If you could only choose one word to sum up Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, 'intense' would fit. It's also a term that describes Mike Ehrmantraut, the ex-Philadelphia cop who became a fixer for Gus Fring (Giancarlo Esposito, The Boys) and Saul Goodman (Bob Odenkirk, Lucky Hank) in their criminal endeavours. As played by Jonathon Banks for over a decade between the two shows, the private investigator, hitman and security head was one of the Breaking Bad realm's formidable forces. In a franchise where no one characterisation ever fit anyone — it all started with a high-school chemistry teacher who became a methamphetamine cook, after all — Mike could also be one of the deservedly acclaimed saga's most vulnerable figures. Ask Banks what it's been like to move on from Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul after such a lengthy stint — and after featuring so prominently in two of the best shows of the 21st century — and he first brings up another stretch that's worlds away from award-winning crime dramas. "It wasn't quite a decade that I spent in Melbourne and Sydney, and in Auckland in New Zealand at one time, with Hair and Jesus Christ Superstar — and a failed production that I directed of Grease, way before you were born," he tells Concrete Playground as we start to discuss his latest project, darkly thrilling new Apple TV+ sci-fi series Constellation. Banks is best-known of late for his time as Ehrmantraut; with five Emmy nominations and a 2023 Screen Actors Guild Award nod for his efforts, rightly so. But as bringing up his theatre background makes plain, there's so much more to Banks than his now-iconic recent part. Emmy love came his way back in the 80s, too, for his breakthrough role in crime procedural series Wiseguy. Before that, he has everything from spoof movie Airplane! and Gremlins to the Eddie Murphy (Candy Cane Lane)-starring 48 Hrs. and Beverly Hills Cop on his resume. Since then, there's barely a TV show that hasn't benefited from his presence, including beloved comedies Community and Parks and Recreation, while his movie appearances are as varied as Horrible Bosses 2, Mudbound and The Commuter. Constellation sees Banks star alongside Noomi Rapace, who is no stranger to famous characters herself thanks to Lisbeth Salander in the original Swedish The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo films. Here, the show's two biggest names trade illicit dealings for astronauts, plus the fact that venturing into the heavens, then trying to come back, might have consequences. Rapace plays Jo Ericsson, who is at the International Space Station when the series begins, returning to earth after a tragedy. As Henry Caldera, Banks is a former space traveller who has been there, done that, also weathered a disaster above our pale blue dot and now has ISS residents oversee his quantum physics experiments. Doing double duty as Bud Caldera as well, Banks similarly steps into Henry's fellow ex-astronaut twin's shoes. At the heart of Constellation is the search for truth, with the series joining Apple TV+'s many mysteries, a genre that the streaming platform keeps gravitating towards (Criminal Record, The Changeling, The Crowded Room, Hijack and Monarch: Legacy of Monsters are just some of its efforts of late that also fit the bill). As its narrative twists, turns and plunges into conspiracies, it's also a series about grappling with the full reality of being alive, facing mortality and confronting the enormity of the universe. And, as well as being stellar all-round, it's home to Banks' latest great performance — or, to be accurate, performances. Constellation premieres on Wednesday, February 21 — and in the leadup, we explored the series with Banks, including its place in his filmography and, to get here, the process of farewelling Mike Ehrmantraut. "Mike was a great character, but you've got to leave Mike behind. Mike's got to go away," he notes, as Breaking Bad viewers knew going into prequel series Better Call Saul. What that means for Banks, what appeals to him after playing Mike and his take on Constellation also featured in our chat. [caption id="attachment_757254" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Better Call Saul[/caption] On What Banks Was Looking for After Over a Decade in the Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul World "I'm pretty open. You know, I wouldn't mind playing a fop in a restoration comedy, as far as that goes. But I think with Constellation, Michelle MacLaren [who was one of Breaking Bad's executive producers and directors, and also a director on Better Call Saul] sent me the script, which I totally was bewildered by when I read it the first time. Then, because I wanted to work with Michelle and definitely Noomi — I very much respect Noomi's work — so then I'm all in. And then I get to meet Peter Harness [Constellation's creator] and I get to meet the other actors, and it's been a joy. It's been really good." On Taking on Dual Roles in Constellation — and Preparing to Step Into an Astronaut's Shoes "Well, one's bad and the other one's worse. Henry is driven by the power, and the need and the ego to succeed. The other one wallows in self-pity, and is arguably more talented and more intelligent than his brother, who has been successful. It's fun. I approach it with the respect. When I was very young, I thought these people, their intelligence — which is indeed, they are so intelligent. They're also motor geniuses physically, in what they go through and what they're faced with. So, my first take on it is, I try to do it with respect, and respect to who they are — and I hope I pull that off in some small way." [caption id="attachment_941930" align="alignnone" width="1920"] El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie, Ben Rothstein/Netflix[/caption] On Banks' Knack for Playing Both Formidable and Vulnerable "It's in all of us. It's in you. It's in me. But if I can call on those emotions and bring them forth a little bit easier than some people, how lucky I am to be able to do that? And how lucky I am to have the chance to be able to do that? I love being an actor. It's the only thing I ever wanted to do — ever, ever — as long as I can remember." On What Banks Makes of His Five-Decade Career "Pretty nice, huh? Pretty lucky. Beyond lucky. I'll tell you what happens: I am 77 years old, and it becomes a huge reflection on a lifetime. I can out-poor most people when I was very young, raised by a single mum back when there wasn't that a lot of that around — or at least to my knowledge. And I am stunned at my good fortune in my life, about how well I'm treated. And I try, and I do remind myself, that all of us have moments when we feel down or whatever. I think Noomi — who fights about where and what, and where she comes and where she ends up — is trying to be a good person, which makes it such a pleasure to be around her. And you watch Michelle, with her daughter. Michelle is a force of nature that's coming at you. She is so involved in trying to do a good job. And what's fun is with her young daughter, when her young daughter goes 'mummy can giraffes dance?' and it just stops her, and there she is dealing with the child, and all that energy goes, turns and becomes the loving and the nurturing of a child. Now I'm telling you that because that's what I'm surrounded by all through this project. How many people get to experience such a thing in their life? You've got to pay attention to it. Because most of us would recall bad things that have happened, times we've been hurt, times our heart was broken, times we were broke, times we were hungry. But for me, the reality is — god, I sound like a maudlin asshole — I've been gifted. What can I tell you?" [caption id="attachment_941937" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Breaking Bad, Ursula Coyote/AMC[/caption] On Revisiting Mike Ehrmantraut Again If the Possibility Came Up — and Making More Constellation "I love Mike. But you know what, we were left with the mystery of Mike. We have been left with that taste. For me, it's like reading that good book that you never want to end. I remember reading Les Miserables and getting about 40 pages from the end, and going 'no, no, I can't, this can't end' and starting it all over again. And now I'm going 'no, you can't do that'. I think it's time to let Mike go. As far as Constellation, I'm all in. Let's do it. Let's just keep doing it." Constellation streams via Apple TV+ from Wednesday, February 21. Read our review.
Pastry fans of Sydney, it's time to get excited — because Lune Croissanterie looks set to launch its first-ever Sydney shopfront sometime in 2023. It's been a big decade for the brand, after starting a tiny store in the Melbourne suburb of Elwood in 2012. Since then, Lune has grown into a converted warehouse space in Fitzroy (with perpetual lines out the front), opened a second store in the CBD, then launched in Brisbane in 2021. And, amid all that, it was even dubbed "the finest you will find anywhere in the world" by The New York Times. If this sounds familiar, that's because Founder Kate Reid — who co-owns Lune with her brother Cameron and restaurateur Nathan Toleman (Dessous, Hazel, Common Ground Project) — confirmed that the Lune crew was looking for a space to expand their empire to in Sydney back in early 2020. And yes, that venue is set to be home to a permanent store. The Reid siblings also posted a cryptic photo on Instagram, showing what could quite possibly be the future home of Lune Sydney. Obviously, a lot has happened in the world since February 2020; however, Lune is now advertising for a Front of House Manager for its upcoming Sydney spot. The job ad notes that the shop will open in 2023, and that the candidate will hone their skills at either a Melbourne store or the Brisbane outpost until then. (Side note: if this sounds like your dream job and you fit the prerequisites, go forth, apply and get ready to live a croissant-filled life.) Why is this such a huge deal? If you're asking that, you clearly haven't tried a Lune pastry. An ex-Formula 1 aerodynamicist, Reid brings scientific precision to her craft, including the climate-controlled glass cube that Lune croissants are made and baked in, and the time-consuming process used to perfect each flaky pastry. Lune's first-ever New South Wales store will become the chain's Sydney flagship — obviously with a menu of Lune Croissanterie favourites. If it's like the brand's other locations, coffee will be on offer as well, and Sydneysiders can look forward to a range of specials that'll rotate monthly. Our mouths and stomachs are ready for twice-baked croissant aux amandes (stuffed with almond frangipane and generously topped with flaked almonds) and the Ferrero cruffin: a muffin-croissant hybrid filled with hazelnut and chocolate custard, dipped in chocolate ganache and sprinkled with roasted hazelnuts. Oh, and Lune's perfectly flaky traditional croissant, of course. Lune Croissanterie's flagship Sydney store looks set to open its doors sometime in 2023. We'll let you know when an exact date and location is announced. Images: Marcie Raw.
The great Granny Smith is one of Australia's favourite apples. But do you know where the popular fruit gets its name? Fun fact: it comes from Ryde local, Maria Ann 'Granny' Smith, who accidentally grew the first known crop, way back in 1868. Since then, Eastwood has celebrated with a free annual festival of market stalls, food trucks, rides, live entertainment and a pop-up bar. Plus, there's also a 2,000-strong community parade through the streets. It all goes down on Saturday, October 19 this year. So, expect the neighbourhood to transform into an apple extravaganza. Begin your adventures by checking out out the market stalls along Rowe Street and Progress Avenue, peddling designer jewellery, clothing and, of course, creations inspired by apples. Be sure to drop into the Green Hub, too, to get yourself a native plant and learn all about making your home more sustainable — without spending any more money. Or, play a game of mini golf or jump on the ferris wheel. Then, head to Granny's Cider Bar on West Parade, near Eastwood Oval. Bilpin Cider will be serving up cider and other chilled offerings, soundtracked by beats from the DJ Boombox Truck. Come lunchtime, take a wander through food stalls and trucks, feast on raclette, fried chicken, Dutch poffertjes (tiny pancakes) and more. Plus, you can catch some live tunes from local musicians at the closing concert, which kicks off at 6pm. Granny Smith Festival will run on Saturday, October 19, from 9am–8.30pm. Check out the rest of the Granny Smith Festival program over here.
Take a typical tapas bar in Barcelona then polish slightly, adding cut crystal glasses and a pinch of Almodóvar references. Add one chef with a talent for experimentation, a selection of well-sourced, top notch ingredients and a crowd willing to stay all night, then mix well. Serve up atop a plate in the shape of a leaf, and you have Jah Bar: one of the best of Manly's new breed. Turn up just after 5pm and you can expect a peaceful dining experience. While the interior is tempting, in summer we recommend the courtyard to make the most of the fading sun and the cool evening breeze. Spanish tapas is the speciality, though there's a few sections of the menu to choose from. The tapas dishes are supplemented by options from the boqueria and the oven, as well as the chef's specials, so it's worth taking your time to choose. While you're browsing, try one of the signature cocktails ($15). There's more than enough on offer to sustain you throughout the night, from Mint Juleps to rum and sherry-based concoctions. Now, the food. Vegetarians and pescatarians will be well looked after, while chorizo and jamon serrano will keep meat-eaters satisfied. We opted for the Croquetas ($9.50), a selection of Spanish croquettes that change depending on the night, and the Empanadas (3 for $12), with beef, chicken, pumpkin and ricotta available. From there, we moved to the Jamon Serrano ($11.50), incredibly tender cured ham, and Aged Queso Manchego ($10.50), with the cheese a nice end to the meal alongside drinks. We did, however, manage to squeeze in a serve of Churros ($10) with hot chocolate sauce at the last post. While I'd find it hard to go past these simple yet delicious options, particularly the Jamon Serrano, it's tempting to revisit and try more of the tapas proper. Particularly the Chorizo ($10.50) and the talked about Sweet Potato and Fennel Seed Salad ($10.50). On the other hand, we hear great things about the chef's penchant for experimentation. We sadly passed up a special of Braised Beef Cheeks ($19) with Manzanilla olives and creme cauliflower, instead staring greedily at tables nearby. Best to use these inevitable regrets as motivation for return visits. By the time you've finished your meal, Jah Bar is likely to be filling up. The later crowd, firmly focused on the bar inside, is starting to arrive. And, let's face it, by this time you've had a few cocktails yourself. The lesson is that it's okay to turn up after dinner time and, if you do make dinner, it's best to stay late and enjoy the changed atmosphere. As the chefs swap out behind the bar, replaced by additional barmen, go with the flow. You are in Barcelona, after all. [nggallery id=122]
Marcus Papadopoulo of Whole Beast Butchery won't just cut a steak for you. He'll tell you where the animal came from, what it ate, how long it lived and how to cook it. Everything but what the animal's name was. Papadopoulo's philosophy is simple: treat the meat with respect, know the animal and its origin, and only use produce of the highest quality. Bucking tradition, there are no meat cabinets to be found in the butchery; instead, its open plan encourages guests to interact and ask questions. Whole Beast focuses on just that, using every element of the beast including Papadopoulo's favourite cut: tongue. If you're looking for a specific cut, Papadopoulo will retrieve the body of the beast and cut the meat in front of your eyes, instead of merely picking a pre-cut slice from a cabinet. He also dry ages his meat, which allows the enzymes to break down the muscle fibre and for an increase in naturally occurring bacteria. These both influence the flavour of the meat, bringing the cut to what Papadopoulo refers to as its "highest potential". Whole Beast also makes and sells terrines, black pudding, pickles and, arguably, the best handmade pâté in Sydney. Images: Kimberley Low
A new, family-run distillery in Byron Bay is committed to two important missions. The first is to bring you an outstanding gin, made with native rainforest botanicals under the watchful eye of master distiller Jim McEwan. The second is to regenerate the rainforest that provides these very ingredients. For you, this is a win-win situation. You get to sit back and linger over a world-class drop, while doing your bit for the environment. And, even more exciting is that the distillery's first release was made possible thanks to crowdfunding dollars raised via Pozible. Cape Byron Distillery's home is a family property in Byron Bay's hinterland. It's where co-founder Eddie Brook grew up and where his parents, Pam and Martin, have been regenerating rainforest for years. "[The land] used to be part of a giant rainforest that stretched from Lismore in the south, past Byron Bay, up to the Nightcap Ranges. Today there is less than one percent of that rainforest left," Martin says. A few years ago, Eddie, who's worked in alcohol and hospitality all his life, ran a sold-out Australian whisky tour starring Jim McEwan. The two got chatting about the Brook's passion for rainforest and came up with the idea of creating a rainforest-infused gin. "I'd idolised Jim McEwan. I learned about whisky, watching his YouTube videos," Eddie says. "It was amazing to develop a friendship with him." Fast forward to 2016. McEwan and Eddie have a built a distillery and – after numerous trials and tastings – put their first bottle on the market. It's a signature gin called Brookie's Byron Dry Gin. "We're passionate about creating products that really represent our area," Eddie says. "We used 18 native botanicals, including Davidson plum, aniseed myrtle and cinnamon myrtle. They're not just native to Australia, but to the Northern Rivers region." A percentage of profits from every sale goes to rainforest regeneration efforts, as well as to Big Scrub Landcare. Eddie describes it as a "great foundation", which is "protecting remnants of rainforest ... bringing corridors back to life". Brookie's Byron Dry Gin is currently available in and around Byron Bay. For online orders, go mybottleshop.com. UPDATE 25 JULY 2017: Cape Byron Distillery has just opened up its doors for public tours every Friday and Saturday. It includes a gin tasting of Brookie's two gins, a G&T and a tour of the surrounding rainforest. Tours cost $35 and can be booked here.
SBS2 has poached Vive Cool City from the clutches of its internet following to give them a stab at a late-night TV viewership. The show takes a look at some of humanity's beautiful freaks through the winning presence of judgement-free, committed reporters. If you are suspicious about the 'committed' bit of that sentence, let me refer you to Ryder Susman's brush with a golden shower, and by brush I mean this. "(Our) aim is to embed, to understand, to attempt to get an uncensored take on the story," explains host and former Hungry Beast reporter Kirk Docker. "What we want our audience to do is see the topics we deal with, with new eyes — get them thinking, talking, questioning. What people get up to in real life is so much more compelling than what you can make up." Tonight at 11.30pm, Kirk, along with Ryder Susman, will announce the arrival of Vive Cool City to SBS2 by dropping into the Collingwood housing projects to interview heroin users, taking an in-depth look at a nudist Melbourne gym and introducing us to homemade tunnels, equine psychotherapy and Swedish bridge jumpers. Not to mention the You Report segment, where some UK viewers will show us the intricacies of turning breast milk into ice cream. The show claimed 10 million views on YouTube and has some serious TV pedigree behind it in producer Andy Nehl (Hungry Beast and The Chaser), so Vive Cool City could well be your next 30 (uncomfortable) minutes of choice. Check out some of their online stuff at their website.
Sydney-based hospitality collective The Point Group is set to expand its hospitality portfolio with a new multi-storey venue inside the historic CBD venue The Shell House. The hospitality group, which currently operates The Dolphin, Bondi Beach Public Bar and Harry's, has signed 15-year lease with Brookfield Place Sydney for use of the Carrington Street building. The Point Group's vision for its latest Sydney spot is a landmark hospitality venue across three levels of Shell House. Included in the plan is The Menzies Bar, a ground floor bar and bistro set to open in July that takes its name from the building's previous tenants, The Menzies Hotel. Come October, a dining room and terrace on level nine of the building and the Shell House Sky Bar on level ten are set to join the fold. The Shell House rooftop will also be activated, with rooftop diners being treated to views of the building's iconic clocktower. Point Group CEO Brett Robinson called the venue a "once in a generation opportunity" saying, "we want to create an oasis in the heart of the city, that tells a new and interesting story as you travel through the three levels of hospitality. We will create a new centre of gravity for good times in the city". The 65.5-meter-tall building has recently undergone an expansive refurbishment and redevelopment as part of the $2 billion Brookfield Place development. The renovations have seen the 1970s interior transformed into a contemporary office and hospitality space which will play host to NAB's CBD office. Built by Shell Oil Co and completed in the late 30s, the Shell House operated as The Menzies Hotel from the 1970s up until the Brookfield Place redevelopment begun. While the hotel interior has been updated as part of the redevelopment, the building's heritage facade and 1930s clocktower have both been maintained. [caption id="attachment_811900" align="alignnone" width="1920"] The Menzies Hotel[/caption] The multibillion-dollar Brookfield Place Sydney development attached to the Shell House and situated above Wynyard Station will house a Romeo's fresh food market and retail precinct, as well as commercial tenancies from Allianz and Moelis Australia alongside NAB. The huge CBD development has reached practical completion as of Wednesday, April 21, with its first retail tenants to commence trading from July. The Shell House is located at 2 Carrington Street, Sydney. The Menzies Bar, the first of The Point Group's multiple Shell House venues, is set to open from July 2021.
Running events in the arts and hospitality industries is hard enough at the best of times, let alone when your city is drifting in and out of restrictions and lockdowns. Despite this, 2021 had plenty of shining lights. The lockout laws were finally rolled back in Kings Cross, there was an avalanche of exciting new restaurant and bar openings, and some adventurous, thought-provoking and all-round joyous events took place over the year. From stunning plays to citywide festivals, 2021 still managed to deliver — and we've compiled a list of eight of the year's most memorable events. While many fantastic gigs, festivals and shows were cancelled due to the pandemic, these are the ones that, thanks to hard work and a whole lot of luck, managed to go ahead and fill our year with good food, music, art and culture.
Something delightful has been happening in cinemas in some parts of the country. After numerous periods spent empty during the pandemic, with projectors silent, theatres bare and the smell of popcorn fading, picture palaces in many Australian regions are back in business — including both big chains and smaller independent sites in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. During COVID-19 lockdowns, no one was short on things to watch, of course. In fact, you probably feel like you've streamed every movie ever made, including new releases, Studio Ghibli's animated fare and Nicolas Cage-starring flicks. But, even if you've spent all your time of late glued to your small screen, we're betting you just can't wait to sit in a darkened room and soak up the splendour of the bigger version. Thankfully, plenty of new films are hitting cinemas so that you can do just that — and we've rounded up, watched and reviewed everything on offer this week. SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME In Spider-Man: No Way Home, everyone's favourite friendly neighbourhood web-slinger still does whatever a spider can. (Don't expect the catchy cartoon theme song, though.) To be precise, Spidey's latest outing — starring Tom Holland (Chaos Walking), as every live-action film in the ever-sprawling Marvel Cinematic Universe that's featured the superhero has — sees him do whatever spider-men have for decades. The masked crusader shoots webs, flings them about New York and swings around the city. He helps people, battles crime, literally hangs out with his girlfriend MJ (Zendaya, Dune) and saves the world, too. As the movie's trailers revealed, Spider-Man also fights whoever his on-screen predecessors fought. The twist that isn't a twist because it's part of the flick's marketing: that villains from Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield's stints as Spidey show up here. Those familiar faces, including Willem Dafoe (The Card Counter) as the Green Goblin, Alfred Molina (Promising Young Woman) as Doctor Octopus and Jamie Foxx (Soul) as Electro, aren't Peter Parker's initial problem, as viewers of 2017's Spider-Man: Homecoming and 2019's Spider-Man: Far From Home will already know. No Way Home picks up immediately after the latter, after Spidey's secret identity has been blasted across the internet by online conspiracist J Jonah Jameson (JK Simmons, Ride the Eagle). The media swiftly make Peter "the most famous person in the world", the public get hostile and his college prospects — and MJ and Ned's (Jacob Batalon, Let It Snow) as well — take a hit. The only solution he can see: asking Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch, The Power of the Dog) to cast a spell to make everyone forget who he is. With drastic magic comes drastic consequences, hence those recognisable nefarious folks who know Spidey — and definitely know that he's Peter Parker — yet don't recognise the MCU's version. Marvel's next flick after this one is Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, so the franchise is about to go big on alternate worlds, but No Way Home still doesn't actually jump into that domain first. It's a curious choice on the whole huge saga's part to take cues from the animated delight that is Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, which relished having multiple spider-realms, got inventive with both its concept and visuals, won an Oscar and is easily the best spider-flick to-date, all without sitting within the MCU itself. Indeed, the live-action franchise's third stand-alone Spider-Man movie can't shake the feeling that it's playing catch-up. Directed by Jon Watts, as all three recent web-slinging films have been, No Way Home does more than give flesh, blood and spandex to an ace idea already brought to the screen a mere three years back. It also delivers the heftiest helping of fan service that the Marvel Cinematic Universe has ever dished up. The franchise has long enjoyed hitting all the obvious crowd-pleasing notes, but Martin Scorsese's 2019 comment that compared MCU fare to theme parks rings particularly true here — unsurprisingly given this Spider-Man outing wants to elicit the loudest of screams and shouts from its audience. Buy the ticket, take the cinematic ride, ooh and aah over every clear spin and foreseeable twirl: amid the stock-standard CGI-packed action scenes and triple-layered Spidey nods to iterations past, not all that long ago and present, that's what No Way Home seeks from its viewers. And, it takes the rollercoaster approach to evoking that reaction, rolling its story down the most glaring of tracks. Read our full review. THE LOST DAUGHTER Watching Olivia Colman play a complicated woman is like staring at the ocean: it's never the same twice, even just for a second; it couldn't be more unpredictable, no matter how comfortable it appears; and all that surface texture bobs, floats, swells, gleams and glides atop leagues of unseen complexity. That's always been true of the British actor's absolute best performances, which could fill any body of water with their power and resonance. It's there in her acidic work in The Favourite, which won her an Oscar, and also in The Crown's more reserved turn as a different English monarch. It flowed through the devastating Tyrannosaur, which perhaps first truly showed the world exactly what Colman could do — and has marked her Academy Award-nominated supporting part in The Father, plus TV standouts Peep Show, Broadchurch, The Night Manager and Fleabag. It's fitting, then, that The Lost Daughter tasks Colman with glaring at the sea, and doing so both intently and often. A necessity of the narrative, as penned on the page by My Brilliant Friend's Elena Ferrante and adapted for the screen by actor-turned-filmmaker Maggie Gyllenhaal, it's a touch that washes through the movie with extra force due to its star. Colman plays comparative literature professor Leda, who fills much of her time peering at the ocean as she summers on a Greek island — and also people-watching thanks to the loud, entitled Queens family that keep invading her chosen patch of sand. While both gazing at the waves and taking in the onshore domestic dramas, Leda sees her own ebbs, flows, thorns and flaws reflected back. Vacationing alone, Leda isn't on a getaway as much as she's escaping — not actively, but because that's her default mode. She's never willing to stray far from her work, shuffling through papers as she sunbathes and flirtatious young resort manager Will (Paul Mescal, Normal People) moves her lounger to keep her in the shade; however, as flashbacks show, the urge to flee all markers of apparent normalcy has long gushed in her veins. Leda tells anyone who asks that she has two daughters (Bianca is 25 and Martha is 23, she frequently offers), but they're heard via phone calls rather than seen as adults. She's prickly when mum-to-be Callie (Dagmara Domińczyk, Succession), of those noisy interlopers, asks if her extended group can take over Leda's beach umbrella. But in Nina (Dakota Johnson, The Nowhere Inn), the raven-haired mother of frequently screaming toddler Elena (debutant Athena Martin Anderson), she spies more of herself than she's been willing to confront for decades. The Lost Daughter's title references an incident one sunny day when Elena disappears as Callie, Nina and company — the latter's shady husband Toni (Oliver Jackson-Cohen, The Invisible Man) as well — idle by the water's edge. The Americans react with distress, but Leda calmly strides forth amid the chaos, all while battling memories of being a young mum (Jessie Buckley, I'm Thinking of Ending Things) searching for her own absent child. Indeed, loss and escape are serpentine concepts here, winding through Leda's past, her affinity for the clearly unhappy Nina and the second wave of mayhem that erupts when Elena's beloved doll also goes missing. The concept of trouble in paradise proves just as layered, infecting idylls scenic and, in pondering the supposed bliss that we're all told motherhood brings, societally enforced. Read our full review. THE SCARY OF SIXTY-FIRST When Succession roves over New York's skyline — in its opening credits, as set to that bewitching theme tune, or just during its episodes — it gleams with wealth and privilege. Depiction doesn't equal endorsement, however, with the stellar HBO satire sharply cutting into its chosen world at every chance it gets. As one of the show's supporting cast members, Dasha Nekrasova slides into that realm, too, but that's not her only dalliance with the city's architecture, power brokers and all that both represent. The Scary of Sixty-First, the Red Scare podcast host's feature directorial debut, also savages the rich and seemingly consequence-free. It clasps onto a real-life story that's made that case inherently, abhorrently and monstrously. There's no gentle way to put it, but the fact that Nekrasova plays a woman investigating if a bargain Upper East Side duplex was one of Jeffrey Epstein's "orgy flophouses" says much about this purposefully provocative conspiracy thriller horror-comedy. College pals Addie (Betsey Brown, Assholes) and Noelle (the film's co-screenwriter Madeline Quinn) can't believe their luck when they find the cheap property, even if it does visibly need a clean — and have mirrored ceilings, as well as some questionable lock choices — and even if they don't appear completely comfortable with committing to live together. But from night one, the literal nightmares begin. Soon they're spying blood stains, scratched walls and eerie tarot cards, and feeling unsettled in a variety of ways. Enter Nekrasova's stranger, who comes sporting a dark-web rabbit hole's worth of paranoia and bearing the Epstein news. Addie and Noelle take the revelation in vastly different fashions, with the former seeming possessed by one of Epstein's child victims, and the latter diving deep into potential theories with her unnamed new friend. Letting a headline-monopolising sex offender loom large over the plot is an instant attention-grabber — and, while The Scary of Sixty-First doesn't lunge straight down that path, it feels like Nekrasova and Quinn's starting point. Their movie smacks of conjuring up a controversial premise, then fitting parts around it; thankfully, they have more than one target in their sights, plenty to ponder, and Nekrasova's bold vision bringing it all together. From the outset, there's much to mine about the hellishness of finding somewhere to live in your twenties, and in NY especially. The things you'll settle for in that situation clearly also earns the feature's focus. The same rings true of post-college life and its intrinsic awkwardness in general — and being expected to act like a fully functioning adult, and make pivotal decisions, without yet amassing the experiences to match. By contemplating the hostile real-estate market and the ordeal that is trying to find your place in the world (emotionally, intellectually and physically), The Scary of Sixty-First immediately unpacks power, money and privilege. If Addie and Noelle could afford somewhere else or had other support at their disposal, there wouldn't even be a story. When Nekrasova appears and drops Epstein's name, that excavation digs down several levels. Again, there's no shortage of ideas, directions or tangents to explore, and the script explodes as many as possible. This is a movie about a dead billionaire paedophile, the wealth of theories that've sprung up around him and the 24-hour news cycle that's made his tale inescapable. It's also about how doomscrolling has become routine, the grim routes incessant web searches can take you down, the normalisation of true-crime obsession, the proliferation of conspiracy-driven rhetoric and relentless chaos as the natural state of the world. Read our full review. UNDINE For the second time in as many films, German writer/director Christian Petzold teams up with Paula Beer and Franz Rogowski, but you could never accuse the trio of doing the same thing twice. Back in 2018, they turned Transit into a war-torn romance that mused on conflict's lingering scars. With Undine, they reinvent a German myth about a water spirit who can only turn human via love, but has to kill her paramour if he's unfaithful. A familiar chemistry lingers, though, as it's meant to. Whenever directors and actors keep collaborating — especially when directors retain multiple actors across different movies — that's built into the fabric of the film. As viewers, we can't help recalling our knowledge of their shared history, as that's just how we respond to art, people and connections. A movie not only about romance, longing, obsession and their consequences, but about the impact of the past on the present, Undine provokes and rewards this reaction. In her 2020 Berlinale Silver Bear-winning role — taking home the prize for for Best Actress — Beer (Never Look Away) plays the film's titular character. Before the influence of folklore kicks in, this Undine is a historian who guides museum tours about Berlin's origins. When her boyfriend Johannes (Jacob Matschenz, Babylon Berlin) breaks up with her suddenly before work one day, however, she warns that she'll have to kill him. It sounds like a heat-of-the-moment threat, a plea to get him to change his mind and the kind of exaggeration that arises when romance ends in tears, but there's more to her words than mere histrionics. Indeed, even as a new love blossoms with industrial diver Christoph (Rogowski, Great Freedom), who she meets that very day at the same cafe where her relationship with Johannes ends — in a spectacular meet-cute involving an aquarium, fittingly — Undine's past isn't easily overcome. Petzold is no stranger to pondering the tides of history that just keep ebbing, flowing and swelling. His filmography is filled with contemplations of the subject, including in the Nina Hoss-starring Barbara and Phoenix, and also with Beer and Rogowski in Transit. In Undine, he's at his most haunting, with recognising the fluidity of life — and that it keeps repeating, alongside humanity's most inherent instincts — a key point of interest. While the movie never drops its shroud of mystery, Petzold is also at his most overt with another of his familiar fascinations: the way that love provides the trusty banks that both ordinary and seismic woes keep rushing across. That's literally Undine's tale, as drawn from fable. Without romance, she loses her place on dry land; as she notes in a lecture about the Berlin Palace, and about the evolution of the city over its lifespan, it's as if "progress were impossible". When he's enraptured with an actor or several, no one should want Petzold to move too far forward. Bathing in Beer and Rogowski's rich chemistry is an experience to linger in, and linger Undine does. Always a meticulous filmmaker, Petzold soaks in every second his two stars spend in each other's company, with the pair's magnetism so potent that it almost drips through the movie. He luxuriates in Beer's presence in general, too, letting her cast her spell over the audience as Undine does with Christoph — and once did with Johannes. She's one of cinematographer Hans Fromm's favourite points of focus, unsurprisingly. A Petzold regular, he gifts the film not just an enchanting and beguiling look to suit its mood, but the chance for viewers of this giddy fantasy to fall head over heels for its blend of the surreal, sweet, supernatural and soul-stirring. Undine is screening in Sydney and Melbourne. ONE SECOND Any new film by Zhang Yimou deserves eyeballs the world over, but One Second, the Raise the Red Lantern, Hero and House of Flying Daggers director's latest, hasn't charted the smoothest route to screens. Pre-dating the filmmaker's Cliff Walkers, which reached Australian cinemas earlier in 2021, it was originally scheduled to show at the 2019 Berlinale. But after the festival began, it was removed from the lineup — and while a "technical problem" was cited as the official reason, Chinese censorship was floated as the real cause. One Second eventually surfaced on home soil late in 2020, and elsewhere around the globe in the last few months of 2021. It's now an immensely timely movie, although purely by coincidence. Every great feature by a great director inherently pays tribute to the medium of film, so that's hardly new for Zhang — but celebrating the silver screen, and the pandemic-relevant yearning to bask in its glory when life conspires to get in the way, isn't just a side effect here. It's 1975 when One Second begins, and crowds are flocking to makeshift small-town picture palaces to see propaganda films. The specific movie drawing in the masses: 1964's Heroic Sons and Daughters, which prison-camp escapee Zhang Jiusheng (Zhang Yi, Cliff Walkers) is desperate to catch. Alas, after finding his way into one village through mountains of sand that wouldn't look out of place in Dune, the fugitive discovers that he's already missed the showing that the night. Worse still, the film's canisters are being packed onto a motorbike to be driven to their next destination. And, he isn't the only one keen to make the movie's acquaintance, with the orphaned Liu (Liu Haocun, another Cliff Walkers alum) swiftly stealing its sixth reel before it departs town. An unlikely pair seeking the same thing for different reasons — he's heard that his estranged daughter appears in newsreel footage in the feature, while she wants the celluloid to make a lamp for her younger brother — Zhang and Liu are soon following the rest of the film through the desert to its next stop. That's where Mr Movie (Fan Wei, Railway Heroes) awaits, courting profit and glory compared to Zhang's desperation to glimpse his family and Liu's resourcefulness (that said, sporting a mug calling himself the 'World's Greatest Projectionist', the man behind the travelling cinema that's screening Mao-approved fare to entertainment-starved locales does still love his a clear fondness for his job). But the reels don't return intact, sparking a homemade restoration campaign that needs the entire town's help. Yes, loving film is also a tactile experience here. Zhang has always been able to make any kind of movie he's put his mind to, and has the four-decade-long resume to prove it. With 2009's A Woman, a Gun and a Noodle Shop, he even remade the Coen brothers' Blood Simple. One Second sees him masterfully blend film-adoring melodrama with a Cultural Revolution-era portrait that's laced with just the amount of commentary that managed to escape the censors. He revels in sight gags and chases that could've been lifted out of silent comedy greats from a century back as well, giving cinema yet another ode. The end result mightn't be Zhang's absolute best — his resume isn't short on highlights — but it easily ranks among his most endearing. One Second makes exceptional use of its dust-swept setting, too, and its trio of chalk-and-cheese main players; plus, in celebrating an artform that's both tangible and an illusion, Zhang still makes a clear statement. One Second is currently screening in Melbourne, and will release in Sydney and Brisbane on January 20, 2022. If you're wondering what else is currently screening in Australian cinemas — or has been lately — check out our rundown of new films released in Australia on August 5, August 12, August 19 and August 26; September 2, September 9, September 16, September 23 and September 30; October 7, October 14, October 21 and October 28; November 4, November 11, November 18 and November 25; and December 2 and December 9. For Sydney specifically, you can take a look at out our rundown of new films that released in Sydney cinemas when they reopened on October 11, and what opened on October 14, October 21 and October 28 as well. And for Melbourne, you can check out our top picks from when outdoor cinemas reopened on October 22 — and from when indoor cinemas did the same on October 29. You can also read our full reviews of a heap of recent movies, such as The Suicide Squad, Free Guy, Respect, The Night House, Candyman, Annette, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised), Streamline, Coming Home in the Dark, Pig, Big Deal, The Killing of Two Lovers, Nitram, Riders of Justice, The Alpinist, A Fire Inside, Lamb, The Last Duel, Malignant, The Harder They Fall, Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain, Halloween Kills, Passing, Eternals, The Many Saints of Newark, Julia, No Time to Die, The Power of the Dog, Tick, Tick... Boom!, Zola, Last Night in Soho, Blue Bayou, The Rescue, Titane, Venom: Let There Be Carnage, Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn, Dune, Encanto, The Card Counter, The Lost Leonardo, The French Dispatch, Don't Look Up and Dear Evan Hansen.
They say revenge is a dish best served cold, but not at Johnny Fontane's it ain't. Starting on Wednesday, July 12 the Darlinghurst bar is serving up hot deep-dish pizza and jazz as part of its all-new monthly Mafioso Night. It doesn't matter if you're a Bugsy, Knuckles, or Guttermouth, for $30, honoured guests will get two slices of Johnny's authentic Chicago deep-dish pizza along with a couple of entrees just like Mama used to make — think arancini, meatballs and polenta chips. There's even a free cocktail up for grabs to whoever finds the rat they've hidden in the bar. Keep in mind, these kids like a theme, so channel your inner Godfather and don your best mob-inspired ensemble. They're only opening up 50 seats for the Mafioso Night, so you'll need to book in advance to nab a spot (and maybe a blessing if you're lucky) by emailing the head honcho himself at thedon@johnnyfontanesbar.com.
There are many reasons to thank Mike White, creator and writer of The White Lotus, for bringing the hit HBO series to our screens. He's responsible for one of the best TV shows of both 2021 and 2022 — a program that has weaponised luxurious settings, helped set travel itineraries, thoroughly eaten the rich, spun twisty murder-mysteries, and kept viewers guessing throughout each and every episode of both season one and season two. He's also helped shower affection and attention upon the one and only Jennifer Coolidge, a screen icon who always deserves such love. Indeed, if it wasn't for White and The White Lotus, the world wouldn't have had the joy that is Coolidge's various awards speeches for playing Tanya McQuoid. For folks in Sydney on Saturday, June 10, worshipping the White-and-Coolidge pairing — hearing Coolidge talk about her time on The White Lotus, too — won't just involve checking out Emmy and Golden Globe clips. In huge news in general, and for the Vivid Sydney lineup, the duo is coming to the Harbour City for what's set to be the biggest in-conversation session of the 23-day, 300-plus-event festival. While Vivid dropped its program back in March, it has been making additions since, including literally underground light and laser show Dark Spectrum and now this. Unsurprisingly, the Vivid team has dubbed its latest addition one of the biggest announcements in the festival's 13-year history — which is no small feat for an event that's seen everyone from The Cure to Robert Pattinson and Spike Lee grace its bill in past years. Coolidge and White won't just chat about The White Lotus, McQuoid's utter lack of luck in love and a certain fateful boat ride — and, on White's part, likely skirt around answering where the third season will be set (the word so far: Thailand). They'll also discuss their full careers, and both have plenty to dive into. Coolidge has been a screen presence for years, thanks to parts in everything from American Pie, Best in Show and the Legally Blonde franchise through to Party Down's original run, Joey and Promising Young Woman. As for White, he's written the screenplay for School of Rock, and acted in it — and given the TV-watching world the Laura Dern-starring Enlightened, which he also appeared on. He has Year of the Dog and Brad's Status on his directing resume as well, and penned and produced episodes of Dawson's Creek and Freaks and Geeks. Also, he was famously an Amazing Race and Survivor contestant. Benjamin Law will be asking the questions at this in-conversation event, which takes place at Aware Super Theatre, ICC Sydney. Tickets are on sale now — and they'll get snapped up quicker than McQuoid falls in love. Top image: HBO.
A snowy camp, crosses, bad dreams, creepy houses, lurking shadows, ringing phones and an immensely unsettling mask: welcome to the world of Black Phone 2. Four years after writer/director Scott Derrickson (The Gorge) adapted a short story by Joe Hill — an author with a hefty horror pedigree as the son of Stephen King — into The Black Phone to box-office success, he's now helming his first sequel to his own work. Derrickson began his feature career on follow-up flicks courtesy of 2000's Urban Legends: Final Cut (which he co-penned) and Hellraiser: Inferno (which he directed), but was absent from the hot seat when his Sinister and Doctor Strange continued their stories. A second Black Phone film wasn't originally the plan, though. For fans of the first feature, 2025's return to the movie's world also raises a question within its narrative. In the just-dropped first trailer for Black Phone 2, however, Ethan Hawke's (Leave the World Behind) villainous The Grabber utters a pivotal line to Mason Thames' (Monster Summer) Finney Blake, who survived his clutches the first time around: "you of all people know that dead is just a word". How important is that sentiment to Black Phone 2? "Very essential and fundamental is my answer to that," Derrickson tells Concrete Playground. Audiences will find out how and why for themselves in the best horror-movie month on every annual calendar, with the film set to reach cinemas Down Under on Thursday, October 16, 2025. For now, though, the picture's initial trailer teases snowball fights, a stint at the Alpine Lake Youth Camp, photos of other kids and blood. Also featured: The Grabber asking "did you think our story was over?" before stating "vengeance is mine". In The Black Phone, The Grabber did what his name suggests: he snatched up children. Circa 1978, Finney, his sister Gwen (Madeleine McGraw, The Curse of the Necklace) and their friends were already scared of his insidious presence, too, before Finney became his next target. Back to things living up to their monikers: yes, there was a black phone, disconnected yet still ringing, offering a link to The Grabber's prior victims. It wasn't just Hawke getting nefarious that made the movie a hit and piqued viewer interest for more, but also its full impressive cast, immersive tale, and the expert sense of tension cultivated by The Exorcism of Emily Rose and Deliver Us From Evil alum Derrickson. With Black Phone 2, a few years have passed on-screen as well — which meant that Derrickson could find his ideal way into a Black Phone sequel. He wasn't interested in the kind of next effort that just repeats the first, so the fact that Thames and McGraw are now older was pivotal. Black Phone 2 is "a high-school coming-of-age movie instead of a middle-school coming-of-age movie", then, he explains. Now that he's focusing on teenage characters, that does indeed enable him to heighten some of the horror elements, including gore. "Absolutely. All true. That's very perceptive. And yeah, I think a high-school horror film requires a certain degree of intensity and violence that a middle-school horror film really doesn't want or need," Derrickson told us. Alongside Hawke, Thames and McGraw, Jeremy Davies (Adventures of the Naked Umbrella) and Miguel Mora (So Help Me Todd) are also back. Getting Hawke onboard in the beginning, even after Derrickson had directed him in Sinister, wasn't assured, but The Black Phone was all the better for his efforts. For Thames, Black Phone 2 arrives in what's already a huge year, given that he plays Hiccup in the live-action How to Train Your Dragon. We also chatted with Derrickson about the franchise's core casting, how the second movie came about, his essentials for the sequel, the approach when you're stepping back into a film's world and that oh-so-key skill of dripping unease through a horror flick. On Whether Making Sequel to The Black Phone Was Initially the Plan "After the first movie, I didn't feel obliged to make a sequel. The studio, as soon as the movie was a hit, was asking me 'will you please make a sequel?'. And I didn't feel necessarily that I wanted to do that. I didn't have any ideas at that point. And it started, the idea for Black Phone 2 started, with an email from Joe Hill — with my friend Joe, he sent me an email and he said 'hey, I have an idea for a sequel', and he wrote out this pitch. I didn't respond to all of it, but there was an idea, a central idea in it, that I thought was fantastic that I'd never thought of. So I began to sort of noodle on that idea — and then, as I was toying with the idea, I started to realise that if I went and made another movie first, then by the time I finished that film these kids that I've had loved so much, and did such a good job in the in the first movie, would be in high school. And so I thought 'I'm going to go do that'. So I told the studio I would do the sequel, but I'm going to go make another movie first — because I wanted to make a high-school coming-of-age movie instead of a middle-school coming-of-age movie. And so it's been a little bit of a wait, but that was intentional, because I wanted these kids to be older. Mason, when we shot this, was 17 — and Maddie was 15. And both are in high school, and that's a very different kind of film and a very different genre to work in." [caption id="attachment_861837" align="alignnone" width="1920"] The Black Phone[/caption] On Casting Ethan Hawke as The Grabber — and Getting Him to Agree to Play a Villain "I wrote the first movie without him even knowing anything about it. And I sent him the script, and he told me before he read it, he said 'look, I don't really do villains. I don't play villains. I probably won't do this'. And then that night, he left me a voicemail saying one of the lines of The Grabber in The Grabber's voice. And I thought 'oh, that's all it was'. I knew that that was his way of saying he was going to do it. And I think he really loved the movie. So when it came to doing a sequel, I did the same thing. I sent him the script, and he told me he was very nervous to read it because he had never done a sequel. And I said 'what about the Before Sunrise movies? You made three of those'. He goes 'yeah, but I wrote those. That doesn't count'. But he read the script and was so excited afterwards. And it was just a very similar story — he read it, and called me immediately after and said 'I love this. I think it's great'. And we scheduled the movie right away." On the Importance of This Being a Sequel That Continues the Story with the Same Characters, Not One That Basically Remakes the First Film "I didn't want to make the same movie again. And I think that sequels that disappoint are sequels that try to do the same thing, only bigger — or the same thing, only more. I knew that I would want to make a very different kind of movie, but I also probably wouldn't have considered doing a sequel of any kind if it didn't involve those characters. Because I love those characters. I love those kids. They're all really good actors, and the idea of being able to make a movie with characters who are in a different stage of life and played by actors who were in a different stage of life — Mason was 17 when we shot this and Maddie McGraw was 15. And Miguel Mora comes back as well in this movie. And it was really a delight to be able to, again, tell a different kind of story about a different stage of life. And I wouldn't have done it if it wasn't with all those same characters." On How Mason Thames' Career Has Blossomed Since The Black Phone, Including Black Phone 2 and Playing Hiccup in the Live-Action How to Train Your Dragon "It's so wonderful to watch. And part of the reason that it's so wonderful is because Mason is a kid who really has his head on his shoulders. He's not seduced by the fame. He's not interested in celebrity. He told me, he said 'if I could get rid of all my social media, I would'. He said 'the only reason I keep it is because it's important to studios for the marketing of their movies'. He's just got such a solid perspective and grounded point of view for such a young man — for somebody who's, I think he's 18 now. It couldn't happen to a better kid is what I'm saying. So it's wonderful to know that I gave him, I just sort of discovered his raw talents and gave him the shot that I did. He did such a good job and he does an amazing job in this movie as well." On What Goes Into Cultivating Unease, Dread and Disquiet in a Horror Film for Derrickson "I think that's the essential thing about the horror genre. It's not gore. It's not acts of violence. Ultimately, what makes a horror film a horror film is tone. There are some horror films that are very, very scary without any violence. And there are some very violent movies that aren't very scary. And the difference is that dreadful tone. I think that I'm interested in that aspect of horror more than jump scares, more than gore. The horror films that I love are films that crawl under my skin and have a captivating tone. And the best ones stay with me after the movie. I remember when I saw The Witch — it took me three days to shake the feeling of that movie from me." [caption id="attachment_861838" align="alignnone" width="1920"] The Black Phone[/caption] On the Approach When You're Stepping Back Into an Existing World with a Horror Sequel "I think that, including those early things that I did, the goal is to try to bring something fresh and original while maintaining the elements that our audience wants to see return. And that's always a tough thing to do as a director, but you have to be in tune with your audience and understand 'well, these are the things they definitely want to see. They want to see this. They want to see that. They want this to happen. They want these elements from the original film within their franchise picture'. [caption id="attachment_873778" align="alignnone" width="1920"] The Black Phone[/caption] But at the same time, what they can't tell you is that they want most of it to be fresh. They want to be surprised. They don't want to watch the same movie again. And so as a director, it's about threading that balance. And in this movie, I think it was the characters that they wanted to see returning. And the fact that the movie has a kind of tonal shift, I think is something they're going to find satisfying." Black Phone 2 opens in cinemas Down Under on Thursday, October 16, 2025.
Forget the host's monologue, when there is one. Jimmy Kimmel was on MC duties for the 2023 Academy Awards, and he did indeed start the show by making jokes about a heap of nominees — and about Batgirl being the first superhero taken down by studio accountants, and what'll happen if someone tried to follow in Will Smith's 2022 footsteps this year. But each Oscars ceremony truly begins when winners start being announced and those recipients give barnstorming speeches. With that in mind, the 2023 festivities began with a bang. If you didn't have tears in your eyes watching Guillermo del Toro, Jamie Lee Curtis and Ke Huy Quan, then you weren't watching. As predicted, the latter's speech about never giving up on your dream — and how he almost did, but his wife told him his time would come — was an all-timer. He even gave a shoutout to Jeff Cohen, his co-star from The Goonies and his entertainment lawyer now. Of course, the excited words kept flowing from there. The An Irish Goodbye team singing happy birthday to star James Martin was another early highlight. So was the arrival of Jenny the donkey from The Banshees of Inisherin, and the thrilled look on Colin Farrell's face when it happened. When Everything Everywhere All At Once kept adding to its awards, you could see the joy among the film's team. And when records were made — the first Best Actress winner who identifies as Asian (Michelle Yeoh for Everything Everywhere All At Once), the first song from India to win Best Song (for 'Naatu Naatu' from explosive action-musical RRR), and the first Black woman to win two Oscars (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever's Ruth Carter) — it was tremendous. Among the many deserving winners, there were missed opportunities as well. Kimmel's opening joke about James Cameron not getting a Best Director nomination just as plenty of women didn't called out a glaring ongoing struggle with the Oscars. Also, the awards couldn't find a way to make Elvis' Mandy Walker the first woman to win Best Cinematographer in its 95-year run. Great work is great work — and great films are great films — no matter whether they earn shiny trophies. Some movies and talents end up with statuettes to their names, some come close and miss out, others don't even get nominated. All are worthy of attention. Here's the latest round of winners batch to join the Oscars' ranks — and who they were up against as well. You can also check out our rundown of the ten winners you should watch right now as well, plus our full lists of where most of this year's contenders are screening or streaming in both Australia and New Zealand. OSCAR WINNERS AND NOMINEES 2023: BEST MOTION PICTURE All Quiet on the Western Front Avatar: The Way of Water The Banshees of Inisherin Elvis Everything Everywhere All At Once — WINNER The Fabelmans Tár Top Gun: Maverick Triangle of Sadness Women Talking BEST DIRECTOR Martin McDonagh, The Banshees of Inisherin Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, Everything Everywhere All At Once — WINNER Steven Spielberg, The Fabelmans Todd Field, Tár Ruben Östlund, Triangle of Sadness PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE Cate Blanchett, Tár Ana de Armas, Blonde Andrea Riseborough, To Leslie Michelle Williams, The Fabelmans Michelle Yeoh, Everything Everywhere All At Once — WINNER PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE Austin Butler, Elvis Colin Farrell, The Banshees of Inisherin Brendan Fraser, The Whale — WINNER Paul Mescal, Aftersun Bill Nighy, Living PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE Angela Bassett, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever Hong Chau, The Whale Kerry Condon, The Banshees of Inisherin Jamie Lee Curtis, Everything Everywhere All At Once — WINNER Stephanie Hsu, Everything Everywhere All At Once PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE Brendan Gleeson, The Banshees of Inisherin Brian Tyree Henry, Causeway Judd Hirsch, The Fabelmans Barry Keoghan, The Banshees of Inisherin Ke Huy Quan, Everything Everywhere All At Once — WINNER BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY The Banshees of Inisherin, Martin McDonagh Everything Everywhere All At Once, Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert — WINNER The Fabelmans, Steven Spielberg and Tony Kushner Tár, Todd Field Triangle of Sadness, Ruben Östlund BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY All Quiet on the Western Front, Edward Berger, Lesley Paterson and Ian Stokell Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, Rian Johnson Living, Kazuo Ishiguro Top Gun: Maverick, screenplay by Ehren Kruger and Eric Warren Singer and Christopher McQuarrie; story by Peter Craig and Justin Marks Women Talking, Sarah Polley — WINNER BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILM All Quiet on the Western Front — WINNER Argentina, 1985 Close EO The Quiet Girl BEST ANIMATED FEATURE Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio — WINNER Marcel the Shell With Shoes On Puss in Boots: The Last Wish The Sea Beast Turning Red BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE All That Breathes All the Beauty and the Bloodshed Fire of Love A House Made of Splinters Navalny — WINNER BEST ORIGINAL SCORE All Quiet on the Western Front, Volker Bertelmann — WINNER Babylon, Justin Hurwitz The Banshees of Inisherin, Carter Burwell Everything Everywhere All At Once, Son Lux The Fabelmans, John Williams BEST ORIGINAL SONG 'Applause', Tell It Like a Woman (Diane Warren) 'Hold My Hand', Top Gun: Maverick (Lady Gaga and BloodPop) 'Lift Me Up', Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (music by Tems, Rihanna, Ryan Coogler and Ludwig Goransson; lyrics by Tems and Ryan Coogler) 'Naatu Naatu', RRR (music by MM Keeravaani, lyrics by Chandrabose) — WINNER 'This Is a Life', Everything Everywhere All At Once (music by Ryan Lott, David Byrne and Mitski, lyrics by Ryan Lott and David Byrne) BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY All Quiet on the Western Front, James Friend — WINNER Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths, Darius Khondji Elvis, Mandy Walker Empire of Light, Roger Deakins Tár, Florian Hoffmeister BEST FILM EDITING The Banshees of Inisherin, Mikkel EG Nielsen Elvis, Matt Villa and Jonathan Redmond Everything Everywhere All At Once, Paul Rogers — WINNER Tár, Monika Willi Top Gun: Maverick, Eddie Hamilton BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN All Quiet on the Western Front, Christian M Goldbeck and Ernestine Hipper — WINNER Avatar: The Way of Water, Dylan Cole, Ben Procter and Vanessa Cole Babylon, Florencia Martin and Anthony Carlino Elvis, Catherine Martin, Karen Murphy and Bev Dunn The Fabelmans, Rick Carter and Karen O'Hara BEST VISUAL EFFECTS All Quiet on the Western Front, Frank Petzold, Viktor Müller, Markus Frank and Kamil Jafar Avatar: The Way of Water, Joe Letteri, Richard Baneham, Eric Saindon and Daniel Barrett — WINNER The Batman, Dan Lemmon, Russell Earl, Anders Langlands and Dominic Tuohy Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Geoffrey Baumann, Craig Hammack, R Christopher White and Dan Sudick Top Gun: Maverick, Ryan Tudhope, Seth Hill, Bryan Litson and Scott R Fisher BEST COSTUME DESIGN Babylon, Mary Zophres Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Ruth Carter — WINNER Elvis, Catherine Martin Everything Everywhere All At Once, Shirley Kurata Mrs Harris Goes to Paris, Jenny Beavan BEST MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING All Quiet on the Western Front, Heike Merker and Linda Eisenhamerová The Batman, Naomi Donne, Mike Marino and Mike Fontaine Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Camille Friend and Joel Harlow Elvis, Mark Coulier, Jason Baird and Aldo Signoretti The Whale, Adrien Morot, Judy Chin and Anne Marie Bradley — WINNER BEST SOUND All Quiet on the Western Front, Viktor Prásil, Frank Kruse, Markus Stemler, Lars Ginzel and Stefan Korte Avatar: The Way of Water, Julian Howarth, Gwendolyn Yates Whittle, Dick Bernstein, Christopher Boyes, Gary Summers and Michael Hedges The Batman, Stuart Wilson, William Files, Douglas Murray and Andy Nelson Elvis, David Lee, Wayne Pashley, Andy Nelson and Michael Keller Top Gun: Maverick, Mark Weingarten, James H. Mather, Al Nelson, Chris Burdon and Mark Taylor — WINNER BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT The Elephant Whisperers — WINNER Haulout How Do You Measure a Year? The Martha Mitchell Effect Stranger at the Gate BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse — WINNER The Flying Sailor Ice Merchants My Year of Dicks An Ostrich Told Me the World Is Fake and I Think I Believe It BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM An Irish Goodbye — WINNER Ivalu Le Pupille Night Ride The Red Suitcase
No one just throws together a film festival program. For 18 years now, Sydney Underground Film Festival has carefully curated annual lineup after annual lineup, giving Harbour City cinephiles a feast of movies at their most surreal and sublime again and again. But if Sydney has ever boasted a film fest that's as much about rocking up and seeing where the mood takes you as it is about making a date with specific flicks, it's this one. Here, a conversation waiting in line for one movie might lead you to your next. To mark its latest milestone — turning 18 is no small feat for any film festival, let alone an independent fest that called Marrickville's Factory Theatre home for years, and now takes place at Dendy Newtown — SUFF has another astutely picked program on offer. Across a four-day run between Thursday, September 12–Sunday, September 15, everything from classic John Waters to Kristen Stewart's latest awaits. If past fests are any guide, it'll also sport one of the best vibes in both Sydney's and Australia's festival scenes, where feeling like you're about to discover something wild and wonderful is always in the air. Trust SUFF to open its 18th fest with Waters' Female Trouble, which also has an occasion to commemorate: its 50th anniversary. The Divine-led film is screening with scratch 'n' sniff cards for the full sensory experience. The one and only Waters is an interviewee in closing night's Scala!!!, too, about the London cinema in the same name. The rest of the documentary's title is Or, The Incredibly Strange Rise and Fall of the World's Wildest Cinema and How It Influenced a Mixed-up Generation of Weirdos and Misfits, which gives viewers an idea of the kind of tale it's telling. Stewart fans should have Sacramento on their must-see list, with the Love Lies Bleeding, Crimes of the Future and Spencer actor co-starring in the road-trip film with Michael Cera (Dream Scenario), Maya Erskine (Mr & Mrs Smith) and Michael Angarano (Oppenheimer), the latter of whom also writes and directs. SUFF's roster of pictures with big-name ties also covers documentary Michel Gondry: Do It Yourself, about the Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind filmmaker; Daaaaaali!, which sees Rubber and Deerskin's Quentin Dupieux explore iconic artist Salvador Dalí in the director's usual offbeat way; and The Visitor from Bruce La Bruce (Saint-Narcisse), which pays tribute to Pier Paolo Pasolini's Teorema. Or, there's the Village People in Can't Stop the Music — and yes, dressing up to attend the screening is encouraged. Other highlights span black comedy Mother Father Sister Brother Frank, page-to-screen horror-thriller Saint Clare, more road trips with RATS!, and We Are Zombies from the team behind Turbo Kid and Summer of 84. If you caught stunning 2018 animation The Wolf House on the festival circuit — including at SUFF 2019 — Chilean filmmakers Cristóbal León and Joaquín Cociña are back with The Hyperboreans. "At SUFF, we're all about celebrating the wild, the weird and the wonderfully unexpected. This year's festival will take you on a journey through cinema's most daring corners — where anything can happen and usually does," explains Festival Director Nathan Senn. "Our lineup of films is a testament to the fearless creativity of filmmakers who dare to challenge, provoke and entertain, and we can't wait for our audience to join us for the ride." Sydney Underground Film Festival 2024 screens at Dendy Newtown, King Street, Newtown, from Thursday, September 12–Sunday, September 15. For further information, or to buy tickets, head to SUFF's website.
Need some respite from the CBD hustle and bustle? Spend some time exploring the historic terrace-lined streets of Glebe. This endearing 'burb perched on the glistening harbour foreshore presents a tight-knit community charm you might not expect from such an inner city neighbourhood. You'll likely be met by shopkeepers who have been serving the village for decades, so have your best banter ready to rumble and learn about the colourful human histories of the area with each encounter. In partnership with American Express, we've found a joint that'll sort you out whatever occasion brings you to Glebe — from a gift-hunting expedition to a night out with old friends.
No one might've thought of Joel and Ethan Coen as yin and yang if they hadn't started making movies separately. Since 2018's The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, their latest feature together as sibling filmmakers, the elder of the Coen brothers went with Shakespearean intensity by directing 2021's The Tragedy of Macbeth on his lonesome — while Ethan now opts for goofy, loose and hilariously sidesplitting silliness with Drive-Away Dolls. The pair aren't done collaborating, with a horror flick reportedly in the works next. But their break from being an Oscar-winning team has gifted audiences two treats in completely different fashions. For the younger brother, he's swapped in his wife Tricia Cooke, editor of The Big Lebowski, O Brother, Where Art Thou? and The Man Who Wasn't There, on a picture that couldn't slide more smoothly onto his resume alongside the madcap antics that the Coens combined are known for. Indeed, spying shades of the first of those two features that Cooke spliced in Drive-Away Dolls, plus Raising Arizona, Fargo and Burn After Reading as well, is both easy and delightful. As a duo, the Coen brothers haven't ever followed two women through lesbian bars, makeout parties and plenty of horniness between the sheets, though, amid wall dildos and other nods to intimate appendages, even if plenty about the Ethan-directed, Cooke-edited Drive-Away Dolls — which both Ethan and Cooke co-wrote — is classic Coens. There's the road-trip angle, conspiracy mayhem, blundering criminals in hot pursuit of Jamie (Margaret Qualley, Poor Things) and Marian (Geraldine Viswanathan, Cat Person), dumb men (those crooks again) in cars and just quirky characters all round. There's the anarchic chases, witty yet philosophical banter and highly sought-after briefcase at the centre of the plot, too. And, there's the fact that this is a comedic caper, its love of slapstick and that a wealth of well-known faces pop up as the zany antics snowball. The Joel-and-Ethan team hasn't made a film as sapphic as this, either, however, or one that's a 90s-set nod to, riff on, and parody of 60s- and 70s-era sexploitation raucousness. Cooke, who identifies as queer, helps Drive-Away Dolls draw upon what she knows in its watering holes and three-decades-back timing; the movie was also originally conceived pre-Y2K, when it would've been a contemporary piece if it had made it to fruition. Centring on its paired queer ladies, there's a lived-in vibe among its gleeful chaos, then. Giving the film authenticity and having a freewheeling blast by going in any which way that it can — and swinging from sweet to eagerly cheesy at times (including in its editing) — aren't mutually exclusive for a moment. One of the best surprises of Drive-Away Dolls is how constantly surprising it is and entertainingly spontaneous it feels, no matter how many familiar Coenesque beats and bits viewers can pick out as the romp rolls on for 84 engaging minutes. Among the elbows in past Coen fare's direction is Sanctuary and Stars at Noon's Qualley as the self-assured and keenly talkative Jamie, who could be a relative of George Clooney (Ticket to Paradise) as O Brother, Where Art Thou?'s Ulysses Everett McGill (off-screen, of course, Qualley is her Maid co-star Andie MacDowell's daughter). But she's rarely in tight spot even when she is; letting anything pierce her good time isn't her vibe. Marian and then Jamie's police-officer girlfriend Sukie (Beanie Feldstein, American Crime Story) calling while she's in the throes of lust with someone else doesn't pierce her bubble. The subsequent end of that relationship barely does, in fact, other than sparking her desire for a new backdrop. Contrastingly, Marian always feels like everything is wrong — almost to Inside Llewyn Davis levels — whether she's being asked out by a colleague, annoyed by the word "anyhoo", keeping resolutely single years after her last breakup or deciding that ditching Philadelphia to visit an aunt in Tallahassee is her only option for change. Jamie doesn't just declare that she's tagging along when Marian hits the highway to Florida; she's the reason that the picture has the title it does (which was originally Drive-Away Dykes). If a car requires transporting from one place to the next, customers can put their hands up for discounted — or even free — vehicle hire to get it from A to B via a drive-away deal, which is handy for Jamie and Marian's finances. But after a visit to Curlie (Bill Camp, The Burial) for their temporary automobile, goons Arliss (Joey Slotnick, Plane) and Flint (CJ Wilson, The Blacklist) become their two-steps-behind shadows, working for an insistent fellow crim (Colman Domingo, The Color Purple). They're after a briefcase that's introduced in the movie's opening scene, where it's in the hands of a collector (Pedro Pascal, The Last of Us). Simply attempting to hightail it out of town, Jamie and Marian have no idea what they've inadvertently gotten mixed up in. This is Ethan's debut solo fictional feature without his sibling co-helming. That said, it's his and Cooke's second successive project where Ethan is credited as the director, Cooke edits, but it's clearly a joint effort (the first: 2022 documentary Jerry Lee Lewis: Trouble in Mind). This Coen brother knows how to make all kinds of double acts work, then — and, in this one, Drive-Away Dolls' guiding forces weave no shortage of hookups into the journey. A chihuahua named Alice B Toklas, Henry James novels, cameos by Matt Damon (Oppenheimer) and Miley Cyrus (Black Mirror), a game cast in lead and supporting parts, a wild goose chase, general giddiness, a heap of spice, bars and hotel rooms after bars and hotel rooms, artist Cynthia Plaster Caster: they're all along for this ride. There's ample daffy detours in the narrative, but zero stalling in this riotous affair. With chemistry to burn between them, Qualley and Viswanathan are as pivotal to Drive-Away Dolls as its main behind-the-scenes talents. The film was always going to need a duo who made viewers crave every second in their company regardless of what the script throws their way, including whether Jamie is splashing around her exhibitionist sex-positivity or Marian is yearning for a life less ordinary — and it found them. There's a particular depth to Australian Miracle Workers, The Broken Hearts Gallery and Blockers star Viswanathan's portrayal, despite plunging too deep never being one of Coen and Cooke's aims. Marian wants something beyond the rut that she's long been stuck in. She can't stop being herself, aka the movie's straight man, to get it. She's hardly welcoming of the mania that she's thrust into. Relatable also isn't what Drive-Away Dolls is chiefly going for, but it finds it as well and drives away with it.
Next time you pour yourself a gin and tonic or start sipping a martini, you can say cheers to one of Australia's best-known architectural wonders in the process. With its latest release, Archie Rose Distilling Co is paying tribute to a building that's become an international symbol not only for its city, but for the whole country: the Sydney Opera House. There's plenty to celebrate when it comes to the Jørn Utzon-designed structure, so Archie Rose has whipped up two gins — or, in terms that suit its inspiration, two acts. Outside Gin nods to the Sydney Opera House's design, coastal location and the contrast of its man-made elements with nature, while Inside Gin is an ode to the acts and all-round creativity that've graced the venue's stages since 1973. Launching this month to mark the building's 46th birthday, the two tipples hero distinctive flavours. If you're keen on a heavy juniper taste with a mix of salty, sweet and citrus notes (aided by lemon-scented gum, South Australian yuzu, finger limes, white grapefruit, seablite and native seaweed), then you'll find it in the Outside Gin. For those who like their drinks fruity and summery — and with botanicals such as native thyme, Australian apricot, raspberry and strawberry gum — Inside Gin has you covered. Both are on sale now, individually for $99 each or as a gift-boxed pair for $179. And while their names don't mention the Sydney Opera House, their labels certainly do, with a stylised representation of the structure featuring on each 700ml bottle — against a sea-toned background for the Outside Gin, and contrasting against a dark mix of purple, red and black with the Inside Gin. Naturally, you'll also be able to sip the two spirits at the Sydney Opera House, with the venue's Opera Kitchen, Portside Sydney and theatre bars all slinging curated seasonal cocktails using both gins. Bennelong Restaurant is also stocking the duo, as are a selection of other bars and restaurants around Circular Quay. Archie Rose x Sydney Opera House Outside and Inside Gins are currently on sale.
Brisbane is a foodie city. It has that perfect mix of vibrant new restaurants (it seems like there's another popping up every weekend) and the tried and true favourites of long-time locals. There's never been a more exciting time to dive headfirst into the Brisbane hospo scene. Not sure where to start? We've got eight must-try dishes that'll change the way you think about Brisbane as a food destination. Here, chefs are slinging some wild flavour combos, pulling no punches and adding signature flourishes that make it utterly Queensland — and delicious. Wear your stretchy pants. We're going on a gourmet adventure.
Like most major cities, there are some well-known must-dos when you visit Canberra for the first time. The Australian War Memorial? Check. The National Gallery of Australia? Obviously. A paddleboat on Lake Burley Griffin? Of course. But once all those major attractions are ticked off the list, what's next? Well, there is more to Canberra than meets the eye. The capital is teeming with hidden gems — think social enterprise cafes, farmers markets and teeny tiny galleries — that locals love to frequent on their days off. And now you can, too. Make the most of your next Canberra adventure with this list of lesser-known spots. Please stay up to date with the latest ACT Government health advice regarding COVID-19.
On a hot day in the back streets of Enmore, finding shade in somewhere other than a stifling warehouse space is indeed a treat. Enter the Golden Barley. Family owned and run for 25 years, the pub maintains its original Art Deco exterior from 1939 — while the interior is a smart mix of traditional Aussie boozer/beer haven and modern bistro sure to please any patron. If that's not enough, the Barley's trump card is its beautiful beer garden — it runs down the entire length of the pub and has multiple spaces for groups of all sizes. The thick canopy of native trees offers plenty of shade and a few choice rays peak through to provide ample light and warmth, hard to believe such a leafy oasis exists in the busy streets of the inner west. With St Peters' Indoor Climbing Gym just around the corner, the Barley is the perfect place to grab a post-climbing beer (good selection of local craft and old favourites) and relax with a bowl of sticky chicken wings ($14). Images: Katje Ford.
Holidaying looks different to every single one of us. Rancho Relaxo is the destination of choice for many, some want to shop their way through a city, while others feel sunrise hikes and fully booked itineraries are the only way to go. If you're seeking a destination that will suit every type of travel companion, we've found it: the Southern Highlands. The region has plenty to offer, from boutique wineries and produce-driven cafes to lush bushy surrounds with an abundance of ways to relax or adventure. And, to seal the deal, Tiny Homes Joadja has four luxuriously appointed, off-grid tiny homes that are pretty unbeatable in terms of places to stay. To make life easy, together with Tiny Homes Joadja, we've curated some of the must-have experiences in the region no matter who you're holidaying with. HOLIDAYING WITH A WILDLIFE LOVER Booking a few nights in Elevation delivers proximity to creatures large and small — think eastern grey kangaroos, red necked wallabies and swathes of birds — making it a wildlife lover's dream getaway. The home for two is set in a small clearing and has large windows framing towering gums and native scrub. Here, a game of creature spotto from your plush queen bed is all in an arvo's work; and you're just a skip from the Wingecarribee River, a known spot for platypus nests. A short drive will see you arrive in charming Berrima. Meander through the eucalypts along the Berrima River Walk, keeping your eyes peeled for the ever-elusive resident platypuses. Hot tip: set out for your day in the early morning light for a better chance of spying on the shy little guys. Drive half an hour down Nowra Road and you'll be at Fitzroy Falls, a lush site teeming with birdlife. Spot cockatoos (glossy blacks and gang-gangs), honeyeaters and golden whistlers — and try to catch the incredible mimicry of a lyrebird. Then, mix some flora with the fauna along the Wildflower Walking Track. On your way back to your teeny abode, pass through Wildes Meadow and grab a classic country feed at a classic country pub, Burrawang Village Hotel. Never enough critter sightings for you? Book a Southern Highlands Wildlife Day Tour and discover the best spots to spy koalas, wombats and sugar gliders. HOLIDAYING WITH A COUNTRY-TOWN ENTHUSIAST Small bakeries with long lines, stores selling covetable homewares and quiet brick-lined streets — it's easy to be seduced by the charm of a country town. If you're travelling with someone who's forever looking to slow things down (without ditching city comforts), a Southern Highlands town-crawl is the trip for you — and Wilson's Rest offers the ideal home base. Start your meandering in Mittagong, the town heralding your arrival to the Southern Highlands from Sydney. Pop into the antique shop on Main Street for a treasure to take home, then head to The Boston Ivy for brekkie. Nab a few treats from Ms Peacock (maybe a Birthday Cake Bar or Buttercrunch Toffee) before continuing on to Bowral. Feeling regal? Head to Dirty Janes to sip tea from fine bone china within the high-ceilinged space full of vintage curios, or go all-in with a high tea. In Berrima, there's a cute country post office worth a little look, and Mrs Oldbuck's Pantry for your local jam and honey needs. Your tiny home awaits for when you need to rest those legs. Spend the night fireside, gazing up at the expanse of stars, before crawling into your lofted queen bed. HOLIDAYING WITH A LOVER If you're loved-up and looking for picturesque surroundings that mirror the way you feel, The Rapids has you sorted. It's based right on the riverfront and has a cute kitchenette, fireplace and a stunning view from the bed — so no one will blame you should you choose not to venture far. But, if you're up for some exploring, cute and couply activities are nearby. After getting caffeinated via the in-house roasted beans at Rush Roasting Co, sip your way from cellar door to cellar door, sampling cool-climate drops from boutique producers. The vast Southern Highlands Winery estate will welcome you with a glass of homegrown pinot, and the cellar door at Cherry Tree Hill has more than one award-winning tipple on offer. Head to Joadja Estate around lunchtime to taste vino from the oldest vineyard in the Highlands before soaking up the booze with rice paper rolls or vermicelli salad from on-site Vietnamese food truck Ms Pho Canteen. The task of the evening? Deciding between a night in under the stars at The Rapids and a booking at Eschalot, the seasonally driven fine diner in Berrima. HOLIDAYING WITH YOUR WHOLE GANG Travelling with more than one other person? Lock in a weekend with your pals at The River Cottage, a cosy property on the banks of Wingecarribee River that sleeps up to eight. With both an indoor fireplace and an outdoor fire pit, plus a porch that overlooks the river, this charming cottage is a great spot to recharge those friendship batteries with long evenings of beers, board games and buzzing conversation. Your chances of seeing wildlife on the property are pretty high (you'll be only 20 metres from the riverfront, after all). But if you want a guarantee of an up-close encounter, pay a visit to Australian Wildlife Sanctuary. Afterward, swing by the ever-popular Bendooley Estate to browse the shelves at The Berkelouw Book Shop and perhaps enjoy a vino by the stone fireplace. Or, to soak up more nature, time your visit to the region with the Tulip Festival in Bowral. If spending an extended period of time with your best mates (a rare occurrence these days) has you feeling like a little kid again, plan a quick stop at The Big Potato in Robertson, then stock up on sweet treats at Lolly Swagman or Gumnut Patisserie. Or, for a more substantial feed, pay a visit to Bowral cafe Veggie Nook. For more information on Tiny Homes Joadja and to book your escape, visit the website.
It's official, Glebe Markets have been saved with a new interim manager stepping in to stop its closure, after longtime custodians David and Naomi McCumstie decided to step away earlier this month. Following citywide sadness at the news and a petition to save the longstanding community market, Organic Food Markets has now stepped up to the plate. The market will take a week off on Saturday, March 4 for schoolyard maintenance at Glebe Public School before it officially recommences under its new manager on Saturday, March 11. Organic Food Markets has confirmed it will continue to run Glebe Markets weekly, making minimal changes to the system that's made the Sydney institution so popular. Known for its variety of second-hand clothes stores as well as food trucks, live music and local artisans, the market has been run out of the Glebe Public School by the McCumsties for more than 30 years. As well as a beloved weekend activity for many Sydneysiders, it also plays an integral role for its regular stallholders, local Glebe businesses and the public school, which relies on money from the markets. Glebe will join Organic Food Markets' current family of events that includes weekly markets across Sydney and Newcastle including Marrickville, Kings Cross, North Narrabeen, Hornsby and the Central Park Farmers' Market. "Organic Food Markets have had a long and cordial relationship with David and respect the McCumstie's decision to retire after almost three decades," the statement from the organisation reads. Glebe Markets' regular traders, as well as anyone looking to organise a stall at upcoming editions of the markets, need to head over to the Organic Food Markets website and register as soon as possible. [caption id="attachment_707153" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Flickr.[/caption] Organic Food Markets has been appointed interim manager of the Glebe Markets. The weekly market will be closed on Saturday, March 4, before it returns to regular programming from Saturday, March 11.
The quietly expanding suburb of Dulwich Hill is home to some top-notch cafes — and some of the best bagels in Sydney. Small Talk is owner Sam Terrey's answer to North American delis, and he's turned this simple concept into a go-to destination for pastries, doughnuts and Montreal-style bagels. "We were always looking for a location that is a bit 'off the beaten track'," says Terrey. "The Dulwich Hill spot isn't really near anything, but it worked out well and is serving people who don't have access to too much." Terrey boasts a decade in the hospo industry, including seven years in Montreal and three years at Sydney's Mecca coffee roasters. Though Terrey opened Small Talk back in May 2017, the delicatessen has recently been given a refresh and is now counter service-only. It works well with the venue's deli vibes, so the team plans to stick with takeaway going forward. "The inspiration for our food is easy deli eats and we're producing as much as we can in house, including all of the pastries and sweets," says Terrey. Small Talk's main offering is the "all-dressed" (aka everything) bagels — that include a mix of poppy, sesame and caraway seeds. Schmear your bagel with classic chive cream cheese for a fiver, or turn it into a proper sanga. Options include the BLT ($15) and the lox (smoked salmon and capers, $16.50), plus, the pastrami with sauerkraut, pickles and mustard ($15) and the extra cheesy brekkie bagel with egg and jalapeño relish ($14). Apart from the all-important bagels, Terrey is also making focaccia in house, with regular toppings including tomato, chilli and garlic and a rosemary potato, olive and ricotta number. For pastries, don't miss out on the cinnamon sugar or stuffed doughies — the latter are filled with lemon-y ricotta and rhubarb jam. Then there's the 'morning bun', a homage to the Finnish pulla pastry that's a buttery knot of dough and comes in flavours like choc-almond and cinnamon at Small Talk. Other specials like spinach and ricotta scrolls with garlic butter and maple butter tarts have also made the menu in recent weeks. For drinks, it's just Reuben Hills cuppas and hot chocolates here — and what more do you need, really. The team completely rebuilt the space last month, removing all of the seats from inside and leaving just a few outside for those who (understandably) can't wait to tuck in. The new fit-out has proven to be much more pandemic-friendly and works well for the business as a whole. Expect a service counter to one side and retail shelves to the other — stocked full with dry goods, pickles, condiments and hot sauces. A second outpost of Small Talk is on the horizon, too, with a location secured in Glebe and an expected opening date of late October/early November this year. Images: Trent Van der Jagt for Buffet Digital. Appears in: Where to Find the Best Bagels in Sydney for 2023
Silly season is right around the corner and to celebrate Ivy is throwing the four-day summer bender you've been dreaming of all year. So, buckle up for eight parties across four days at the George Street institution. The Ivy Weekender will kick off on Thursday, December 2 and run through until Sunday, December 5 at the Ivy Precinct in Sydney's CBD. Start your weekend early with Ivy's weekly Thursday night party where DJs will be spinning big dance tracks and crowd pleasers until the early hours. Back it up on Friday with the grand opening of the WAO Superclub, a new initiative from the CBD club. WAO takes advantage of Ivy's multiple levels, offering up several dance floors serving up RnB, EDM and Trance tunes. On Saturday, you can start your day off waterside at the Pool Club with Drag Brunch and its iconic drag hosts, pop DJs and 1.5-hours of bottomless mimosas. Or, catch international acclaimed party-starters Carl Cox and Eric Powell as they bring their Mobile Disco to Ivy for an eight-hour journey through funk, soul, disco and house music from midday until 8pm. Come nighttime, two more parties are taking over. Poof Doof is bringing its mix of forward-thinking house and timeless pop hits to the main dance floor and Snap Crackle and Pop room of the Ivy, with a Rainbow Hour drinks package available from 10pm. And, Boogie will pop up in the Pool Club for anyone looking for an open-air dance. Closing out the weekend is Ivy's two Sunday regulars, the poolside Marco Polo and Lost Paradise Festival's cutting-edge dance and electronic club session Lost Sundays.
Another beloved Sydney venue has closed its doors as a result of the gruelling last few years for the arts. Surry Hills comedy and theatre venue Giant Dwarf has shut its doors, announcing online that it would not be reopening after it was forced to shut down during Sydney's last lockdown. "It is with the heaviest of hearts that we share the news that our doors will not be reopening. The second lockdown really hit us hard and we have been unable to find a way to continue." the statement posted on Giant Dwarf's Facebook page reads. The Giant Dwarf has served as a hub for local comedians, oddball theatre shows and inclusive art for the past eight years. It was first opened in the former space of the Cleveland Street Theatre in 2014 by the team behind The Chaser and has fostered diverse and up-and-coming artists of all kinds ever since. "The main aim for the theatre has always been to extend the vision of the production company — to create an inspiring environment for new talent to develop skills and produce original and engaging content," inaugural Giant Dwarf program director Nikita Agzarian said back in 2014. [caption id="attachment_813870" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Flowertruck at Giant Dwarf, Bronte Goddensmith[/caption] The statement posted on Thursday, January 28 cited lockdowns, uncertainty around the future and a lack of funding as reasons the venue was unable to reopen, while also thanking those that helped keep the theatre running throughout the years including staff, the City of Sydney, the Thyne Reid Foundation, independent donors and audience members. The news comes the same week that the future of iconic live music venue The Lansdowne has been thrown into uncertainty after long-time custodians Mary's announced they'd be stepping away from the venue in response to the planned conversion of the gig room into hostel rooms by the landlords. "We are forever grateful for the experience and will always remember nights we all shared," concludes the Giant Dwarf statement which you can read below. Giant Dwarf was located at 280 Cleveland Street, Surry Hills. Top image: Bronte Goddensmith
When a band is just starting out, with just one album to its name, you're treated to most — if not all — of it live in the early days. To get the full-record experience again, though, you normally have to wait for big anniversaries. Bloc Party are celebrating two on their just-announced 2025 tour of Australia and New Zealand: two decades of the group and the same since their debut album Silent Alarm. Hitting up Sydney's Hordern Pavilion, John Cain Arena in Melbourne, Adelaide's AEC Theatre, Perth HPC, Riverstage in Brisbane, Christchurch Town Hall and Auckland's Spark Arena between Friday, August 1–Tuesday, August 12, Bloc Party will play Silent Alarm from start to finish. 'Banquet', 'Helicopter', 'This Modern Love', 'Like Eating Glass': yes, they'll all be on the setlist on this seven-city trip. Bloc Party aren't leaving their other tunes out, though, with the tour featuring not just Silent Alarm's tracks but the band's greatest hits. They do have five other albums to their name, after all: 2007's A Weekend in the City, 2008's Intimacy, 2012's Four, 2016's Hymns and 2022's Alpha Games. If you're a fan, you'll know that it has been more than 20 years since the group first formed, and since the British band scored some hefty approval in 2003 via Franz Ferdinand's lead singer Alex Kapranos — but 20 is a nice round number to commemorate. This makes two Aussie tours in a row now with a point of difference for Bloc Party, after 2023 trip with Interpol. Before that, they last rocked Aussie stages in 2018. Supporting Kele Okereke and company this time are Young The Giant, who'll be playing Australia for the first time in 14 years. Bloc Party 2025 Australia and New Zealand Tour Friday, August 1 — Hordern Pavilion, Sydney Sunday, August 3 — John Cain Arena, Melbourne Monday, August 4 — AEC Theatre, Adelaide Wednesday, August 6 — Perth HPC, Perth Friday, August 8 — Riverstage, Brisbane Sunday, August 10 — Christchurch Town Hall, Christchurch Tuesday, August 12 — Spark Arena, Auckland Bloc Party are touring Australia and New Zealand in August 2025, with presales from 9am local time on Wednesday, March 19 and general sales from 9am local time on Friday, March 21. Hit up the tour website for further details. Images: Bruce Baker via Flickr / James Kellegher.
He's going to Newport: Johnny Cash, that is. Twice in A Complete Unknown, the iconic singer-songwriter graces the lineup at the famous folk festival in Rhode Island in the 60s. Twice in the Bob Dylan biopic, he crosses paths with the film's subject at the event. The details depicted are in the service of Dylan's story — while James Mangold is in the director's chair, he's not remaking Walk the Line — but these wouldn't be the moments that they are, and nor would A Complete Unknown be the movie that it is, without Boyd Holbrook (The Bikeriders) as Cash opposite Timothée Chalamet's (Dune: Part Two) Dylan. The term "goes electric" will always be synonymous with Dylan at 1965's Newport Folk Festival, where he dared to play an electric guitar in one of his sets — and the response as much as the act ensured that it went down in history. Cash helped him get there, not only by picking up the same type of instrument at the same place the year before, but through his pen-pal friendship with and encouragement of Dylan. The eight-time Oscar-nominated picture makes clear how much that Cash's words, and the effort of him taking time to commit them to paper, meant to Dylan. It goes electric, too, when Chalamet and Holbrook share scenes. A Complete Unknown is a movie with Chalamet as Dylan, Monica Barbaro (Fubar) as Joan Baez, Edward Norton (Asteroid City) as Pete Seeger and Scoot McNairy (Speak No Evil) as Woody Guthrie. So, it's a flick filled with impressive actors portraying music greats. Given that this a film by Walk the Line director Mangold, however, it's also a picture that gives Holbrook a completely different job to his co-stars, since he's portraying Cash. What happens when the filmmaker behind an Academy Award-winning Man in Black biopic asks you to be the next actor to slip into the legend's shoes? Holbrook had been keen on a different role in the feature, he tells Concrete Playground, at a time when Cash wasn't even in the script — then found himself with a "daunting task". Still, for anyone who has charted Holbrook's career since his 2008 big-screen debut in Milk — a span that's taken him through Behind the Candelabra, The Skeleton Twins, Gone Girl, Jane Got a Gun, The Predator, Narcos and The Sandman, just to name a few projects — it should come as no surprise that he feels like he's been preparing for this part for more than a decade. It helped that he'd made two previous films with Mangold, Logan (which uses a Cash song over its closing credits and in its trailer) and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. In fact, he sees his relationship with the filmmaker as similar to Dylan and Cash's, but with Mangold as the mentor and Holbrook the protégé. And, it equally assists that he'd also perfected swagger on-screen, which can be an elusive trait, including in his two prior roles in The Bikeriders and Justified: City Primeval. Yes, his A Complete Unknown performance meant facing "the Joaquin element", Holbrook explains — with Joaquin Phoenix (Joker: Folie á Deux) Oscar- and BAFTA-nominated, and the winner of a Golden Globe, for playing Cash two decades back for Mangold. But he also knew that the filmmaker, who worked with fellow screenwriter Jay Cocks (Silence) to adapt Elijah Wald's 2015 book Dylan Goes Electric! Newport, Seeger, Dylan, and the Night That Split the Sixties, had a fresh angle into Cash here. As Mangold himself also told us about the pair's relationship as pen pals, "this correspondence suddenly became central to me, because as I was trying to assemble — as much as I was trying to tell Dylan's story, he is a bit inscrutable, and I felt like you could learn more by also telling the story of those that surrounded Dylan, and the way his genius affected each of them differently". "And what was so necessary about bringing Johnny into the story was that he's the devil on that shoulder. If you have Pete and Lomax and Joan Baez all on this shoulder saying 'stick with the team; don't cross over to that dangerous, suspicious popular music', you had Johnny Cash on the other shoulder who was saying 'track mud on someone's carpet'," Mangold continued. "Which was literally one of Johnny's lines in his letters to Bob. And that he made it his business to encourage Dylan to stay bold and to stay on the leading edge, was so wonderful to me." For Holbrook, taking on the part meant exaggerating his music skills to Mangold to begin with; however, the quest to make good on that promise became a key part of his preparation process. We also chatted with Holbrook about his repeat collaborations with Mangold, perfecting swagger on-screen, drunk acting as Cash in one of the movie's standout scenes, and what excites him about working on a new movie or TV show — next he'll pop up in season four of The Morning Show — at this stage of his filmography. On Having a Cash-and-Dylan Relationship with Director James Mangold After Logan, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny and Now A Complete Unknown "I don't think I would have gone anywhere near the Johnny Cash character unless it was Jim making the movie. And it was odd, because I'd read the script before we did Indiana Jones together, and I was angling at a part that I was probably too young for, but the Johnny Cash role wasn't even in there yet at the time. And so we went off and did Indiana Jones, and then I got a call, like maybe six months before we made it. And he said 'hey, I want you to play Johnny Cash'. And I said 'how's that possible? He's not in the script'. And so he had added him because he didn't know that when he made Walk the Line that him and Bob Dylan were these pen pals. And so by his research into Bob, he found out this because Bob had kept the letters and Johnny hadn't kept the letters. So he really just let me go off and do what I had to do, which is conjure up a character and an impression in the daunting task of playing Johnny Cash. Jim really gives you a lot of space. And the great thing about when you get to work with Jim, on the day, if you come in prepared, he enhances your performance in a very cinematic way." On Exaggerating His Music Skills Going Into the Film — and How Learning to Make Good on That Promise Helped Holbrook Step Into Cash's Shoes "I knew at the end of the day that they could shoot from here up [Holbrook motions to his mid-chest] and we could get by. But it feels like I've been preparing for the last 15 or ten years to play this part. Because I played guitar. I couldn't count music. I couldn't hold a tune. I couldn't play and sing at the same time. But there is this awesome opportunity where if I just eat, breathe and sleep this character, I can pull it off. And I think there's something really exciting about that amount of pressure, being a performer — I want to have a performance and I want to build this thing. So it almost bottlenecks down into the day of this, like 'well, you're going to sink, or you're going to swim'. And I think that's pretty exciting. So yeah, I think the week of it all started like 'okay, I can do it at the tempo' — and it wasn't just hanging on. I was able to control the song and control the voice, control the pacing." On Bringing Swagger to the Screen — as Johnny Cash, and Across Holbrook's Career "Film acting is really different from theatre acting, and there's also the practical of being relaxed enough that, you know, there's this 800-pound gorilla being the camera staring at me at all times. Like, how do I just relax and embody this? And really it's from a bunch of stuff of the art of not giving a fuck — being really adamant that 'this is who I am, take it or leave it'. And having a sense of humour about yourself. And doing all this so many times that it's just become existence. I'm not even thinking about it anymore. I'm sort of lost in what I'm doing. It comes down to that. It comes down to a lot of rehearsals, a lot of preparation. I almost prefer the preparation to making a movie than making the movie." On What Went Into Capturing Not Just the Essence of Cash, But the Essence of Drunk Cash "It was from one line in particular, 'I saw the ocean', that I just knew how. I just knew where he was in a daydream. You catch yourself doing laundry or whatever around the house and you are just in a dream, and you kind of see the performance, or I do — and you just understand it. So now it's a real idea. Then it just takes the physicalisation of staying on a word and just finding it, or whatever it is. The super subtlety of that is difficult to verbalise, but comes down to playing around with it. I definitely wouldn't recommend going method on a long work day like that." On Whether the Unique Task of Playing an IRL Figure for a Filmmaker Who Has Already Made a Separate Movie About Him Helped Holbrook Prepare "I was concerned that I had to portray someone who was an iconic person and so people, so many people, have strong memories of him and who he is. Then there's the Joaquin element, facing his great performance and following that up. But I think that Jim and I made the film, and he really understood the importance of Johnny's role in Bob's life at that time, because Johnny had been so — he's doing 200 shows a year on the road. I mean, you are a road dog. You have so much experience in this. And when you're becoming the most-famous person in the world within a year's time, Johnny was able to meet him at that fork in a road where 'hey, it's going to get weird if you don't keep your voice' or 'it's going to be okay if you just stay true to who you are'. And I think in commerce and industries and stuff like that, when a lot of money is on the table, your voice can be compromised — and I think it's really all about that moment in the film where Bob is choosing what his voice is telling him, what he wants to say, how he wants to express himself. And that's going electric in that particular time, because he's just skyrocketing with creativity. And so I think Johnny was able to nudge him in the right direction, remind him who he is." On What Excites Holbrook About a New Project, Including A Complete Unknown, at This Stage in His Career "The performance element. I never really have never sang in front of a bunch of people before. There is a sensation that goes along with that that's exciting. I just did The Morning Show and I found out that the guy was a stand-up comic. I don't know how funny I am, but I like to be funny. I like to practice being funny. But I'd never been onstage and done a set in of people. So that's exciting. That's like 'wow', that's slightly — not terrifying at all, but I want to know what that feels like and to do that. And I think there's all an art and a craft to how the instrument of our humanness can be used. So I just love seeing which way I can bend and which way I can go — and how different I can sound, how different I can look? 'What is this character? What is this character going to go through? At what level? Is it kind of like he's going through like a number-two heartbreak?' But no, I want a number ten on everything. And so I really look for that highest value of expression." A Complete Unknown released in cinemas Down Under on Thursday, January 23, 2025. Images: courtesy of Searchlight Pictures. © 2024 Searchlight Pictures All Rights Reserved.
North Sydney's culinary star has been on the rise for a while, thanks to an influx of excellent venues such as up-market steakhouse Poetica, pretty-in-pink Italian diner Bar Lettera and leafy rooftop retreat Rafi. But if there was any question as to the virtues of heading north of the Bridge in search of a fine feed, the arrival of Walker Street precinct is sure to silence any doubts. Four slick new venues created by Etymon Projects and located on Walker Street — just a few minutes walk from the upcoming Victoria Cross metro station — are set to make North Sydney a must-visit for any self-respecting foodie, with all four venues opening their doors from Tuesday, July 9. [caption id="attachment_964036" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Sol Bread + Wine[/caption] You can start the day at Sol Bread + Wine, a bakery and cafe by day and intimate wine bar by night that channels a Mediterranean spirit with design cues from Italy and Spain. A palette of earth tones is accented with geometric tiles and warm timber furniture, creating a space that effortlessly transitions from breakfast bakery to a laidback cicchetteria serving top drops and sophisticated snacks. [caption id="attachment_964037" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Soluna[/caption] A striking presence in Sol Bread + Wine, a bold red spiral staircase delivers diners to the first-floor sister venue, Soluna. Open from lunch through to dinner, this 110-seat restaurant — as well as the attached 60-seat bar and 30-seat, armchair-filled lounge — is another flexible concept that is as much a place for intimate catch-ups with friends over a glass of wine as it is a go-to for larger parties celebrating a major occasion. The room is dominated by a green terrazzo bar, mirroring the verdant planting dotted throughout the space. [caption id="attachment_964038" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Genzo[/caption] At first glance, contemporary Japanese diner and sake bar Genzo is a playful space complete with vivid overhead LED lighting, anime influences and an eye-popping colour scheme. But don't let that fool you — this restaurant takes its offering very seriously. A temperature-controlled sake room, a selection of expertly balanced, Japanese-inspired cocktails and a menu focused on raw dishes and kushiyaki prepared over a traditional robata grill combine for a contemporary izakaya experience that will rival Sydney's best. [caption id="attachment_964039" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Una[/caption] Finally, new priovidore Una, will stock gourmet produce, artisanal goods and pantry essentials as well as house-made pastas and other take-home meals. A considered edit of local and imported ingredients, from cheeses and charcuterie to boutique wines and spirits, will make this luxury grocer a boon for any North Sydney gastronomes hoping to wow at their next dinner party. Executive Chef Rhys Connell, formerly of The Grantry and Sepia, will oversee all four venues of the new Walker Street precinct. "I realise [this is] an opportunity I've been working towards my whole career," Connell said. "The past couple of months have been a creative blur of menus, scribbling ideas down in the middle of the night and tastings for each venue, and we're now in such a great place with it all I just can't wait to open the doors." [caption id="attachment_964041" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Rhys Connell[/caption] Find the Walker Street Precinct at 168 Walker Street, North Sydney, open from Tuesday, July 9. Sol Bread + Wine will open daily, 7am–10pm. Head to the venue's website for details. Soluna will open daily, 11.30am–late. Head to the venue's website for details. Genzo will open Tuesday – Sunday, 12–3pm and 5–10pm. Head to the venue's website for more details. Una will open Sunday–Wednesday, 10am–6pm, and Thursday–Saturday, 10am–10pm. Head to the venue's website for details. Images: Steven Woodburn
Memories of family holidays up and down Australia's coastlines are treasured by most of us. Stopping at roadside lookouts, lemonades in country pubs, wallabies hopping around campsites and kookaburras laughing us awake. The brief: classic charm meets no-frills fun. A staple in these trips is a classic motel. A clean and comfortable spot to rest your head, a warm welcome, a folder stuffed full of brochures from local businesses and a minibar complete with snacks and libations. You might have noticed a resurgence in these often family-owned establishments, but with one new element sticking out like a sore thumb: standout styling. Fresh paint, linen bedding, social-driven marketing and artful umbrellas offering shade by figure-eight shaped pools — it's a formulaic trend, and it works. What better way to add that dreamy nostalgic charm to your holidays this year than a night or two in a revamped motel? Together with The Bottle-O, the store slinging your favourite boozy sips all over Australia, we've curated a list of our favourites. Book in, grab your drinks and soak up the serenity of days gone by.
Ladies, prepare to spend 5 glorious kilometres running through mud, being shot at by foam cannons, getting coated in colour and conquering obstacles at Miss Muddy. Since launching in March 2014, the female-only event has happened ten times. And on Saturday, September 26, its 11th incarnation is heading for Penrith Regatta Centre. Six thousand or so participants are expected. Miss Muddy's goal is to bring you a fun, fun, fun, judgement-free day out, while raising money for charity. To enter, you simply need to register online and then turn up on the day, ready to run, crawl, slip and slide your way to the finish line. The event is not about winning or proving your physical prowess, but about doing something different, getting active and catching up with friends, without giving a damn what anyone else thinks. While you're at it, you're encouraged to use the opportunity to raise money for a charity of your own choosing. "The Miss Muddy obstacle event attracts a wide variety of women from a wide range of fitness levels. We even have participants who are wheelchair bound and blind participating in the event, which is great to see," said Miss Muddy owner Adam McDonald.
Before the pandemic, when a new-release movie started playing in cinemas, audiences couldn't watch it on streaming, video on demand, DVD or blu-ray for a few months. But with the past few years forcing film industry to make quite a few changes — widespread movie theatre closures will do that, and so will plenty of people staying home because they aren't well — that's no longer always the case. Maybe you haven't had time to make it to your local cinema lately. Perhaps you've been under the weather. Given the hefty amount of titles now releasing each week, maybe you simply missed something. Film distributors have been fast-tracking some of their new releases from cinemas to streaming recently — movies that might still be playing in theatres in some parts of the country, too. In preparation for your next couch session, here are eight that you can watch right now at home. FOE Pondering the end of the earth also means pondering the end of people. When the planet that we live on withers to the point of becoming uninhabitable, humanity doesn't just suffer big-picture consequences as a species — existentially, the basic facets of being human are upended as well. So explores and interrogates Foe, the haunting third feature from Australian director Garth Davis (Lion, Mary Magdalene), as well as the latest adaptation of Canadian author Iain Reid's books after 2020 movie I'm Thinking of Ending Things. The pair teamed up to pen the script to a dystopian thriller that looks every inch the stark sci-fi part, using Victoria's Winton Wetlands as its shooting location to double for America's midwest circa 2065, and yet is always one thing above all else: like Killers of the Flower Moon, too, this is a relationship drama. This time, in his second film in a row made Down Under alongside Carmen, Paul Mescal (All of Us Strangers) plays half of Foe's key couple, opposite his Irish compatriot (plus Atonement, Brooklyn, Lady Bird and Little Women Academy Award-nominee) Saoirse Ronan. The pair trade their natural lilts for American accents as Junior and Hen, holdout farmers in a world and at a time where there's little hope in the field, their actual fields or for the future. As a title card explains, days on the third rock from the sun are numbered. Also noted in that opening text is the setup moving forward, relocating the population to space stations. And, as Blade Runner did decades ago, simulated humans are also entwined in this new status quo. Junior and Hen's marriage is one of lived-in routine, concise exchanges and loaded looks, then — of resignation and malaise, with life's realities tampering down the high-school sweethearts' spirits mere years into their wedded bliss. He works at a poultry factory, she waits tables at a diner, and the bleak expanse surrounding their farmhouse sports rows of symbolism; Foe's central couple cling to the wish that the inherited land and their love alike hasn't turned fallow, no matter the signs otherwise. With such barrenness lingering, car lights outside their home one night and then a sharp knock at the door were always going to feel like more than just an ordinary visitor. The cause is anything but an average passerby: government consultant Terrance (Aaron Pierre, Old) has come with conscription orders for the OuterMore project, which is building the off-world installation that earth's residents will soon need to live on. Foe streams via Prime Video. Read our full review, and our interview with Garth Davis. THE MARVELS More Marvels, less Marvel: that could've, would've, should've been the path to making The Marvels more marvellous as it teams up Carol Danvers aka Captain Marvel (Brie Larson, Lessons in Chemistry), Ms Marvel's Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani in her big-screen debut) and WandaVision's Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris, They Cloned Tyrone). Unsurprisingly for a Marvel Cinematic Universe movie that goes heavy on the first word in the ever-sprawling franchise's moniker, this 33rd cinematic instalment in the series has a glaring Marvel problem. Thankfully, as it proves fun enough, likeable enough and sweet, but also overly saddled with the routine and familiar, it never has any Captain Marvel, Ms Marvel or Monica Rambeau issues. When there's too much Marvel-ness — too much been-there-done-that formula, too hefty a focus on smashing pixels together over spending time with people and too strong a sense that this is merely another chapter in the saga's assembly line, and also dutifully setting up what's next — The Marvels struggles, even as the shortest MCU feature yet. When the main trio get the luxury of being together, just seeing them revel in and react to each other's company is a delight. When there's also singing, dancing, a hearty sense of humour and/or Flerkens involved, the film soars. Perhaps befitting a movie with three lead characters, this is a Goldilocks attempt at a picture that tries as overtly as a fairy-tale figure to get its balance just right. Filmmaker Nia DaCosta (Candyman) and her co-scribes Megan McDonnell (also WandaVision) and Elissa Karasik (Loki) can't quite find and keep their midpoint, however, due to all of the weight and demands that come after 15 years of the MCU, those 32 prior flicks, plus nine seasons of eight Disney+ TV shows since 2021 — and the many nods and references required in those directions. Marvel has cottoned on to how clunky this can be, and how exhausting to watch; the company has marketing streaming series Echo under the banner 'Marvel Spotlight' to signal that viewers can enjoy the story as a standalone experience without needing to have done copious amounts of MCU homework. If only The Marvels had been allowed to spin its tale the same way, even with Carol, Kamala and Monica's established histories across the franchise, and permitted to lean further into what makes it stand out from the rest of the Marvel crowd. The Marvels streams via YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. NAPOLEON When is a Ridley Scott-directed, Joaquin Phoenix-starring trip to the past more than just a historical drama? Always, at least so far. Twice now, the filmmaker and actor have teamed up to explore Europe centuries ago, initially with Gladiator and now 23 years later with Napoleon — and where the Rome-set first was an action film as well, the second fancies its chances as a sometimes comedy. This biopic of the eponymous French military star-turned-emperor can be funny. In the lead, Phoenix (Beau Is Afraid) repeatedly boasts the line delivery, facial expressions and physical presence of someone actively courting laughs. When he declares "destiny has brought me this lamb chop!", all three coalesce. Scott (House of Gucci) not only lets the humour land, but fashions this muskets-and-cannons epic as a satire of men with authority and dominance, their egos, and the fact that ruling a country and defeating other nations doesn't cancel out their pettiness and insecurities. As it's off with Marie Antoinette's (Catherine Walker, My Sailor, My Love) head, it's in with Napoleon's revolutionary stirrings in Scott and screenwriter David Scarpa's take (with the scribe returning to cut the powerful down to size after the director's All the Money in the World, just as Walker apes another famous figure after playing Anna Wintour in House of Gucci). Also in: Napoleon's tinkering with facts, which'll later see its namesake and his troops fire at the pyramids. Devotion to historical accuracy isn't the movie's aim. Like The Castle of blasts from the French past, it's more interested in the vibe of the thing — said 'thing' being how Napoleon Bonaparte, later Napoleon I, follows his yearning for glory and adoration above all else. Scott stitches together a selection of his own recurrent obsessions, too, such as Phoenix sulking, savaging the quest for command and influence, Gallic days of yore as seen in his debut The Duellists and the unrelated The Last Duel, and unfettered ambition's consequences as per The Martian and Prometheus, then tops it with the requisite bicorn hat. Napoleon streams via YouTube Movies and Prime Video. Read our full review. CAT PERSON "Margot met Robert on a Wednesday night toward the end of her fall semester." So starts the only thing that everyone was reading, and also talking about, in December 2017. Published by The New Yorker, Kristen Roupenian's Cat Person is a short story unparalleled in its viral fame. A piercingly matter-of-fact account of a dating nightmare, the piece of fiction became a literary and online phenomenon. Cat Person didn't just spark discourse about modern romance, relationship power dynamics, 21st-century communication, age gaps and more; it monopolised them, as fuelled by the internet, of course, and arriving as the #MeToo movement was at its early heights. Releasing it as a book, still as a 7000-word piece, came next. Now there's the film that was always bound to happen. As a movie lead by CODA's Emilia Jones, Cat Person can count the Twitter-to-cinema Zola as a peer in springboarding from digital phenomenon to picture palaces, and it too aims for a specific vibe: the feeling that the world experienced while first roving their eyes over the details on their phone, tablet or computer screen. Cat Person and Zola have another glaring similarity: enlisting Succession's Nicholas Braun to infuse his Cousin Greg awkwardness into a wild tale. Here, he's the Robert that Margot encounters while "working behind the concession stand at the artsy movie theatre downtown when he came in and bought a large popcorn and a box of Red Vines", as Roupenian's story explains in its second sentence — and as filmmaker Susanna Fogel, the director of The Spy Who Dumped Me and one of Booksmart's writers, shows on-screen. Actors' performances don't exist in a vacuum for audiences. Unless you somehow missed the four-season Roy family shenanigans, plus all the rightly deserved attention around it, going into Cat Person unaware of Braun's best-known role is impossible. Self-consciousness, haplessness and discomfort are expected twice over of the man that Margot sells snacks to, then. Much follows. Cat Person streams via YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review, and our interview with Susanna Fogel. DICKS: THE MUSICAL When it starred Lindsay Lohan (Falling for Christmas) making her film debut in dual roles in the late 90s, and when Hayley Mills (The Wheel of Time) was doing double duty back in the 60s as well, The Parent Trap told of identical twins who were separated at birth when their mother and father divorced. Each parent gained custody of a baby, then raised the child separately. Never did the sisters cross paths until a summer camp years later, where they realised their connection, then hatched a plan to reunite their family by posing as each other back home. The tale springs from the page, with German novel Lisa and Lottie also inspiring adaptations in its homeland, Japan, the UK, India and Iran. The Olsen twins' It Takes Two owes it a debt, too. But there's never been a version of this story like Josh Sharp (Search Party) and Aaron Jackson's (Broad City) iteration, as first seen onstage in Fucking Identical Twins and now in cinemas as Dicks: The Musical. So absurdly its own ridiculous, raucous, irreverent and raunchy thing, calling Dicks: The Musical exuberantly unhinged — or anything, really — doesn't do it justice. Before this A24 release brought its sibling antics to the big screen with singing, dancing, Megan Mullally (Party Down) and Nathan Lane (Beau Is Afraid) as its long-split parents, Borat and Brüno director Larry Charles behind the camera, Brisbane-born Saturday Night Live star Bowen Yang as drama-loving gay God and Megan Thee Stallion busting out a mid-movie tune, Fucking Identical Twins was a two-man production that premiered in 2014 to must-see success. Created at Upright Citizens Brigade, which was co-founded by Amy Poehler (Moxie), the then half-an-hour affair first filled a basement and now rises to share its delirium with the film-watching world. Leading the way in every guise: Sharp and Jackson, who definitely aren't twins let alone brothers, don't look a thing alike, yet know how to take audiences on a helluva wild ride. Dicks: The Musical streams via YouTube Movies and iTunes. Read our full review. SILENT NIGHT There's no swapping faces in John Woo's latest English-language action-thriller. Instead, the iconic Hong Kong filmmaker brings guns, chases and a quest for revenge to the festive genre. As anyone who rightly considers Die Hard among the pinnacle of Christmas movies already knows, seasonal cinema offerings don't need to drip in schmaltz, holiday humour, or Santas and reindeers to be an end-of-year present. Still, in making his first Hollywood effort since 2003's Paycheck, the director behind Hard Target, Broken Arrow and Face/Off in the 90s — plus Mission: Impossible II in 2000 — keeps the ties of family gleaming in Silent Night. That said, from the moment that the picture opens with a man in a Rudolph-adorned jumper, fuzzy red pom-pom and all, in a battle on Texan back streets with gang members who've just torn his brood apart on Christmas Eve, Woo also goes the brutal route. Silent Night's name echoes in several ways. Recalling a tune that's all about the jolliest time of the year is just one. Setting scenes in a period when halls are decked with boughs of holly is merely another. If protagonist Brian Godlock (Joel Kinnaman, The Suicide Squad) gets his wish, there'll be no more noise — let alone violence and bloodshed — from the criminals responsible for killing his young son (Alex Briseño, A Million Miles Away) with a stray bullet from drive-by crossfire as the boy rode his new bike in the front yard. Woo's main stylistic conceit comes to fruition instantly, however, because Silent Night largely avoids dialogue. Aided by meticulous sound design, that choice isn't a gimmick purely for the sake of it. Rather, Robert Archer Lynn's (Already Dead) script has Brian lose the ability to speak in the introductory sequence's fallout. Silent Night streams via YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. NYAD When most sports films bring real-life exploits to the screen, they piece together the steps it took for a person or a team to achieve the ultimate in their field, or come as close as possible while trying their hardest. Nyad is no different, but it's also a deeply absorbing character study of two people: its namesake Diana Nyad and her best friend Bonnie Stoll. The first is the long-distance swimmer whose feats the movie tracks, especially her quest to swim from Cuba to Florida in the 2010s. The second is the former professional racquetball player who became Nyad's coach when she set her sights on making history as a sexagenarian — and reattempting a gruelling leg she'd tried and failed when she was in her late 20s. It helps that Annette Bening (Death on the Nile) plays the swimmer and Jodie Foster (The Mauritanian) her offsider, with both giving exceptional performances that unpack not only the demands of chasing such a dream, but of complicated friendships. Also assisting: that Nyad is helmed by Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, directors making their feature debut beyond documentaries after The Rescue, Meru and winning an Oscar for charting Alex Honnold's El Capitan climb in Free Solo. Extraordinary efforts are this filmmaking pair's wheelhouse, clearly. Nyad and Stoll fit that description easily, as do Bening and Foster. With the latter, who brings shades of Michael J Fox (Still: A Michael J Fox Movie) to her portrayal, Nyad also provides a reminder of how phenomenal the Taxi Driver, The Silence of the Lambs and Panic Room star is on-screen, how charismatic as well, and how missed she's been while featuring in just four films in the past decade (the just-arrived fourth season of True Detective thankfully places Foster at its centre). Understandably, the movie's main actors have been earning awards attention. The picture around them never stops plunging into what makes both Nyad and Stoll tick — and keep shooting for such an immense goal, even as setback after setback comes their way — with Chin and Vasarhelyi experts in conveying minutiae. Whether or not you know the outcome, Nyad is rousing and compelling viewing, floating on excellent work by its four key creative talents. Nyad streams via Netflix. THE EXORCIST: BELIEVER When they were making All the Real Girls, Pineapple Express and Your Highness together, plus Eastbound & Down, Vice Principals and The Righteous Gemstones as well, did filmmaker David Gordon Green and actor Danny McBride chat about creating their own versions of all-time horror masterpieces, in flicks that act as direct sequels to the OG films and ignore all of the past sequels, and also work as reboots sparking a new trilogy? Thanks to the recent Halloween films, this natter seems likely. In fact, now that Green and McBride have also given The Exorcist a spin, this kind of talk appears a certainty. So, writer/director Green was possessed with a new demonic screen story with McBride and Halloween Kills' Scott Teems, then penned a devil-made-me-do-it script with Camp X-Ray's Peter Sattler. The result is The Exorcist: Believer, a 50-years-later return to head-twisting dances with evil — this time with a prologue in Haiti rather than Iraq, the bulk of the action set in Georgia instead of Washington, DC's Georgetown, and two girls not one in need of faith's help to cast out malevolent fiends. Green and McBride's swap from Michael Myers to Pazuzu also already has its own trinity in the works. As it apes the original movie's structure, there's a touch of trickery in starting The Exorcist: Believer in Port-au-Prince: the city's 2010 earthquake is used to get the plot in motion, a move that lands queasily, clunkily and exploitatively. Perhaps Green and company thought that slipping into a real-life tragedy's skin then wreaking havoc was a fitting piece of mirroring; instead, that choice should've been exorcised. Photographer Victor Fielding (Leslie Odom Jr, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery) is holidaying with his heavily pregnant wife Sorenne (Tracey Graves, On Ten) when the earth rumbles, leading to him becoming a single father — but not before the baby is blessed in utero by a local healer. Cut to 13 years later, where teenager Angela (Lidya Jewett, Ivy + Bean) is introduced rifling through her mother's belongings, then convincing her grief-stricken dad to let her have an after-school date with her classmate Katherine (debutant Olivia O'Neill). She doesn't tell him that they'll be trying to contact Sorenne via a seance in the woods, though, an event that ends with a disappearance, something unholy afoot and needing help from Chris MacNeil (Ellen Burstyn, Law & Order: Organised Crime). The Exorcist: Believer streams via YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. Looking for more viewing options? Take a look at our monthly streaming recommendations across new straight-to-digital films and TV shows — and fast-tracked highlights from January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November and December 2023, too. We kept a running list of must-stream TV from across 2023 as well, complete with full reviews. And, we've also rounded up 2023's 15 best films, 15 best straight-to-streaming movies, 15 top flicks hardly anyone saw, 30 other films to catch up with, 15 best new TV series of 2023, another 15 excellent new TV shows that you might've missed and 15 best returning shows.
Australian Cinémathèque is the cinema within Brisbane's GOMA — and because it's a member of the International Federation of Film Archives, they have access to the best film archives in the world. There are films you won't see on the big screen anywhere else in Australia, and many of the sessions are completely free. On Wednesdays and Fridays (cheap date night, anyone?), Australian Cinémathèque shows flicks from its eclectic range. From contemporary arthouse to historic cinematic fails, rediscovered restored works to cult classics, experimental styles to international oddities — and even silent film featuring live musical performance — a trip here is an absolute must for any true cinephile. Image: John Gollings
Run by couple Carla Soriano and Ben Mora, Paper Plane whisks you away from Parramatta's busy city streets into a cosy farmhouse, dotted with fresh flowers and warm timber. Back in 2013, the two quit their fast-paced corporate jobs and spent a year travelling overseas, before deciding to devote themselves to cafe life. Slide into your morning with a cup of Picasso Blend, a buttery brew with sweet caramel notes, created by Beaconsfield's Numero Uno Coffee Roasters. When it comes to ordering food, chances are, you'll be eyeing off everyone else's plates, loaded with piles of bright, colourful deliciousness, before making your decision. If you're ravenous, go for the Big Breakfast, a mountain of eggs, bacon, chorizo, hash brown, mushrooms and tomatoes on sourdough. For lighter eaters, there's a bunch of delightful morsels to choose from, including the Monte Cristo – a toastie filled with turkey, ham, Swiss cheese and cranberry sauce – and a fun take on French Toast, with custard, rhubarb, strawberries, pistachio and cinnamon. Images: Cassandra Hannagan
The City of Sydney is opening up a historic structure for small-scale community events right by one of the city's most sprawling parklands. The interior of one of the towering brick kilns that sit on the Saint Peters side of Sydney Park is set to undergo a series of restorations so that the local community can utilise it for arts events and other gatherings. Located just off Sydney Park Road, the brick kiln known as Down Draught Kiln 2 will be subject to major work including increased parking, waterproofing, accessibility improvements, stabilisation of the structure and aesthetic changes that will ensure it's a welcoming space. Plus, there will also be a raised lawn and plaza area introduced for outdoor gatherings. Construction is set to begin in the next 12 months, with the tender process to appoint a contractor for the project currently underway. Once these restorations and improvements are complete, you can expect to see intimate indoor and outdoor gatherings being to pop up at that corner of Sydney Park. [caption id="attachment_731570" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Alexandria Velovotee; Flickr[/caption] "This is the largest intact precinct of brick kilns in the state and opening up a small part of it for art exhibitions and other community events is a fantastic result for our communities," says Lord Mayor of Sydney Clover Moore. "I can't wait to see what our team and communities have in store for this vitally important part of our industrial heritage, which is now part of our cultural future." The decision by the council comes during a big push for increased community and arts spaces in the Harbour City. Several areas across the state have been marked as Special Entertainment Precincts, providing them with privileges that assist in fostering a thriving nightlife and live music culture, following the successful Enmore Road trial. The Inner West Council is also pushing to use eight Town Halls as arts hubs across the area. All very positive stuff for the city's cultural footprint and arts communities. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Clover Moore AO (@clovermoore) The Sydney bark brick kilns are located just off Sydney Park Road at the meeting of Alexandria and Saint Peters. You can find more info on the restoration project via the City of Sydney website.
Sydney lost a long-time legend of the Kings Cross nightclub scene when Hugos closed its doors back in 2015. But when locals banded together to revitalise the area's nightlife, the space was reborn as Flamingo Lounge, courtesy of the team behind Double Bay's now-closed Casablanca Bar and Restaurant. And yes, Sneaky Sundays are back. Flashing a brand new Miami-inspired fit-out along with a 3am license and late-night pizza offering, the venue was initially intended to be a pop-up. But the team — who closed Casablanca earlier this month — has decided to go full steam ahead and make it permanent. "We knew we'd have to close Casablanca [due to commercial development] and this was the best venue to buy because of its position and history in Kings Cross," managing partner Poata Okeroa told Concrete Playground back in June. "The space is a progression from Casablanca for us." The new digs are decidedly different from Hugos, going for a 1980s vibe that combines Miami glamour with art. Think pink neon lights, a retractable DJ stage, plush lounges and mixed-media wall collages. "The artwork and ceiling details pays homage to the art walls of downtown Miami," explained designer Josh Clapp. "The lighting has a bit of Las Vegas and Caribbean flare, but we're moving away from that 'New York speakeasy' vibe you see everywhere." The space has been designed to be much moodier and darker than Hugos, with deep shades of burgundy acting as the main colour scheme. The entire venue has also been expertly soundproofed to make the internal sound quality top-notch — plus it has the added benefit of keeping the peace with neighbours. As a small homage to the venue's past, the leather from the existing lounges of Hugos has been repurposed as ceiling and wall panels. While the main club is meant to focus on the DJ booth, the adjoining terrace bar offers a more sophisticated cocktail lounge with table service and secluded booth. In all, the Flamingo Lounge will house four bars, and host three distinct nightly offerings. Flamingo Fridays will be lead by former Backroom and House of Luis Tans owner Raul Gonzales, and feature house music inspired by 1980s classic Miami disco glamour. Flamingo Saturdays will take their cues from Casablanca, with a bottle service-driven offering accompanied by hip hop and R&B. Finally, Sneaky Sundays — complete with Connie Mitchell and Black Angus — will make a triumphant return to Bayswater Road on the last night of the week, from 8pm till late. This will launch on October 1, which is on the Labour Day weekend. "We are extremely excited to be the ones pioneering the area post lockouts," said co-owner Sid Pierucci on the eve of Flamingo Lounge's launch. "Potts Point has always been a hotspot — arguably the epicentre — of Sydney's nightlife. Since the lockouts back in February 2014 the area's overall demographic has significantly altered the character of the area which is now needy of an upper class late night venue. We ultimately hope to add vibrancy to a city that currently needs it." Flamingo Lounge will soon be joined by Chula, a new Mexican restaurant from the Barrio Chino team, that will open next door before the end of the year. Words: Marissa Ciampi and Tom Clift. Images: Letícia Almeida.
If you're on the hunt for the perfect activity for a cold, wintry day, we have seven right here. This winter, Sydney (and, further afield, Canberra) has some awesome exhibitions showcasing Australian and overseas talent that you really shouldn't miss. The MCA is hosting two decades worth of work from Shaun Gladwell in a new survey, the Powerhouse is harbouring a giant moon sculpture and Artspace has a year-long project hanging on its walls. From political interventions to technological experiments, you'll be kept very busy over the last two months of winter with these local exhibitions. Best of all, four of the seven are absolutely free.
Our city is constantly changing and evolving, with taller skyscrapers being erected, new 'Opera Houses' being built and construction on the light rail seemingly never ending. And amongst all these big infrastructure changes, small, carefully designed spaces popping up. The backstreets of Zetland has a shiny new six-storey library — complete with underground garden and piano room; Paddington is now home to Australia's first fish butchery; and in the CBD, a laneway filled with top eateries and stores has arrived. These are the spaces that are really catching our attention, the ones that are quietly evolving the community — through innovation and sustainability — and are accessible to you. At Concrete Playground we encourage exploration and showcase innovation in our city every day, so we thought it fitting to reward those most talented whippersnappers pushing Sydney to be a better, braver city. And so, these six new spaces were nominated for Best New Space in Concrete Playground's Best of 2018 Awards.
Remember when the Beast won Belle's heart with his impossibly beautiful personal library in Beauty and the Beast? How easy it is seduce a nerd. Now that animated library has a real-life rival in the spectacular Waanders in de Broeren, a converted 15th-century Dominican church in Zwolle, the Netherlands, that houses what must be one of the world's most gorgeous bookstores. Designed by architectural firm BK. Architecten, the development was carried out in exactly the right way. It was mandated that all the building's original features be preserved. This meant keeping the 547-year-old colossal pipe organ and huge stained glass windows just as they were. The firm took to the challenge with gusto: only three hues of building material were used, to reflect the pre-existing look of the church, and the three-level, 700-square metre retail space which frames its central nave is built so as to be easily removable in future, maintaining the church's essential structure beneath. The result is a distinctly light and airy bookstore, with shelves lining the walls and unobtrusive, contemporary stairways leading up to the upper reaches of the arches. If only all shopping venues could be so elegant. Sometimes opulent buildings are given over to unlikely retail tenants — for example New York's Chelsea has one of the most ridiculously fancy pharmacies ever, a CVS inside a grand old bank building on 8th Avenue. This makes buying condoms at 3am seem slightly more classy for locals. But books seem an extra worthy ware: picture yourself browsing in Waanders in de Broeren, imagination set aflame as soon as you enter the space with its lofty and ornately painted ceiling. There's also a wine bar and other shopping available, making this one of the loveliest spaces and best design ventures we've seen in ages — an attractive and respectful fusion of old and new. Via Colossal.
Lightning Ridge's arid outback climate makes it the perfect spot for Bevan's Cactus Nursery, one of the largest of its kind in the southern hemisphere. Founded in 1966, the nursery is home to approximately 2500 cacti varieties of all shapes and sizes, with the oldest plant nearly 150 years old. Head along to view the incredible species on display — just watch where you put your hands. Bevan's Cactus Nursery is also home to a supremely rare collection of opals, including speckled black, crystal and white gems that are bound to catch your attention. Head to the website to plan your trip. Image: Andy Peyton, Flickr
Walking down Fitzroy Street in Surry Hills, any passerby with their face in their phone could miss the unassuming exterior of Dad and the Frog, save for a colourful chalk design that marks the charm and character of this inner-city gem. Owners Daniel Ng and Baptiste Viard are certainly doing something right — the cafe won Toby's Estate Local Legends competition for 2023, beating out every other Toby's Estate-pouring cafe in the state. The team prides their position in the legendary Surry Hills hospitality scene, curating a menu that combines locally produced ingredients with a range of sauces, relishes, jams and pickled delights made in-house. Tuck into french toast with brie cheese, berry compote, crumbled pistachio and caramelised apple or swiss brown mushrooms with pancetta, two poached eggs, sour cream and black truffle oil on toasted rye. The fun doesn't stop at breakfast either. The lunch menu is packed with toasted sandwiches, hearty burgers and nourishing bowls, while alcoholic drinks are available from 11am to close.
A beloved Redfern Street hideout for half a decade, Ron's Upstairs turned its fairy lights off for the last time in May 2022. Ron's called the space home for five years. When one door closes, however, another opens, and in place of Ron's is Fontana, an Italian diner that has revitalised the space above Itacate. The vibrant new venue arrived just two months after the closure of Ron's, bringing the warm hospitality of its predecessors. Gone are the playful plastic vines and colourful wallpaper, while the red carpet and parquetry flooring from Ron's remains. New leather-clad booths are complimented by warm mahogany tones and just the right level of mood lighting. And, most importantly, the charm and homeliness of the space's previous occupant are still here in spades. Fontana is the latest opening from Daniel Johnston, Harry Levy and Ivery Wawn, who have all worked together across Don Peppino's, Wilmer and Alfios. In the few years since Don Peppino's has closed, the trio were busy. Johnston and Wawn honed their craft at Alberto's and Cafe Paci respectively. Levy opened Porcine above P&V Paddington with Nick Hill and Matt Fitzgerald. While Fontana's menu is ever-changing, expect to choose from a selection of share plates, a few choice pasta dishes and a couple of mains. Possible highlights include prosciutto e pesca, the ricotta della casa and the pasta alla norma. Another win comes in the form of Fontana's delicately flavoured pappardelle osso buco. Accompanying food is the drinks menu that has been led by Wawn. There are a handful of classic cocktails and a range of interesting and eclectic wines showcasing organic and biodynamic farming principles, rounding out the trio of musts for a topnotch Italian diner — good wine, good pasta and good service. Appears in: The Best Italian Restaurants in Sydney for 2023
Among the latest list of temporarily shuttered venues to drop a revamped online offering for the sanity of us isolated locals, are the Museums Victoria stable of cultural institutions: Melbourne Museum, Immigration Museum and Scienceworks. The three sites can now be experienced from any screen, whenever you fancy, thanks to newly launched virtual programming Museums at Home. Museums Victoria's digital channels will now play host to a suite of videos, live streams, online events and other experiences, to keep you connected and indulging that curiosity while cooped up at home. You can take a virtual tour of Melbourne Museum, hitting exhibitions like Phar Lap: A True Legend, Dinosaur Walk, and brain-focused collection The Mind, seeing and learning plenty along the way. There'll be regular Q&A videos with the museum experts, too, where you can jump online and ask your own burning question about something that's got you stumped. Meanwhile, Scienceworks' new online offering is sure to inspire a few at-home scientists, packed with virtual tours of its own exhibitions, research videos and links to loads of fascinating science stories. You can journey to Pluto with NASA's Alice Bowman and watch a hilarious video of 'things you shouldn't put in a microwave'. Don't try and recreate at home, folks. And the Immigration Museum will have you embracing Victoria's multicultural roots, exploring personal stories and historic photos on a virtual tour of the current exhibitions. Identity: yours, mine, ours questions what it means to belong in Australia, while video footage captures award-winning First Nations artist and choreographer Amrita Hepi taking over the Immigration Museum's Long Room for a special performance last year. Or, you take a peek at much of the Museum's extensive Migration and Cultural Diversity collection, while reading up about the colourful history of migration in Australia. Check out the full Museums at Home offering at the website and each of the museums' social channels. Top image: Scienceworks, 'Beyond Perception' exhibition courtesy of Museums Victoria. Photo by Benjamin Heally.
For one day only, Sydney art lenders Artbank are transforming their Rosebery headquarters, which are normally closed to the public, into Artbank Social Club - sort of a one-off art exhibition with astroturf, a pop-up bar and live music from DJ Matt Vaughan. If you're feeling peckish, there'll also be a couple of food trucks around. You can wander into their showroom and take a look at their impressive collection (over 10,000 Australian artworks collected over the past 30 years), then hang with the artists themselves in their carpark-turned-outdoor-lounge area. Artbank is a support program created by the government to promote Australian artists by buying, curating and leasing artworks. Their headquarters are a bit tricky to find if you haven't been there before, so they've very kindly provided a shuttle bus running every 45 minutes from Chalmers St at Central Station, making stops at Flinders and Oxford Streets along the way. Otherwise, it's about a 15-minute walk from Green Square Station. Artbank's Social Club runs from 1-5pm.
Performance Space is having a birthday party, but don't worry about bringing a gift. They're actually giving you the presents: wrapped-up pieces of performance, visual art, dance, music and more, celebrating their big 3-0. Like anyone planning a party, Performance Space co-director Jeff Khan says he's a bit nervous that no one will to show. "There's a sense of vulnerability, you're putting what feels like yourself on the line and its very much up to the audience whether they take it or leave it," he says ahead of 'You're History', the three-week program of events opening on Wednesday, November 20. That is such a Performance Space thing to say, that last part. Since the experimental collective began, back in a dingy Cleveland Street terrace in 1983, they've been all about the audience and its response. The main stage rules did not apply; the active performer-passive audience idea was left to the main stage companies. Like that time an audience gathered for a show in the terrace, and all the lights went off. It was too dark to see much at all, and least of all the line between performer and punter. "It was a while until they realised that the performers were gone and they were locked in," Jeff says, laughing. "People were furious, debate raged for months and months." Founder Mike Mullins and the artists around him had new ideas and politics to explore, and so made a new space to do it in. Three decades later and its time to celebrate all the artists nurtured, performances developed and bewildered audiences locked in dark terraces. For an organisation normally so focused on the artistic future they're doing a knock-out job with the past. The Directors' Cuts will see the archive come alive, as yesterday's directors, stretching right back to Mullins, take over today's stage. 30 Ways with Time and Space is another stand-out, shut-UP piece of programming: the Carriageworks public foyer, sliced into new spaces by visual artist Agatha Gothe-Snape, will overflow with 30 performances over the festival's 12 days, and it's all free. It just won't all fit in this article. But to give you an idea: Jon Rose is set to play a pane of glass with his face while his mate Lucas Abela is on the deconstructed violin, a family and their seven-year-old daughter will perform inside a translucent plastic bubble and Mike Parr — yes, The Mike Parr — will be doing as The Mike Parr does. If you get a spare second, look up: Box of Birds will see dancers vaulted up into the cavernous Carriageworks scaffolding. I don't think Jeff Khan has to worry; people will definitely come to his party, and I think they'll love their presents. I ask him what he thinks makes a good 30th, and he nails the analogy: "I think probably the right balance of planning and spontaneity," he says. "You know, you want to plan for a great party and you want to plan for enough things to be there for everyone to have a great time, but in the end its just the chemistry between the people and the party that make it."
From the street, A Man and His Monkey looks like any other suburban cafe. But venture inside and you'll find a cosy cafe that's serving up hearty brekkies, salads and sandwiches with an Israeli flair. We're talking a haloumi and eggplant-stuffed pita pocket, malabi — a popular Middle Eastern-style rose-scented milk pudding topped with pistachios, coconut and strawberries — and a mean shakshuka. The latter will rival those from any of the popular shakshuka joints across Sydney — and you can opt to have it with sujuk, slow-cooked lamb, hummus or labne. Come lunchtime, order the hummus plate, which comes with pita and your choice of sides, including poached eggs or eggplant salad. There are also a range of toasties and sandwiches available, including the reuben with double-stacked house-made pastrami. Wash it down with a coffee or one of the turmeric, purple taro or chai lattes. Images: Cassandra Hannagan
Whether you're sipping a flat white in a sun-drenched cafe or working from a stylish, art-filled office, great design has a way of elevating everyday moments. That's exactly what the Australian Interior Design Awards sets out to celebrate — and the 2025 shortlist, which has just dropped, is here to inspire some serious interior envy. For its 22nd year, the awards have nominated 195 standout projects that showcase the best of Australian interior design across residential, hospitality, retail and public spaces. Presented by the Design Institute of Australia and Architecture Media's InteriorsAu, the awards continue to spotlight spaces around the country that don't just look good — they feel good, too. [caption id="attachment_973588" align="alignnone" width="1920"] National Communication Museum, Casey Horsfield[/caption] So, where can you find the year's most boundary-pushing interiors? If you're in Victoria, you can head to sleek Fitzroy hotel The StandardX, Exhibition Street spot Juni, as well as luxe boutique hotel Melbourne Place and its subterranean bar Mr Mills. Other south-of-the-Murray venues that made the shortlist include Hawthorn's National Communication Museum (pictured above) and the revamp of 120 Collins Street, while Victoria's retail nominations run the gamut from Melbourne Airport's new-look Terminal 1 dining and retail precinct to hole-in-the-wall smoothie, yoghurt and açai bar Bitterjoy. A number of new Sydney restaurants and dining precincts headline the NSW contingent, including Wunderlich Lane's contemporary Greek spot Olympus (pictured below), Sofitel Sydney Wentworth's Bar Tilda, Neil Perry's Cantonese diner Song Bird and multi-venue Japanese dining destination Prefecture 48. Sydney nominees for public design include the revamped City Recital Hall, as well as Bondi Junction adaptive reuse project The Boot Factory. The Sunshine State is also well represented on AIDA's shortlist. Leading the charge are Queen Street diners Supernormal and Central, while moody West End hangout +81 Aizome Bar has also been recognised. Elsewhere, luxe wellness space The Bathhouse Albion and the pared-back, brick-and-mortar Newstead home of Brisbane jeweller BrownHaus are among the hospitality and retail nominees, respectively. This year's winners across all categories will be revealed at a gala dinner at the Sofitel Melbourne on Collins on Friday, June 6. [caption id="attachment_966315" align="alignnone" width="1917"] Supernormal Brisbane, Earl Carter[/caption] [caption id="attachment_962736" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Melbourne Place, supplied[/caption] [caption id="attachment_973981" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Prefecture 48, supplied[/caption] [caption id="attachment_984056" align="alignnone" width="1920"] +81 Aizome Bar, supplied[/caption] For the full Australian Interior Design Awards 2025 shortlist, head to the AIDA website. Top image: The StandardX.
Located directly across from the beach in Collaroy, Stay Grounded Café and Diner is the ideal place to stop by after a surf or if you're catching up with friends for brunch. There's tasty food, great coffee by Single O and a relaxed and welcoming vibe. For brekkie, try the poached eggs with roasted field mushrooms, caramelised onion and chilli, or the oats and chia bircher muesli with fresh berries and coconut yoghurt. For lunch, the grounded bowl with falafel, beetroot hummus, cauliflower, pumpkin, avocado and green goddess dressing will keep you going all day. Stay Grounded is now also open after dark. So, you can head in for a cocktail, a local beer and dishes such as barramundi tacos, chorizo and halloumi skewers and chicken wings with buttermilk dressing. Images: Mel Koutchavlis
