It is not easy to reference, much less celebrate, the work of Dada artists. By its very nature the Dadaist art movement self-destructs at the mere hint of mainstream acceptance. And yet here is Going Gaga for Dada – a dedication to the Dadaist chaos, nonsense and whimsy – so compelling and so deliciously relevant, it reminds the viewer that there is still plenty to be protesting about. Dada, the artistic and literary manifesto of nonsense, originated in Europe during World War I as a protest against the atrocities the war was bringing to the artists’ front doors. Out of disgust for a seemingly senseless war, the likes of Duchamp and Tzara created works intended to be provocatively absurd, as a metaphorical thumbing of the nose, if you like. Here, curator and Dada scholar Akky van Ogtrop seeks to, like the Dadaists, define the undefinable, with contemporary mixed media such as collages, books, zines, posters and sculpture. And while the Dadaist references in colour, composition and typography are frank and fierce, this exhibition still feels fresh, germane and utterly evocative. Here, the iconic, horrifying iron of Dada is manifested (Richard Tipping, the Gift) and is joined by an ironing board (Dianne Beevers, Bristling) as absurdly inoperable at the iron itself. Dianne Longley’s ceramics are wicked: the placement of Tim Burton-like baddies on the domesticity of plates is nightmareishly good. A giggle at the Chicken Tank (Will Coles) will lead your mind to questions of power in politics, and the anxiety of Rochelle Summerfield’s tumultuous cityscapes will evoke the words of Dadaist Hugo Ball who lamented that “words emerge, shoulders of words, legs, arms – Dada is the heart of words.” In support of the exhibition, there will be a zine fest at Brenda May on Saturday August 31 and Sunday September 1, with a talk by MCA curator Glenn Barkley. Image: Bristling by Dianne Beevers.
Sydney, you're about to discover (and taste) what can happen when an acclaimed Finnish chef and an award-winning Italian sommelier join forces. Giorgio De Maria (formerly of 121BC and Rootstock Sydney food and wine festival), is teaming up with Finnish-born Pasi Petanen (2015's SMH Chef of the Year and the guy behind Café Paci), for That's Amore — a series of wine dinners to be held at Mecca in Alexandria next month. Across 12 nights in March, the pair will combine culinary talents, pulling together innovative foodie flair, some serious wine knowledge, and a couple of lively personalities, for what promises to be one very rare dining experience. This fusion of front and back of house is bound to ensure some well-rounded feasting, starting with the weekly-changing, five-course menu. Here, the duo's hinted at a focus on produce-driven dishes, with an Italian edge. Meanwhile, De Maria's working his own brand of magic, proving the cross-cultural combo isn't the only perfect partnership on the table here. His handpicked selection of wine is available to try matched to each course, or simply quaffed by the bottle. That's Amore dinners will take place on March 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11, 16, 17, 18, 23, 24, and 25 at Mecca, 2/26 Bourke Road, Alexandria. The five-course menu is $75 per head, with drinks charged on consumption. Jump on the That's Amore Instagram page for a peek at the menu and nab your spot by emailing thatsamoreinsydney@gmail.com.
Vivid Sydney kicks off this week, and while you're planning which talks to see, figuring out where to catch a glimpse of the lights and checking which gigs still have tickets going, you're probably figuring out a strategic drinking and dining plan too. The bulk of the light installations will again be set up around Circular Quay, which, with the addition of the Gateway dining precinct, has a much richer food situation this year with Chat Thai, Popina, Messina and an actually decent food court. And just to ensure you don't go hungry, a market dedicated entirely to desserts will also run for three nights of the festival. Setting up shop in the Overseas Passenger Terminal, the Milk 'n' Sugar market will be on-hand for revellers craving something sweet for the first weekend of Vivid. Opening up from 6pm on May 26, 27 and 28, the market will be hocking Brooklyn Boy Bagels' cinnamon scrolls, deep-fried Oreo bites from Kayter Co, Nutie's gluten-free doughnuts, Nutella s'mores, kurtosh ice cream cones and more. You should probably skip dinner. As well as coinciding with Vivid, the market will also run alongside the Mr Black Espresso Martini Festival, which is also happening in the Overseas Passenger Terminal this weekend. Plan your movements right and you could fit it all in on one day. The Milk 'n' Sugar market will take place in the Overseas Passenger Terminal, Circular Quay on May 26–28 from 6–11pm. For more information, visit the Facebook event.
When Premier Gladys Berejiklian announced New South Wales' latest stage of eased COVID-19 restrictions, she gave cinephiles a particularly exciting piece of news. Movie theatres have been closed around the country since mid-March; however, with current caps on indoor venues lifting on Wednesday, July 1, it appears that projectors will be allowed to start whirring again in the state. And, while that doesn't mean that it's popcorn-munching business as usual quite yet, local cinemas will gradually begin to reopen. Randwick Ritz will be one of the initial places to start ushering movie buffs back into darkened rooms, opening its doors on the very first day it can. And it's celebrating with a week of $10 tickets. If you're a Ritz Royalty member (or happy to sign up for $18 a year), you'll get tickets for even cheaper: $8. From Wednesday, July 1 to Tuesday, July 7, you can treat your mum, bestie or date to a flick for just ten dollaroos. Some of the films you'll be able to catch during the week include flicks that hit the big screen just before lockdown — The Invisible Man, Sonic the Hedgehog, Portrait of a Lady on Fire and The Current War — plus new movies that were originally slated to hit cinemas during their closure, such as Hugo Weaving-starring Hearts and Bones and Rob Brydon and Steve Coogan eating and bantering their way through The Trip to Greece. A couple of previews are on the lineup, too, including the Palme d'Or-nominated It Must be Heaven, NZ comedy Bellbird and travel documentary Romantic Road, as well as retro flicks like 1942 drama Casablanca and Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange. [caption id="attachment_755894" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Portrait of a Lady on Fire[/caption] Top image: Kimberley Low
Once again, German DJ legend Claptone is preparing to hit Aussie shores, returning to deliver the latest edition of his international smash-hit soirée, The Masquerade. Popping up in Sydney for the second time, the mysterious, multi-sensory event is being presented in collaboration with Untitled Group — the creative minds behind the likes of Ability Fest, Pitch Music & Arts and Beyond the Valley. Having toured a selection of cities worldwide over the past few years, The Masquerade's next stop is the Australian Technology Park in Eveleigh on Saturday, April 6. It's set to transform the space into a den of revelry for one afternoon, featuring a heady mix of performances, acrobats, sounds and quirky characters you won't forget in a hurry. Promising to ramp up the intensity levels, all guests will be given masquerade face wear as they enter the event — a reference to Claptone's own signature golden mask.
Sydney, you just can't get enough chicken. On Monday, we reported on the transformation of lower north shore eatery Johnny Lobster into Johnny Bird. Now, we bring you further poultry-related tidings. At the end of March, Enmore neighbourhood bar The Gretz will be shutting up shop, then reopening in late April as Wish Bone, a casual eatery devoted to fried chicken, under the same owners, U.S.-born chef Gregory Llewellyn and Naomi Hart. It's not any old cooked chook you'll be feasting on, but an old favourite — Llewellyn's mighty version, which attracted hungry hordes to Hartsyard, before it revamped and swapped to a veggie-driven menu in January this year. "Change is in the air," says Llewellyn. "I've wanted to focus on something singular for a while." Expect a tight, short menu, with fried chicken as centrepiece. Llewellyn is still finalising the details, but also mentions po' boys, poutine and, for sides, fermented pickles and stewed beans have been floated as possibilities. Although the feel will be casual, service will be attentive and focused. "There's no bar," says Hart. "So, the guest experience will be overseen entirely by one server, who'll greet you, seat you, water you, take your order." You can count on speed, too. Llewellyn adds, "People are there to eat and they're thirsty, so why make them wait?" The design, which is a work-in-progress, will reflect this ethos. "We used the words elegant and efficient," Naomi says. "We want to maintain the style and service we're known for." When Wish Bone opens in late April, the duo will hit the ground running, offering dinner seven nights a week, before adding lunches down the track. The Gretz is located at 125 Enmore Road, Enmore and will remain open until the end of March. It will then reopen at Wish Bone shortly after. We'll keep you updated on an opening date. In the meantime, you can get more info at thegretz.com.au.
Some days life is pretty shit. You've lost your job, your partner smells like another person's genitalia and your children/pets would rather eat your leg than show you some love. There's also bills to pay, medical problems to sort out/ignore and the whole world is, apparently, drowning or drying up, or something. A lesser person would grab a gun and climb up a clock tower so as to sew lead into innocent bodies. A better person would grab a puppet. Inspired by ye olde anger management Punch and Judy shows of the 19th century, writer/director Brent Thorpe and music director Billy O'Riordan have put together an adult pantomime that'll cure your modern woes. As Australian in taste as Vegemite and yum cha, this show blends burlesque, grotesque, vaudeville and political incorrectness to just the right, gooey consistency.
Step into the strange and seductive world of Greek cinema as it lights up the screen at Palace Norton Street, as well as locations around the country. Now in its 23rd year, the latest edition of the Greek Film Festival boasts an expectedly eclectic program, ranging from fiction features to documentaries and a couple of Australian productions as well. The festival will begin with an opening night screening of Worlds Apart, a romantic anthology film from writer-director-actor Christopher Papakaliatis co-starring Oscar winner J.K. Simmons. It's one of a number of critically acclaimed contemporary films on the bill, with skewering social satire Chevalier and darkly comic thriller Suntan both deserving of a look. Other highlights including a pair of local productions by Greek-Australian filmmakers, in bold religious drama Sacred Heart and medicinal marijuana documentary A Life of Its Own.
What helps a formerly active person who has lost both their legs find the will to keep on living? It's rarely a guy like Ali (Matthias Schoenaerts), who fights in illegal bouts, hits his kid, kicks dogs, disrespects women, does dodgy things for cash and is all-round one of the least likeable characters to ever appear on screen. And yet the journey Stephanie (Marion Cotillard) goes on through him makes just enough sense to be believable — powerful, actually — in Jacques Audiard's feature film Rust and Bone. Stephanie is an orca trainer at a Cote d'Azur equivalent of Sea World. One day, to the poetically dissonant backing of Katy Perry's 'Firework', a public performance goes wrong and Stephanie wakes in hospital to find her legs amputated. After weeks of depression, she calls Ali, a nightclub bouncer she met briefly before the accident and thought little of at the time. His company turns out to be relaxed and matter of fact; he does not handle her with kid gloves, and it's just what she needs to begin to figure out her new sense of self. When he starts out on his underground boxing career, she finds herself unexpectedly drawn in. The film is quite a big departure from the source material, Canadian writer Craig Davidson's collection of short stories by the same name. The book is filled with disparate men dealing with masculinity, corporeality and violence (an adaptation at Sydney's Griffin Theatre earlier this year adhered more closely to the original). In condensing the eight short stories to two lives, Audiard's Rust and Bone seems even more brutal, if that's possible, and the drawing of explicit intersections and connections between characters turns out to be satisfyingly meaningful. The most visible and effective change is gender: Cotillard's Stephanie was originally a womanising dude. As such this Rust and Bone is no longer about men and their relationship with their bodies but humans and their relationship with their bodies — relationships that are in some ways different and in others the same. Audiard says something altogether new and intriguing with Stephanie, who previously enjoyed the power she held over men through her sexuality and appearance. She'll eventually find there's a new, untapped power over men she can exert, and it has nothing to do with prettiness. Rust and Bone is an unsentimentally lyrical triumph, unexpected in every way from its narrative to its mise en scene. Cotillard is a sensation. Need it be said? This film about fighters packs a punch. https://youtube.com/watch?v=x3leZNzz6N8
When news arrived that Brooklyn Nine-Nine is coming to an end after its upcoming eighth season, did it hit you a little harder because you've spent the past year binging and re-binging its latest batch of episodes? According to a rundown of Australia's most-rented and -bought video-on-demand titles from 2020, plenty of TV lovers spent the last chaotic year watching comedic cop antics. The show ranks second on the television list — and, across both film and TV, it has a heap of company. The Australian Home Entertainment Distributors Association (AHEDA) has released four top ten lists, all detailing exactly what Aussies were hiring and buying to watch online in 2020. Netflix did something similar late last year, when it reminded us all that we'd feasted our eyeballs on Cobra Kai, The Haunting of Bly Manor to Enola Holmes and Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness; however, this new rundown focuses on things you would've headed to digital purchase and rental stores to see (so, to services such as Google Play, YouTube Movies, Amazon Video, Apple TV, the Foxtel Store, Telstra Box Office and Fetch). With cinemas closed for months, a number of recent flicks then fast-tracked online, it's hardly surprising that movies that quickly jumped to digital proved popular. Jumanji: The Next Level topped the best-selling list, followed by Sonic the Hedgehog. Also now sitting in virtual movie collections around the country: Frozen 2, Joker, Star Wars: Episode IX — The Rise Of Skywalker, Bad Boys For Life, The Gentlemen, Bloodshot, Scoob! and Ford v Ferrari. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zyYgDtY2AMY Some of the above films also feature on the most-rented list, which Joker topped. Sonic the Hedgehog came in second again, with The Gentlemen, Jumanji: The Next Level and Gemini Man rounding out the top five. They were followed by 1917, Knives Out, Ford v Ferrari, Once Upon A Time in Hollywood and Hustlers. And, if you made an effort to support local fare while Australia's creative sector was affected by the pandemic, AHEDA has detailed which ten Aussie-produced movies received the most love. Ride Like a Girl came out on top, The Invisible Man took second spot and Miss Fisher and The Crypt of Tears nabbed third. Then came Danger Close: The Battle of Long Tan, 100% Wolf, Go!, Peter Rabbit, Black Water: Abyss, Carl Barron — Drinking with a Fork and The Nightingale. On the TV front, Brooklyn Nine-Nine's seventh season was only pipped by Outlander's fifth season. On the rest of the televisio list: The 100's seventh season, Vikings' sixth season, The Undoing, Supernatural's 15th season, Big Little Lies' second season, Game of Thrones' eighth season, Chernobyl and the first season of Succession. AHEDA also noted that the Game of Thrones, Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter franchises were popular (unsurprisingly), and that digital purchases and rentals soared in April and May (again, to the surprise of of no one) by between 29–55 percent. To rent or buy any of of the above titles online, head to services such as Google Play, YouTube Movies, Amazon Video, Apple TV, the Foxtel Store, Telstra Box Office and Fetch.
According to Goran Bregovic, what sets Balkan music apart is its propensity for insanity: "In other countries, just plain music is enough. In the Balkans, it's not only about the music – it has to be madness." In his sixty-two years, Bregovic has carried the gypsy craziness of his homeland to all four corners of the globe. After selling fifteen million albums as leader of Yugoslav rock band Bijelo dugme, he took to composing film scores. On this visit to Australia, his first since 2008, he'll be travelling with his Weddings and Funerals Orchestra, which he has described as "an unlikely mix of extremes". Featuring a string quartet, a six-piece male choir, five brass musicians, two Bulgarian vocalists and a drummer, the ensemble will play music from Bregovic's new album, Champagne for Gypsies, as well as some older material. https://youtube.com/watch?v=AKRCo3347fw
An honest man follows his ambitions, but finds trouble at every turn. We’ve seen this story done before and done well; however, films as gloomy and gripping as A Most Violent Year don’t come around that often. It’s not necessarily the chaos and corruption the movie tells of that gets under your skin, though there’s plenty of that. What makes this tense, moody thriller so insidious and effective is the way it states the costs and consequences without offering an alternative. Adapt or perish, it says. That’s just life, it tells us. When we first meet that well-intentioned businessman, Abel Morales (Oscar Isaac), he’s running — and doesn’t stop throughout the film. Yes, he’s frequently standing still, but he’s never really relaxed or comfortable. He’s continually chasing the next step in his carefully controlled climb from poor immigrant to heating oil mogul, and the movie loves nothing more than to watch his struggle. Understanding why Morales itches to keep moving is simple, despite everything — his wife, Anna (Jessica Chastain), his fancy home and his growing oil company — seeming the picture of happiness. Thugs keep hijacking his trucks, threatening his staff and prowling around his house. The assistant district attorney (David Oyelowo) has targeted him in an investigation into the industry. If a property deal crucial to expanding his empire falls through, he could lose everything. Writer/director J.C. Chandor previously made Margin Call and All Is Lost, which gives an indication of the uneasiness on display. Yet again, his characters walk the fine line between success and failure, trapped in a horror story about survival in capitalist times. The American Dream is mentioned, and that’s certainly what the movie contemplates, though it’s rarely so blunt about it. Instead, it is telling that the story is set in New York in 1981 — reportedly the city’s most crime-ridden year on record, hence the title. That Selma cinematographer Bradford Young chooses to make everything from subway cars to suburban homes look shadowy and inescapable is just as revealing. Chandor has always benefited from clever casting, but in A Most Violent Year he has hit the jackpot. Isaac is exceptional as someone trying not to drown — metaphorically, not literally, here — in stormy waters. Everyone who rightfully loved him in Balibo, Drive and Inside Llewyn Davis will only do so all over again. Morales is the type of conflicted role only he could’ve done justice to. He’s constantly composing himself for the next drama — whether discussing tactics with his attorney (Albert Brooks), or begrudgingly asking a competitor (Alessandro Nivola) for help. And then there’s his battle with Anna, as formidably played as the gangster’s daughter she is by the equally outstanding Chastain. If ever there was a depiction of marriage to test the “behind every great man, there’s a great woman” adage, it’s this one (matching stylish period outfits included). It may take time getting there, building patiently and unnervingly, but when A Most Violent Year ends, it’s like the slap in the face you knew was coming yet couldn’t duck to avoid. Another famous saying springs to mind: be careful what you wish for. Viewers wanting a complex and compelling film needn’t fear, but anyone wanting life to be full of unambiguously happy endings just might.
Pari is Western Sydney's go-to for bespoke, artist-run exhibitions that you won't find anywhere else. The space brings together members of Parramatta's arts community to share ideas and to present artwork that draws on the local culture — always acknowledging the Burramattagal people of the Darug nation where Pari is located. Outside of Parramatta, Pari is also connected to the arts and culture scene of Greater Sydney, having collaborated with Carriageworks in March 2021.
The best and brightest in new queer cinema is coming to Melbourne cinemas — and to couches around the country as well. When the Melbourne Queer Film Festival returns from Thursday, November 18–Monday, November 29, it's embracing big-screen sessions via a huge 145-film lineup. And, for folks who can't make it along in person, including everyone outside of Melbourne, it's also screening more than 40 flicks online. That's the film festival dream these days, giving movie lovers the flexibility to sit in a darkened theatre or watch along from home. You'll need to attend in person to make the most of MQFF's opening night, however, with the 2021 fest — the event's 31st, in fact — kicking things off with a gala screening of powerful animated documentary Flee at The Jam Factory. Other highlights include moving drama Great Freedom, which hits MQFF after picking up a prize at this year's Cannes Film Festival; closing night's Fanny: The Right to Rock, about female rock band Fanny; the Los Angeles-set Summertime, which focuses on 25 of the city's residents as their lives intersect; French romance Anaïs in Love; and the Udo Kier-starring Swan Song. Or, there's also striking Albanian drama The Hill Where Lionesses Roar; Dramarama, a coming-out comedy about theatre kids; the St Vincent and Carrie Brownstein-starring The Nowhere Inn; and South Korea's A Distance Place.
Michael Mu Sung is taking over lower-Bayswater Road. If the Sydney restaurateur was content with opening two beloved venues on the Potts Point thoroughfare, nobody would blame him. But, instead, he's sprung forth with his third Potts Point opening — Ken's Continental. This cafe and deli is located on a green leafy corner directly next to Mu Sung's Farmhouse and across the road from his second culinary child, Bones Ramen. "When the space next door became available the opportunity was too good to resist, providing what we hope to be the perfect early morning and lunchtime compliment to our other two venues on the same street," Mu Sung says. Ken's Continental operates as a classic inner-city cafe in the morning, with good coffee and a daily delivery of elite pastries from Lou Lou Boulangerie. If you're looking to nab a seat and get stuck into the day with something more substantial, you'll find a menu of brunch and lunch favourites centred around speciality deli meats. The short and sweet menu of all-day breakfast consists of sandwiches and highlights from the deli — such as the breakfast muffin which combines folded eggs, gruyere and chorizo from Whole Beast Butchery. Beyond breakfast, the signature sambo piles mortadella, rocket, pickled Turkish chlilies and plum relish on a Lou Lou baguette. And it is superb. There's also yellow pea pancakes topped with soft-boiled eggs, herb salad, avocado and jamon; black pudding with fried eggs; and a charcuterie plate with the best meat, cheese, pickles and olives from the deli counter. Speaking of, this open glass counter is the first thing you'll notice as you walk into the Parisian-inspired space — accompanied by shelves of other take-home provisions on the walls. Here you can load up your home kitchen with all of the pancetta, sopressa, terrines, Pepe Saya butter and fresh baguettes you could ever wish for. "We wanted to really place an emphasis on seasonality, provenance and reducing the amount of waste we create," says Riwaka. "Weather that be repurposing products from Bones Ramen to make pates, pickling the best of the season's fruit and vegetables for use later on in the year or tracking down great cured meats that make your heart sing." Ken's Continental is open 7am–3pm Monday–Friday and 8am–3pm Saturday–Sunday at Shop 3, 40 Bayswater Road, Potts Point.
Picture this: you've parked your car on a side street really far away, paid for a ticket till 2pm, gotten distracted by an email (or a cute dog) and sprinted back for 2.02pm. Boom, you've copped a parking ticket. It's a scenario a lot of us are way too familiar with. And our bank accounts are, frankly, sick of it — those $112 tickets really add up. Thankfully, you'll soon have a bit longer to get back to your car, with the NSW Government introducing a ten-minute grace period from January 31, 2019. So, in our hypothetical situation, you've got an extra eight minutes to pat that pooch and put more money in the meter. The grace period applies to all ticketed and coupon parking, which the Government says makes up for the "majority of overstay parking offences". If the meter doesn't issue a ticket — it's one of those machines where you input your number plate, for example — the grace period doesn't apply. Nor do private car parks, or parks in clearways, bus lanes, transit lanes, mail zones, no stopping areas, loading zones or special event zones (but you probably shouldn't be parking there anyway). In some more great news for our dire post-holidays bank accounts, from March 1, 2019, some parking fines might actually get cheaper. From this date, councils and universities will be able to reduce level 2 parking fines (which is what you get for overstaying in a park, parking without a ticket, stopping in a mail zone, etc) from $112 to $80. More money for gelato and spritzes, we say. The ten-minute grace period will be introduced on January 31, 2019. For more information, head to the NSW Government website. Image: Kitti Smallbone.
What's better than a freshly brewed cup of coffee? Only having to wait 15 seconds for it. Much-loved Surry Hills cafe Single O (previously Single Origin Roasters) has streamlined the filter coffee process, launching a first-of-its-kind coffee on tap. And it's celebrating with a day of free brews on Wednesday, April 17. As well as being extremely fast, Single O's new filter coffee taps are also self-serve. Just tap your credit card (if you're not heading in on the free day), choose one of the four taps and wait 15 seconds while your reusable cup, or loan-a-mug, fills with freshly brewed batch coffee. You'll be able to choose from uniquely crafted brews such as the Sweet Sixteen Birthday Blend, with notes of peaches and cream; and the mango- and guava-heavy Nicaragua Cup of Excellence. From 7.30am–3pm on the Wednesday, the coffee will be free, but usually it'll set you back between $4–5 a cup. Or, you can order a tasting flight of three for $7. Aside from free on-tap coffee, the day is a good excuse to check out the popular coffee spot's recently renovated and expanded interior, which was designed by Sydney architect Luchetti Krelle, who's also behind Barangaroo restaurant Banskii, lower north shore bar Manly Greenhouse and Marickville cafe Matinee Coffee. Single O will be serving up free batch brews from 7.30am—3pm. UPDATE: APRIL 15, 2019 — Free batch coffee will now be available with BYO cup from 7.30am–3pm. The above coffee has been updated to reflect this.
Walsh Bay’s Pier One will turn into one enormous, delectable party on Sunday, October 11 when the inaugural Delicious Destinations Festival hits town. As the name suggests, the event is all about celebrating the tastes, sights and sensations that give places their unique character. It’s being run by Pier One Sydney Harbour in collaboration with The Gantry Restaurant and Bar and forms part of Good Food Month 2015. The organisers have invited a bunch of their favourite eateries and regional producers to Sydney for the day. So you’ll be tasting wine from Mudgee, cheese from Orange, oysters from the South Coast and veggies from the Blue Mountains — all without having to travel more than a few hundred metres. Meanwhile, The Grumpy Baker will be baking bread onsite and Cloudy Bay Wines will be hosting their very own lounge. But the Delicious Destinations Festival isn’t all about eating and drinking. You can also expect live entertainment, talks, masterclasses and opportunities to chat with producers and winemakers. Dogs are not only welcome, they’ll also be scoring some pretty special treatment, with the festival’s DOGUE Doggy Corner serving up tasty treats all day. Stay up to date with the festival's latest on Facebook right here.
YCK Laneways, a new cultural precinct that launched in 2021 encompassing the CBD laneways in York Street, Clarence Street and Kent Street, is currently in the swing of six week cultural festival titled YCK Intersections. The festival's lineup of live music, workshops and pop-ups is taking over venues across the three CBD streets, including Since I Left You, Esteban, PS40, The Duke of Clarence, Stitch Bar, Uncle Ming's, Prince of York and many more. Alongside these activations, the YCK team is throwing a three-day party stretching over the ANZAC Day long week at Barrack Street, which features a stacked lineup of live sets and cooking masterclasses. Heading up the music bill over the three days from Friday, April 22–Sunday, April 24 are Wafia, Sneaky Sound System and Day1, with support from the likes of Ula, Kota Banks, A.Girl, B Wise and East Av3, just to name a few. As for the food and drink masterclasses, you'll find Sydney favourites like Maybe Sammy, Cantina OK!, Hickson House and Sydney Oyster Farm Tours running you through skills ranging from crafting the perfect margarita to upping your oyster game. Tickets to each night of the gigs and each masterclass are available for $60 a pop — with masterclasses available in discounted bundles. You can hit up two consecutive classes for $100, or a full day of enhancing your culinary game on the Saturday for $140. Check out the lineup for the Barrack Street party and YCK Intersection's full program at the YCK Laneways website.
Sydney residents are currently in lockdown due to the city's growing wave of COVID-19 cases; however, they now can't head to Victoria even if stay-at-home conditions ended. In response to New South Wales' expanding coronavirus outbreak, its southern neighbour has closed its borders — to the entirety of NSW, and also to the Australian Capital Territory. Coming into effect 1t 11.59pm yesterday, Sunday, July 11, Victoria has declared NSW and the ACT red zones under its traffic light-style system for grading other regions of Australia according to their COVID-19 status. That colour coding means that Victoria will only allow the state's own residents who've been in NSW or the ACT to obtain permits to return home; however, they'll then need to get tested and quarantine for 14 days. If you're not a Victorian resident and you've been in either state or territory, you are no longer be able to enter Victoria without an exception, exemption or other valid permit (and, if you try, you'll be fined up to $4957). For folks who live in the NSW–Victoria border region, you can cross the border without a permit, but you will need to have proof of address with you. That said, you can't enter if you have been to a red zone outside of the cross-border area — or if you have COVID-19, any symptoms, or you're classed as a close contact of a positive case. https://twitter.com/VicGovDH/status/1414102690523607043 The closure comes just over a year since the border between New South Wales and Victoria closed for the first time in more than 100 years back in July 2020. Before then, it last shut in 1919 during the Spanish Flu. Victoria had already classed parts of the state, including all of Greater Sydney, as red zones in response to the current outbreak — a move that date backs to last month. The latest change has been put in place as NSW's coronavirus cases continue to spike, with 77 new locally acquired cases reported on Sunday, July 11 — and NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian noting that she expected the number for today, Monday, July 12, to be more than 100. In a statement, the Victorian Government said that "with case numbers continuing to increase in New South Wales, Victorian public health authorities are concerned about the risks of transmission beyond current red zones in Greater Sydney and surrounds, and the potential risks this poses to the Victorian community from people entering our state." Residents of the Greater Sydney, Blue Mountains, Central Coast, Wollongong and Shellharbour regions have been under lockdown for more than two weeks, with those conditions tightened on Friday, July 9. A July 16 end date for lockdown has been announced previously, although, with case numbers continuing to climb, it now looks extremely unlikely that the stay-at-home period will end then. You can find out more about the status of COVID-19 at the NSW Health and Victorian Department of Health websites. Top image: Mulwala Bridge by Yun Huang Yong via Flickr.
Space travel made headlines in 2021 when several billionaires battled to be the first to exit the Earth's atmosphere. But thankfully, you don't have to be mega-rich to get your intergalactic fix this year. From Friday, November 19, you and your crew can immerse yourselves in the Australian premiere of Neighbourhood Earth — an award-winning exhibition taking place at the International Convention Centre in Darling Harbour. The family-friendly event will bring together science and cutting-edge technology to create an unforgettable and space-like experience presented by M Live. Inside the completely COVID-safe exhibition, you can expect illuminated screens, spectacular surround sound and a giant projection-mapped dome to top off the cinematic and multi-sensory adventure. There'll also be museum quality models, spacecrafts, tools and astronaut suits showcasing facts and stories about space exploration. Plus, touch sensing projections and holographics that'll leave you mesmerised. There's some big brains behind the project — it was dreamed up by the team at NEC Partners in conjunction with the US Space & Rocket Centre and NASA's George C. Marshall Space Flight Centre — so be ready to have your own mind expanded. Feel like losing yourself in a truly out-of-this-world experience? Looking for the antidote to your life in lockdown? Tickets to Neighbourhood Earth go on sale on Monday, October 11 and the exhibition opens on Friday, November 19 at the International Convention Centre for a limited time. For more information and to book, visit the website.
In the decade since her gone-too-soon death in 2012, Whitney Houston has proven one of filmmaking's greatest loves of all. No fewer than five movies have told her tale, including documentaries Whitney: Can I Be Me and Whitney. And, that's without including a feature about her daughter Bobbi Kristina, a miniseries focused on her ex-husband Bobby Brown and dramas clearly based on her story. If she was still alive, a movie like Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody would've still reached screens at some point, though. Hollywood adores music biopics, especially lately, with Houston's latest stint in the celluloid spotlight following Elvis, Respect, The United States vs Billie Holiday, Rocketman and Bohemian Rhapsody in recent years alone. I Wanna Dance with Somebody even shares screenwriter Anthony McCarten with the latter — formula and inevitability combining, as is this genre's repeated refrain. All of that attention has been echoing around Houston for obvious — and patently well-documented — reasons. Her mezzo-soprano voice, which earned her the nickname "The Voice", soared to stratospheric and literally breathtaking levels. She still holds the record for the most consecutive number-one singles on the Billboard Hot 100, which she took from The Beatles and the Bee Gees, as her career zoomed skyward as well. Houston's list of hits is massive and varied, spanning ballads such as 'Saving All My Love For You', dancefloor-filling pop like 'How Will I Know' and the anthemic 'I'm Every Woman', to name a mere few tracks. That swift rise from New Jersey church choir member to one of the biggest bestselling music artists ever was matched by tabloid-fodder lows, however, and that tragic passing — and I Wanna Dance with Somebody charts it all. Taking its name from one of Houston's most exuberant singles isn't just a music biopic 101 move, although it's definitely that. Director Kasi Lemmons (Harriet) follows the standard Wikipedia entry-like genre template, piecing together all of the requisite details, but she wants those titular words to constantly make a statement. Houston does want to dance — one of the strengths of that 80s tune has always been how genuine it feels — with the phrase used here to reflect how Whitney (Naomi Ackie, Master of None) just wants to be herself, to be loved as such, and openly be with Robyn Crawford (Nafessa Williams, Black Lightning). While still dreaming of success, Whitney and Robyn meet and sparks fly, but the times, attitudes and the demands of fame don't treat their romance kindly. I Wanna Dance with Somebody doesn't shy away from their relationship, or from the disapproval of Whitney's gospel singer mother Cissy Houston (Tamara Tunie, Cowboy Bebop) and stern father John (Clarke Peters, The Man Who Fell to Earth). Whitney just wants to keep her hair short and wear jeans, too, but being a young Black woman in the 80s shooting for music stardom comes with demands. I Wanna Dance with Somebody is never so simplistic to equate having to don dresses and wigs with not being able to be true to her sexuality, but it paints a picture of a woman consistently forced to put others' expectations of her first. So, after being signed to Arista Records at 19 by producer and executive Clive Davis (Stanley Tucci, The King's Man), Whitney becomes America's princess next door. I Wanna Dance with Somebody doesn't ignore her willingness to play the game, either — to perform the part she's told to if it means she'll keep rocketing higher, as a scene recreating the 'How Will I Know' music video shows — but the film's thesis is plain: made to be someone she wasn't, and stripped of the support she always wanted, this tale was unlikely to have a happy ending. Joining the list of Lady Macbeth actors going on to huge things — the other: Florence Pugh — Ackie gives a commanding, multi-layered performance as the conflicted Houston. I Wanna Dance with Somebody is more concerned with attitude and emotion than strict physical resemblance, and it works. That the film is raw, heartfelt and moving in conveying Whitney's plight, including through her criticism for being too white, tumultuous relationship with Brown, moving into cinema with The Bodyguard, battles with her dad over his management and her substance-abuse troubles, all comes down to that pivotal portrayal. Indeed, such is the power in Ackie's efforts, she's still a tour-de-force while she's lip-synching. Smartly, Lemmons uses Houston's own vocals. When you're making a movie about "The Voice", you need to let your audience hear said voice. Visibly, is Ackie singing herself — the feature just dubs in the star she's playing over the top — and, unsurprisingly, the scenes where Whitney is on a stage or behind a microphone are high among I Wanna Dance with Somebody's standouts. In a film that's impassioned, too, serving up electrifying performance recreations is a wise move. Baz Luhrmann's Elvis turned concert scenes into a dizzying, multi-sensory, like-you're-there art, helping demonstrate why its subject had such an impact — an approach Lemmons and her cinematographer Barry Ackroyd (The Old Guard) apply to expressing Houston's immense vocal talent. Among the key Whitney moments restaged: singing 'Home' during her 1983 stint on The Merv Griffin Show shortly after being signed by Davis, her slowed-down version of the American national anthem at the 1991 Super Bowl, busting out 'I Will Always Love You' at The Concert for a New South Africa in 1994 and her American Music Awards medley of 'I Loves You Porgy', 'And I Am Telling You' and 'I Have Nothing' that same year. Throughout the script, talk turns to breathing, challenges and the mechanics of crooning — belting out that above trio is dubbed "climbing Mount Everest without oxygen" — but seeing is believing. Spying Ackie's arms outstretched, spreading far and wide as Houston reaches for those high notes, is a potent and understandably repeated sight. Still, unlike the singer at its centre, I Wanna Dance with Somebody is content with staying in expected territory. That makes for a rousing yet routine addition to the music biopic canon — and, because Lemmons and McCarten are committed to covering as much as possible, a rushed one as well despite its 146-minute running time. As proves the case of many famous figures who earn dramatisations of their lives, there's so much to include here that multiple movies could've easily eventuated. Again, plenty of other films about Houston have already. This jam-packed on-screen dance wants to have it all and show where Houston's broken heart went, but it doesn't burn deep enough to last.
Volcanic wines have long been an elusive gem, harnessing the richness of ancient soils to yield distinctive flavours full of character and unique aromas. The ancient practice remains popular with winemakers today, sharing their fan-favourite flavour profiles around the globe. To celebrate this captivating facet of winemaking, ESQ. is throwing a multi-course wine dinner, Fire & Vine: Exploring Volcanic Terroirs, on Wednesday, April 10. Step into Sydney's hidden gem, tucked away in the iconic Queen Victoria Building, and journey back to the clandestine world of prohibition-era speakeasies. Once you've discovered the secret bar, immerse yourself in a sensory dining experience with a curated five-course menu expertly paired with a selection of volcanic wines. Host Luigi Celiento will take you through each distinctive terrier and flavour of the wine with a fascinating history lesson. Enjoy the experience alongside a feast of Sydney rock oysters, kingfish ceviche, linguine alle vongole, and a decadent Valrhona white chocolate mousse. Secure your seat at this exclusive event, with early bird tickets at $195 per person and final release tickets at $220. Explore the full menu and reserve your spot now for an unforgettable evening of discovery.
There are plenty of ways to describe something that's fun while it lasts, but finishes up prematurely. And yes, many of them could be followed by "title of your sex tape". So, with US TV network NBC announcing a few months back that beloved sitcom Brooklyn Nine-Nine will come to an end after its next season, we're sure you've been thinking about Jake Peralta's favourite retort for a while now. We're sure the phrase will be uttered at least once in the show's final batch of episodes, too — which will air in America in August. B99 is due to wrap up its police-focused comedic antics with a ten-episode eighth season, which will launch following the Tokyo Olympics, NBC has just announced. Just when the show's latest instalments will surface Down Under hasn't yet been revealed, though. In Australia, SBS has fast-tracked recent seasons — so fingers crossed that we'll be farewelling the Nine-Nine crew at the same time as our overseas counterparts. When those final episodes hit screens, it'll be your last chance to spend time in Brooklyn's fictional 99th police precinct, and with Peralta (Andy Samberg), Amy Santiago (Melissa Fumero), Rosa Diaz (Stephanie Beatriz), Charles Boyle (Joe Lo Truglio), Terry Jeffords (Terry Crews) and Raymond Holt (Andre Braugher) — and even Hitchcock (Dirk Blocker) and Scully (Joel McKinnon Miller). Well, other than binging your way through the show's entire run again and again, a pastime that will never get old. Whenever any B99 news arrives — happy or sad — there are plenty of appropriate ways to mark this development. You could break out a sorrowful yoghurt, Terry Jeffords-style. If you're more like Captain Raymond Holt, perhaps you'd like to treat yourself to a trip to a barrel museum. You could also channel your inner Gina Linetti (Chelsea Peretti) and dance about your distressed feelings, organise your entire house as you know Santiago would, or say cheers to Peralta by watching Die Hard over and over. And, to fill the time until the new episodes drop, you can also watch this cool cool cool B99 training video below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VaoBN_e9Om0 Brooklyn Nine-Nine's eighth and final season is set to air in the US from August 2021. We'll update you when an air date Down Under is announced.
The Argyle is done with being cooped up indoors just as much as you are. To welcome in the warm weather days, The Rocks' stalwart is launching another openair cinema season. Hosted in its cobblestone courtyard, the movie screenings will start on Wednesday, September 9 and run weekly until the end of November. As with all of the best outdoor cinemas, expect cult classics on the docket — this banger of a list includes (in order of screening in September) Pulp Fiction, Superbad, Austin Powers and The Hangover. On the October lineup, you'll find the likes of American Pie, Step Brothers and a yet-to-be-announced spooky flick on Wednesday, October 28 (just before Halloween). While you lounge in the courtyard's comfy deck chairs, the kitchen will serve up movie snacks like two-for-one woodfired pizzas for $30 and — instead of your typical popcorn accompaniment — the bar will sling frozen cocktails for $15. While the films will start at 7pm, you can head in early for $5 happy hour from 4pm. Book your table in for free here to secure a spot. Updated October 6, 2020.
Over in The Rocks, The Glenmore's rooftop is already impressively high, boasting primo views across to the Sydney Opera House and the Harbour. But head on up on the first Thursday of the month and you'll find yourself soaring even higher than normal, getting extra air with Salto Fit's new Rise on the Rooftop series of trampoline workouts. Across two morning classes (7.30am and 8.15am) on April 29, May 27 and June 24, this sky-high session will have you working up a sweat on your own rebound trampoline, moving through a high-intensity, full-body workout packed with dance, body pump and HIIT moves. According to Salto Fit, which hosts the trampoline classes at a bunch of locations across Sydney, the low-impact workouts are an ideal cardio hit for all body types. And while those muscles might start to burn mid-sesh, at least you'll have that glorious rooftop outlook to distract you from the pain. Tickets to the classes are $30 each.
Sports movies tend to follow a fairly formulaic structure. We meet the competitors; we begin to see their strengths, weaknesses and that potential Achilles heel; we are introduced to their primary competitors; and then, after a couple of well-timed training montages, we watch, bated breath, as our hero manages to defy the odds and win miraculously/lose heroically. If you've seen Rocky, The Fighter, Remember the Titans or a hundred other sports films, then you already know the narrative arc of Ping Pong. Yet despite its predictability, this heartwarming documentary from little-known British director Hugh Hartford manages to sidestep the usual pitfalls of the genre, basically through the sheer strength of the characters. Ping Pong tells the story of the World Over 80s Table Tennis Championships in Inner Mongolia almost entirely through the perspective of the players themselves. There is 81-year-old Terry, who, prior to the tournament, was given a week to live; former bodybuilder Les, who, at 89, still uses weightlifting to prepare for the tournament; the trash-talkin', gun-toting Texan Lisa, whose 85 years have done nothing to diminish her wily competitive streak; and the championship's elder stateswoman, the 100-year-old Aussie Dot. Hartford does what many great documentarians have done before him, retreating from the role of writer. He is happy to simply leave the camera rolling and have the characters tell their own stories — their history, their motivations and what it means to be an athlete in the final chapters of their lives. Yet this picture is far more than simply a series of talking heads. Hartford takes great pains to capture the richness of these characters and their lives. The film takes us into their homes and training venues and watches as they cook strudel, show off old photo collections and, in one of the film's most touching scenes, guide us around the dementia ward that ping pong became a respite from. This level of detail gives the film an immersive quality. Even in a screening filled with cynical critics and hardened media-folk, a championship win from one of the octogenarians had the cinema quietly cheering. Despite the film's fixation on death and mortality, Ping Pong is a surprisingly hopeful and uplifting film. In one scene, Terry boasts that while bowel cancer could take away his penis, it couldn't take away his sex life. We come to see that while these characters may have accepted their impending death, that doesn't mean they're willing to go quietly into that cold night. Add to all this the fact that this may be the first film to show an 89-year-old doing a peck dance. That one was worth the price of admission on its own. https://youtube.com/watch?v=nwFVc2NAt94
Metal festivals have for decades skirted around the edges of Australia's abundant shores, teasing fans with European promises of demons, angels, witches and vikings. Now, as the year turns to 2010, the familiar melodies of Auld Lang Syme will finally be drowned out by growling poets and guitar shredders at the inaugural Screamfest. This two-day festival straddles NYE and NYD and boasts a gargantuan collection of international and local acts, including Cynic (USA), Dark Funeral (Sweden), Ensiferum (Finland) and Rotting Christ (Greece). It goes without saying that Metal fans will be goring each other for a ticket to this event, but folks sick of the usual hippy camps, nightclubs, beach doofs and firework picnics should get in for a bout of face-painted rage.Image of Dark FuneralVideo of From Afar by Ensiferumhttps://youtube.com/watch?v=ALrjjJdmxgA
This article is sponsored by our partners, Rekorderlig. Christmas in July first took hold in Australia back in 1980. An otherwise cheery group of Irish travellers hanging about in the Blue Mountains got teary when they saw snowflakes falling outside their window and, instead of moaning about it, decided to throw themselves a Christmas dinner six months early. Ever since, Australians, especially in mountainous regions, have turned July into an excuse to indulge in Yulefest feasts, knock back an eggnog or three and generally get festive. If there's one place where the celebration takes on an especially Northern Hemispher-ean flavour, it's Thredbo. Between July 20 and 26, the resort will be transformed into a winter wonderland, complete with overloaded Christmas trees, glittering tinsel, fairy lights, baubles, toasty log fires and gallons of mulled warm Winter cider from Rekorderlig. Various eateries will be hosting epic, multi-course feasts, serving up all the European goodies that our ridiculously hot December Christmases often make unpalatable. Think stuffed turkey, ham, cranberry sauce, mince pies, plum pudding and mulled wine. Plus, there'll be a steady stream of live entertainment and, of course, a visit or several from Santa Claus, who, according to rumour, has been waxing his skis in preparation.
Sport has a tendency to produce simpler narratives than life does. And when, early in his career, Muhammad Ali christened himself 'The Greatest', one could be forgiven for suspecting he was a sportsman untroubled by the nuances of reality. But beyond his brash, pugilistic showmanship, Ali's life was an incredibly complex blend of sporting pressure and outspoken protest. He opposed the Vietnam War and embraced Islam. He travelled the country on speaking tours, becoming an important voice in the civil rights movement. Then he'd stop for a while and go pulp another opponent in the ring. To Malaysian-Australian rapper and poet Omar Musa, Ali was an effervescent example of how to toss aside shame and embrace being your true self. Musa's show, Since Ali Died, has already blazed a path through both Griffin's Batch Festival in April and Darwin Festival in August. Now it's on its way back to Sydney — first to the SBW Stables Theatre for Sydney Festival, before heading to Parramatta's Riverside Theatres in late-January. A lyrical lament directed by Anthea Williams, Since Ali Died confronts the realities of suburban violence, cultural heritage and how the two intersected for Musa while growing up in regional NSW. Through song, rap and spoken poetry, he begins to show us the narratives Australians have oversimplified for years. Intensely poetic and searingly critical, Since Ali Died might best be described as floating like a butterfly and stinging…well, you know. Since Ali Died will run from Monday, January 7 to Saturday, January 19 as part of Sydney Festival 2019. Tickets cost $35, plus there'll be $20 Monday rush tickets (available from noon for that evening's performance).
Sydney Opera House's UnWrapped festival is back with a new season full of attention-grabbing works from independent artists. Ranging from First Nations cabaret to Iranian-influenced jazz, the May program features six performances, all taking place in the venue's Studio and Utzon rooms. Black Comedy's Steven Oliver will perform his critically acclaimed cabaret Bigger & Blacker, while dancer and choreographer Angela Goh is presenting Sky Blue Mythic, a solo dance performance accompanied by Corin's experimental electronic music. Runa Cara, the collaboration between singer-songwriter Bonnie Stewart (also known as Bonniesongs) and Danish orchestral musician Freya Schack-Arnott, will perform a set of serene folk songs. And, Iranian Australian composer Hamed Sadeghi is premiering his latest fusion of traditional Iranian music and jazz, Project Masnavi. Outlines, a pair of boundary-pushing pieces with a big emphasis on technology, will round out the festival on its final day. Outlines Part I — R+J RMX recreates Romeo and Juliet using the artificial intelligence technology Omelia, while Outlines II – Apotheosis is a 4D visual art and motion capture dance performance by Serwah Attafuah and Soft Centre, featuring music from Ptwiggs and Lydia Kivela. The six performances will take place between Friday, May 14 and Sunday,May 30, with tickets ranging from $15–45. Tickets are on sale from midday Wednesday, April 7. [caption id="attachment_806502" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Outlines Part II – Apotheosis[/caption]
While the country is in lockdown, there are still animals that need caring for. RSPCA NSW currently has more than 2000 dogs, cats, chickens, guinea pigs and even goats that it's feeding, playing with and providing medical care for. And to help raise funds for these animals in need, it's hosting a trivia night fundraiser — virtually, of course. Running from 7.30–8.30pm on Thursday, May 21, the fundraiser will feature 50 questions covering topics such as creates of the deep blue, animals in the spotlight and insects and reptiles, as well as some general knowledge. It'll set you back just $10 to partake, which all goes straight to looking after the furry (or not-so-furry) boys and girls. If your life is missing a furry friends — and you're ready to make a lifelong commitment, of course — RSPCA centres across the country are still open for adoptions. The process now, though, is mostly online. The charity is also looking for foster parents, if you're able to have a temporary friend in your home.
Start shining your best pair of shape-throwing shoes and get ready to dance, dance, dance because Sydney's most energetic weekend of the year is back for round two. After an impressive Sydney debut last year, MoVement will again take over the city with epic warehouse parties, curated club nights and the best in dance and electronic music from October 19-23. With an extra day up their sleeves this year, the city-wide festival (which is produced by V Energy Australia) will serve up five whole days and nights of sweet tunes and all-round awesomeness that celebrate some of Sydney's best and favourite dance party crews and artists. Like last year, the festival will be held at various locations around the city, meaning you can flit between vinyl swap meets, to secret parties and a whole slew of gigs in-between. Headlining the festival is Mind Gamers — the new project from Sebastien Tellier, Daniel Stricker of the Midnight Juggernauts and John Kirby of Blood Orange — who will be performing for the very first time. Other highlights include a DJ set from Kristian Nairn (aka Hordor from Game of Thrones), and a spesh fifth birthday party for Astral People, which will include sets from Wave Racer, Baro, Polographia and others. Sydney's party crews will be throwing a few big ones as well, with Heaps Gay, FBi and House of Mince all throwing events. Anyway, we know what you're here for. Here's the lineup. MOVEMENT SYDNEY 2016 LINEUP Mind Gamers (Sebastien Tellier | Daniel Stricker | John Kirby) Wave Racer Seven Davis Jr Kristian Nairn aka HODOR Priku Shags Chamberlain (Ariel Pink) Presents: The Crystal Machine Honey Soundsystem (Jason Kendig & Jackie House) EL-B Nicole Millar Indian Summer GL Go Freek Baro w/ Full Live Band Polographia Mall Grab Sleep D (Live) Winston Surfshirt CC:DISCO! Made in Paris Human Movement Moonbase Commander Prequel Zuri Akoko The Possé Purple Sneakers DJs Cliques B2B Preacha Stoney Roads DJs Sydney Pony Club Rimbombo Fergus Sweetland Piecey Siberia DJs Ben Drayton Andy Garvey Lovebombs Kali T-Syd Adrian E Jon Watts Noise in my Head Sea Breeze Lauren Hansom b2b Khan Mira Boru 2016 FBi Dance Class DJs + many more… Image: MoVement Sydney 2015.
Parisian label Kitsune is coming back to hang. As cool and sharp as a post-toothpaste drink of lemonade, the record and fashion label know what's up well before it's up. Specialising in eclectic electronic and minimalist dance music as clean and tailored as a French cuff, the label have been taking their Kitsune Club Nights worldwide to dance lovers in Tokyo, Berlin and London. The crew cranked some serious parties in Australia last year, with the likes of Jerry Bouthier, Clubfeet, RUFUS and Softwar. Returning for the second edition this May, Kitsune are heading back to Australia to throw down a whole lot of excellent beats, fronted by one of their favourite dudes, Pyramid. One heck of a laptop wizard, the French producer won his way into Kitsune hearts and compilations after winning a remix contest. The 22-year-old DJ will be promoting his new EP, The Phoenix, out now through the label itself. He'll be joined by Aussie electronic alt-popster Chela, who linked arms with Melbourne outfit Clubfeet for the Kitsune club series last year. There'll be five stops on the Kitsune Australian tour, creating a ruckus in Fitzroy's Laundry Bar, Fortitude Valley's Chinese Whispers, The Bakery in Northbridge and Sydney's Civic Underground before heading on to Warehouse 82 in Seminyak, Bali. So if you're fan of disjointed nu-disco (which, everybody clearly is), get amongst it in May. Tour dates: Fri 9 May - Laundry Bar, Fitzroy Sat 10 May - Chinese Whispers, Fortitude Valley Fri 16 May - The Bakery, Northbridge Sat 17 May - Civic Underground, Sydney Image by BAM.
When the weekend hits, heading out and enjoying the city usually sits high on most folks' agendas. Today, Saturday, March 20, staying out of the wet conditions is recommended instead. Following on from forecasts earlier in the week, the Bureau of Meteorology has issued a severe weather warning for Sydney for today — with heavy rainfall, damaging winds and surf, and likely flash flooding all expected. The warning spans from the mid-north coast and Hunter regions to metropolitan Sydney, and also to Illawarra and parts of the Central Tablelands. It's expected that over the next 12 hours, the intense rain will be concentrated in the eastern Hunter region, metro Sydney, eastern Central Tablelands and Illawarra. Between 90–150 millimetres of rain is currently predicted in Sydney alone — up from yesterday's forecast of 60–120 millimetres — so yes, there'll be torrents of water falling from above. BOM advises that roads are likely to be cut off by water, there's an increased risk of landslips and river flooding is possible. A warning for possible major flooding of the Hawkesbury, Nepean and Colo rivers northwest of Sydney has been issued. Winds are also expected to get up to 40 kilometres per hour in Sydney — and to exceed 90 kilometres per hour along the Hunter coast, where waves of up to five metres are predicted. https://twitter.com/BOM_NSW/status/1373036149674029065 Yesterday, Premier Gladys Berejiklian asked residents across the city and state to stay close to home over the weekend due to the downpour. "Normally we're telling people to travel around New South Wales, but this weekend is an exception," she said. "If you did have plans to travel on the roads, please reconsider. We just want everybody to stay around and close to their home and to be safe." In the past 24 hours, plenty of rain has already fallen across the state, including between 300–400 millimetres around Port Macquarie. A flood evacuation order has been issued for the area — plus Taree, Dungog, Wingham, Cundletown, Lower Macleay, North Haven, Dunbogan and Laurieton — by the NSW State Emergency Service (SES). In an update this morning, NSW SES Deputy Commissioner Daniel Austin said that the service has received almost 3200 requests for assistance, including 800 overnight — and more than 300 flood rescues. "There's some 26 catchments that have some level of flood watch or flood warning over them, ranging right the way from the mid-north coast down into the Illawarra, and the surrounding areas also cop the brunt of that as well," he advised. https://twitter.com/BOM_au/status/1372991758922088455 If you're wondering what's behind the severe conditions, BOM advises that a low-pressure trough along the NSW coast is causing widespread and persistent rain, plus windy conditions. It's also combining with a strong high-pressure system to the south to bring windy weather to higher parts of the southern ranges. The heaviest rain is expected to fall within the next 24 hours, but may continue in some areas through until Tuesday. In Sydney, 45–60 millimetres is forecast on Sunday, 20–50 millimetres on Monday and 20–35 millimetres on Tuesday, before falling down to under two millimetres on Wednesday. BOM is continuing to issue a heap of warnings, which are worth keeping an eye on — especially if you do need to head out. Don't forget to pack your umbrellas and raincoats, too. And, as usual with potential flooding, the SES recommends you don't walk, drive or ride your bike through flood water. As the weather conditions continue to develop, stay up to date with the latest forecast and weather warnings via the Bureau of Meteorology and the NSW State Emergency Service.
There's an unappealing Bonds campaign on at the moment. It adds one very slightly rude word to an underwear campaign that feels almost exactly the same as every crass underwear ad campaign that's gone before it. Very barely suggestive, and very much the same as before. Two time Archibald winner Del Kathryn Barton's pressure to the need, by contrast, is full of explicit penises, vaginas and quite a lot of thorn-like boobs. But there is absolutely nothing same-y about her work. Every image she makes of the body seems to look at it obliquely. But her focus is on the strangeness, not the alienness of the human form. This is most obvious in the opening ink and watercolour images. Each combines strange spaces with a mindscape of objects, or very naked human figure studies. Barton's work is often compared to Egon Schiele, and when she's drawing in delicate lines that similarity is pretty obvious. But here, her figure workseems much closer to Aubrey Beardsley's Lysistrata, with wonderful glimpses of Chrissie Abbott as parts become windows into another space. In the next room her colour work is simply magic. In the smaller portraits the colours balance from afar, like Chagall or Kandinsky. But these combinations are every bit her own, her paints making her cascades of colours hues shimmer like the sheen of beetles' wings. to hold 4 makes its serious face out of the translucent colours of rhubarb, painted china and Smarties. Her bigger canvases are even more spectacular, their figures' eyes bird-like and perceptive, or glazed over like untenably thin stained glass. but my dreams seems to feature an enormous and literal beehive of black feathery hair. Pulsing arteries sprout out the top, combining with a three quarter profile for a pursed stare that gives it the feel of a Frida Kahlo self portrait. the human dress sits underneath the weight of her feathery hair as though this brain is unpleasant, dominant and powerful, while of pollen makes a ruff from colourful leaves, sprouting at the collar like a much the more interesting cousin of Jack in the Green. Even with a modern phone Roslyn Oxley9 can be a little complicated to find, the gallery almost hidden by tiny Soudan Lane's sheer rock face. But Barton's stunning colours make this mini adventure in urban orienteering well worth the effort. Roslyn Oxley 9 is open 10-6 Tuesday to Friday, 11-6 on Saturdays. Image: Del Kathryn Barton, pressure to the need, 2013, Installation view at Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, Sydney. Image courtesy the artist and Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, Sydney. Photo: Jessica Maurer.
For playing Princess Diana in Spencer, Kristen Stewart earned an Oscar nomination. For doing the same in Diana the Musical, Jeanna de Waal just won a Golden Raspberry Award. Given out the day before the Academy Awards and rewarding the worst in cinema for the past year — rather than the best and brightest like their counterparts — the Razzies have named their picks from 2021's flicks. And yes, singing through the life of Princess Di wasn't considered movie magic. A filmed version of the stage production, Diana the Musical earned five awards in total — after leading the nominations with nine. The Golden Raspberries also considered it the Worst Picture of the year, and gave it the Worst Director, Worst Supporting Actress and Worst Screenplay prizes as well. If you haven't seen it yet, you might to stick with The Crown. Also winning big: needless Space Jam sequel Space Jam: A New Legacy, which picked up three awards from four nominations. It received the Worst Actor prize for LeBron James, as well as the Worst Remake, Ripoff or Sequel award, plus Worst Screen Couple. With those two movies scoring eight awards between them, there wasn't much room for many other winners at the 42nd Razzies (although, are Razzie recipients really considered winners?). But Jared Leto's awful efforts in House of Gucci still scored him the Worst Supporting Actor prize, even over Diana the Musical's Gareth Keegan. One person who was always going to end with a Razzie to his name this year was Bruce Willis. The awards even created their own category for him — because he released eight flicks last year, and all of them were terrible. Wondering which one was deemed the worst of the lot? That'd be Cosmic Sin, which saw Willis pick up the accolade for Worst Performance by Bruce Willis in a 2021 Movie. Ahead of likely winning an Oscar today, Will Smith also earned some love from the Razzies as well. The former Fresh Prince received the only Golden Raspberry anyone ever wants to get, though: the Razzie Redeemer, for actors who've come back from a spate of Razzie-worthy roles. Smith's win came for King Richard, the part he's expected to get that Academy Award for. Check out the full list of nominees and winners below: GOLDEN RASPBERRY NOMINEES AND WINNERS 2022: WORST PICTURE Diana the Musical — WINNER Infinite Karen Space Jam: A New Legacy The Woman in the Window WORST ACTOR Scott Eastwood, Dangerous Roe Hartrampf (as Prince Charles), Diana the Musical LeBron James, Space Jam: A New Legacy — WINNER Ben Platt, Dear Evan Hansen Mark Wahlberg, Infinite WORST ACTRESS Amy Adams, The Woman in the Window Jeanna de Waal, Diana the Musical — WINNER Megan Fox, Midnight in the Switchgrass Taryn Manning, Karen Ruby Rose, Vanquish WORST SUPPORTING ACTOR Ben Affleck, The Last Duel Nick Cannon, The Misfits Mel Gibson, Dangerous Gareth Keegan (as James Hewitt, the muscle-bound horse trainer), Diana the Musical Jared Leto, House of Gucci — WINNER WORST SUPPORTING ACTRESS Amy Adams, Dear Evan Hansen Sophie Cookson, Infinite Erin Davie (as Camilla), Diana the Musical Judy Kaye (as both Queen Elizabeth and Barbara Cartland), Diana the Musical — WINNER Taryn Manning, Every Last One of Them WORST PERFORMANCE BY BRUCE WILLIS IN A 2021 MOVIE Bruce Willis, American Siege Bruce Willis, Apex Bruce Willis, Cosmic Sin — WINNER Bruce Willis, Deadlock Bruce Willis, Fortress Bruce Willis, Midnight in the Switchgrass Bruce Willis, Out of Death Bruce Willis, Survive the Game WORST SCREEN COMBO Any klutzy cast member and any lamely lyricised (or choreographed) musical number, Diana the Musical LeBron James and any Warner cartoon character (or Time-Warner product) he dribbles on, Space Jam: A New Legacy — WINNER Jared Leto and either his 17-pound latex face, his geeky clothes or his ridiculous accent, House of Gucci Ben Platt and any other character who acts like Platt singing 24-7 is normal, Dear Evan Hansen Tom and Jerry (aka Itchy and Scratchy), Tom & Jerry WORST DIRECTOR Christopher Ashley, Diana the Musical — WINNER Stephen Chbosky, Dear Evan Hansen Coke Daniels, Karen Renny Harlin, The Misfits Joe Wright, The Woman in the Window WORST REMAKE, RIPOFF or SEQUEL Karen (inadvertent remake of Cruella deVil) Space Jam: A New Legacy — WINNER Tom and Jerry Twist (rap remake of Oliver Twist) The Woman in the Window (ripoff of Rear Window) WORST SCREENPLAY Diana the Musical, script by Joe DiPietro, music and lyrics by DiPietro and David Bryan — WINNER Karen, written by Coke Daniels The Misfits, screenplay by Kurt Wimmer and Robert Henny, screen story by Robert Henny Twist, written by John Wrathall and Sally Collett, additional material by Matthew Parkhill, Michael Lindley, Tom Grass and Kevin Lehane, from an "original idea" by David and Keith Lynch and Simon Thomas The Woman in the Window, screenplay by Tracy Letts, from the novel by AJ Finn RAZZIE REDEEMER Will Smith for King Richard
For the past couple of months, Sydney Fringe Festival has been the event that's kept on giving — and it isn't even here yet. First, it announced that it'd be back in-person in 2022, and bigger than ever. Then, the massive independent arts event revealed its first few highlights, including a comedic recreation of Titanic. And, after that, the Runaway Gardens lineup dropped, featuring everything from boundary-pushing burlesque to a mimosa-fuelled drag brunch club. Accordingly, if you already have a whole heap of plans for Sydney Fringe Festival 2022, that's understandable. But prepare to make more, because the full program has just been unveiled — all 500-plus events over 50 venues, including nine hubs, that'll turn Sydney into quite the entertaining place to be between Tuesday, August 16–Sunday, September 25. Among the highlights, free opening party Fringe Ignite is right up there. It'll take over The Rocks on Friday, September 2 — which is a few weeks after Fringe actually kicks off, but no one is complaining. Twenty acts will perform in pop-up locations, giving you plenty to see and roam between from 6pm till late. [caption id="attachment_863365" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Seiya Taguchi[/caption] Also a standout is Indie Yarns, which heads Fringe's First Nations program highlights, and will gather members of the fest's First Nations Advisory Panel for a Q&A session. There's also Dane Simpson's stand-up comedy show Didgeridoozy, as well as singer-songwriter Paul Ah Chee playing his debut solo EP Nowhere to Hide. The previously announced Limitless micro-festival will focus on artists with disability or who are deaf for two weeks, with must-sees spanning inclusive comedy night Crips and Creeps Comedy, plus Sam Kissajukian's 300 Paintings in Lockdown. And while Fringe Comedy is still set to unleash 135 shows at the Factory Theatre, you'll be able to get giggling at The Barracks Comedy Club as well, which'll host 15 performances in September. Elsewhere, comedy cabaret Cherry will celebrate one woman's love of Katy Perry, interactive theatre experience Gameshow will bring TV game shows to life, and YCK Laneways will host the Front and Centre Festival, which is all about female-identifying artists — including Jaguar Jonze, JOY, Kilimi and Pirra. Or, there's a four-show series of acoustic concerts at Venue 505, featuring Elizabeth Fader, Declan Kelly with Daniel Pliner, Emily Granger with Andrew Blanch, and Emily Stephenson. And, the Smidmore Sessions will take over Marrickville Metro for three days of live comedy, outdoor movies and music. Also getting out and about is Fringeville at Hurstville Plaza, which'll feature roving entertainment, live music and a comedy bus. The list goes on, which means one key thing for six weeks from mid-August: no, you can't say there isn't anything to do around town. [caption id="attachment_863367" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Brig Bee[/caption] Sydney Fringe Festival 2022 will take place between Tuesday, August 16–Friday, September 30. For further information or to buy tickets, head to the fest's website.
UPDATE Tuesday, June 22: Due to the recent COVID-19 outbreak in Sydney, the Good Food & Wine Show has been postponed and will now run from Friday, Spetember 17–Sunday, September 19. Head to the Good Food & Wine Show's Instagram for more info. A four-day fiesta of local eats and drinks is set to heat up Sydney this winter, thanks to the new-look edition of the Good Food & Wine Show. Taking over ICC Sydney across six sessions from Friday, September 17–Sunday, September 19, the festival will deliver a sumptuous spread of tastings, pop-ups, cooking demos and other delectable happenings, celebrating top Aussie chefs, producers, winemakers and eateries. You can watch your favourite culinary stars in action as they cook up a storm live on stage — including Miguel Maestre, Justine Schofield, Matt Moran and more — then hit the all-new Eat Local Restaurant Pop-Up to sample bites from much-loved eateries like Nour, Ria Pizza + Wine and Yellow. The Good Food Village will feature an array of market stalls where you can browse, try and buy artisan products from across the country, while the experts from The Smelly Cheese Project host a series of masterclasses to delight even the most avid of cheese nerds. Dairy lovers will also want to head to Cheese Lane for samples, too. As always, the drinks will be flowing. There'll be intimate food-matched tastings in the Wine Selectors Tasting Room, a program of fun wine education sessions hosted by the Riedel Drinks Lab and a swag of spirits-focused pop-ups — including Fever Tree's Ultimate Gin & Tonic Bar — offering masterclasses, tastings and more. General admission tickets clock in at $30; however, if wine's your true passion, you can pick up a Wine Lover ticket for $60 and enjoy extras like a Riedel tasting glass and exclusive access to some very special drops. [caption id="attachment_806423" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Joseph Byford[/caption] Images: Joseph Byford
If you spend your free time binging on true crime, then you would've watched I'll Be Gone in the Dark last year. The HBO docuseries honed in on the Golden State Killer, who terrorised California between 1974–1986, committing more than 100 burglaries, over 50 home-invasion rapes and at least 12 murders. More than that, the show explored the case through writer Michelle McNamara, who had been kept wondering about the culprit over the years and decades — because, astonishingly, no one was sentenced for the Golden State Killer's crime spree until August 2020. McNamara's own tale is filled with intrigue, too, which the series also explored. She'd spend her nights spent sleuthing through unsolved crimes and penning the blog True Crime Diaries while her family slept. Fixating on the Golden State Killer actually led McNamara to writing an article for Los Angeles Magazine, plus a book deal. But before she could finish her manuscript, McNamara — who was also married to comedian Patton Oswalt — died of an accidental prescription drug overdose in her sleep. Her book I'll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer was published two years after her death, and before an arrest was made in the case, with the six-part HBO series stepping through this whole scenario. I'll Be Gone in the Dark's central figure was interested in other cold cases, too — and, because seemingly everything can return these days (and not just beloved sitcoms), the show is now coming back for a special follow-up episode to delve further into her obsessions. Viewers can expect to hear more about McNamara's work on cold cases in general, and to dive into one that affected her deeply: the rape and murder of Kathy Lombardo back in 1984, which happened in McNamara's hometown of Oak Park, Illinois. Once again, McNamara's own archival research and voice recordings will play a big part. The one-hour special episode will also feature interviews with residents of present-day Oak Park, all as part of a broader musing on how unsolved crimes cause their own traumas. In Australia, it'll be available to watch on streaming service Binge on Tuesday, June 22 — in line with when it airs in the US on HBO. Check out the trailer below: I'll Be Gone in the Dark's special follow-up special will be available to stream via Binge on Tuesday, June 22. Top image:HBO.
Right before International Women's Day, embrace and celebrate the power of women on Sunday, March 4 with the Sydney Opera House's sixth iteration of All About Women. Following 2017's event — which included speakers such as Academy Award-winner Geena Davis to Newsweek Middle East reporter Janine di Giovanni — the 2018 festival has 20+ events for you to choose from. Prepare to be blown away by a downright inspiring lineup of female-identifying storytellers, thinkers and game changers. Curated by Edwina Throsby, formerly the TEDxSydney Head of Curation and founder and producer of ABC TV's Big Ideas, this year's All About Women will host events and discussions surrounding transgender politics, disability and intersectionality, Trump, climate justice and much, much more. The stellar cast of speakers includes humourist and Vanity Fair Contributing Editor Fran Lebowitz speaking about cultural nostalgia and leading a panel on women in the age of Trump, and Tarana Burke, the US-based founder of the #MeToo movement, in conversation with veteran Australian journalist Tracy Spicer. Nakkiah Lui and Miranda Tapsell will record an episode of their podcast Pretty for an Aboriginal live and activist Manal al-Sharif will discuss the freedoms (and lack thereof) of women in Saudi Arabia. This is all supplemented with some really fun hands-on stuff too, like a morning yoga class, wine tasting with sommelier Georgina Larsson, a feminist choir and a pickling workshop led by Cornersmith. Image: Prudence Upton.
Given the hefty backlash copped by Lost Picnic's 2017 edition, you'd be forgiven for thinking the boutique Sydney festival might not live to see another day. But organisers have announced the event will return this October, promising to address last year's raft of issues and even throwing a debut Melbourne date into the mix. Taking over The Domain on October 13, Lost Picnic 2018 is out to dish up a family-friendly serve of live entertainment and top local eats. Taking the stage this year will be legendary young-gun Tash Sultana, off the back of releasing her debut album, joined by Meg Mac, New Zealand singer-songwriter Marlon Williams, Sydney's Odette and brass ten-piece Hot Potato Band. A finely-tuned food offering will include Milky Lane and The Dolphin. Lost Picnic's last outing suffered more than a few hiccups, with punters complaining of lengthy wait times, food and drink stalls running out of stock early, and a somewhat disastrous forced recycling system. But this time around, Simon Beckingham — co-founder of Finely Tuned, the group that organises both Lost Picnic and NYE bash Lost Paradise — says festival goers can expect a much smoother affair. "Since last year's event wrapped up, we have been working hard to vastly improve the customer experience for 2018," he told Concrete Playground. After taking "all feedback on board", Beckingham had confirmed that there will be double the food stalls and an increased number of toilets, bar staff and tills — and those keen to skip the food queues altogether will be able to bring in their own picnic snacks. It's unclear if the capacity of the festival has been reduced or not. And instead of last year's compulsory recycling system, which forced punters to put down a $1 deposit for cups and then line up again to get a refund, there'll be a more user-friendly $10 cash-back incentive for those recycling their empty wine bottles. Tickets are going for the same price — $89 a pop — so here's hoping all the changes make the ticket price worth it.
In the realm of franchise filmmaking, "to infinity and beyond" isn't just a catchphrase exclaimed by an animated plaything — it's how far and long Hollywood hopes every hit big-screen saga will extend. With that in mind, has a Pixar movie ever felt as inevitable as Lightyear? Given the main Toy Story plot wrapped up in 2019's Toy Story 4, and did so charmingly, keeping this series going by jumping backwards was always bound to happen. So it is that space ranger figurine Buzz Lightyear gets an origin story. That said, the trinket's history is covered immediately and quickly in this film's opening splash of text on-screen. Back in the OG Toy Story, Andy was excited to receive a new Buzz Lightyear action figure because — as this feature tells us — he'd just seen and loved a sci-fi movie featuring fictional character Buzz Lightyear. In this franchise's world, Lightyear is that picture. It's hard not to see Lightyear as a new cash cow — the Toy Story series' cash calf, perhaps. It's also difficult not to notice that the Disney-owned Pixar has made a movie that renders a famed character a piece of film-promoting merchandise, all while also releasing a new range of Lightyear-promoting merch so that IRL kids can have their own Buzz Lightyear toy again, too. In 2049, will audiences be watching a flick about someone who saw this as a child, nagged their parents for a Buzz and developed their own love of animation, space, franchises or all of the above? It wouldn't be surprising. Of course, there's form for making Buzz a movie tie-in toy; the overarching series' other main figure, pull-string cowboy Woody, stemmed from a fictional western TV show called Woody's Roundup. Maybe that's what Pixar will now make next. Or, perhaps it'll release a film or show based on one of Lightyear's new characters, feline robot companion SOX. Yes, you can now buy toy versions of it in reality as well, because of course you can. Buzz Lightyear and a cute cat that talks? The head of Disney merchandising must've seen potential piles of cash stacked to infinity and beyond purely at the thought of it, and director Angus MacLane (Finding Dory) along with him. Thankfully, as calculated as Lightyear's existence clearly is — and it's as blatantly engineered by bean counters as any movie can be — it's still likeable enough. It only slightly feels like a flick that might've actually come out around 1995, though, even if Apollo 13 sat second at the global box office that year (behind Toy Story, fittingly). And, after sending the wonderful Soul and Turning Red straight to streaming during the pandemic, plus Luca, it's also a standard pick for Pixar's return to the big screen. Buzz the live-action film hero — flesh and blood to in-franchise viewers like Andy, that is, but animated to us — also goes on an all-too-familiar journey in Lightyear. Voiced by Chris Evans (Knives Out) to distinguish the movie Buzz from toy Buzz (where he's voiced by Last Man Standing's Tim Allen), the Star Command space ranger is so convinced that he's the biggest hero there is, and him alone, that teamwork isn't anywhere near his strength. Then, as happens to the figurine version in Toy Story, that illusion gets a reality check. To survive being marooned on T'Kani Prime, a planet 4.2 million light-years from earth filled with attacking vines and giant flying insects, the egotistical and stubborn Buzz needs to learn to play nice with others. For someone who hates rookies, as well as using autopilot, realising he can only succeed with help takes time. Time is a slippery concept for Buzz, however, courtesy of his new predicament. To zoom back home, the Star Command mission team must make the right fuel, and test it — and on each attempt, as Buzz zips into hyper-speed in scenes reminiscent of Top Gun: Maverick, time dilates. His flights pass in minutes, but four years go by for his crew while he's in the air. Still, he keeps soaring and trying, and his best friend Commander Alisha Hawthorne (Uzo Aduba, Mrs America) keeps greeting him upon his return. But her life continues, including marrying the girlfriend she falls for among their colleagues, and having a family. She gets older, too. In contrast, Buzz barely ages, or moves on, until he's also trying to fight an alien spaceship piloted by giant robot Zurg (James Brolin, Sisters) with Alisha's granddaughter Izzy (Keke Palmer, Hustlers), plus her fellow junior rangers Mo (Taika Waititi, Our Flag Means Death) and Darby (Dale Soules, Orange Is the New Black). There's a lot that's average about Lightyear, including the pieces it cobbles together from Top Gun and Star Wars, and everything from 2001: A Space Odyssey, Alien, Starship Troopers, Gravity and Interstellar to Pixar's own Wall-E and Up. There are meta twists that make zero sense in the broader Toy Story narrative, too. There's also a jettisoning of early 2000s TV series Buzz Lightyear of Star Command and its take on Buzz's backstory, and a lingering question: what if Andy had just loved a different movie and wanted a different toy for his birthday instead? And, there's a toy chest filled with Pixar's usual go-to themes, including not being afraid to make mistakes. Obviously, in that same vein — and because the animation studio is owned by the same entity behind the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Star Wars, two forever-sprawling sagas — there's room left for a sequel. Great voice casting makes an impact, luckily. While it can't push Lightyear past its limits as an inessential Toy Story spinoff that doesn't add anything crucial to the series, there's liveliness, emotion and plenty of heart in the film's engaging vocal work. Evans doesn't try to shake Buzz's rampant sense of self-importance, but to unpack it, and finds tenderness and vulnerability in the process. And, he gives the character texture even amid such slick and gleaming animation. Aduba and Palmer also shine in their supporting parts, while Waititi perfects his comedic sidekick gig. Peter Sohn — director of The Good Dinosaur, and also a regular-enough Pixar voice actor — goes one better with SOX, however. Friendly, funny, adorable, and able solve scientific problems while meowing and cough up handy tools alike, that robo-cat is a scene-stealer. Still, finding him entertaining and thinking he could fuel an entire future film himself aren't the same thing, although, as Lightyear shows, no one learned that lesson about Buzz.
How better to experience the fun, food and festivities of Chinese New Year, than on the back of a rickshaw? This year, Sydney's 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art is celebrating the annual cultural extravaganza with Rickshaw Tales, a series of rickshaw food tours, which'll see punters jump aboard their artist-commissioned vehicle for a roving foodie fest through Haymarket. Local multidisciplinary Chinese-Australian artist Louise Zhang is the talent behind the rickshaw's visually-arresting get-up, with her candy-coloured globular painting and sculpture style suggestive of vibrant Asian desserts and sweets. The highly visible rickshaw will be doing tours for two people at a time on weekends and Thursday nights across the CNY festival, from January 28 through to Tuesday, February 14, when they'll do a special Valentine's Day tour. For a very reasonable $33 per person, riders will be pedalled around Chinatown in style with commentary by 4A Director Mikala Tai via video. Participants will gain a swag of insight into the area's culinary offerings, with the ticket price inclusive of snacks at each restaurant, café, and hole-in-the-wall they stop at along the way. Prefer to experience it all on foot? Rickshaw Tales will also host a series of small group walking tours for $22, guided by 4A's team of Chinatown experts. Either way, you better get booking — the rickshaw rides will no doubt be snapped up quicker than a dozen Emperor Puffs.
Japanese cinema's diverse array of wonders can't be confined to one event. Sydneysiders can watch the latest and greatest films the country has to offer at the annual Japanese Film Festival; however, since 2014, cinephiles have also been able to step back into Japanese movie history, too — all thanks to its classics program. Next running from Tuesday, February 2, 2021–Wednesday, March 3, 2021 at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, the latest old-school film program explores plenty of big-screen highlights from the 60s through to the 00s, especially if you're fond of weird, wonderful, surreal and subversive flicks. If you haven't ever watched Shinya Tsukamoto's Tetsuo: The Iron Man, take the opportunity to redress that situation — because we all need to see a movie about a man compelled to stuff metal into his body. Or, make a date with 70s standout House from director Nobuhiko Ōbayashi, which is about a creepy abode that eats schoolgirls. Other must-sees include Seijun Suzuki's assassin-fuelled Pistol Opera; Diary of a Shinjuku Thief, Nagisa Ōshima's 60s film about a man who steals from a bookstore in Shinjuku; and Eros + Massacre, a biopic about Sakae Ōsugi, who advocated for sexual freedom in the early 20th century. And, in great news for your wallet, attendance is free. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShJvheZHXdI The Japanese Film Festival Classics Program next runs from Tuesday, February 2, 2021–Wednesday, March 3, 2021 at the Art Gallery of New South Wales.
Bars where you can do more than just sit around and drink are really having a moment. And, in no small part, it's thanks to the ever-expanding empire of Funlab, the company in charge of the ever-popular Holey Moley, Strike Bowling and Archie Brothers Cirque Electriq. Now, Funlab has brought its B. Lucky & Sons concept to Wollongong. It's a bar-meets-arcade with some actually good pawn shop prizes, instead of the usual plastic crap you get. Think vintage Chanel bags, classic cameras and rare vinyls, plus a Nintendo 64 in its original box and Tune Squad swag from the 1996 cult classic, Space Jam. Yup, they're going real old-school with this one. It's hidden behind the façade of a pawn shop, and decked out with eclectic furnishings. For drinks, the bar is slinging creative cocktails and alcoholic bubble teas. Meanwhile, the food menu consists of pizzas, toasties and some sides. As far as games go, expect throwbacks for the millennial generation — featuring everything from Mario Kart and Space Invaders to NBA Hoops and a Dance Dance Revolution knock-off. Head in on a Tuesday for half-price games, or on Wednesday when selected games will spit out double tickets. And although the venue will be open to littl'uns during the day, it'll be strictly adults-only at night, so you don't have to worry about being laughed at by a ten-year-old when you fall off Rainbow Road for the 14th time.
Comedian Jerry Seinfeld once said that "a bookstore is one of the only pieces of evidence we have that people are still thinking". Gleebooks on Glebe Point Road, the original of a small forty-year franchise with stores also in Dulwich Hill and Blackheath, captures the serious and delightful business of buying a new book in a elegant well-tended store. It's right next door to second-hand book shop Sappho, so visit back-to-back. Apart from selling books, Gleebooks also holds various talks, events and book launches which take place in an upstairs room. Forget "that new car smell", it's the scent of freshly printed pages that truly piques your interest. Images: Kieran Gilfeather
After a successful run in Melbourne last year, crowdfunding platform Pozible is bringing its pop-up love-in to Sydneysiders next month. Dubbed Anything's Pozible, the project will be taking over The Makery in Darlinghurst from March 7-13 to celebrate the already existing work of emerging creatives and develop their skills for the future. In a more straightforward way, that means workshops, film screenings, classes and performances — all at artist-friendly prices and bookable as (what else?) Pozible campaign rewards. To celebrate the great work that Pozible has already done, opening night on Friday, March 7, will feature a bunch of crowdfunding success stories, including the EP release of local dreamboat, Oliver Tank. It will also be a great opportunity to hear about the innovation behind smaller projects. See Sydney printmakers Rizzeria detail how they raised funds for a new stencil press, check out Trent Jansen's sustainable bicycle reflectors made from old road signs, or hear how James McKay raised over $65,000 on the idea of a single coffee cup. Throughout the following days, workshops will include printmaking (courtesy of the folks at Rizzeria); online marketing for design, film and publishing (courtesy of The Loop); and general crowdfunding know-how brought to you by Pozible itself. Even if you don't have a creative project on the horizon, it's probably worth heading along and mooching some creative inspiration off these people. Embrace the love-in. Find some ideas worth investing in. Registration for classes and workshops is open from Wednesday, February 5, via Pozible.
Every Friday lunchtime, CBD bar Since I Left You will transform into a Mexico City-inspired taqueria, with refreshing cocktails, $5 tacos and spicy house-made salsas. From 12pm each week, the bar will host the Tuckshop Taqueria: a celebration of making it to Friday — and an affordable alternative to a soggy sanga or exxy pub lunch. The weekly pop-up will be slinging house-made tortillas with your choice of three different toppings: tinga de pollo (sweet and spicy pulled chicken), al pastor (marinated and grilled pork) and pumpkin and sweet potato jerky. With these tasty (gluten-free) tortillas, you'll get three salsas, which, according to Owner Nick White, range from mild to "face melting". The mild is avocado and coriander with just a touch of green chilli, the medium is charred jalapeño and tomatillo salsa, and the fiery number is pasilla (dried chilaca chilli) and garlic. To help soothe the burn, there'll be hibiscus iced teas for $6 — the "most refreshing drink on earth", according to White — and, for those ready to start celebrating the weekend already, $12 margaritas and $8 Corona beers. For the moment, the taqueria will be walk-in only and just on Fridays, but if Sydney continues to ease out of COVID-19 restrictions, White hopes to expand it to more days.
