not much can compete with our mesmerising Milky Way. The dinner can be as low-key or opulent as you like. Really, the star-filled sky is the limit. Since the date requires little planning, it's a perfect off-the-cuff option. You can keep things simple with a blanket in the backyard and a charcuterie board, or take things up a notch with a bottle of Henkell Trocken sparkling, some fresh oysters and a chiminea. Keep an eye out for a shooting star; there's something magical about sitting with your person and watching the sky perform for you. RELAX AT A ROOFTOP POOL We know, chilling poolside is a rather obvious choice in summer. But you can elevate your date, literally and figuratively, by taking your partner to this rooftop pool in the heart of the city. Head to The Old Clare in Chippendale to cool off among the clouds while simultaneously soaking up views of the city skyline. The recently renovated al fresco area offers a 14-metre heated pool, luxe surrounds and panoramic vistas. It's the perfect place for you and your date to relax and unwind. The Old Clare rooftop is open on Wednesdays and Thursdays from 3–9.30pm and Fridays to Sundays from 12–9.30pm. And after you've had enough pool time, head up George Street to Chefs Gallery where you can crack into a bottle of Henkell and dig into plates of peking duck-stuffed roti, prawn and scallop shui mai and handmade noodles with spinach and mushroom, slow-cooked beef brisket or a variety of seafood. [caption id="attachment_672350" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Eugene Hyland.[/caption] BE KIDS FOR THE AFTERNOON Take a spontaneous trip to one of Sydney's novelty bars, like Holey Moley, 1989 or Archie Brothers, and channel your inner kidults. Whether it's playing a round of mini-golf, smashing buttons playing retro Street Fighter and that excellent retro Simpsons game or trying your luck at an arcade game, these venues give a big dose of nostalgia and allow you to act like a kid free from judgment. (Just don't chuck a tantrum and throw your golf club if you lose; only well-behaved children score future dates.) Finish up the day as an adult, sipping a glass of Henkell Blanc de Blancs and reminiscing over the best plays. Summer is here and it's time to pop the bubbly. Pick up a bottle of Henkell Blanc de Blancs or Henkell Trocken for your next sparkling occasion.
Most film festivals try to cater for everybody. Take a hefty smattering of weighty dramas, throw in a heartwarming comedy here, an arty action flick there, and add a few left-of-centre picks to cap it all off. That's not the Sydney Underground Film Festival's style, if their name hadn't already given that away. And sure, some folks aren't up for eye-popping gore, surreal animations, and movies literally titled Assholes. But if that sounds like it'd be right up your alley, then you're in the exact right place. Returning to the darkened walls of Marrickville's Factory Theatre from September 14 to 17, SUFF delights in showing the sort of movies that challenge, provoke, disturb and delight, often all in one session. They also revel in breaking from the norm – hell, they're even opening up this year's festival with a one-of-a-kind live event that brings VHS to the big screen. From hipsters with fake babies, to docos about finding a fake rock, to fictional advertising for fake energy drinks, if it isn't coming to a multiplex near you, then it's likely on the bill. Below, we've picked six of the best. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXB0DK3upGY THE ENDLESS On paper, The Endless might sound like the sum of its intriguing but far from unusual parts, with creepy cults, temporal trickery and sibling struggles all fairly common film fodder. On the screen, however, the latest film from director-actor duo Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead proves anything but standard. In fact, it's the type of sci-fi/horror flick that will floor you with its ingenuity, make you want to watch it again immediately afterwards, and inspire you to check out the duo's first effort, Resolution (which we cannot recommend enough). Imaginative, enthralling, astute with its aesthetics and atmosphere, and insightful in contemplating both human and supernatural drama, this account of two brothers returning to the close-knit camp they used to call home is the whole weird and wonderful package. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjL_KKxX_yE PREVENGE Darren Aronofsky's rightfully buzz-inducing mother! isn't the only unhinged mix of maternity and mayhem headed to Sydney's screens this week, thanks to the first feature directed by Alice Lowe. After proving her acting talents in Garth Marenghi's Darkplace, and her writing skills with Sightseers, she's not only helming Prevenge, but starring alongside her then-unborn daughter. Seven months' pregnant at the time of filming, Lowe plays a woman compelled to commit murder by the child growing inside her, giving the devilish kid and scary motherhood sub-genres a ghoulish new spin. A smart, subversive and funny horror-comedy about what to expect when you're expecting. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RhLMCrH2ZI LIBERAMI Forget The Exorcist. If you want to see what happens when folks think they're possessed by demonic forces, then you need to see the real thing. There's no shortage of them, particularly in Sicily, where the experienced Father Cataldo endeavours to save souls. Heads don't spin, projectile vomit doesn't splash all over the priest, and bumps and jumps aren't on the agenda. Instead, we find troubled people begging for a solution. An insightful and fascinating documentary results — as well as one that puts a song by Ryan Gosling's band, Dead Man's Bones, to good use during its credits. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPRFsEbEKNs DAWSON CITY: FROZEN TIME Some of the best things happen by accident. Excavating in the Canadian town of Dawson City in 1978, a construction worker didn't expect to find 533 lost nitrate films, but he did. Dating back to the silent era, they contained newsreels, old flicks by influential directors and footage of the town — and, nearly four decades later, they comprise Bill Morrison's experimental effort. To watch Dawson City: Frozen Time is to step back into time, explore the early days of cinema, wander through a remote locale and watch the beginnings of modern life as we know it. Stars from the past, presidents from the present, and everything in between: they're all linked in this moving and mesmerising montage. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IETTDnTrxoA MEATBALL MACHINE KODOKU For those that aren't quite so keen on blood, violence and viscera, some SUFF flicks require a warning. Meatball Machine Kodoku is most definitely one of them. Named after a type of toxic Japanese magic, it's a comedy — but of the red-splattered, limb-flying kind (and then some). And, to be honest, that's what you'd expect when a cancer-ridden debt collector is not only forced to face invading robotic aliens, but is given super powers by them as well. With new abilities comes new chances for gory revenge, in a sequel of sorts to 2005's Meatball Machine, as directed by Tokyo Gore Police's Yoshihiro Nishimura. Apparently they used four tonnes of fake blood in the shoot, in case you were wondering. https://vimeo.com/143938734 WATCH THE SUNSET Australia's latest crime thriller is also an ambitious feat of style and structure, unspooling its action in a single take. If Birdman can pretend to do it and win a heap of awards, then Aussie writer-director Tristan Barr can offer up the real thing — and, because he clearly wasn't busy enough, also star in this account of an ex-bikie trying to get his family in order. With the story taking place over one afternoon, the camerawork ensures that audiences feel the requisite tension and urgency. And yes, exploring the wrong side of the law and order divide is something the local industry is rather fond of. But at least Watch the Sunset makes a concerted effort to stand out from the crowd. The 2017 Sydney Underground Film Festival runs from September 14 to 17 at The Factory Theatre, Marrickville. For more information or to buy tickets, visit the festival website.
Battle of Waterloo, directed by Sarah Goodes for the Sydney Theatre Company, is the impressive debut of writer Kylie Coolwell. With a great cast and skilfully constructed dialogue, this is a vibrant story of the struggles of an Indigenous family and a celebration of the tight-knit community of Sydney’s Waterloo. When Ray (Luke Carroll) returns home after three years in prison, he is full of promises for his friends and family about turning his life around. But this is just another distraction for Cassie (Shari Sebbens), his partner, who is agonisingly close to finishing a course in fashion design and is already juggling a number of problems at home, not least of which is her sister Sissy (Shareena Clanton), who is addicted to drugs and spinning rapidly out of control. Despite Ray’s determination to "dream up a world [he and Cassie] never had until now", the dream gets harder and further away, and old habits begin to creep in. The play is set in Waterloo’s James Cook and Joseph Banks Towers, and designer Renee Mulder captures both the intimate setting of Auntie Mavis’s flat and a sense of the broader community, with balconies and a grass strip the backdrop to the simply furnished kitchen and bedrooms. Coolwell has a deft and humorous touch with the larger group scenes, choosing just the right moment for each character to chime in. The ensemble is fantastic, particularly in numbers; the house is a hive when the family comes together, discussions becoming arguments before somebody recognises a classic playing on the radio, which sparks off a dance. All of the actors deliver such physically grounded performances that the noise and energy they generate is beautiful and infectious. Apparently one of Coolwell’s major influences while writing the play was Tennessee Williams and it shows. The air is thick with dialogue that is frank, cutting and funny, a cacophony of voices teasing and posturing, denying and verifying certain parts of a story. It is matriarch Auntie Mavis (Roxanne McDonald) who usually has the last word, though, her disapproval cutting through the ruckus as she sits at the table playing cards. The second half isn’t quite the equal of the first. As dreams become, or surrender to, reality, the play begins to tread a much more familiar path. That said, by this stage, the characters have been so solidly established that where they wind up continues to matter a great deal. Battle of Waterloo is full of life and love, both in its performances and its writing, and is well worth a look.
Attention all movie-loving art buffs, feast your eyes on this little cheesy morsel of an exhibition. For one week only from June 10, Surry Hills' Black Penny will stock the walls with B-Grade, an exhibition of '80s-inspired movie posters entirely devised by a whole host of Sydney creative folk. And by entirely devised we mean 100 percent fake. Illustrator Sam Shennan, in conjunction with Black Listed gallery, asked a list of 30+ artists, illustrators and street artists to come up with their own terribly ridiculous, wonderfully camp ideas for films that might have been. Expect to see a whole heap of weird, wonderful and downright tongue in cheek imaginings from some of this city’s most up-and-coming talent — from the blaxploitation revenge flick Black Bonnie ("They killed Black Clyde, now she'll kill them.") to the "unspeakable horror that gave way to natural passion," giant octopus romance The Creature Who Loved Me. Entry is free and the buzz behind this fun little exhibition is high, so we suggest you scuttle down to Bourke Street and raise a glass to the "jaw-dropping 2D" in all its colourful, schlocky glory.
For a building that houses some of the most glorious static images in the country, the Art Gallery of New South Wales has got some cracking moving ones as well. You just have to know where to find them. For a few years now, as part of the Art After Hours programme, the gallery has been screening classic movies in its basement (alright, the Domain Theatre) not once, but three times a week — for free. Building the seasons around a place or period, the films have ranged from Charlie Chaplin's silent masterpiece The Great Dictator to Scorsese's ode to 1970s New York, Mean Streets. And the gallery's at it again. From now until the end of August, AGNSW is celebrating some of China's female screen legends with a series called Starburst: Icons of Chinese Cinema. The chosen titles span various genres — from silent cinema to New Wave to more modern masterpieces — with one common thread: strong female leads. As a collection, the films work to represent the rise of the term mingxing (bright star), coined to describe the 'screen diva' phenomena that continues to shape Chinese cinema today. It is also replete with cinematic delights that may well have been edged out of mainstream screenings by the never-ending parade of Marvel Cinematic Universe releases. Jia Zhangke's The World has echoes of Synecdoche: New York, as workers in a world-themed amusement park start longing for escape. Platform, also by Zhangke, explores China's move from Maoism to market capitalism by tracking a group of young artists for a decade as they transform from the Fenyang Peasant Culture Group into an electronic band. No sequels, no lightsabres, no choc-tops and no tweeting spoilers. On Wednesdays at 2pm and 7.15 pm and Sundays at 2pm, the AGNSW has the perfect antidote to Hollywood's monotonous offering — you'll just have to go down three levels to find it.
Near the end of the degustation at Momofuku Seiobo, you receive a dish of steamed grouper endives, celeriac puree and bonito dust — and a glass of onion juice. It’s part of the restaurant’s juice pairing, an alternative to matching wines where you get a different juice with each course. Momofuku Seiobo was the first restaurant in Australia to offer anything like it. “We had plenty of customers who are coming and they don't drink alcohol, and it's sort of ripping their experience a bit,” says assistant sommelier Ambrose Chiang. “So we worked out with the chefs what's in season and what's available.” That’s how it started, simply juice. It has since evolved to be a much more creative and nuanced way to pair food and drink. “People think it's just apple, orange and pineapple ... Things you could usually get out of a bottle. Sometimes it blows their mind a little bit.” Ambrose says. “It's the same way we approach the wine pairing. Certain flavour profiles, how we serve it, serving temperatures. Whether we strain the juice or not to give it more texture.” HOW MOMOFUKU DISCOVERED THAT ONIONS HAVE LAYERS Ambrose’s ‘onion water’ is the best example. As Momofuku’s menu is based around light and savoury flavours, Ambrose wanted to experiment with creating a savoury juice. “One problem with doing savoury juice — I don't want it to be a broth, I don't want it to be a sauce,” he says. Having something too heavy would offend the dish and that’s the last thing any sommelier wants to do. So he came up with an idea for, not onion juice or onion sauce, but onion water. Brown onions, spring onions and eschallots are cooked in a steaming hot pan until burnt and caramelised. Smoky and slightly sweet in flavour, they’re placed in bags of water and steamed overnight at 65 degrees. In the morning, Ambrose strains the onion and freezes the flavoured liquid. Still oily from the infusion, the ice block is left to drip through a fine muslin bag for two days. It looks like black tea and tastes, at first, like a nothing but a hint of savoury. Then, before it sinks down your throat, you get a burst of charred onion flavour. Ambrose describes the accompanying steamed fish course as “very savoury, slightly smoky but light”. To match it he needed something that was equally light but “with a slight sweetness, smokiness and savouriness” — exactly what you get from his onion water. EMBRACING MOLECULAR GASTRONOMY IN LIQUID FORM With the help of similar pioneering restaurants overseas, Momofuku’s innovation has helped the idea of non-alcoholic pairings to be taken more seriously in Australia. Sydney's Bentley and newcomer nel. are the most recent of a small but growing number of restaurants to test the idea of juice pairings. “My reaction was probably similar to others — sceptical to say the least,” says Bentley sommelier Nick Hildebrandt. “But with our new bar manager and drinks guru Phil Gandevia we actually started to put some thought and effort into it and came up with something that I believe is unique and very good.” Bentley’s first dessert — coconut sorbet, desert lime and honeyed melon — is now available with a pineapple, aloe vera and basil juice. “The idea was not only to match the dessert but to in a way add to it by having another component in liquid form sitting to the side.” Melbourne’s Attica runs a juice pairing based on the produce from their 1200 square metre garden. Banjo Harris Plane, the head sommelier, says one of his favourites is a cold smoked Granny Smith apple juice that’s paired with a King George whiting that’s been torched in a paperbark wrapping. “The harmony between the aroma of the dish and the juice is incredible.” Even with the success they’ve achieved at Attica, Banjo says they’re still scratching the surface of what could be done. “Next for Attica is to experiment with non-alcoholic fermentations, carbonation and thickening. We have also been looking at a scientific device called a homogeniser that incorporates liquids into each other, resulting in better consistency.” TAMING THE SWEET AND THE ACIDIC Joshua Picken, sommelier at Orana in Adelaide, told us they’re working on something similar for their juice pairing using native ingredients. “I have been playing with structural elements like tannin and tartaric acid. We explore non-alcoholic fermentations as I don't want every juice matching to taste sweet.” It’s a sentiment shared by many top sommeliers. “When you think about the juices that are available to us, they're quite sweet," says Ambrose. "If you're just offering juice by the glass, it's fine, but if it’s a pairing, it has to be working with the menu.” He says some other pairings he’s had served great juices, but they’ve been too sweet or overpowering to match the food. After being surprised by a customer request for a non-alcoholic pairing, Quay’s head sommelier, Amanda Yallop, was inspired to create a matching of mocktails and tea. “I am not a fan of only juice being presented. I’m a very big fan of acid in my wines, but to chase an entire meal with only juice is simply too much acidity.” Similarly, Vue de Monde and Brae in Victoria offer entire tea matchings from specialised tea sommeliers. THE NON- (OR LESS-) ALCOHOLIC FUTURE “I think that an evolution is on its way," says Amanda. "Chefs, bar staff and sommeliers are playing and testing with these pairings on a pretty serious level. There is enormous potential as to how far and how extreme it can become.” Despite that, she thinks non-alcoholic matches will never be treated with the same level of passion as wine. Considering both the range of flavours available to juice and the fact that high quantities of alcohol dampen your ability to taste, it could be argued that a non-alcoholic pairing is ultimately more appropriate for degustation-style eating. For one of the best sommeliers in the country, that doesn't quite fly. “I’d argue that there’s still more variety in wine than there is in juice, but I don’t really see it as either or,” says Banjo. “Different occasions for different things.” So perhaps a drink pairing is the best solution? Instead of juice or wine pairings, you’d simply get a different drink matched to each course; some will be wine, some will be juices and some will be something new. “What a fun idea," says Amanda. "I’m not sure how it would go down with guests expectations ... I might try it at Quay’s next food and wine training with our floor team and gauge the reception.” Images: Bodhi Liggett.
It seems like only yesterday that there was a giant yellow duck bobbing around in Sydney Harbour, but already Sydney's other major festival has announced its central act. Vivid Live 2013 will be headlined by German krautrock trailblazers Kraftwerk, who will perform their eight groundbreaking albums across four nights in 3D Kraftwerk – The Catalogue 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8. The retrospective comes to Sydney following only three other performances in New York, Düsseldorf and London. Each concert night will be dedicated to a different studio album, with plenty of audiovisual treats hidden pulled from the band's back catalogue for the more serious of Kraftwerk connoisseurs. The trip starts in 1974 with Autobahn before moving through Radio-Activity (1975), Trans Europe Express (1977), The Man Machine (1978), Computer World (1981), Techno Pop (1986), The Mix (1991) and Tour de France (2003). Kraftwerk are as much an art collective as they are sonic revolutionaries, and they've taken care to ensure their music comes across just as mindbogglingly avant-garde as when those first songs were released almost 40 years ago, light years ahead of time. The music will be performed with band member/man-machine standing in line behind their individual control desks — the set-up you’ll be familiar with even if you’ve never so much as watched one of their music videos — and artwork by long-time collaborator Emil Schult take things from concert to multimedia spectacle. With everyone in the Opera House’s Joan Sutherland Theatre wearing 3D glasses and trippy GeoCities-era CGI spilling out from a giant screen, it will be most excellently weird. Because of high demand for tickets, Sydney Opera House have put in place an online application process to ensure everyone has an equal chance. To apply for tickets got to sydneyoperahouse.com/kraftwerk any time between Monday 25 February and Friday 1 March. The full program for Vivid Sydney and Vivid LIVE will be announced in March. KRAFTWERK – THE CATALOGUE 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Joan Sutherland Theatre, Sydney Opera House Friday, May 24, 7pm – Autobahn (1974) Friday, May 24, 9.30pm – Radio-Activity (1975) Saturday, May 25, 7pm – Trans Europe Express (1977) Saturday, May 25, 9.30pm – The Man Machine (1978) Sunday, May 26, 7pm – Computer World (1981) Sunday, May 26, 9.30pm – Techno Pop (1986) Monday, May 27, 7pm – The Mix (1991) Monday, May 27, 9.30pm – Tour De France (2003)
Sprawling across two levels and multiple outdoor areas on the corner of Frenchmans and Clovelly roads, The Duke of Gloucester has been long been a go-to for sandy-haired Sydneysiders returning from the beach, locals looking to sink a few pints while watching the game and anyone after a decent parmi. Now, the latest in a long line of pubs, it's been acquired by Sydney hospitality giant Merivale. Back in 2017, Merivale went on a bit of a pub-buying spree, snapping up Marrickville's Vic On The Park, The Collaroy on the northern beaches, The Tennyson on Botany Road, Bondi's Royal Hotel and Woollahra's Hotel Centennial in a short six months. But it has been a little quieter of late, with the group's latest acquisition The Allawah Hotel in Sydney's south last October. Exactly what Merivale has planned for The DOG, as it's affectionally known, is still under wraps for now, but the group will pick up the keys to the pub in January 2021. It'll join the group's growing stable of eastern suburbs venues, including Coogee Pavilion (and its new middle-level restaurants and bars) and The Paddington, as well as the aforementioned recent acquisitions. [caption id="attachment_702660" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Totti's located in the back of the Royal Hotel by Nikki To[/caption] The DOG last changed hands back in 2015, when it was purchased by the Good Beer Company, which is behind Sydney venues such as Keg & Brew and saved Paddington's Four in Hand Hotel from being turned into residential dwellings in 2018. The Randwick pub then hit the market again back in early 2019 for a cool $30 million, according to Domain. While we hang tight for further announcements on the fate of The DOG, we can only dream of what the makeover may entail. The return of the cook-your-own steak restaurant? We'll have to wait and see. Merivale will receive the keys to The Duke of Gloucester in January 2021. We'll keep you updated with further announcements.
Six decades after West Side Story first hit Broadway, the acclaimed musical returns to the Australian stage, set to play at both Arts Centre Melbourne and the Sydney Opera House next year. Headed up by two-time Tony Award nominated choreographer Joey McKneely, the award-winning production reimagines the famous tale of rival street gangs in 1950's New York City. It's a Romeo and Juliet-style classic, that's enchanted audiences in countless iterations over the years. And now it's set to be retold at two of the country's most iconic venues, the musical featuring all the hit songs — including 'I Feel Pretty', 'A Boy Like That', 'Something's Coming', 'America' and 'Maria' — along with Jerome Robbins' (the Broadway show's original creator) ground-breaking choreography. And, if you've always dreamt of being a West Side Story star, now's the time to start practicing those moves and warming up those vocal chords — audition submissions are now open, in the hunt to find the musical's leading talent. If you'd like to get a double dose of West Side Story, you can also attend an operatic production of the show in March next year, as it heads to Sydney's floating stage, Handa Opera. West Side Story will play at the Arts Centre Melbourne from April 6–28, 2019, and at the Sydney Opera House from August 16 to October 6, 2019. Head over to the website to jump on a waitlist for tickets. Image Credit: Nilz Boehme and Johan Persson
The Winery is known for adding exciting twists to the classic bottomless brunch. Lush greenery set against exposed brick walls, a healthy mix of indoor and outdoor space and no shortage of plush couches, the Surry Hills venue is giving you and your mates another reason to show up (and booze up) on a Saturday afternoon. Starting Saturday, April 27, The Winery is introducing a monthly disco-themed brunch. For $59 per person, you and your crew can enjoy a two-course brunch with two hours of bottomless 70s-themed cocktails and entertainment from Sydney Drag Royalty. While you eat, the divas will perform hits from the likes of Donna Summer, The Pointer Sisters and ABBA — and once you're finished, the dance floor will open for those of you who can't resist the urge to join in when 'Dancing Queen' comes on. The six-item menu is a quirky affair with savoury treats like the Groovin' to the Moovin' (french toast with fried chicken and maple hot sauce) and Pimpin' Platforms (Belgian waffle with smoked salmon and hazelnut slaw). Meanwhile, those with a sweet tooth can try the Can You Dig It — caramelised banana and crème caramel with marmalade ice cream. After groovin' your way through this brunch, you'll probably be searching for more musically styled meals. If so, check out Untied's Brunch with Soul. Each Saturday, the Barangaroo rooftop spot hosts a hearty brunch complete with a roaming gospel choir. Can we get a 'hell yeah'? The Winery Disco Brunch will run monthly from Saturday, April 27. To make a booking, head this way.
Not all that long ago, the idea of getting cosy on your couch, clicking a few buttons, and having thousands of films and television shows at your fingertips seemed like something out of science fiction. Now, it's just an ordinary night — whether you're virtually gathering the gang to text along, cuddling up to your significant other or shutting the world out for some much needed me-time. Of course, given the wealth of options to choose from, there's nothing ordinary about making a date with your chosen streaming platform. The question isn't "should I watch something?" — it's "what on earth should I choose?". Hundreds of titles are added to Australia's online viewing services each and every month, all vying for a spot on your must-see list. And, so you don't spend 45 minutes scrolling and then being too tired to actually commit to anything, we're here to help. We've spent plenty of couch time watching our way through this month's latest batch — and, from the latest and greatest through to old and recent favourites, here are our picks for your streaming queue from January's haul. Brand New Stuff You Can Watch From Start to Finish Now Boy Swallows Universe A magical-realist coming-of-age tale, a clear-eyed family drama, a twisty crime and detective thriller, a time capsule of Brisbane in the 80s: since first hitting the page in 2018, Trent Dalton's Boy Swallows Universe has worn its happy flitting between different genres and tones, and constant seesawing from hope to heartbreak and back again, as confidently as readers have long envisaged Eli Bell's wide grin. That hopping and jumping, that refusal to be just one type of story and stick to a single mood, has always made sense on the page — and in the excellent seven-part adaptation that now brings Australia's fastest-selling debut novel ever to the screen, it also couldn't feel more perfect. As played by the charmingly talented Felix Cameron (Penguin Bloom), Eli's smile is indeed big. As scripted by screenwriter John Collee (Hotel Mumbai), and with Dalton among the executive producers, the miniseries embraces its multitudes wholeheartedly. Like style, like substance: a semi-autobiographical novel penned by a writer and journalist who lived variations of plenty that he depicts, learned and accepted early that everyone has flaws, and patently has the imagination of someone who coped with life's hardships as a child by escaping into dreams of an existence more fanciful, Dalton's tome and every iteration that it inspires has to be many things in one bustling package. Its characters are, after all. Seeing people in general, parts of a city usually overlooked, and folks with complicated histories or who've made questionable choices — those forced in particular directions out of financial necessity, too — in more than just one fashion flutters at the centre of Boy Swallows Universe. In the Australian Book Industry Awards' 2019 Book of the Year, Literary Book of the Year and Audio Book of the Year, and now on streaming, Eli's nearest and dearest demand it. So does the enterprising Darra-dwelling 12-year-old boy who knows how to spy the best in those he loves, but remains well-aware of their struggles. His older brother Gus (Lee Tiger Halley, The Heights) hasn't spoken since they were younger, instead drawing messages in the sky with his finger, but is as fiercely protective as elder siblings get. Doting and dedicated mum Frankie (Phoebe Tonkin, Babylon) is a recovering heroin addict with a drug dealer for a partner. And Lyle Orlik (Travis Fimmel, Black Snow), that mullet-wearing stepfather, cares deeply about Eli and Gus — including when Eli convinces him to let him join his deliveries. Boy Swallows Universe streams via Netflix. Read our full review, and our interview with Bryan Brown. Society of the Snow It was meant to be a fun trip to Chile with friends and family for a game. When the Old Christians Club rugby union team boarded Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 in Montevideo on October 13, 1972, destination Santiago, no one among them knew what would happen next. The plane didn't make it to its destination, as 1976 Mexican film Survive!, 1993 American movie Alive and now Spanish-US co-production Society of the Snow each cover. All three features boast apt titles, but only the latest sums up the grim reality and existential dilemma of crashing in the Andes, being stranded for 72 days in snowy climes with little resources against the weather — or for sustenance — and attempting to endure. Taken from the memoir by Pablo Vierci, aka La sociedad de la nieve in Spanish, only this phrase adorning JA Bayona's (Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom) picture encapsulates the tremendous effort that it took to find a way to persist, as well as the fact that trying to remain alive long enough to be rescued meant adapting everything about how the survivors approached each second, minute, hour, day, week and month — and also links in with how a catastrophe like this banded them together, doing whatever it took to find a way off the mountains, while reshaping how they contemplated what it meant to be human. Society of the Snow isn't just a disaster film detailing the specifics of the flight's failed trip, the immediate deaths and those that came afterwards, the lengthy wait to be found — including after authorities called the search off — and the crushing decisions made to get through. Bayona, who also helmed the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami-focused The Impossible, has made a weighty feature that reckons with the emotional, psychological and spiritual toll, and doesn't think of shying away from the most difficult aspects of this real-life situation (including cannibalism). This is both gruelling and meaningful viewing, as crafted with technical mastery (especially by Don't Breathe 2 cinematographer Pedro Luque, plus Cinco lobitos' Andrés Gil and Cites' Jaume Martí as editors), built upon brutal candour, and paying tribute to resilience and then some. Its feats extend to its hauntingly acted performances from a cast that includes Enzo Vogrincic (El Presidente), Agustín Pardella (Secrets of Summer) and Matías Recalt (Planners), all contributing to an account of camaraderie and sacrifice that deserves its Best International Feature Film Oscar nomination. Society of the Snow streams via Netflix. The Tourist Same cast, new location, similar-enough scenario: that's the approach in The Tourist's second season, which brings back what was meant to be a once-off series from 2022. In its debut run, Jamie Dornan's (A Haunting in Venice) Elliot Stanley awoke in the Aussie outback with zero memory and his life in danger. When the first six episodes ended, he'd uncovered who he was, complete with a distressing criminal past, but was en route to starting anew with Helen Chambers (Danielle Macdonald, French Exit), the constable who helped him get to the bottom of his mystery. After the show worked so swimmingly to begin with, swiftly earning its renewal, screenwriters Harry and Jack Williams (Baptiste, The Missing, Liar) switch part of their initial setup for its next spin. The story moves to Elliot's homeland, while Helen is the tourist (as is her grating ex Ethan, as played by Aunty Donna's Coffee Cafe's Greg Larsen). Remaining in the compellingly entertaining thriller-meets-dramedy's return is the lack of recollection about Elliot's history, even as he actively goes looking for it. The Tourist first rejoins its main couple on a train in southeast Asia. While not married, they're firmly in the honeymoon phase of their relationship. But the now ex-cop has a revelation: Elliot has received a letter from one of his childhood pals who wants to meet. Quickly, off to the Emerald Isle they go. Trying to shave off his bushy holiday beard in a public toilet leads to Elliot being kidnapped, plus Helen playing investigator again. As he attempts to flee his captors (Outlander's Diarmaid Murtagh, Inspektor Jury: Der Tod des Harlekins' Nessa Matthews and The Miracle Club's Mark McKenn), she seeks help from local Detective Sergeant Ruairi Slater (Conor MacNeill, Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre), but any dreams that The Tourist's globe-hopping couple had about happy reunions or relaxing Irish getaways are sent packing fast. Disturbing discoveries; feuding families led by the equally formidable Frank McDonnell (Francis Magee, Then You Run) and Niamh Cassidy (Olwen Fouéré, The Northman); again bringing Fargo and TV adaptation to mind: they're all influential factors in The Tourist's easy-to-binge (again) second season. The Tourist season streams via Stan. Read our full review. Echo With its ninth live-action streaming series on Disney+, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has broken out a new label:" Marvel Spotlight". It's now being applied to anything that's apparently less about ongoing MCU continuity and sports a greater emphasis on character. The idea is that watching shouldn't feel like homework, with no prior viewing required. Echo has also dropped its entire five-episode span at once, another MCU first. The focus on badging this Hawkeye spinoff about Maya Lopez (Alaqua Cox, who made her acting debut in the earlier series) as something different because it isn't just connecting Marvel dots and setting up more to come is a curious choice, though. It's also the wrong point to stress. Echo isn't worth watching thanks to a lack of constant MCU winking, nudging and future nods. In fact, given that Avenger Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner, Mayor of Kingstown), Matt Murdoch/Daredevil (Charlie Cox, Kin) and Wilson Fisk/Kingpin (Vincent D'Onofrio, Dumb Money) appear, that "no knowledge necessary" claim isn't accurate. What makes Echo a must-see, rather, is its protagonist, the authenticity with which it explores her story as an Indigenous woman who is deaf and has had a limb amputated, its cast and the potency that gathers across its run. By deviating from its standard release pattern — where it usually launches with a few episodes at once, then doles the rest out weekly — and unveiling the full series in one go, Disney isn't dumping Echo. If anything in the MCU's streaming catalogue demands a one-sitting binge, it's this. As created by Marion Dayre (Better Call Saul), and directed Sydney Freeland (Reservation Dogs) plus Catriona McKenzie (the Australian filmmaker behind 2012's Satellite Boy), Echo's power resounds with more strength the longer that it continues. The show takes time to step into Maya's backstory, explore her Choctaw community in Oklahoma, see how Kingpin's criminal enterprise reverberates through her family and thread its elements together. The three prologues that kick off the first three episodes, each telling of one of Maya's foremothers, start painting the full picture: this is an MCU TV entry made with careful attention to and affection for the cultural heritage that it depicts, and ensures that that's a genuine and crucial part of the narrative, even if Marvel also still being Marvel comes with the territory. Echo streams via Disney+. Read our full review. The Kitchen He has an Oscar, BAFTA and Golden Globe for Judas and the Black Messiah. He was nominated for all of the above accolades for Get Out, and should've won them all then, too. His resume spans Skins, one of Black Mirror's most-memorable episodes, plus Sicario, Widows, Black Panther, Queen & Slim and Nope as well. But The Kitchen marks a first for Daniel Kaluuya: his first movie as a director. Hopefully more will follow. Co-helming with Kibwe Tavares — who also notches up his feature debut behind the lens after shorts including Jonah and Robot & Scarecrow, which both starred Kaluuya — and co-penning the screenplay with Calm with Horses' Joe Murtagh, the actor makes a stunning arrival as a filmmaker. The Kitchen's setup: in the year 2044 in London, with class clashes so pronounced that not being rich is basically treated as a crime, a man (Top Boy's Kane Robinson, aka rapper Kano) living in the titular housing development crosses paths with a 12-year-old boy (newcomer Jedaiah Bannerman) who has just lost his mother, with the pair discovering that they have no one but each other as they endeavour to find a way to survive. Robinson's Izy has bought into the social-climbing dream when The Kitchen begins. He'll do so literally if he can come up with the cash for an apartment in a swankier tower away from everything he's ever known within 21 days, a dream that he's been working towards at his job selling funerals. It's at the latter that he meets Bannerman's Benji, who has nowhere to live after his mother's death and no one else to turn to for help. The film's scenario is pure dystopia, reflecting the inequities, oppressions and realities of today as all great sci-fi should. Its intimate emotional core hones in on people attempting to persist and connect, as the genre's best always does as well. Accordingly, this is an impassioned and infuriated portrait of society's gaps as everyone watching can recognise, a nightmarish vision of what might come and a thoughtful character study. As directors, Kaluuya and Tavares excel at world-building, at bringing such rich detail and texture to the screen that viewers feel like they could step straight into its social realist-leaning frames, and at guiding affecting performances out of both Robinson and Bannerman (who adds to the feature's impressive first efforts). The Kitchen streams via Netflix. Prosper Prosper is the Australian TV series that was always bound to happen. Now that it exists, it's also easy to predict remakes of this involving drama popping up elsewhere in the world. Hillsong very likely inspired the eight-part show, which turns the angling within a Sydney-based megachurch's hierarchy into a Succession riff within religious confines, but the underlying story of power, corruption, and the complicated bonds of family and faith is universal. Richard Roxburgh knows what it's like to lead an Aussie effort that gets a US spin, thanks to Rake — and here he turns in another mesmerising performance. This time, the star of Elvis, The Crown, Aunty Donna's Coffee Cafe, Force of Nature: The Dry 2, Go!, Fires and Bali 2002 in just the past four years alone plays Cal Quinn, a charismatic pastor whose belief in himself is just as strong as his devotion to the almighty. The fact that scandals keep raining down upon U Star, the name for the mix of worship and song he's trying to spread around the world with his wife Abi (Rebecca Gibney, Back to the Rafters) and their offspring, doesn't dent his certainty. The Quinns have big dreams to conquer the US, and also just-as-hefty chaos at home to deal with. Eldest son Dion (Ewen Leslie, The Clearing) wants to be more than just his dad's right-hand man, but has a fraying relationship with his wife Taz (Ming-Zhu Hii, La Brea) that's troubling him. Daughter Issy (Hayley McCarthy, Sylvie's Love) and her husband Benji (Jordi Webber, In Limbo) have their eyes on the American expansion, too. Cal and Abi are desperate to do anything that's necessary to bring Jed (Jacob Collins-Levy, The Witcher: Blood Origin), who left the church to work with the unhoused in the community, back to the fold. Throw in youngest child Moses (Alexander D'souza, Angry Indian Goddesses), a high schooler eager to understand who he truly is — and also family lawyer Eli Slowik (Jacek Koman, Faraway Downs), who knows everyone's secrets — and there's ample fuel for a rollercoaster-ride of a thriller. But as Prosper unpacks the Quinns' lives and lies, it also works in eager parishioner Rosa (Brigid Zengeni, The Artful Dodger) and her skeptical daughter Juno (Andrea Solonge, Class of 07), plus star US singer Maddox (Alex Fitzalan, Chevalier), who claims that he wants to be saved. Prosper strams via Stan. Good Grief Grief is a frequent filmic theme, but also a difficult one. Movie-of-the-week weepies have built their own set of cliches. The worst of the worst use someone's illness to try to claim that dying isn't worse than being by a person's ailing side. Dramedy Good Grief knows that the subject that's right there in its name is tricky, however — and that there's no one-size-fits-all experience of mourning. It also manages a complex task, focusing on a man who becomes a widower when his husband is killed suddenly, following his plight as he realises that not everything about their relationship was as idyllic as he thought, but never using someone losing their life solely as fodder to make its protagonist more interesting or tragic (or both). The directorial debut of Schitt's Creek's Dan Levy, who also pens his first feature screenplay, this sincere grappling with mortality and love cares about its characters deeply. It sees their intricacies and their flaws. This is also a film about the messy space that awaits when everything you thought your future holds crumbles, and then all that you're holding onto feels like it's floating away. Levy also stars as Marc, adding to a busy past year that's also seen him in The Idol, Haunted Mansion and Sex Education. When his character throws a Christmas party with his husband Oliver (Luke Evans, Nine Perfect Strangers), the only thing that doesn't seem rosy is the fact that the latter has a business trip to Paris that's taking him away mid-shindig. But the evening turns heartbreaking, leaving Marc lamenting the perfection he's lost — until he learns that there's more to Oliver's jaunts to France. Accompanied by his best friends Sophie (With Negga, Passing) and Thomas (Himesh Patel, Black Mirror), a visit to the City of Love himself awaits, where the stark discoveries keep coming in tandem with earnest soul-searching. Levy helms and pens this like he's lived it, especially in the honest dialogue. He unfurls the story with humour, too, and soulfulness. And he also never lets the inescapable truth that grief never disappears — and that its evolution never ends, either — fade from view. Good Grief streams via Netflix. New and Returning Shows to Check Out Week by Week True Detective Even when True Detective had only reached its second season, the HBO series had chiselled its template into stone: obsessive chalk-and-cheese cops with messy personal lives investigating horrifying killings, on cases with ties to power's corruption, in places where location mattered and with the otherworldly drifting in. A decade after the anthology mystery show's debut in 2014, True Detective returns as Night Country, a six-part miniseries that builds its own snowman out of all of the franchise's familiar parts. The main similarity from there: like the Matthew McConaughey (The Gentlemen)- and Woody Harrelson (White House Plumbers)-led initial season, True Detective: Night Country is phenomenal. This is a return to form and a revitalisation. Making it happen after two passable intervening cases is a new guiding hand off-screen. Tigers Are Not Afraid filmmaker Issa López directs and writes or co-writes every episode, boasting Moonlight's Barry Jenkins as an executive producer. True Detective creator Nic Pizzolatto remains in the latter role, too, as do McConaughey, Harrelson and season-one director Cary Joji Fukunaga (No Time to Die); however, from its female focus and weighty tussling with the dead to its switch to a cool, blue colour scheme befitting its Alaskan setting, there's no doubting that López is reinventing her season rather than ticking boxes. In handing over the reins, Pizzolatto's police procedural never-standard police procedural is a powerhouse again, and lives up to the potential of its concept. The commitment and cost of delving into humanity's depths and advocating for those lost in its abyss has swapped key cops, victims and locations with each spin, including enlisting the masterful double act of Jodie Foster (Nyad) and boxer-turned-actor Kali Reis (Catch the Fair One) to do the sleuthing, but seeing each go-around with fresh eyes feels like the missing puzzle piece. López spies the toll on the show's first women duo, as well as the splinters in a remote community when its fragile sense of certainty is forever shattered. She spots the fractures that pre-date the investigation in the new season, a cold case tied to it, plus the gashes that've carved hurt and pain into the earth ever since people stepped foot on it. She observes the pursuit of profit above all else, and the lack of concern for whatever — whoever, the region's Indigenous inhabitants included — get in the way. She sees that the eternal winter night of 150 miles north of the Arctic Circle come mid-December isn't the only thing impairing everyone's sight. And, she knows that not everything has answers, with life sometimes plunging into heartbreak, or inhospitable climes, or one's own private hell, without rhyme or reason. True Detective streams via Binge. Read our full review. Criminal Record It was accurate with side-splitting hilarity in The Thick of It, as dripping with heartbreak in Benediction and in the world of Doctor Who in-between: Peter Capaldi is one of Scotland's most fascinating actors today. Criminal Record uses his can't-look-away presence to excellent effect, casting him as DCI Daniel Hegarty, one of the eight-part series' two key detectives. By day, the no-nonsense Hegarty is a force to be reckoned with on the force. By night, he moonlights as a driver, seeing much that lingers in London as he's behind the wheel. In his not-so-distant past is a case that brings DS June Lenker (Cush Jumbo, The Good Fight) into his orbit — a case that she's certain is linked to a distressed emergency call by a woman trying to flee domestic abuse, and who says that her partner has already committed murder, gotten away with it and sent another man to prison for the crime in the process. Hegarty contends otherwise, and gruffly, but Lenker is determined to discover the truth, find her potential victim, ascertain whether someone innocent is in jail and learn why every move she makes to dig deeper comes with professional retaliation. This is no odd-couple cop show. It's largely a two-hander, however — and saying that it couldn't be better cast is an understatement. Capaldi is already someone who makes every moment that he's on-screen better. So is Jumbo, which makes watching them face off as riveting as television gets. Passive aggression oozes from the frame when Hegarty and Lenker first confront each other. Tension drips throughout the series relentlessly, but do so with particular vigour whenever its key cops are in close proximity. Criminal Record doesn't waste time keeping audiences guessing about who's dutifully taking their role as part of the thin blue line and who's part of policing at its most corrupt; instead, it lets those two sides that are both meant to be on the upstanding end of the law-and-order divide clash, surveying the damage that ripples not just through the fuzz but also the community. While twists and mysteries are also layered in, they regularly come second to Criminal Record's extraordinary performances, plus its thematic willingness to tear into what policing should be, can be and often is. Criminal Record streams via Apple TV+. Expats Adapting Janice YK Lee's 2016 novel The Expatriates, Lulu Wang's first major stint behind the lens since The Farewell has been dubbed Expats as a miniseries. The six-parter marks a shift in location to Hong Kong and a splinter in focus to three protagonists for its guiding force — with Wang creating the show, executive producing, helming all six episodes and writing two — but she's still plunging deep into bonds of blood, deceptions amid close relationships, grappling with grief and tragedy, and being caught between how one is meant to carry on and inescapable inner emotions. It too sees not only people but also its chosen place. It's a haunting series and, albeit not literally in the horror sense, a series about women haunted. And it's spectacularly cast, with Nicole Kidman (Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom), Sarayu Blue (A Million Miles Away) and Ji-young Yoo (The Sky Is Everywhere) each stellar as its three main characters, all who've relocated for love, work or new beginnings, then make each other's acquaintance. The year is 2014, and Margaret Woo, her husband Clarke (Brian Tee, Chicago Med) and their family aren't new Hong Kong arrivals — but their past 12 months have been under a shadow ever since their youngest son Gus (debutant Connor James) went missing. No one is coping, including elder children Daisy (Tiana Gowen, True Love Blooms) and Philip (Bodhi del Rosario, 9-1-1). But while Margaret refuses to give up hope of finding her three-year-old boy, there are still lives to lead and, to help start Expats, a 50th birthday party for Clarke to host. In the lift at The Peak, the towering symbol of wealth inhabited by plenty who give the show its title, she's also insistent that her friend, downstairs neighbour and fellow American Hilary Starr (Blue) attend the shindig. The frostiness that fills the elevator also stems from Gus' disappearance, and accusations made against Hilary's recovering-alcoholic husband David (Jack Huston, Anne Rice's Mayfair Witches). When the soiree takes place, Mercy (Yoo) is there working one of her gig-economy jobs. Indeed, the lives of the privileged aren't solely this show's domain — because while this is a tale of three Americans adrift with their sorrows, where and the reality that surrounds them is equally as important as how and why. Expats streams via Prime Video. Read our full review. Death and Other Details There's no doubting that Death and Other Details loves whodunnits, or that it's made with a murderers' row of them in mind. Playing "spot the nod" is one of this ten-part series' games. Sleuthing along with its plot is the other, obviously. So, as an odd couple with an age discrepancy team up to attempt to solve "a classic locked-room mystery" — the show even calls it such — among the preposterously wealthy on holiday, and on a boat at that, where everyone has a motive and a battle over who'll seize control of a family business is also taking place, gleaning what creators and writers Heidi Cole McAdams and Mike Weiss (who also worked together on Stumptown) have been reading and watching isn't a puzzle. Nudges and references are regularly part of the murder-mystery genre anyway; here, recalling Agatha Christie's oeuvre and especially Death on the Nile, as well as Only Murders in the Building, Knives Out, Poker Face, The White Lotus and Succession, is part of sailing into a tale that's also about what we remember and why. Indeed, when other films and shows earn a wink here, Death and Other Details also digs into the purpose behind the minutiae that sticks in our memories. It's a savvy yet risky gambit, getting viewers ruminating on how they spy patterns and filter their perspectives, too, while chancing coming off as derivative. Mostly the series bobs in the first direction; however, even when it sways in the second, it still intrigues its audience to keep watching. Its seemingly mismatched pair: Imogene Scott (Violett Beane, God Friended Me) and the Hercule Poirot-esque Rufus Cotesworth (Mandy Patinkin, Homeland), with the second regularly dubbed "the world's greatest detective". Most folks might believe that label, but Imogene does not. The duo shares a history spanning two decades, from when she was a child (Sophia Reid-Gantzert, Popular Theory) mourning the shock killing of her mother that he couldn't solve. Back then, Rufus was on the case at the behest of the wealthy Colliers, who work in textiles, employed Imogene's mum as a personal assistant to patriarch Lawrence (David Marshall Grant, Spoiler Alert) and took the girl in when she had no one else. Now, both Rufus and Imogene are guests on a cruise chartered by them — she's there as basically a member of the family; he's accompanying the Chuns, with whom the Colliers are in the middle of a billion-dollar business deal — when bodies start piling up. Death and Other Details streams via Disney+. Read our full review. One of the Best Films of 2023 That You Absolutely Need to Watch — or Rewatch Killers of the Flower Moon Death comes to Killers of the Flower Moon quickly. Death comes to Killers of the Flower Moon often. While Martin Scorsese will later briefly fill the film's frames with a fiery orange vision — with what almost appears to be a lake of flames deep in oil country, as dotted with silhouettes of men — death blazes through his 26th feature from the moment that the picture starts rolling. Adapted from journalist David Grann's 2017 non-fiction novel Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI, with the filmmaker himself and Dune's Eric Roth penning the screenplay, this is a masterpiece of a movie about a heartbreakingly horrible spate of deaths sparked by pure and unapologetic greed and persecution a century back. Scorsese's two favourite actors in Leonardo DiCaprio (Don't Look Up) and Robert De Niro (Amsterdam) are its stars, alongside hopefully his next go-to in Lily Gladstone (Reservation Dogs), but murder and genocide are as much at this bold and brilliant, epic yet intimate, ambitious and absorbing film's centre — all in a tale that's devastatingly true. As Mollie Kyle, a member of the Osage Nation in Grey Horse, Oklahoma, incomparable Certain Women standout Gladstone talks through some of the movie's homicides early. Before her character meets DiCaprio's World War I veteran Ernest Burkhart — nephew to De Niro's cattle rancher and self-proclaimed 'king of the Osage' William King Hale — she notes that several Indigenous Americans that have been killed, with Mollie mentioning a mere few to meet untimely ends. There's nothing easy about this list, nor is there meant to be. Some are found dead, others seen laid out for their eternal rest, and each one delivers a difficult image. But a gun fired at a young mother pushing a pram inspires a shock befitting a horror film. The genre fits here, in its way, as do many others as Killers of the Flower Moon follows Burkhart's arrival in town, his deeds under his uncle's guidance, his romance with Mollie and the tragedies that keep springing: American crime saga, aka the realm that Scorsese has virtually made his own, as well as romance, relationship drama, western, true crime and crime procedural. Killers of the Flower Moon streams via Apple TV+. Read our full review, and our interview with Martin Scorsese. Need a few more streaming recommendations? Check out our picks from January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November and December 2023. You can also check out our running list of standout must-stream shows from last year as well — and our best 15 new shows of 2023, 15 newcomers you might've missed, top 15 returning shows of the year, 15 best films, 15 top movies you likely didn't see, 15 best straight-to-streaming flicks and 30 movies worth catching up on over the summer.
Young love can make a whole lot of life's rotten, unfair burdens bearable, but for teenagers Tamara (Sophie Hensser) and Squid (Meyne Wyatt), it may not be enough. They leave homes of absent parents, incarcerated siblings and cupboards empty of even unwholesome breakfasts to attend a scantly resourced urban Sydney public school from which most students aren't expected to graduate. If someone believes in them, it's usually fleeting. Outside of school, they run amok and make meaning of a familiar topography — the meeting ground of Town Hall, the galleried glamour of CBD shops, the strafing lights and menace of Kings Cross. The world is painted and scenes transitioned through narration, mostly Tamara's. You'll want to listen. Their dramas resonate beyond the usual boundaries of adolescence. Lachlan Philpott's script, in its first performance after winning the 2009 Griffin Award that sent it into production, is bold, poetic, insightful, truly affecting and wonderfully, literally close to home. It's extraordinary the levels to which he's been able to penetrate and embody the teenage mind — Facebook-checking and headphones-dependency unpatronisingly explained — as well as the minutiae of the school world most of us have happily repressed (Philpott couldn't; he's a teacher). Still, it's a hard one to pull off, so it's fortunate this show is so well cast and directed (by Lee Lewis, fresh off the Sydney Theatre Company's ZEBRA!). Wyatt, in particular, puts in a stunning performance as Squid, a boy of comparably few words but plenty of raw charm and an alarming intensity written in his eyes. Hensser, considering she spends two hours parlaying the incessant stream-of-consciousness of a 15-year-old girl, can notch up a success in making Tamara anything other than completely annoying, and ultimately, she makes a lot more of her than that. Her Tamara is inquisitive, bubbling with potential, cute and fragile. The two multi-purposed adults, Camilla Ah Kin and Kirk Page, are wonderful, and Ah Kin's rendering of the outwardly wry, inwardly empathetic and nostalgic teacher Ms Petchall is an undisputed highlight. Their fates play out against a Sydney skyline cuprocked into a chain-link fence. It's effusively teenage, and like so many of Griffin's inventive yet space-constrained sets, when you think you know it, you don't know it at all.
If Cottesloe starts to feel a little too sharky for your liking, take a break from the beach and head to AGWA for Heath Ledger: A Life in Pictures before it wraps up at the end of January. Celebrating the Perth-born actor's charisma, exemplary career and passionate creativity, it's a must-see for all Ledger fans. Put together by AGWA, the WA Museum and guest curator Allison Holland, the exhibition follows Ledger's career from his teenage years up to his final role in The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2009). You'll get to see costumes — including the Joker suit from The Dark Knight and the shirts he wore as Ennis del Mar in Brokeback Mountain — alongside research journals (on display for the first time) that grant an insight into how Ledger developed his roles. Also included in the show are photographic portraits by the likes of Karin Catt and Bruce Weber, Ledger's Best Supporting Actor Oscar and BAFTA, and a chronological narrative of his career — including his own experimentation with image making and creative projects as a director. Promises to be a bittersweet reminder of just how talented Ledger was, and what even greater heights he would have gone on to achieve. Image: Brokeback Mountain, 2005, © Kimberley French, photographer.
2015 brought you a cornucopia of hideous yet good for you root veggies, international restaurant swaps and bargain basement lobster, among other gustatory revelations. So, what's in store for 2016? Well, the restaurant transplants are set to continue with Copenhagen's Noma popping up later this month, and not-so aesthetically appealing foodstuffs are sticking around (see: algae). But just when you thought chefs and food technologists couldn't invent anything weirder, they come up with the goods. Then again, with the likes of Bompas and Parr setting up food museums, we shouldn't be surprised. This year is set to deliver a slew of culinary adventures, from cocktails you can inhale to niche food festivals, to more dishes featuring native Australian ingredients. Here are ten trends we've got our money on. [caption id="attachment_555266" align="alignnone" width="1280"] Attica[/caption] NATIVE AUSSIE INGREDIENTS Kylie Kwong's been caramelising wallaby tail and stir-frying native greens for a few years now, while Melbourne's Attica offers a dish of salt cured red kangaroo with bunya bunya (pictured). By and large though, Australian chefs have been slow to capitalise on Australia's indigenous produce. That might change when Copenhagen's two Michelin-starred restaurant Noma pops up in Sydney on January 26 for ten weeks. Head chef Rene Redzepi is passionate about expressing an area's unique environment through his cooking, and is sure to use our best native ingredients while he's here. Read more about the incredible potential of native foods over here. [caption id="attachment_555499" align="alignnone" width="1280"] blumblaum via Flickr[/caption] ALGAE Kale's still kicking around, but algae is closing in. In October, an upmarket Californian store put the world's first ever algae cooking oil on its shelves. With scientists warning us off other veggie oils due to their toxicity, this new product promises "goodness to your heart, the kitchen and the planet". Expect it to be added to foods and beverages to reduce fat and cholesterol and add a bit of extra protein and antioxidants. Meanwhile, a design collective has imagined a futuristic opera, in which singers grow algae with their breath during the show and give it to audiences to eat afterwards. But maybe that belongs under theatre trends. [caption id="attachment_555557" align="alignnone" width="1280"] Hunter and Barrel[/caption] PLAYING WITH FIRE Lucky we've been giving you inside info on Sydney's best caves, because your troglodyte skills are about to come in handy. When electricity arrived, we cast aside one of humankind's oldest technological developments, but, as any dedicated hiker knows, there ain't no potato like a campfire-cooked potato. So expect to see a lot more cooking with fire this year, whether it's at Hunter & Barrel, Firedoor or Hartsyard. Just don't think you can go wandering into any of these pubs with your marshmallow on a stick. [caption id="attachment_555568" align="alignnone" width="1280"] Stefano via Flickr[/caption] DNA MATCHING Not as in, would you like a chardonnay or a cup of genes with that salad, but choosing foods that best suit your DNA to avoid unpleasant symptoms and improve your health. Yep, it's a thing. It turns out your wheat intolerance mightn't be just about gluten, it might be linked to a plethora of factors, especially your DNA. Old mates Bompas and Parr are already onto this, having worked on a project that created bespoke cocktails based on your DNA last year. And Dr. Fredric Abramson, founder of Digital Nutrition, is already offering a service that helps you match your diet to your genes. So get on it. [caption id="attachment_555298" align="alignnone" width="1280"] Fir0002 via Wikimedia Commons[/caption] GETTING GOATY With bacon having some copped some bad press for its carcinogenic qualities, goat sales are on the rise. It's profitable news for Aussie farmers, who are the world's biggest exporters of goat meat. Long a staple of Bangladeshi, Nepalese, Sri Lankan, Pakistani and Indian diets, the horned creature will be making its way onto mainstream menus more and more often . In London, Aussie-born chef Brett Graham is already on the bandwagon at The Ledbury. NICHE FOOD FESTIVALS So, it happened before processed meat was added to WHO's top five most cancerous items, but Sydney hosted its biggest ever bacon party in August 2015. And Pinot Palooza, a touring festival devoted to the mighty pinot noir, is now a mainstay on the annual calendar. Last year also saw Melbourne host its first gin festival, Juniperlooza, and a festival 100 per cent dedicated to Nutella will be hitting Adelaide in April. Food festivals have been around for thousands of years, but we reckon they're going to get more and more specific in 2016. [caption id="attachment_555572" align="alignnone" width="960"] Master's 'Roast Potato' by kseet via Instagram[/caption] SWEET AND SAVOURY DESSERTS Everyone knows what a decent dash of salt can do for a good chocolate. And the ebullient marrying of sweet and savoury flavours is likely to feature in desserts all over the planet in 2016. New Yorkers are already sampling beetroot, carrot and sweet potato yoghurts, courtesy of Blue Hill founder Dan Barber, and here in Sydney Master is pushing the sweet-savoury envelope with their roast potato ice cream dessert. In Melbourne, Lume is going down the same lines with their beetroot cake dessert, and Mammoth is confusing everyone's tastebuds with their sugary doughnut lobster burger. INHALABLE COCKTAILS Many of our favourite bars look to the cocktail's 'golden age' for inspiration. And with good reason — an old-fashioned or a martini is hard to beat. But the inhalable incarnation of the cocktail is bringing the drink into the 21st century. This is thanks to Bompas and Parr, who ran a pop-up bar named Alcohol Architecture in London last August. Visitors were invited to walk into a 'cocktail cloud', created with enormous humidifiers. Inspired by the duo, Brisbane Festival got on this last year, creating a breathable gin and tonic room as part of their 2015 program. We can't wait to see where this goes next. LEAVES OF ALL KINDS Your iceberg lettuce just won't cut it anymore. And neither will your cos, rocket or radicchio, for that matter. Your salads are about to get much, much fancier and more diverse. Heston Blumenthal was onto it at 2015's Fat Duck pop-up in Melbourne — he organised exclusive access to a source of local oyster leaves, which he combined with chicken, grilled onion emulsion and spiced celeriac sauce. [caption id="attachment_555270" align="alignnone" width="1280"] Superfood Sushi[/caption] GOING VEGAN Veganism is nothing new, but this year looks like it might be the one to firmly cement it as a full-blown cuisine. And for a while there, it looked as though the whole of Sydney's King Street might go vegan. It added vegan superfood sushi and Bliss 'n' Chips — where soy-based protein and konjac are transmogrified into incredibly convincing deep fried seafood dishes — to the strip, and and then, in news that shocked many, Gigi announced it was taking animal products out of its pizzas. All three businesses seem to be thriving, so we're banking on more vegan openings and conversions this year. But for now, here are our top ten vegan joints. Top image: Bompas and Parr
Back in the 2000s, if you weren't listing to Interpol and Bloc Party, were you really in the 2000s? No, no you weren't. The former arrived out of Manhattan in the late 90s, then helped define the city's turn-of-the-century indie music scene with The Strokes, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, TV on the Radio and The National. Hailing from Britain and also coming together just before Y2K, the latter initially scored some hefty approval in 2003 via Franz Ferdinand's lead singer Alex Kaprano. From those beginnings, both bands became indie rock greats. Next, they're heading to Australia to remind music lovers why. Busting out everything from 'Slow Hands' to 'She's Hearing Voices', the two groups will share the same bill on a co-headlining tour of the country's east coast in November, starting at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl in Melbourne, then hitting Sydney's Hordern Pavilion and finally playing the Brisbane Riverstage. For Interpol, it'll be their first visit Down Under since 2019, plus their debut chance to play 2022 album The Other Side of Make-Believe in Australia. Tracks from past records such as Turn on the Bright Lights, Antics and El Pintor will also feature. Bloc Party are making the trip after last rocking Aussie stages in 2018, and will perform songs from Silent Alarm, A Weekend in the City, Intimacy and 2022 LP Alpha Games. "We are so happy to be hitting the road with our friends Bloc Party in Australia. Come on down!" said Interpol, announcing the tour. "The histories of Bloc Party and Interpol are intertwined at various stages of our careers. It made perfect sense to us to solidify that by playing some massive shows together in one of our favourite countries on earth. We can't wait to get back to Australia in November," added Bloc Party's Kele Okereke. INTERPOL AND BLOC PARTY AUSTRALIAN CO-HEADLINE TOUR 2023: Thursday, November 16 — Sidney Myer Music Bowl, Melbourne Saturday, November 18 — Hordern Pavilion, Sydney Wednesday, November 22 — Riverstage, Brisbane Interpol and Bloc Party are touring Australia's east coast in November 2023, with presales from 9am on Wednesday, July 5 and general sales from 9am on Friday, July 7. Hit up the tour website for further details. Bloc Party images: James Kellegher. Interpol image: Ebru Yildiz.
He's an Australian treasure, he's one of Hollywood's recent villainous go-tos and he definitely isn't in Voyagers. That'd be Ben Mendelsohn, who comes to mind anyway while watching this sci-fi thriller. In a softer mode, the Rogue One and Ready Player One star could've played Colin Farrell's part here. That's not why Voyagers makes him pop into viewers' heads, though. Rather, it's because his brand of slippery menace still slinks through this space-set flick, all thanks to its most vivid performance. Should an upcoming movie ever need a fresher-faced version of Mendelsohn's latest bad guy or next morally complicated figure, Dunkirk, The Children Act and Black Mirror: Bandersnatch's Fionn Whitehead needs to be on speed dial. He channels Mendo perfectly as Zac, one of 30 test tube-bred teenagers who are rocketed into the heavens as humanity's last hope for survival. In the latter half of the 21st century, Earth is near-uninhabitable, so he's on an 86-year mission to a newly located planet. The young Humanitas crew's main purpose is to beget the next generations who'll colonise their new home — but, after learning that he's being drugged into obedience, Zac decides not to play nice. Ten years in, when the quieter Christopher (Tye Sheridan, X-Men: Dark Phoenix) realises that the drink they all call 'blue' contains an unidentified compound, the decision is easy. First Christopher, then Zac, then the rest of their shipmates all stop sipping it and start letting their hormones pump unfettered for the first time in their intricately designed and highly controlled lives. Richard (Farrell, The Gentlemen), the lone adult and the closest thing any of the crew have ever had to a father, is suddenly treated with suspicion. Christopher and Zac begin testing boundaries, indulging desires and flouting rules, too — and realising that they're both attracted to dutiful Chief Medical Officer Sela (Lily-Rose Depp, Crisis). Then an accident changes the dynamic, with the two pals challenging each other while fighting to lead. Factions are formed, chaos ensues and the very folks entrusted with saving the species are now simply trying to outlast each other. The fact that Whitehead's performance recalls Mendo as strongly as it does is fitting; almost everything about Voyagers brings another movie or story to mind, actually. When it comes to warring youths, Lord of the Flies, The Hunger Games and The Maze Runner all get a nod. In the space film genre, Solaris, Passengers and High Life do as well. The list goes on, increasing with each of Voyagers' foreseeable twists and turns. When the infighting starts revolving around a potentially mysterious presence, for instance, the feature nudges its audience to think about Alien and Prometheus. In spacewalking beyond the Humanitas, Gravity and The Midnight Sky get a look in (among a hefty roster of past flicks that've also stepped into the inky sky, of course). When the picture simply lingers within the spaceship's stylish but restrictive walls and ripples with unease, 2001: A Space Odyssey casts a shadow. And, in its musings on parenthood, Interstellar and Ad Astra spring to the fore. Still, as it shuffles, jumbles and reassembles much of its bulk from recognisable parts pilfered from elsewhere, a number of interesting ideas sit at the heart of Voyagers. Yes, they've been tackled in various ways before, but they still leave an imprint. Writer/director Neil Burger has both Limitless and Divergent to his name, so he's no stranger to big-thinking science fiction flicks that contemplate intriguing ideas while also following in other footsteps. Here, he wonders not just if life has any meaning, but if there's any genuine meaning to life when a person's function in the bigger picture has already been determined from their first breath right up until their last. He also ponders exactly what humans have spent our entire existence as a species surviving: whatever external forces have come our way, or the ongoing, never-ending repercussions of our very worst impulses? It doesn't offer up any new answers to these trains of thought, or give themes and topics like paranoia, claustrophobia, toxic masculinity, nature versus nature and free will a particularly fresh spin, but Voyagers remains resonant enough. It has a timely relevance, arriving after the globe has spent a year indoors trying to stay alive, and its picture of easy self-destruction is both undeniably blunt and unmistakably effective. Films like this keep hitting screens because we're all aware that humanity's worst enemy is itself. That's a truth we'll never stop grappling with, in fact. As a result, predictability always comes with the territory — because humans have proven such predictable creatures. Accordingly, it isn't the least bit surprising that Voyagers sticks to the familiar, and doesn't provide much of a different take on the age-old realisations at its core (even as Zac tries to lie, bully and manipulate his way to power in a manner reminiscent of recent world leaders). Nonetheless, the feature's ruminations still hit home, even amid all of its winks to other movies. Also convincing is the film's set design, which weaponises its grey surfaces and seemingly endless corridors, transforming every corner and passage into a maze literally of humankind's own making. Voyagers' gleaming overall look wavers between sterile and slick, in another canny touch — this is a movie about finding middle ground between lives of unthinking compliance and primal hedonism, after all. And, cast-wise, Sheridan, Depp and Farrell do what they need to with their straightforward parts. Like Whitehead, Sheridan also helps sum up the movie overall, too. He already faced off against the real Mendo in Ready Player One, so he leaves viewers enjoying his calmly commanding efforts and remembering other flicks. In a picture that's both derivative and engaging, that seems to be Voyagers' chosen mission. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zadWJ8tPmnU
UPDATE, February 28, 2021: Rocketman is available to stream via Netflix, Foxtel Now, Google Play, YouTube, iTunes and Amazon Video. "It's obviously not all true, but it's the truth," says Elton John about Rocketman. Trust the British superstar to sum up his own lively, dreamlike musical biopic perfectly. Cinematic celebrations of beloved singers and bands often aim for little more than supremely skilled impersonations, toe-tapping greatest-hits soundtracks and broad rags-to-riches overviews; indeed, it's an approach that won Bohemian Rhapsody several Oscars. But there's a vibrant spark to Rocketman as it charts Reginald Dwight's transformation into Elton Hercules John. A glorious tone, too, which couldn't work better. Showing how fantastical the ups and downs of fame, fortune and rock stardom can be by sashaying through a sea of surreality, the result is a winning marriage of form and feeling. Bursting into a support group wearing wings, horns and a blazing orange devil costume in the movie's opening moments, an 80s-era John (Taron Egerton) lays bare his sins. He's an alcoholic, cocaine addict, sex addict, bulimic, shopaholic, fond of prescription drugs, dabbles with marijuana and, if that's not enough, he also has anger management issues. That's Rocketman's warts-and-all baseline — the unflinching description of its protagonist at his lowest point, in his own words. Of course, we all already know how things turn out, but the film spends its two-hour running time unpacking and explaining John's troubles. Two intersecting threads come into focus: his ascent to the top of the music world, and his simultaneous descent into depression, frustration and loneliness. From his therapy circle, John follows his younger self (Matthew Illesley) to his childhood home, with the singer stepping through his unhappy formative years as the son of bitter, bickering parents (Bryce Dallas Howard and Steven Mackintosh). When his talent for tunes starts shining brightly, the biopic traces his long quest for success, including teaming up with lyricist Bernie Taupin (a well-cast Jamie Bell), who becomes a lifelong friend. After a 1970 trip to the US shoots John into the music stratosphere, the film watches as he rockets higher and higher, chronicling the hits, glitz, raucous parties and romantic dramas — complete with his first proper romance, with his manager John Reid (Richard Madden). But what goes up must come down, with the movie charting John's personal crashes as well. Story-wise, so far, so standard. The familiar superstar origin tale and cliched sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll trajectory don't dissipate. But from the moment that John breaks into song while recounting his woes, then dances and sings his way along a visibly desaturated 50s suburban London street with the childhood Reggie by his side, Rocketman thoroughly eschews the standard approach. Biographical details guide the narrative as expected, with the film stringing together a timeline that spreads over four decades, however it's emotion that drives every scene in Lee Hall's (Victoria & Abdul) screenplay. As proved the case in Hall and John's first collaboration on Billy Elliott the Musical, blending sentiment and song couldn't be more pivotal, poignant or important. Nor could Rocketman's core creative decision, because this isn't just a music biopic. It's unashamedly a musical biopic, and those extra couple of letters make a significant difference. With structure and staging that brings Hugh Jackman's Peter Allen musical The Boy From Oz to mind — not to mention a standout central performance — Rocketman is presented with razzle-dazzle showmanship that could easily see the movie adapted into a live production. Sequins, glitter, shiny platform shoes, oversized glasses and over-the-top outfits have long been part of John's public persona, and it's that theatricality that director Dexter Fletcher draws upon. That said, he's not simply fashioning the film after John's flamboyant attire. The intention, and one that comes to life with as much deep-seated feeling as eye-catching flashiness, is to convey John's true inner state rather than slavishly sticking to the truth. How better to show how young Reggie saw music as an escape from his difficult upbringing than to make his success seem like a dream? To demonstrate just how electrifying and unreal John's breakout gig felt than to literally depict him and the heaving crowd floating in the air? From the song-and-dance highs of finally making it, to the boozy, woozy, literally sinking lows of feeling all alone when the world is at his feet, the list of vivid and expressive examples goes on. Not only set to all of the expected tracks, but using them to plot an engaging emotional journey, the final product takes more cues from Fletcher's last two official directorial credits — on the upbeat Proclaimers jukebox musical Sunshine on Leith, as well as the Egerton-starring sports biopic Eddie the Eagle — than his uncredited job taking over for the fired Bryan Singer on Bohemian Rhapsody. Without an ounce of surprise, Rocketman is all the better for it, even when it makes crowd-pleasing moves with some of its song choices, and doesn't dive as deep into its narrative and themes as it perhaps could. Still, the two biopics share a crucial element, apart from the obvious. It's unlikely that the Oscars will award two actors for portraying real-life stars two years in a row, but Egerton puts in a thrilling, multifaceted performance worthy of ample recognition. He's a candle in the wind and defiantly still standing, all while singing John's songs himself and soaring across this rousing movie. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTm5DWgL-MU
Connected to the stars in more ways than one, the Aster rooftop bar at the InterContinental Sydney is gearing up to host a series of cuisine-meets-zodiac sessions throughout August. Led by Byron Bay-based astrologer Grace Tebble, Astrology Hour is the place to be for those seeking a guided journey through the cosmos, plus a few tasty sips and bites along the way. Held every Thursday evening in August on the hotel's 32nd floor, Astrology Hour is centred around the four elements — air, water, fire and earth. Featuring themed cocktails, paired small plates and personalised readings from Tebble, these playful sessions include one-on-one birth chart interpretations and otherworldly readings inspired by the mystical. As for the menu, your journey includes a glass of fizz on arrival, alongside two elemental cocktails (or glasses of wine), including options like Air, a light and floral gin-forward concoction heightened with pine, jasmine and rose. Meanwhile, the snack pairings include Fire, a chargrilled angus beef yakitori served with kimchi mayo and crispy onion. "Astrology hour is an opportunity to become more in tune with your connection to the cosmos," says Tebble. "It's about unlocking a new level of self-awareness in a really fun and creative setting. We've curated each drink and dish to reflect the energy of the four elements so that people can experience their star sign via the senses." Images: Steven Woodburn.
Plotting the traditional structure of a film trilogy results in a sort of 'N' symbol on a graph. Part 1 (the incline) offers the introduction to the characters and concludes with a satisfying, inspirational victory (the first peak). Part 2 then explores the characters in greater depth, exposing their shortcomings and instilling both doubt and conflict until all hope seems lost (the descent and trough). Finally, Part 3 sees the protagonists discover — or at least 'relearn' — the true strength of their convictions, allowing an eventual, all-encompassing victory in the conclusion (the ultimate peak). The Hangover trilogy, however, does not follow this structure. On its graph, 2009's Part I held the line well and provided one of the surprise hits of the year courtesy of some snappy writing, extreme political incorrectness and three terrific characters (the fourth guy really is a spare). Instead of marking the descent, though, Part II just ran with the exact same formula. It was Part 1 all over again, except Bangkok was subbed in for Vegas and the baby was replaced by a monkey. So going into Part III, the big question was always going to be: would this be 'Part I again, again' or something genuinely different? The answer was the latter, which in turn begged a second question... was that a good idea? In this third instalment, our three wolf-packers — Phil (Bradley Cooper), Alan (Zach Galifianakis) and Stu (Ed Helms) — are one again forced into a nightmarish series of disasters in order to rescue their friend Doug (Justin Bartha...who really is the spare). Regrettably, Hangover Part III centres upon the trilogy's most annoying character, Mr Chow (Ken Jeong), whose whiny, sort-of-Asian, sort-of-gay, sort-of-hip-hop-gangsta ramblings grate the ear like a screaming baby on a packed plane during descent. During one early scene in which Chow's butchering a karaoke cover of 'Hurt', Bradley Cooper winces and asks "what the fuck are we watching!?" He's not the only one to think it. By focussing on Chow and favouring a more conventional plot over the simple yet effective premise of 'rediscovering unremembered anarchy', The Hangover Part III boldly — if also mistakenly — shifts the focus away from the very thing that made the franchise a success: its 'wolf pack'. They still have their moments, especially Galifianakis; however, this is a far more 'normal' movie and as a result, so too become the characters. There are still loads of laughs and it's a definite improvement on the carbon-copy disappointment of Part II, but the tiny coda that pops up part-way through the final credits (certainly worth staying for) shows us what might have been had they just found a way to use the original amnesic plot structure in a new and different way.
Winter has well and truly settled in, and what better way to embrace it than with a trip to the snow? Not only do you get to try out your moves on the slopes, if you're at the winter haven of Thredbo, you can match it with time lounging about the fire or in the hot pools, watching your mate go for glory in a snowboarding comp and savouring a few delectable mulled ciders. Rekorderlig are offering you the chance to win this winter dream vacay — including flights, accommodation and ski hire — for a group of six, just by entering their Facebook comp. Sweetening your weekend away even more, the Swedish giants of cider have a little something extra and exclusive lined up. They're hosting an intimate winter forest picnic, Swedish style, on Thredbo's golf course on Saturday, September 13. What's 'Swedish style' you ask? Well it's not this. Rather, think an al fresco four-course meal of Swedish-inspired recipes (not this) eaten from beneath warm blankets while you overlook a striking skyline of snow stretching as far as the eye can see. Then add in a whole bunch of Rekorderlig to complete your magical Swedish stopover. Will there be reindeer? You'll have to enter via the Rekorderlig Facebook page to find out.
