In an emotional sense, things aren't really looking up in Australia at the moment. 2020's horror show has continued into 2021, thanks to new outbreaks and lockdowns, because the chaos of the pandemic hasn't passed just yet. But, for one night, it's worth literally looking up with your eyes and your noggin — because a conjunction of Venus and Mars is about to happen way above our heads. Peer skywards tonight, on Tuesday, July 13, and you'll see the two planets in close proximity. How close? According to NASA, they'll appear a mere finger's width apart. They won't actually physically be that close, of course, but they'll sure look like it. If you're not familiar with the term 'conjunction' within the field of astronomy, it refers to two objects or spacecraft sharing the same right ascension or ecliptic longitude — so they're at the same angular distance in one way or another. Specifically, it's used to describe the moment that two objects are at their closest apparent point together in the sky. You might remember the term from last year, because Jupiter and Saturn went through the same thing in December. https://twitter.com/NASAAmes/status/1414660845557125120 For this conjunction, you'll want to find a spot where you can peer in a northwestern direction. That's where you need to look — but if you're wondering when you should take a peek outside this evening, The Conversation advises looking up between 6.30–7.30pm. You'll be able to see Venus before then, from dusk, but Mars will only be visible once it gets dark. In Australia, you'll spy Mars slightly above its neighbour, and to the left. Venus isn't hard to spot; it has been called "the evening star", after all. To get a glimpse of the red planet, you'll need to peer a little harder, as it is nowhere near as bright. To get the best view, you'll want an unobstructed vantage of the sky — and, to look even closer, to use binoculars or a telescope. If you do choose some optical help, you'll be able to see both Venus and Mars in the same field of view. 2021 has already delivered a few sky shows, via pink, blood and strawberry moons, so this is just the latest astronomical gift this year. But, at a time that hasn't been big on good news, it's definitely worth looking up for. The Venus and Mars conjunction will be visible in the evening of Tuesday, July 13. For further details, head to the NASA website.
Here's something to add a little cinematographic pizazz to your mid-week lunch break. Moonlight Cinema, who you may be acquainted with from picnic-rugged movie nights under the stars of summers past, are officially announcing their 2014/2015 season program next Wednesday, November 19 — and they're doing it in in the guise of a pop-up CBD lunchtime picnic, complete with glistening astro turf, and — because it wouldn't be Sydney in 2014 without one — a food truck. Plan to take a sneaky extra-long lunch break and head down to Martin Place to nab your spot on the fake grass. And rope a workmate or two in. One of you will need to stake out your territory while someone else joins the line for wagyu beef cheeseburgers, Southern-fried chicken burgers, shrimp tacos, pulled pork nachos, Cobb salad, and New Yorker chilli cheese dogs. The food truck will be dishing these out from 12pm to 2pm. Moonlight will be playing the trailers of every single one of the films in their new season — which they're promising will be a healthy and bound-to-please curation of advanced screenings, new releases, and cult favourites. As a guide for what to expect, last year's season included big Boxing Day releases, and much-loved romps of an older vintage, including The Castle and Monty Python's The Life of Brian. CBD workers looking to take it a little easy on a Wednesday will also be able to purchase tickets for the season at exclusively discounted prices and enter competitions to win season passes or tickets for the Gold Grass section — that’s the fancy bit of the park with bean bags, and waiters. And, if all the astro turf and picnic rugs weren't enough, you can use the onsite Instagram printer to print snaps of yourself with your tacos, for extra twee points. If you have actual work to do, you could probably also just check their website on the day for program details. Moonlight Cinema's 2014/2015 season will run from December 11 to March 9, and films screen in the Belvedere Amphitheatre in Centennial Park.
Maybe all the Halloween activities and events are just too much. Maybe you just want to get dressed up and get down. If this is the case, in might be worth heading over to Freda's on Saturday night. The Chippo hot spot will be hosting local and international DJs like Mancunian producer Earl Grey, plus their own house band will be taking the stage to bust out the tunes. Don't forget to keep in step with the theme and don your creepiest attire, so you can freak people out while you get your freak on.
UPDATE, Tuesday, June 18, 2024: Priscilla is available to stream via Stan, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Yearning to be one of the women in Sofia Coppola's films is futile, but for a single reason only: whether she's telling of teenage sisters, a wife left to her own devices in Tokyo, France's most-famous queen, the daughter of a Hollywood actor, Los Angeles high schoolers who want to rob, the staff and students at a girls school in the American Civil War, a Manhattanite worried that her husband is being unfaithful or Priscilla Presley, as the writer/director has across eight movies to-date, no one better plunges viewers into her female characters' hearts and heads. To watch the filmmaker's span of features from The Virgin Suicides to Priscilla is to feel as its figures do, and deeply. The second-generation helmer is an impressionistic great, colouring her flicks as much with emotions and mood as actual hues — not that there's any shortage of lush and dreamy shades, as intricately tied to her on-screen women's inner states, swirling through her meticulous frames. Call it the "can't help falling" effect, then: as a quarter-century of Coppola's films have graced screens, audiences can't help falling into them like they're in the middle of each themselves. That's still accurate with Priscilla, which arrives so soon after Elvis that no one could've forgotten that the lives of the king of rock 'n' roll and his bride have flickered through cinemas recently. Baz Luhrmann made his Presley movie in Australia with an American (Austin Butler, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood) as Elvis and an Aussie (Olivia DeJonge, The Staircase) as Priscilla. Coppola crafted hers in North America with a Brisbanite (Jacob Elordi, Saltburn) in blue-suede shoes and a Tennessee-born talent (Cailee Spaeny, Mare of Easttown) adopting the Presley surname. The two features are mirror images in a hunk of burning ways, including their his-and-hers titles; whose viewpoint they align with; and conveying what it was like to adore Elvis among the masses, plus why he sparked that fervour, compared to expressing the experience of being the girl that he fell for, married, sincerely loved but kept in a gilded cage into she strove to fly free. For the leads playing their titular parts, the two Presley portraits of the 2020s far are also star-making pictures. If Spaeny becomes her director's new muse, it's much-deserved based on her turn as an excited and longing teen, then the isolated high-school senior and stuck-at-home girlfriend who's so controlled that she's instructed to dye her hair the same black that Elvis sports (by him), then the wife and mother virtually living a separate life. In fact, she was recommended by Kirsten Dunst (The Power of the Dog), Coppola's muse since her debut feature, aka Spaeny's co-star in 2024's upcoming Civil War. Although finding someone who could take the role across a decade and a half, and be as genuine as a smitten teen, a fed-up woman deciding to claim her own life and everything in-between wouldn't have been easy, Priscilla's Venice International Film Festival Volpi Cup for Best Actress-winning choice is sublime. Priscilla Beaulieu is just 14 when she's invited to a party at Elvis' home in West Germany, where she's an army brat with a strict dad (Ari Cohen, Fargo) in the service and he's a 24-year-old donning the uniform solely because he's been drafted. Asked if she likes Elvis by one of his pals, her response is: "of course, who doesn't?". She subsequently can't help falling, as is to be expected of a girl being paid attention by one of the biggest stars on the planet. In the giddy aftermath of their first meetings, during their early courtship and when Elvis heads back home, Coppola gets her The Beguiled and On the Rocks cinematographer Philippe Le Sourd roving over fabrics and handwriting, two staple details in her work, to assist in showing the heady passion that pulsates through Priscilla. As her films keep demonstrating, you can glean much about someone by the textures that they surround themselves with, the way they communicate via the written word, and the care they take with each. Here, you can tell how Priscilla's namesake initially feels like she's living in a fantasy come true. As witnessed through Priscilla Presley's eyes — as adapted by Coppola from Priscilla's 1985 memoir Elvis and Me, and boasting an also-brilliant Elordi as the brooding and volatile Elvis — this romance is never a fairy tale, however. She swoons. She pines. She begs her parents (with Succession's Dagmara Dominczyk as her mother) to let her visit Graceland, and then to move there. She does what Elvis says, and shapes herself by his wishes and whims. She acts in the 50s-trained mould, with its firmly defined gender roles, as he also does. Priscilla spies the period, its expectations and demands, but it also spots the imbalance in power that goes beyond social norms. Leaving Elvis' music off the Phoenix-supervised soundtrack wasn't the original plan, after Coppola sought permission from his estate and was denied, yet it has a potent effect: as tunes other than his echo, and not only from the time — a Ramones cover of 'Baby, I Love You' and Dan Deacon's 2007 track 'The Crystal Cat', for instance — the film divorces itself from his perspective, and from what was accepted in the era. From the moment that it starts with red toenails upon shag carpeting, then, until it closes with swinging gates and one of the greatest songs that Dolly Parton has ever written (and a sentiment that never rings false), Priscilla is what many Coppola flicks are: an account of a woman trying to discover herself in restrictive circumstances where her existence is defined by a man. The picture's protagonist is The Virgin Suicides' siblings cooped up in their home, and Lost in Translation's left-behind spouse. She's Marie Antoinette's partner to royalty, complete with an unhappy bedroom life — the Presleys' romance is chaste when Priscilla is younger, then Elvis remains largely uninterested when she's older — and Somewhere's adoring youth in a star's shadow as well. Coppola sees the limits placed upon the women before her camera, the abodes they're trapped in and how they pass the time. In a revelatory fashion, she's well-aware that so much of Priscilla's life with Elvis was filled with just that as he went on tour, made movies in Los Angeles, and had gossip all aflutter about affairs with Speedway's Nancy Sinatra and Viva Las Vegas' Ann-Margret: Priscilla on her lonesome passing the time. While Coppola has never made a feature that's less than excellent, Priscilla is among her most-accomplished. Every inch always means something in the director's oeuvre, and proves immaculate and intimate. Such truths from her filmography resound again here to perfection, with exquisitely ravishing aesthetics — also thanks to costume designer Stacey Battat, who has worked on every one of the helmer's pictures since Somewhere, as well as Nightmare Alley production designer Tamara Deverell — helping to amplify the picture's emotional intensity. Coppola's little-less-conversation approach finds its action in glances and stares, and in being all shook up by what's not uttered. It's absorbing and mesmerising, heartbreaks, hardships and all. Priscilla herself wouldn't want anyone aching for her experience, but she'd surely hope for the crucial feat that Priscilla overwhelmingly achieves: ensuring that viewers feel as if they've lived it.
As a certain Christmas carol has told us all for our entire lives, decking the halls with boughs of holly is a one way to mark the jolliest season of the year. As the festive period rolls around for 2020, Cocktail Porter has another suggestion: trimming your tree with baubles filled with ready-to-drink cocktails. They ornaments look like tiny bottles of booze, because they are tiny bottles of booze. So, you won't mistake them for something else. Each is filled with the equivalent of 1.5 standard drinks, and they'll give you something to say cheers to (and with) while you're standing around the tree. Four different types of cocktails are included — and, given that they come in either four-piece ($99) or five-piece ($109) sets, you'll either just get one of each or also score two of a particular variety. And they've been given festive names, but you'll already be familiar with negronis, gimlets, martinis and old fashioneds. In the 'Rudolf's Negroni', you'll be sipping sweet vermouth, Italian bitters, Tanqueray London dry gin and blood orange. As for the 'Santa's Old Fashioned', it features Bulleit Bourbon, honey, sea salt and orange oils. If you'd prefer the 'Elf-flower Gimlet' (with elderflower, Ketel One Vodka, fortified wine and lime) or 'Gin-gle Bells Martini' (with Tanqueray London dry gin and French Vermouth), they're actually supposed to be served cold — so you'll need to plan ahead and pluck them from the tree before cocktail hour. For more information about Cocktail Porter's cocktail baubles — or to order them for delivery Australia-wide — visit the service's website.
If you tend to take out your stress and anxiety on your innocent writing utensil, then it's about time you chomped on something a little less plastic-flavored and a lot more delicious. Feast your eyes upon the edible pen. Dave Hakkens was one of those nervous pen-chewers, leading him to invent this tasty ballpoint. He wanted a pen that he could chew on without making it dirty or, for lack of a better word, gross. After realizing that the only essential part of any pen was the ink, Hakkens set about designing a pen that he could entirely eat, and that he did. The body of the pen is made out of 22 pieces of sugary candy, similar to those in candy necklaces, which enclose edible ink. The only part that cannot be consumed is the small tip, which can be thrown away or transferred to another refill once the whole pen is eaten. The best part? The candy is made so it won't melt in your hands or stick to anything. Hakken's first prototype was peppermint flavoured, but the edible pen now comes in five other fruity flavours. As well as being a treat for your sweet tooth, an edible pen makes ecological sense when you consider all the ballpoints that get binned every year.
If you're keen to learn more about Korean culture, this is the place for you. A stone's throw from Hyde Park, the Korean Cultural Centre hosts everything from K-Pop dance workshops and Korean cooking classes to art exhibitions and film screenings. You can try your hand at Korean calligraphy or take a jogakbo patchwork class; there's a bevvy of fun activities to help broaden your understanding of Korean culture. KCC also runs language classes for beginners, intermediate and advanced students — so you can forget Duolingo and instead get the full, face-to-face experience. Since opening in 2011, KCC has worked to strengthen the presence of Korean culture within Australia and fostered cultural ties between the two countries. So, while you might be attending your first bibimbap class or heading to a kimchi lesson just for kicks, there's a deeper (and more profound) reason behind these activities and we're wholeheartedly on board.
One of Eddie the Eagle's many training montages is set to the toe-tapping refrains of Hall & Oates' 'You Make My Dreams'. For an '80s-set film about a sporting wannabe trying to achieve Olympic glory, it's an appropriate choice in a multitude of ways. It's also rather clichéd. Still, it fits — and the feature knows that it's obvious, making it even more apt. That's Eddie the Eagle in a nutshell: a bit cheesy but completely aware of that fact, and utterly warm and enjoyable as a result. Those who aren't up to date on their British sporting history might be surprised to discover that Eddie Edwards (Taron Egerton) changed the face of the nation's ski jumping team. Actually, he was the face of the nation's ski jumping team. After struggling to become a downhill skier, the good-natured lad turned his attention to soaring not only down the snowy slopes but through the frosty air as well. England didn't have any other competitors in the field that year. In fact, they'd never had any competitors in the field in any year. But with his dad (Keith Allen) far from impressed, his coach (Hugh Jackman) a heavy-drinking, washed-up former athlete, and his own experience severely lacking, Eddie's Olympic quest wasn't exactly easy. Eddie the Eagle is a crowd-pleaser through and through — and while the term can sometimes have not-so-flattering connotations, that isn't the case here. Indeed, much of the film's success springs from director Dexter Fletcher's happy embrace of the tried-and-tested sports movie formula. While plenty of liberties have been taken with the truth to bolster the film's feel-good credentials, they all suit the story. If only sticking to the inspirational underdog playbook was always this entertaining. Fletcher seems to be following a specific train of thought: if it worked for Cool Runnings, which told of another against-the-odds story at the exact same Winter Olympics, then it can work here too. The actor-turned-filmmaker even nods to the Jamaican bobsled team, and to his own background around the same time, courtesy of a brief appearance from one of his late '80s Press Gang co-stars. Accordingly, his feature isn't just lazily throwing together the usual elements and hoping that something sticks. It's doing so knowingly with a wink, a nod and a smile, and while wearing its retro style and upbeat cheer on both sleeves. A number of other factors assist the all-round amiable effort enormously, including broad but winning performances by Egerton and Jackman in vintage earnest protégé and reluctant mentor mode, respectively. Add a canny splash of visual spectacle, a well-earned sense of genuine tension during the jumping scenes, and other time- and theme-appropriate tunes on the soundtrack, and Eddie the Eagle soars.
That's right, there's another beer festival in town. The Great Australasian Beer SpecTAPular is a Melbourne player making its Sydney debut. There is, of course, a diverse range of craft beers paired with food from local Sydney restaurants (including Three Blue Ducks, Veggie Patch, Mary’s and LP Meats), but what makes this event different is the whopping 120 brews created specifically for the event by local and international brewers. “This year we have one-off beers being made including oysters, orange peel, coriander seeds, finger limes, peaches, cherries, truffles, chocolate, biscuits, split peas, pineapple, coconut, vodka and a beer which will taste like banoffee pie," GABS co-organiser Steve Jeffares says. The standard way to get through all this bounty is with a 'tasting paddle' of five tokens for $10. This will get you five 85ml tasters and 1/60th of the way through the beer offering at this spirited new festival.
During 2020's lockdown, Gelato Messina served up plenty of tasty specials to keep our tastebuds occupied at home — including cookie pies in choc chip, red velvet, choc-hazelnut, and peanut butter and jelly varieties, as well as 40 of its best gelato flavours — and one of them proved particularly popular: Iced Vovo tubs. Now, the gelato fiends are bringing back the gelato version of everyone's favourite childhood biscuit for another limited round. Wondering what exactly Iced VoVo gelato entails? It combines toasted coconut gelato with pieces of shortbread biscuit, then tops it with marshmallow, raspberry puree and desiccated coconut. And yes, the end result looks like the bikkies you know and love — but in a scoopable form. Available as part of Messina's 'Hot Tub' series, the Iced VoVo gelato can only be ordered online on Monday, January 18, with a one-litre tub setting you back $30. You can then go into your chosen Messina store to pick up your tub between Friday, January 22–Sunday, January 24. The tubs are available to order from all Aussie stores except The Star and Coolangatta. Gelato Messina's Iced VoVo gelato tubs will be available to order from 10am on Monday, January 18, for pick up between Friday, January 22–Sunday, January 24 — keep an eye on the Messina website for further details.
The 90s were great. That shouldn't be a controversial opinion. Whether you lived through them or have spent the last couple of decades wishing you did — aka binging on 90s pop culture — this shindig at the Oxford Art Factory will indulge your retro urges. Drinks, tunes, fashion — expect all of the above at the No Scrubs: 90s and Early 00s party from 9pm on Friday, October 18. Of course, it's up to you to make sure the clothing side of thing is covered, and to get into the spirit of the party. If you want to use Mariah Carey as a style icon, it'd be fitting. Expect to unleash your inner Spice Girl and Backstreet Boy too. TLC, Destiny's Child, Savage Garden, Usher, Blink-182, No Doubt — we'd keep listing artists, but you all know what you're getting yourselves into. Entry costs $20, with the fun running through until 3am. Image: Destination NSW.
If you're a fan of beats in this drop-loving city, you'll probably be across the names Spice, Motorik and LOST. If you're new to the build-ups and breakdowns, these crews are your go-to partymakers, constantly churning out some of Sydney's biggest (and most wonderfully chaotic) shindigs around town — from the well-known Spice Cellar to mystery warehouse spots citywide. This weekend, the three are teaming up for a space odyssey of an interstellar get-together, with some of the city's favourite beatmakers on the space-themed bill (previous themes have seen LOST on the Trans Siberian, in the Blitz and in the Underworld). For the past five years, founder Tim Kean has cranked out some pretty epic dance events after years working with Modular and Kaos Music. This Saturday, August 2 is no different, with the location still a mystery and thousands of guests guessing where the big ol' throwdown will be held. Headlining the event is ARIA award-winners Art vs. Science, with Sydney d-floor favourite Jensen Interceptor in tow. Motorik Vibe Council will front up their particular brand of beat slinging goodness, while Robbie Lowe, Cassette, Bondi House DJs, Wordlife, Sosueme DJs, Pink Lloyd, Sam Fransisco, Simo, Jericho and Obi-Wan-Keithnobi make up one hell of a pounding lineup. “People are looking for an authentic experience, something off the grid. Once they find LOST Events, they protect it, then endorse it by recommending it to people they trust in a process we call assisted discovery," says Kean. "Space is such a broad theme and we would love to say the sky is the limit, but that would be too restrictive. Anyone or anything that can be dreamt up, created, conspired or confabulated. That which exists, or could exist within the cosmos could make its way into this secret space station." Guess we'll just roll with that one. The secret Sydney location will only be revealed on the day of the event (tomorrow) and the official afterparty is happening at El Topo Basment in Bondi Junction until 4am (with free buses from the party and a first in, best dressed door policy). LOST in Space is happening this Saturday, August 2 at a mystery Sydney location. For more info, tickets, tips on sartorial space trends and sweet knowledge on what dancetronaunts prefer to drink at the space bar, head over here. Image via Motorik.
At Concrete Playground it is our professional imperative to pay attention to where great hospitality experiences are being served around the city — and in the past couple of years Sydney's hotels have been noticeably picking up momentum as destinations to eat delicious things and drink wonderful drinks. And not just for visitors, but for locals too. The Kimpton Margot on Pitt Street has a dining program helmed by one of Australia's most enduring food superstars in Luke Mangan — so his impact has been well on our radar ever since getting on board. And now this lovely partnership sees the hotel and Mr Mangan launching an exclusive new dining experience for lovers of champagne. Raid The Cellar is an event series which sees Mr Mangan curate a four-course fine dining experience with his selects from the collection of Taittinger Champagne. A preview of the gorgeous menu includes lobster ravioli and venison. The entire experience is led by Luke and, with only 12 seats, each guest will get to chat to him about the food and, of course, the cellar.
Something delightful has been happening in cinemas in some parts of the country. After numerous periods spent empty during the pandemic, with projectors silent, theatres bare and the smell of popcorn fading, picture palaces in many Australian regions are back in business — including both big chains and smaller independent sites in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. During COVID-19 lockdowns, no one was short on things to watch, of course. In fact, you probably feel like you've streamed every movie ever made, including new releases, Studio Ghibli's animated fare and Nicolas Cage-starring flicks. But, even if you've spent all your time of late glued to your small screen, we're betting you just can't wait to sit in a darkened room and soak up the splendour of the bigger version. Thankfully, plenty of new films are hitting cinemas so that you can do just that — and we've rounded up, watched and reviewed everything on offer this week. TOP GUN: MAVERICK As dripping with jingoism, machismo, militarism and sweat as cinema gets — and there really was oh-so-much sweat — 1986's Top Gun was a dream of a recruitment ad. The US Navy's aviation program couldn't have whipped up a stronger enlistment campaign in its wildest fantasies. Even if it had, getting Hollywood's gloss, a star who'd still be box-office catnip four decades later and Kenny Loggins' second-best movie tune (slipping in behind Footloose, of course) probably would've felt like a one-in-a-billion longshot. But all of the above, plus a lurid sheen and homoerotic gaze, didn't make Top Gun a good film. Loggins' 'Danger Zone' remains an earworm of a delight, but the feature it's synonymous with took a highway to the cheesy, cringey, puffed up, perpetually moist and aggressively toxic zone. The one exception: whenever Tony Scott's camera was focused on all that flying, rather than a smirking, reckless and arrogant Tom Cruise as a portrait of 80s bluster and vanity. Gliding into cinemas 36 years after its predecessor, Top Gun: Maverick is still at its best when its jets are soaring. The initial flick had the perfect song to describe exactly what these phenomenally well-executed and -choreographed action scenes feel like to view; yes, they'll take your breath away. Peppered throughout the movie, actually shot in real US Navy aircraft without a trace of digital effects, and as tense and spectacular as filmmaking can be in the feature's climactic sequences, they truly do make it seem as if you're watchin' in slow motion. Thankfully, this time that adrenaline kick is accompanied by a smarter and far more self-aware film, as directed by TRON: Legacy and Oblivion's Joseph Kosinski. Top Gun in the 80s was exactly what Top Gun in the 80s was always going to be — but Top Gun in the 2020s doesn't dare believe that nothing has changed, that Cruise's still-smug Maverick can't evolve, and that the world the movie releases into hasn't either. Early in the film — after Harold Faltermeyer's famous Top Gun anthem plays, text on-screen explains what the titular elite pilot training program is all about, a montage of fighter planes kicks in and then 'Danger Zone' sets an upbeat tone; that is, after the flick begins exactly as the first did — Captain Pete 'Maverick' Mitchell (Cruise, Mission: Impossible — Fallout) is given a dressing-down. Still as rebellious as his call sign makes plain, he's just wantonly disobeyed orders, flown a ridiculously expensive hypersonic test plane when he's not supposed to and caused quite the fallout. "The future is coming and you're not in it," he's told, and Top Gun: Maverick doesn't shy away from that notion. As its opening moments show, along with a touch too many other nostalgia-steeped touches elsewhere this sequel hasn't wholly flown on from the past; however, it actively reckons with it as well. Still hardly the navy's favourite despite his swagger, megawatt smile, gleaming aviators and unfailing self-confidence — well, really despite his need for speed and exceptional dogfighting skills in the air — Maverick is given one last assignment. His destination: Fightertown USA, the California-based Top Gun program he strutted his way through all those years ago. There's an enemy nation with a secret weapons base that needs destroying, and his talents are crucial. But, to his dismay, Maverick is only asked to teach. Given a squad lorded over by the brash Hangman (Glen Powell, Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Childhood), and also including Coyote (Greg Tarzan Davis, Grey's Anatomy), Payback (Jay Ellis, Insecure), Fanboy (Danny Ramirez, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier), Phoenix (Monica Barbaro, Stumptown), Bob (Lewis Pullman, Outer Range) and the frosty Bradley 'Rooster' Bradshaw (Miles Teller, The Offer), he's tasked with training them to fly like he does, navigate a Star Wars-style impossible path that zips speedily at perilously low altitudes and, ideally, still survive the supremely dangerous mission. Read our full review. THE BOB'S BURGERS MOVIE Across its 12-season order to-date, the best episodes of Bob's Burgers have always resembled exactly what they should: a delicious serving of the meat-and-bread combination that shares the hit sitcom's name. There's a knack to a great burg — to a tastebud-thrilling, so-appetising-I-need-more-now example of this extremely accessible culinary art — and it's all about perfecting the absolute basics. No matter what else gets slotted in (and plenty of other ingredients can), every burger's staples should be the stars of the show. Indeed, a top-notch burg needn't be flashy. It definitely mustn't be overcomplicated, either. And, crucially, it should taste as comforting as wrapping your hands around its buns feels. On the small screen since 2011, Bob's Burgers has kept its version of that very recipe close to its animated, irreverent, gleefully offbeat heart. Unsurprisingly, the show's creators whip up the same kind of dish for The Bob's Burgers Movie, too. It's a winning formula, and creator Loren Bouchard knows not to mess with it while taking his beloved characters to the big screen. Co-helming with the series' frequent supervising director Bernard Derriman, and co-writing with long-running producer Nora Smith, he experiments here and there — in filmic form, Bob's Burgers is a tad darker, for instance — but he also knows what keeps his customers a-coming. That'd be the goofy but extremely relatable Belcher clan, their everyday joys and struggles, and the cosy little world that sprawls around their yellow-hued Ocean Avenue burger joint up the road from seaside fairground Wonder Wharf. Bouchard also knows that if you make something well enough time after time — be it a burger or a TV show that's spawned a movie; both fit — it'll be warmly, reliably and welcomingly familiar rather than just another helping of the same old nosh. As always, the action centres on the film's namesake — the diner where patriarch Bob (H Jon Benjamin, Archer) sizzles up punningly named burgs to both make a living and live out his dream. And, as the show has covered frequently, financial woes mean that Bob and his wife Linda (John Roberts, Gravity Falls) have more to worry about than cooking, serving customers, and their kids Tina (Dan Mintz, Veep), Gene (Eugene Mirman, Flight of the Conchords) and Louise (Kristen Schaal, What We Do in the Shadows). Their solution: a burger, of course. But their bank manager isn't munching when they try to use food to grease their pleas for an extension on their loan. That mortgage also involves their restaurant equipment, leaving them out of business if they can't pay up. As their seven-day time limit to stump up the cash ticks by, Bob sweats over the grill and Linda oozes her usual optimism — only for a sinkhole to form literally at their door. As trusty as Bob's Burgers gets, and still refreshingly committed to depicting the daily reality of its working-class characters, that above setup is the movie's buns. Layered inside are tomato, lettuce, cheese, pickle and beetroot, aka the narrative's well-balanced fillings. First comes a murder-mystery ensnaring the Belchers' eccentric landlord Calvin Fischoeder (Kevin Kline, Beauty and the Beast) and his brother Felix (Zach Galifianakis, Ron's Gone Wrong). Springing from there is Louise's determination to solve the crime to save the diner and prove she isn't a baby just because she wears a pink rabbit-eared hat. Then there's Tina's quest to make her crush Jimmy Jr (also voiced by Benjamin) her summer boyfriend; Gene's need to get The Itty Bitty Ditty Committee, the family band, a gig at Wonder Wharf's Octa-Wharfiversary celebrations; and Bob and Linda's attempt to sell burgs at the amusement park using a barbecue on wheels MacGyvered up by number-one customer Teddy (Larry Murphy, The Venture Bros). Read our full review. ABLAZE A documentary that's deeply personal for one of its directors, intensely powerful in surveying Australia's treatment of its First Peoples and crucial in celebrating perhaps the country's first-ever Aboriginal filmmaker, Ablaze makes for astonishing viewing. But while watching, two ideas jostle for attention. Both remain unspoken, yet each is unshakeable. Firstly, if the history of Australia had been different, Wiradjuri and Yorta Yorta man William 'Bill' Onus would be a household name. If that was the case, not only his work behind the camera, but his activism for Indigenous Aussies at a time when voting and even being included in the census wasn't permitted — plus his devotion to ensuring that white Australians were aware of the nation's colonial violence — would be as well-known as Captain Cook. That said, if history had been better still, Bill wouldn't have needed to fight so vehemently, or at all. Alas, neither of those possibilities came to a fruition. Ablaze can't change the past, but it can and does document it with a hope to influencing how the world sees and appreciates Bill's part in it. Indeed, shining the spotlight on its subject, everything his life stood for, and all that he battled for and against is firmly and proudly the feature's aim. First-time filmmaker Tiriki Onus looks back on his own grandfather, narrating his story as well — and, as aided by co-helmer Alec Morgan (Hunt Angels, Lousy Little Sixpence), the result is a movie brimming with feeling, meaning and importance. While Aussie cinema keeps reckoning with the nation's history regarding race relations, as it should and absolutely must, Ablaze is as potent and essential as everything from Sweet Country, The Nightingale and The Australian Dream to The Furnace, High Ground and The Drover's Wife The Legend of Molly Johnson. As the last filmic ode to a key Indigenous figure within cinema also did, aka My Name Is Gulpilil, Ablaze has a clear source of inspiration beyond the person at its centre. Appearing on-screen, Tiriki begins with two discoveries that put him on the path to making the movie: finding a suitcase filled with Bill's belongings, which included photographs of Indigenous boys in traditional paint peering at a film camera; and learning that the National Film & Sound Archive was in possession of footage of unknown origin that it believed to be linked to Bill. Accordingly, Ablaze is as much a detective story as it is a tribute, with Tiriki puzzling together the pieces of his grandfather's tale. Structuring the film in such a way is a savvy decision; even viewers coming to Bill with zero prior knowledge will want to sleuth along to solve the feature's multiple mysteries. Connecting the dots starts easily, after Tiriki spies the boys in Bill's photos in the NFSA's nine-minute reel — footage from which it's an enormous treat to see in Ablaze. From there, though, the what and why behind the material takes longer to tease out. So too does exactly why Reg Saunders and Doug Nicholls — the first Aboriginal officer in the Australian Army and the famed Aussie rules footballer-turned-pastor, respectively — appear in Bill's silent footage. Also an opera singer, Tiriki guides Ablaze's viewers through the answers, while delivering a biographical documentary-style exploration of Bill's existence along the way — from being born in 1906 at the Cummeragunja Aboriginal Reserve, on the Murray River in New South Wales, through to his passing in 1968 following the successful 1967 referendum on counting Indigenous Australians as part of the population, for which he spearheaded the campaign. Read our full review. HATCHING If you had only ever watched five horror movies in your life, odds are that one would've covered being careful what you wish for, and another would've focused on not messing with nature. It's equally likely that growing up being hell, motherhood being even more nightmarish and grappling with the terrors of the human body would've popped up as well. These all rank among the genre's favourite concepts, alongside haunted houses, murderous forces, demonic influences and the undead — and, making her feature filmmaking debut with the savvily sinister-meets-satirical blend that is Hatching, Finnish writer/director Hanna Bergholm knows this. She's also innately aware that something unique, distinctive and unnerving can still spring from stitching together well-used notions and now-familiar parts, which, on- and off-screen, is her bold and memorable body-horror, twisted fairy tale and dark coming-of-age thriller in an eggshell. Hatching begins by unpacking a fallacy as fractured as Humpty Dumpty after the nursery-rhyme character's fall — and that still keeps being lapped up anyway. In suburban Finland, among homes so identical that the song 'Little Boxes' instantly pops into your head, 12-year-old gymnast Tinja (debutant Siiri Solalinna), her younger brother Matias (fellow first-timer Oiva Ollila), and their mother (Sophia Heikkilä, Dual) and father Jani Volanen, Dogs Don't Wear Pants) are living their best lives. More than that, as the soft lensing and music that helps open the movie establishes, they're also beaming that picture of pink, white and pastel-hued domestic perfection to the world. Tinja's unnamed mum is a vlogger, and these scenes are being captured for her cloyingly named blog Lovely Everyday Life. Naturally, showing that this family of four's daily existence is anything but enchanting is one of Bergholm's first aims. The initial crack comes from outside, crashing through the window to ruin a posed shot alight with fake smiles and, of course, being filmed with a selfie stick. Soon, broken glass, vases and lamps are strewn throughout a lounge room so immaculately arranged that it looks straight out of a supermarket-shelf home-and-garden magazine — and the crowning glory, the chandelier, has descended from a luminous pièce de résistance to a shattered mess. A garden-variety crow is the culprit, which Tinja carefully captures. She hands it to her mother, thinking that they'll then release it outside. But her mum, placid but seething that anything could disrupt her manufactured picture of bliss, ignores that idea with a cruel snap and instructions to dispose of the animal in the organic waste. Watching the source of her own life snuff out a bird's because it temporarily disturbed the faux, performative idyll is understandably a formative moment for Tinja, and one of several early splinters. The girl is clearly nowhere near as enthused about gymnastics as her mum is about having a star gymnast for a daughter, even before Tinja is forced to train until her palms are torn and bloody. She's also unsettled when she sees her mother kissing handyman Tero (Reino Nordin, Deadwind), then justifies having a "special friend" because he satisfies her in ways Tinja's dutiful dad doesn't. So when Tinja finds the crow's egg in a nest outside, she's quick to take it into her care — both because of and despite her mum. She nurtures it tenderly, placing it inside a teddy bear for safe keeping. She gains her own little universe to dote over. Then the egg keeps growing, and a human-sized chick emerges. Read our full review. INTERCEPTOR Four decades back, Interceptor would've happily sat on a crowded video-store shelf alongside a wealth of other mindless, machismo-fuelled action thrillers. It would've been the epitome of one of the genre's straight-to-VHS flicks, in fact. Don't just call it a throwback, though; instead of testosterone oozing from every actor within sight, except perhaps a token wife worrying at home, this nuclear attack movie from Australian author Matthew Reilly focuses on a woman making waves in a male-dominated world. That's firmly a 2022 move, reflecting today's gender politics. So too is the fact that said protagonist, US Army Captain JJ Collins (Elsa Pataky, Tidelands), has just been reassigned after putting in a sexual harassment complaint against one of her past superiors. Don't go thinking that Interceptor doesn't tick every other box its 80s counterparts did, however. It couldn't lean harder on all of the cliches that've ever been involved with world-in-peril, military-driven movies, and with action fare at its most inane in general. A global success for his airport novels, writer Reilly doesn't just turn screenwriter here — with assistance from Collateral, Tomorrow, When the War Began and Obi-Wan Kenobi's Stuart Beattie — but also jumps behind the lens for the first time. Alas, his directorial instincts prove as flat and by-the-numbers as Interceptor's wanly boilerplate plot, as well as its clunky-as-clunky dialogue. And, that storyline really couldn't be more formulaic. In her new post on a remote platform in the Pacific Ocean, Collins soon finds herself under attack by terrorists led by the grating Alexander Kessel (Luke Bracey, Danger Close: The Battle of Long Tan). Her sea-surrounded station is one of two sites, alongside Alaska's Fort Greely, that can intercept a nuclear warhead launch on the US. Naturally, Kessel and his men have already taken out the other one, and have also pilfered nukes from the Russians in their possession. Cue a run-of-the-mill single-setting good-versus-evil face-off — at best — that sees the cartoonishly sinister Kessel try to shoot, blast and fight his way into the platform's control room, while the devoted and dutiful Collins does everything she can to keep him out. Cue monotonous standoffs, frays and arguments that aren't enlivened for a second by the routine cinematography, and certainly not by Interceptor's oh-so-serious tone. It's only when Chris Hemsworth (Men in Black: International) shows up in an extended cameo that's given far too much attention that the film shows even the faintest traces of a sense of humour. That said, winking at and nudging the audience about Pataky's real-life husband is as far as any comedy or self-awareness goes; no, Interceptor isn't so bad and cheesy that it's entertaining, either. At the beginning of her English-language career, before her appearances in four Fast and Furious franchise flicks from Fast & Furious 5 onwards, Pataky featured in Snakes on a Plane. Terrorists on an Army Sea Platform isn't as catchy a title, and aping his star's earlier comedy definitely isn't the vibe that Reilly is going for — but when you're making something this derivative, that level of silliness would've been a better option. No one adds a highlight to their resumes with this bland affair, although Pataky shows that she deserves a better star vehicle. Around her, the Australian-shot film fills out its supporting cast with mostly local faces, including Aaron Glenane (Home and Away), Zoe Carides (Pieces of Her), Colin Friels (Total Control) and Rhys Muldoon (New Gold Mountain), none of whom manage to stand out for the right reasons. If you're wondering what else is currently screening in Australian cinemas — or has been lately — check out our rundown of new films released in Australia on February 3, February 10, February 17 and February 24; and March 3, March 10, March 17, March 24 and March 31; April 7, April 14, April 21 and April 28; and May 5, May 12 and May 19. You can also read our full reviews of a heap of recent movies, such as Belfast, Here Out West, Jackass Forever, Benedetta, Drive My Car, Death on the Nile, C'mon C'mon, Flee, Uncharted, Quo Vadis, Aida?, Cyrano, Hive, Studio 666, The Batman, Blind Ambition, Bergman Island, Wash My Soul in the River's Flow, The Souvenir: Part II, Dog, Anonymous Club, X, River, Nowhere Special, RRR, Morbius, The Duke, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Fantastic Beasts and the Secrets of Dumbledore, Ambulance, Memoria, The Lost City, Everything Everywhere All At Once, Happening, The Good Boss, The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, The Northman, Ithaka, After Yang, Downton Abbey: A New Era, Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy, Petite Maman, The Drover's Wife The Legend of Molly Johnson, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Firestarter, Operation Mincemeat, To Chiara, This Much I Know to Be True and The Innocents.
Prolific psych-rockers King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard have pulled out of Byron Bay Bluesfest, the annual festival that's scheduled for the Easter long weekend. The band's decision to withdraw from the festival has been kept reasonably vague but, in a statement, the Melbourne sextet have cited the festival's decision to book content that conflicts with their values as the reason they won't be appearing. "As a band and as human beings, we stand against misogyny, racism, transphobia and violence," the statement reads. "Surprised and saddened to see Bluesfest commit to presenting content that is in complete opposition to these values." "Given this decision by the festival, we have decided to cancel our appearance at Bluesfest," continues the statement. "We are deeply disappointed to be in this position but sometimes you need to be willing to make sacrifices to stand up for your values. This is, unfortunately, one of those moments." The band's decision comes five days after Bluesfest unveiled its sixth artist announcement which featured controversial band Sticky Fingers. The booking of Sticky Fingers received online backlash from others in the music industry including Jaguar Jonze and Camp Cope's Sarah Thompson. Dylan Frost, Sticky Fingers frontman, has been the subject of serious allegations which include physically threatening First Nations singer Thelma Plum and harassing a transgender women at a Sydney pub. Frost and bassist Paddy Cornwall were also caught in an alleged brawl with each other in 2019 which saw Cornwall charged with affray. The festival has responded to the backlash on Facebook and in now-deleted Instagram comments. Bluesfest previously faced controversy after festival director Peter Noble compared a Jewish woman to a Nazi for commenting on the gender imbalance present on the first announcement of the festival's 2018 lineup. The festival will continue without King Giz from Thursday, April 6 until Monday, April 10 with headliners including Gang of Youths, Paolo Nutini, Tash Sultana, Bonnie Raitt, The Doobie Brothers and Sampa the Great. View this post on Instagram A post shared by kinggizzard (@kinggizzard) You can read King Gizzard and the Lizzard Wizard's full statement here. Top image: Jason Galea
This Friday Belles Will Ring will bring their new single, Come North With Me Baby, Wow to The Gaelic Hotel. Equal parts the blameless blues of Morphine and the retro-quirk of Belle and Sebastian, these Blue-Mountaineers know how to make your memory pine for places it never went. Featuring distorted guitar lines and a dusty mariarchi brass section, Come North With Me Baby, Wow is evocative and deftly nostalgic, with the dreamy drone-pop edge that made 2007's debut, Mood Patterns, and 2008's mini-album, Broader Than Broadway, perfect soundtracks for summer. Recorded in the Blue Mountains with frontman Liam Judson presiding once again over the production controls, the single is accompanied by a remix of Come To My Village by Cloud Control's Alister Wright. It includes a lush B-side beauty, Old Man Tomorrow, with Lauren Crew on lead vocals for the first time. Come North With Me Baby, Wow is pastoral psych-pop styling at its best, and with support from acousmatics Guineafowl and new-wavers Magnetic Heads, Belles Will Ring promise to entertain at The Gaelic — or, if nothing else, provide an otherworldly backdrop to your night of whimsical drinking. https://youtube.com/watch?v=c_7AwkXZa_w
Lucas Grogan is a white artist who paints pictures that people assume are by an Aboriginal man. He adopts cross-hatching styles employed by artists from Arnhem Land and depicts stylised figures on irregular, bark-shaped boards. His intent is not to bastardize Indigenous artistic and cultural expression. Though his work has caused considerable uproar in the sanitised art scene, Grogan is "acutely aware of the hypocrisies of Australia's current cultural modalities". He believes that through incorporating elements derived from Indigenous cultural heritage, artists engage with the traditional custodians of this land and, in doing so, enhance cross-cultural understanding. Iain Dawson Gallery in Paddington is Sydney’s newest contemporary art gallery and committed to showcasing artists who provoke public thought, feeling and debate. Grogan certainly does all three, and his new show, Black + Blue, will impassion gallery-goers until March 6.
What began as a joke between a couple of mates has burgeoned into a successful annual festival, now in its fifth year. On Saturday, February 9, hundreds of locals and visitors will pour into the inner west, filling empty spaces with music, visual art, and live performance, for what organisers say is the final Reclaim the Lanes in its current incarnation. Reclaim the Lanes is all about celebrating community, diversity, and creative innovation. You can expect spontaneous improvisation sessions between local musicians, the sudden appearance of art in unexpected places, picnics in hidden spaces, games, dancing, and activities for children. Organiser Chris Lego has described the festival as "a celebration of doing things just because we can, and a display of what is possible with duct tape and community spirit". If you want to be a part of the action, get yourself, your friends, and family along to Peace Park at 2pm.
Sofia Coppola is not the first director that comes to mind when you think Disney. In fact, with her consistent focus on complicated and dreamy sadness — see Lost in Translation, The Virgin Suicides and Somewhere — she seems like the perfect buzzkill to all the joy and greatness that Sebastian the crab worked for all those years ago. Nonetheless, this divisive filmmaker is currently in negotiations to direct a live-action adaptation of the classic Hans Christian Anderson tale. Deadline reports that the script has already gone through multiple drafts from Kelly Marcel (Fifty Shades of Grey) and Abi Morgan (Shame) and is currently in the hands of Caroline Thompson (Edward Scissorhands). With that in mind, it's safe to assume the film will in fact be a darkly sexual story that may or may not feature either Johnny Depp in BDSM gear or Michael Fassbender in no clothes. Although this will Coppola's first feature where she didn't write the screenplay, it's easy to see how her brand of 'beautiful and bothered young things' will work seamlessly with the original story. Ariel is, after all, a girl with problems. She's besotted with a boy she can't have, she's split between two worlds, and the story finishes with her taking the less than lovely form of sea foam (I'd warn for spoilers but, hey, you've had over 100 years to read it). As ridiculous as it first sounds, we're actually excited by the news. Now all that's left is to decide whether Kirsten Dunst or Scarlett Johansson would make the better hipster Ariel.
With its latest movie-fuelled event, Underground Cinema is hoping that you've never felt like this before — and that you love Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey dancing up a storm in a much-loved 1987 romantic drama. As part of the outfit's new Immersive Cinema spin-off, it's promising to plunge cinephiles into the world of Dirty Dancing. And give you the time of your life, presumably. Hitting outdoor venues for three nights in each Sydney and Melbourne in March 2019, Dirty Dancing: The Immersive Cinema Experience won't just screen one of Swayze's biggest film roles, but will recreate the world of the popular film. That means that attendees will travel back to 1963 in spirit, check into Kellerman's Mountain House in the Catskills, and enjoy a day of painting classes, volleyball, croquet and — of course — dance lessons. You can probably also expect a stint of carrying watermelons, as well as a talent show. It all ends with a sunset screening of Dirty Dancing on the big screen. You'd be just a fool to believe that's all that's on the agenda. Actors and dancers will roam around like the wind, and, food and drink-wise, Americana-style eats and several pop-up bars slinging summery cocktails are on offer for those with hungry eyes (and stomachs). You'll also be able to wander through recreations of Kellerman's famous fictional spaces, from the staff quarters where Francis 'Baby' Houseman gets her first taste of dirty dancing, to the studios where she learns all the steps from and starts swooning over Johnny Castle, to the restaurant where nobody puts Baby in a corner. Like the film version of Kellerman's, the event is also an all-ages affair — Underground Cinema's first that'll welcome families and kids along. And everyone is encouraged to dress up like it's the 60s, although appropriate footwear for dancing is a must. Tickets are available in two tiers, with the $89.90 'Kellerman's Guest Experience' giving you access to all of the above, and the $129.90 'Time of My Life Package' (naturally) also letting you sashay in via express entry, nab a premium elevated viewing spot, explore secret spaces and take a group dance class with one of Kellerman's dance instructors. Dirty Dancing: The Immersive Cinema Experience will take over The Domain in Sydney on March 15–17, and Flemington Race Course in Melbourne on March 22–24, 2019. Tickets for members go on sale at midday on Thursday, November 15, with general public tickets available from 10am on Monday, November 19.
Perched on the lower end of Campbell Street, Café Rumah could easily be overlooked. But poke your head inside their bright pastel doors, and you'll find a unique retail-meets-dining space that has, quite literally, come straight from Malaysia. The cafe has taken over the ground level of the Surry Hills space, covering off the food and drink side of things, while upstairs is set to house Malaysian menswear boutique, 15sheets. The store will be the second outlet for owner Riszal Nawawi, whose first one has been operating in the Kuala Lumpur neighbourhood of Bangsar since 2013. "We started with the initial idea that the retail experience in today’s world extends beyond just a buy and sell process," says Riszal. "It is also about building relationships with customers and the community." Blending the retail and hospitality worlds into one all-encompassing venue, Rumah (meaning house or home in Malay) truly lives up to its name. "We want people to feel welcomed and be a part of our family," he says. 15sheets will deliver shoppers small independent labels from across the US and UK, including Descendants of Thieves, Weekend Offender, SLVDR and Alternative. The clothing range will focus on smart casual wear for "the everyday man and for every day of the week". Back on the ground floor, Rumah uses traditional ingredients and signature dishes from both Malaysia and Singapore, giving classic menu items an unexpected twist. Grab a slice of their sweet homemade kaya (coconut jam) toast, or dig into their spiced beef and egg roll (the Roti John) to kick-start your day. As for lunch, Rumah brings everything from green curried egg sambos to their own Asian Cuban (with five spice roast pork, Swiss cheese, pickles and mustard). You'll be able to wash it all down with a hot tea from Newtown’s T Totaler, a zesty cold-pressed juice or grab a tasty Malaysian pastry from their in-house selection. With light timber interiors reminiscent of Muji’s minimalistic styling, it is easy to spot the venue’s underlying Asian influences. From the vases of baby’s breath to their old-school black letter board, every inch of Rumah feels oh-so-cute. Add in pastel accent tiles and bright white walls, and Rumah provides a sweet departure from the modern, industrial interiors of their neighbouring venues. It might be freshly opened and yet to really find a good groove, but Café Rumah is bound to become a local hot-spot for weekday diners looking for something a little out of the ordinary. And these guys still have plenty more up their sleeves. "We are constantly testing out new ideas and, from time to time, may even allow a 'secret' menu dish to surface." Find Cafe Rumah at 71-73 Campbell Street, Surry Hills. It's open 7.30am - 4pm on weekdays, and 8am - 4pm on Saturdays. For more info, check out their Facebook page.
Which cravings will Wonka inspire? Chocolate, of course, and also an appetite for more of filmmaker Paul King's blend of the inventive, warm-hearted and surreal. The British writer/director's chocolatier origin story is a sweet treat from its first taste, and firmly popped from the same box as his last two movie delights: Paddington and Paddington 2. Has the helmer used a similar recipe to his talking-bear pictures? Yes. Was it divine with that double dip in marmalade, and now equally so with creative confectionery and the man behind it? Yes again. While it'd be nice to see King and his regular writing partner Simon Farnaby (also an actor, complete with an appearance here) make an original tale again, as they last did with 2009's superb and sublime Bunny and the Bull, watching them cast their spell on childhood favourites dishes up as effervescent an experience as sipping fizzy lifting drinks. It's as uplifting as munching on hover chocs, too, aka the debut creation that Wonka's namesake unveils in his attempt to unleash his chocolates upon the world. Willy Wonka (Timothée Chalamet, Bones and All) has everlasting gobstobbers, golden tickets and a whole factory pumping out a sugary rush in his future, as Roald Dahl first shared in 1964 novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, then cinemagoers initially saw in 1971's Gene Wilder-starring all-timer Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory. Wonka churns up the story before that story, and technically before 2005's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory from Tim Burton (Wednesday) as led by Johnny Depp (Minamata) — but the less remembered about that most-recent adaptation, the better. There's no on-the-page precedent for this flick, then. Rather, King and Farnaby use pure imagination, plus what they know works for them, to delectable results. What they welcomely avoid is endeavouring to melt down Dahl's bag of tricks and remould it, and also eschew packing in references to past Chocolate Factory flicks like a cookie that's more chocolate chips than biscuit. Wonka is a prequel devoted to telling its own tale — and deliciously — instead of stretching itself like over-chewed bubblegum to stick again and again to all that precedes it. The nods are there, including in the type of villains that Dahl could've penned, and the turns of phrase. Visual minutiae harks backwards, top hat and all, while 'Pure Imagination' and the Ooompa-Loompa flute whistle get more than a single spin. In the worst of the throwbacks, obesity is used as a gag once more like over half a century hasn't passed since Willy Wonka was conjured up. But they're all the feature's sprinkles, not its main ingredients. Come to Wonka and you'll be viewing a film that values its own narrative, magic, whimsy and wonders by the bucketful. Swimming in its river of hopes, aspirations, enchantment and earnestness brings Barbie to mind, in fact, in how to bake something new and flavoursome from pre-existing intellectual property. The trailers largely hide it; however, Wonka is as much of a musical as pop culture's greatest sweet tooth's prior dances across the screen, opening with him singing as he sails to the unnamed European locale that's home to the Galeries Gourmet. Once back on land, he's soon spent his 12 silver sovereigns before a day has passed and his introductory number is over, but the eccentric's hat full of dreams — a Mary Poppins-esque item that contains all manner of physical marvels, too — hasn't come close to running out. Mere minutes in, Chalamet shows how magnificently he's been cast as the wide-eyed, eternally optimistic, crooning-with-cheer young Wonka, wearing sincerity as closely and comfortably as his character's go-to purple suits. He's a daydream made tangible, whether beaming with enthusiasm about every chance that comes Willy's way, speaking in sing-song rhymes or frolicking with a waved-around cane. Never trying to be previous versions of Wonka (no one can replicate Wilder, and no one should want to ape Depp), he's a pleasure at getting goofy as well, sans even a dash of the exquisitely played moodiness, vulnerability and cool that's served him so well in Call Me By Your Name, Lady Bird, Little Women and Dune. At Willy's new home, three shops run by Slugworth (Paterson Joseph, Boat Story), Prodnose (Matt Lucas, DC's Legends of Tomorrow) and Fickelgruber (Mathew Baynton, Ghosts) monopolise the sweets trade, but he wants to be the mall's next candyman. The chocolate cartel doesn't take kindly to newcomers, though, or making treats affordable to the masses. With assistance from a corrupt cleric (Rowan Atkinson, Man vs Bee) and chocoholic chief of police (Keegan-Michael Key, The Super Mario Bros Movie), the core trio has the power and influence to send their unwanted competitor's life's wish down the drain before it even gets a chance to set. Finding a place to stay at a washhouse run by Mrs Scrubbit (Olivia Colman, Heartstopper) and her offsider Bleacher (Tom Davis, Romantic Getaway), then getting landed with a debt that'll take 27 years of labour to pay off for just a night's slumber, also threatens to give his quest a sour taste. Then there's the orange-skinned, green-haired Oompa-Loompa (Hugh Grant, Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves) stealing Wonka's cocoa morsels out of revenge. All innocence, charm, buoyancy and tenderness just like a certain Peruvian mammal, Chalamet's star turn is the acting equivalent of having dessert for dinner and relishing every second. That said, there's nothing insubstantial about the fellow talents that surround him, with King's knack for filling parts big and small getting another scrumptious whirl. If the filmmaker wants to continue providing Grant with the scene-stealing comedic supporting roles of his life, audiences will devour his presence. Bringing Sally Hawkins over from the Paddington films to play Wonka's mother in flashbacks is a joyously touching move. Joseph, Lucas and Bayton make entertainingly haughty villains, while Key, Colman and Davis (also a Paddington 2 alum) are all having a ball. Farnaby turns a silhouetted moment as a security guard feasting on Willy's big night out truffle into a gem. And among Scrubbit and Bleacher's other indentured workers, Calah Lane (This Is Us) invests feeling and pluck in the orphaned Noodle, with Jim Carter (Downton Abbey: A New Era), Rakhee Thakrar (Sex Education), Natasha Rothwell (Sonic the Hedgehog 2) and Rich Fulcher (Black Mirror) engagingly rounding out the rag-tag laundry crew. Fulcher's involvement, like Farnaby's, nods to another jewel that King helped gift the world: The Mighty Boosh. The director helmed all 20 episodes, plus the comedy troupe's live Future Sailors Tour special — and its phantasmagorical and heightened vibe, as well as its winning wit, offbeat humour, fondness for silliness and textured details, live on in the filmmaker's big-screen efforts so far. Much is made in Wonka of Willy's compendium of components for his ingenious chocolate, such as giraffe's milk, salty tears from a Russian clown and liquid sunshine. King crafts his own irresistible confection in the same way, with heapings of gorgeous spectacle via its lavish cinematography (by the OG Oldboy's Chung-hoon Chung), production design (Nathan Crowley, Tenet) and costuming (Paddington franchise returnee Lindy Hemming); everything that his actors splash in; and also the memorable score (Joby Talbot, Sing 2) and tunes (Talbot and Neil Hannon, who were both in Northern Ireland-born band The Divine Comedy). And the banding together to bring down capitalist bigwigs dotted in the plot? What a cherry on top it proves.
Given the Fast and Furious franchise's title, you'd think that driving speedily and passionately is what this big-budget film series is all about. Chaotic and OTT car antics play a hefty part, as the 2001 original, its seven sequels to-date and its 2019 spin-off have all shown via a constant onslaught of hectic stunts. But if there's one thing that this Vin Diesel-starring and -produced saga loves just as much as vehicular mayhem, it's family. Over the years, Diesel's Dominic Toretto has extended the term 'family' to include not only his girlfriend-turned-wife Letty (Michelle Rodriguez), his sister Mia (Jordana Brewster), her husband Brian (the late Paul Walker) and their various offspring, but their extended motley crew of fast-driving pals as well. Dom talks about family rather often, usually over a few Coronas with said friends and family. The gang has even faced off against a family of adversaries, courtesy of brothers Owen and Deckard Shaw (Luke Evans and Jason Statham), and their mother Magdalene (Helen Mirren). So, when it comes to Fast and Furious 9, it's unsurprising that the franchise is leaning heavily on one of its favourite concepts. Obviously eye-catching, jaw-dropping stunts also feature — complete with a rocket car (yes, really) — but somehow, the saga hasn't expended all family-related options just yet. As both the initial trailer back in early 2020 and the long-awaited, just-dropped second trailer for the delayed flick reveals, the villain this time is John Cena, who joins the series as Dom's younger brother Jakob. When the film hits cinemas in June after being postponed for more than a year due to the pandemic, don't expect a happy sibling reunion. This flick's outlandish set pieces will pit Dom and the crew against Jakob, who has teamed up with returning criminal mastermind Cypher (Charlize Theron). Basically, they could've called this film Fast and Furious: More Stunts and More Family, which is exactly what both trailers so far serve up. Of course, that's what's made this franchise a huge box-office success for two decades now — and those action scenes, while typically defying logic, physics and gravity, are always expertly, astonishingly and entertainingly choreographed. As well as Diesel, Rodriguez, Brewster, Cena, Theron and Mirren, Fast and Furious 9 also stars franchise mainstays Tyrese Gibson and Ludacris, plus Game of Thrones' Nathalie Emmanuel (who joined the series back in 2015's Furious 7 and is now considered part of Dom's family). And, it features the highly anticipated return of Sung Kang as Han, which is quite the narrative development if you've been following every quarter mile this series has ever sped across. After a two-film absence, the movie also marks the return of The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, Fast & Furious, Fast Five and Fast & Furious 6 director Justin Lin. Check out the new trailer for F9 below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzVw9QTBKJk Fast and Furious 9 releases in Australian cinemas on Thursday, June 17. Image: 2021 Universal Studios. All Rights Reserved.
Last time these guys battled against the teen-pop industry, David Finnigan ended up stripping, wrapping his head in sticky tape and raving about his own imaginings of making out with a pick-pocketing Enya. Now they're back for another iteration dubbed Bondi Feast vs Teen Makeouts, a spoken word night where disgruntled or nostalgic writers verbally spit and spew on the costs and idols of teenagerhood. The event, part of the Bondi Feast festival, is a sort of argument about what teens should be enjoying instead of becoming zombified into a gyrating mass by hysterical thrusty beats. Writers including Jessica Bellamy, David Finnigan and Adam Hadley let their inhibitions relax and their gripes lead. It's not entirely clear what will actually happen but expect to hear terrible things about every teenage idol or pop star to spout about love or parties over the past five years. Image: Bondi Feast.
Heads up wellness junkies, superfood latte purveyors and plant-based peeps: a snow-filled winter market is coming to the Grounds of Alexandria. And it'll be stocked with vegan s'mores, hot wine and many (many) more healthy(ish) winter treats. The night will be a mash-up of a wholefood market and a winter wonderland. You'll be able to explore a snow-filled arena, sip organic mulled wine and toast vegan s'mores (yes, vegan s'mores) over a fire pit. Or, fill up a mug at the colourful superfood latte fountain then visit the olive barn to watch olive leaves being turned into olive oil. Apparently you can also exercise and have your smoothie, too — warm up on the smoothie bicycle and blitz your very own healthy smoothie via a pedal-powered blender. Enjoy a healthy woodfired pizza while you sip on a healthy cocktail, but don't fill up just yet — there'll be a host of laneway carts and market stalls offering product samplings and tastings under the fairy lights. Peanut butter fiends can find the 'world's best PB' (apparently), or you can just sip on multicoloured lattes and taste healthy curries. If you're trying to cut back on the alcohol, good news — there'll even be an alcohol-free gin. After you've got your fill, head to the cooking and demonstration theatre to listen to a talk or cooking demo from a line-up of health and wellbeing gurus. The market is thanks to GoodnessMe Box, a monthly subscription box filled with delicious health foods and samples to try, which has partnered with the inner-city food hot-spot to bring the event back for its second year. You can snag your early-bird ticket here, which includes entry as well as a GoodnessMe box to take home — offering a delicious range of tried-and-tested, natural products. The Winter Wonderland Wholefood Night Markets is open from 5.30–7.45pm and 7.45–10.30pm.
Live performers, dancers, DJs, artists and chefs will all converge on Carriageworks on Thursday, September 13 for the opening party of Sydney Contemporary, Sydney's biggest contemporary art fair. For one glorious evening, immerse yourself in a world made entirely of art, music and food (is anything else even necessary?). So what can you expect from this special night? A collaboration between the Sydney Dance Company and visual artist Mel O'Callaghan will lead the program. O'Callaghan is a master weaver of film, video, performance, painting and installation, whose Ensemble, 2013, was recently acquired by the National Gallery of Victoria. Also on the agenda are pyrotechnic performances from Emily Parsons-Lord, music by Mazy and solo act Jaala and other surprise guests. Between performances, journey through the fair to discover a truly international extravaganza, featuring works by more than 300 artists representing over 30 nations and more than 80 galleries. Meanwhile, keeping you well fuelled and hydrated will be Eric Koh's (Mr Wong, Queen Chow) pop-up dim sum bar Work in Progress, a Handpicked Wines Art Bar and a Beluga Vodka Bar. Sydney Contemporary's Opening Night is one of the most popular arty parties on the city's calendar. And, if you're keen to kick on post-opening party, you'll want to check out the Nightcap event hosted by yours truly at The Royal Hotel Darlington. We've also secured a 20 per discount on both opening night and adult day tickets for Concrete Playground readers. Just be sure to use this link to book and do so quick — the offer expires at 11.30pm on Wednesday, September 12. Images: Jacquie Manning.
In the Bible, people are made from ribs and soil. In Mexico, it's corn. In Japan, a baby gets found in a stalk of bamboo. Loss and grief aren't usually the first words that come to mind when thinking about Japan, but nonetheless they're the themes of one of its oldest written myths — as a couple find and lose their only daughter. The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter is actually about not getting married and humiliating high-level officials. But at the back of it there are deeper themes — returning to real life after meeting gods and divinities is painted with the same pain as that of finishing a great novel. Nobody in this tale ends up without suffering, except for the one person in it who might have been happier if she had. Kath Fries' Grove takes inspiration from this story and promises to take you into the dark bamboo cutter's world where the myth takes place. Dim shoots of bamboo, a silver moon and strange shadowy lattices will inhabit the gallery space of the Japan Foundation for this third, and final, exhibition in the Facetnate 2010 program. *Closed 20 and 23 September Image by The Japan Foundation, Sydney.
If spending more time at home has made your indoor plant collection grow, you're not alone. After all, picking up new green babies is a surefire way to brighten up your home, including the WFH office. To help fuel your greenery obsession even further is same-day plant delivery service Natures Colours, which has everything from flowers to foliage and fruit trees. What started as a humble nursery in Dural back in 2009 now has over 100 different plants, which you can order with a click of a button. Head online and you can get yourself a fiddle leaf fig, devil's ivy, monstera deliciosa, hard-to-kill succulent or even a citrus tree without the hassle of carrying it home on the bus. All plants are hand-potted in durable, pretty pots, made with up to 80 percent recycled plastic, as well as ceramic pots and patterned planter bags. Each plant comes with a care guide, so even if you don't have a green thumb (yet), your bundles of greenery are sure to thrive. If you're not sure what kind of frond you're looking for, you can search by size, care-level, light-level and environment, plus ones that are pet friendly. If your home is already looking more like a greenhouse, Natures Colours' plants make great gifts, too. All gift plants include a printed card, plant care guide and gift bag. You can also add presents such as candles, tea, a cactus-shaped propagation station, handmade chocolate and an oyster mushroom growing kit. Same-day delivery is available across Sydney for a wide range of plants, which you can check out here, with costs starting from $19. Orders must be placed before 11am, otherwise next-day delivery is available for all other orders. Natures Colours delivers across a heap of Sydney suburbs, with same-day and next-day delivery available for a wide range of plants and gifts. To see what's on offer — and to order — head to the website.
Those planning a trip across the Tasman can rejoice today as the quarantine-free travel bubble between New South Wales and New Zealand has reopened. Flights between NSW and NZ were given permission to resume from 11.59pm (AEST) on Sunday, May 9 following a two-day pause. The temporary travel ban was in response to two new cases of COVID-19 identified in Sydney last week. While the travel bubble has reopened, anyone who visited a COVID-19 exposure site during specified times must not travel to New Zealand within 14 days from attending the location of concern. As more exposure sites are continually revealed, anyone who does enter New Zealand who has been to a location of concern in the previous 14 days, will have to immediately self-isolate and call the New Zealand Healthline on 0800 611 116 for advice on self-isolating and getting tested. "I am pleased with the way the response process has been managed this week," COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hopkins said. "It has been determined that the risk to public health in New Zealand remains low." When New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced the two-way trans-Tasman bubble back in April, she noted that it could and would be paused if and when outbreaks occur. This latest pause in quarantine-free travel is the second of its kind since the bubble opened, after NZ suspended flights from Western Australia at the beginning of May in response to Perth's recent cases. Flights between NZ and WA were given the all-clear to resume just a day later. https://twitter.com/covid19nz/status/1391204649672183813 While no new cases of locally acquired COVID-19 have been reported in NSW in the past 48 hours, the state's restrictions on dancing, masks and gatherings have been extended until Monday, May 17 as health officials continue to search for the 'missing link' between an overseas traveller and the locally acquired cases. Under the current restrictions, a 20-person cap is in place for gatherings in homes in Greater Sydney; drinking while standing up, singing and dancing are no longer allowed at pubs, clubs and restaurants; and masks must be warn in some indoor public locations. To find out more about the status of COVID-19 in NSW, head to the NSW Health website.
Every year for the past century, the Archibald Prize has recognised exceptional works of portraiture by Australian artists. In 2021, from a field of 52 finalists, the coveted award has gone to Melbourne-based artist Peter Wegner for Portrait of Guy Warren at 100. A unanimous decision by this year's judges, Wegner's portrait of the centenarian and fellow artist obviously won the gong in a fitting year. "Guy Warren turned 100 in April — he was born the same year the Archibald Prize was first awarded in 1921," Wegner said. "This is not why I painted Guy, but the coincidence is nicely timed." Wegner's win came after an equal number of works from both male and female artists made the finalists list for the first time in Archibald history — and plenty of these pieces are now on display at the Art Gallery of NSW. Until Sunday, September 26, Sydneysiders can head to the gallery to scope out the best portraits from this year's entrants, as well as entries and winners for the Wynne and Sir John Sulman prizes, too. Yolŋu painter and printmaker Nyapanyapa Yunupiŋu took out the former this year, with the Wynne Prize awarding the best landscape painting of Australian scenery or figure sculpture. The artist won for Garak – night sky, a piece represents Djulpan, the Seven Sisters star clusters that are also known as Pleiades. [caption id="attachment_814782" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Winner Wynne Prize 2021. Nyapanyapa Yunupiŋu. Garak – night sky. © the artist. Photo: AGNSW, Mim Stirling.[/caption] The Sir John Sulman Prize goes to the best mural, subject or genre painting, and was this year awarded to Georgia Spain for Getting down or falling up. Limbs feature heavily in the piece, which was selected as the winner from 21 finalists by fellow artist Elisabeth Cummings. Across the three prizes, 2144 entries were received this year — the second-highest number ever after 2020. And, the three prizes received the highest-ever number of entries from Indigenous artists. If you don't agree with the judges, you can cast your own vote for People's Choice, which will be announced on Wednesday, September 1. Top image: Winner Archibald Prize 2021. Peter Wegner, Portrait of Guy Warren at 100. © the artist. Photo: AGNSW, Jenni Carter.
Dance music is having a real moment with the rise of global sensations like Fred again.. and we're lucky enough to have a thriving dance music scene right here in our own backyard, as well as a host of artists seamlessly blending bassy beats with other genres. Western Sydney's own Ashli is building a cult following through her mix of pop, dance and R&B — and you can catch her at the Sydney Opera House for Vivid 2023. The intimate performance will take place in The Utzon Room of the famed venue. This mid-century space allows artists to have unrivalled proximity to their audience, setting the performances against the backdrop of the spectacular Sydney Harbour. Fresh from taking the stage at SXSW Austin and her inclusion on the SXSW Sydney lineup, Ashli will be performing tracks from her breakout 2022 EP Only One, spanning the club-influenced production of tracks like 'Dance Again' through to raw and intimate songwriting on 'Fields'. The performance is part of the Sydney Opera House's larger Vivid program that also features Cat Power's live reimagining of Bob Dylan's iconic 1966 performance The Royal Albert Hall Concert, Devonté Hynes (aka Blood Orange) performing selected classical works with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and a pop-up bar from The Midnight Special.
If you're in Croydon Park, you can head to By George this weekend to get a taste of Tokyo Lamington. The cafe tucked away on Georges River Road will have some of the Newtown bakery's most popular flavours on offer for Croydon Park locals who haven't been able to get to Tokyo Lamington's own store during lockdown. The three flavours you can nab are the fan-favourite fairy bread lamington, the apple pie lamington and the OG, of course. Over the last few years, Tokyo Lamington's Min Chai and Eddie Stewart have been on a mission to make the humble Australian dessert world-famous. After selling lamingtons in Singapore and Tokyo, they brought the brand to its home country, launching a store in Newtown last year. While this meant that inner west locals were suddenly flocking to try Tokyo Lamington's inventive takes on the Aussie dessert, these next-level treats have still been hard-to-reach for many Sydneysiders, especially while we can only travel five kilometres from our house during lockdown. So, to help spread the joy, the inner west bakery has been running pop-ups in Parramatta, Penrith, Cecil Hills and now Croydon Park. The collaboration will begin 8am on Saturday and run throughout the weekend, or until stock runs out. So, head down early if you want to be 100-percent sure you'll be snacking on a chocolate and coconut covered treat this weekend.
There couldn't be a better spot to gather for a feast after a day's exploration than in the mess hall of The Shearers Quarters at Kimo Estate. A 12-person gaggle of friends can spread out in this rustically renovated shed that sits within 7000 acres of rolling sheep- and cattle-grazing land. The earthen, knobbly kitchen benches are ideal for cooking up a storm after touring the Gundagai wine region or dropping lines in the Murrumbidgee and Tumut rivers searching for a catch of trout, Murray cod, yellowbelly or bream to bring to the barbecue. If you're an adventurous lot, consider planning your trip around the estate's five-day horse riding program, or jump out the front door and into a helicopter for a stunning flight through the Snowy Mountains foothills. Top image: Destination NSW
"I ran into her on computer camp"... was that in Bergen, Norway? The synth-driven duo with a slick devotion to red tracksuits are back with "the most extravagant single in history". Datarock's new single 'Catcher In The Rye' comes as a designer toy with a USB stick that features 110 tracks, 1500 photos taken at their shows across 33 countries, 20 music videos, and Never Say Die, a brand new hour-long concert film. Definitely extravagant, and a novel idea, if you think about it. Generally lumped in with fellow electro-rock revivalists LCD Soundsystem, Hot Chip and Klaxons, Datarock are the self-proclaimed peak of pop evolution. They deliver Devo-esque disco with post-punk licks, effortlessly traversing between four/four Groovebox rhythms and spacey melodies. They are festival favourites across North America, Europe, Asia and South America, as renowned for their onstage aerobics and uptempo performances as they are for their covetable tracksuits. Datarock are in Australia for Groovin the Moo but are bringing their shimmery sonic soundscapes to the Oxford Art Factory this Thursday. It'd be a smart idea to grab tickets and get a pair of wraparound Porsche sunglasses quick.
As a pavement-wandering, car-less pedestrian, I envy the thousands of city spaces hoarded by those four-wheel metal machines. They may soundly take you from A to B, but once you get there, valuable city space goes to waste. What if I paid for the parking space within the city walls — renting, as it were, a tiny patch of land — and then invited some friends to bring lemonade and a frisbee, a tiny dog and a picnic basket? Our 'parking space' would be the urban park of my dreams. This is the premise of PARK(ing) Day. What started as an art installation has turned into a wordwide event. While the original Rebar project questioned how we use our urban spaces, PARK(ing) Day now also stands for creativity, unscripted social interactions, generosity and play. It acts as an 'open source' project that can been adapted to any variety of social issues in the world. Last year more than 700 parks were hosted in 140 cities across 21 countries on six continents with scenes from the wonderful to the wacky. For more ideas on how to start your own park, check out the PARKing Day manual, or else simply join a park nearby. https://youtube.com/watch?v=BYlGlOs5nuA
Five days, more than 100 features, documentaries and shorts, and all of the weird and wonderful cinema delights a movie buff could ask for. Add them together, and that's the 2017 Sydney Underground Film Festival in a twisted nutshell. Celebrating its 11th year from September 14 to 17, this alternative film fest knows how to venture beyond the mainstream. It's the perfect follow-up to Sydney Film Festival. Take this year's opening and closing efforts, for example. When SUFF kicks off, it'll be with a treasure trove of unearthed VHS finds that you literally won't see anywhere else — and to close things off, it'll bring a flick that sparked walkouts at Sundance to its long-term home at Marrickville's Factory Theatre. The former comes courtesy of the Australian debut of the live comedy and commentary-filled Found Footage Festival, while the latter is the post-apocalyptic, stomach-churning, Hannibal Buress and Tim Heidecker-starring Kuso, and they're set to provide quite the festival bookends. In between, SUFF will venture from the mind-bending cult thrills of The Endless — a destined-to-be cult movie about a cult — to one-take Aussie effort Watch the Sunset and the maternal mayhem of Prevenge, where being pregnant brings murderous messages from the unborn. Michael Cera pops up in Lemon and Nick Offerman in Infinity Baby, two American indies demonstrating humanity's social deficiencies in very different ways. Slasher satire Tragedy Girls, ultra-violent Japanese cyberpunk comedy Meatball Machine Kodoko and a tribute screening of George A. Romero's The Crazies help up the horror quota. From the documentary slate, the festival goes heavy on music thanks to factual explorations of L7, The Melvins, ambient house pioneers The Orb, British DIY duo Sleaford Mods and the family members of late American extreme punk musician GG Allins, and also gives cinephiles an extra thrill via Dawson City: Frozen Time, which journeys through a once-lost nitrate film collection. Real-life exorcisms in Liberami also prove a highlight, as does docu-fiction consumerism takedown Drib and the search for a fake rock in Where is Rocky II? If that's not enough, SUFF will also host a soiree dedicated to 16mm cinema, the return of the breakfast cereal cartoon party (and a new late-night session as well). The 2017 Sydney Underground Film Festival runs from September 14 to 17 at The Factory Theatre, Marrickville. For more information or to buy tickets, visit the festival website.
Sydney-based writer, psychotherapist and multidisciplinary artist Noula Diamantopoulos has a new show and it's all about L-O-V-E. In a series of poetic neon artworks, Agape asks what it means to fall in love, whether we can accurately define love, and why love can hurt so much sometimes — ultimately arguing that it shouldn't. An artist known for exploring universal emotion and human feeling, Diamantopoulos recently completed a public art commission as part of the 'Love Shouldn't Hurt' domestic violence campaign. You might have seen the massive mural depicting domestic violence survivor Felicity Cook at 182 George Street, crafted from 20,000 jar lids? That was her. In this latest exhibition, each work features a Greek word or poetic phrase — in Diamantopoulos's own handwriting — that refer to various facets of love, plus a single abstract drawing piece full of symbolic imagery. Look closely and you might see the double helix of the DNA sequence, or maybe even the muscles and arteries of the human heart. Image: Noula Diamantopoulos, Agapo mou, 2017, neon, acrylic sheet, unique edition, 45cm x 80cm.
If the stunning view from Tweed Regional Gallery is anything to go by, Murwillumbah is an amazing place to get your art fix. And there's no better time to go there than this autumn. Murwillumbah Art Trail is back for its fourth year, turning the town into a gallery itself to celebrate the best of the region's art and artists. This year the event responds to the 2017 flood, which devastated the town and left hundreds homeless, with the theme Moving On. Visual art, performance, sculpture, film and dance will be shown and staged in interesting places, turning the town into an enormous gallery for the ten-day event. It will be a celebration of the community's resilience and generosity in the wake of the disaster, too. The ability of art to heal will be reflected in pop-up galleries, street events, a sculpture park, interactive workshops and, of course, brilliant local food and wine.
Among the English language's best phrases, 'all you can eat' ranks up there with the best of them. It'd sound great in any language, of course, and you might hear it in German over the weekend of Saturday, June 29 and Sunday, June 30 — aka 'so viel du essen kannst'. Specifically, you might hear either version at Munich Brauhaus, The Bavarian and the Bavarian Beerhaus, which are all offering an appropriate stuff-your-face deal. For a two-hour sitting, you can tuck into as many schnitzels as you can stomach. Served on a platter, there are three varieties on offer: the uber schnitzel, which is decked out with rocket, semi-dried tomato and parmesan; the jager schnitzel, topped with wild mushroom ragu; and the good ol' parmigiana, which obviously comes with melted mozzarella, tomato sauce and ham. Talk about good schnit. The special costs $39 per person, also includes unlimited mashed potato and potato salad — yep, both hot and cold spuds — and is available for bookings of at least two people. You do need to book, however, so gather the gang, get planning, and make a date with the Munich Brauhaus in The Rocks, Beerhaus on York Street or one of the Bavarians scattered around, including in Bondi, Manly, Chatswood. The only one not included is the Bavarian in the Entertainment Quarter.
UPDATE, April 24, 2021: Parasite is available to stream via Stan, Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Amazon Video. When writer-director Bong Joon-ho lets two families roam around and unleash their best and worst in an opulent South Korean mansion, he couldn't have placed them in a better spot. The kind of house that anyone would dream of living in, Parasite's main setting is a multi-storey playground filled with wide-open spaces, gleaming surfaces and modernist decor, all opening out onto a grassy, leafy backyard. A real estate agent's fantasy as well, this not-so-humble abode is the bricks-and-mortar pinnacle of success and wealth. As created by production designer Lee Ha-jun to meet Bong's specific vision (a real house that matched the filmmaker's needs simply didn't exist), the labyrinthine structure is a puzzle box, too. Within its walls, mysteries linger. Here, anything and everything could happen. Parasite proves exceptional in every single frame and detail that it flicks onto the screen — but the way that this sprawling central home encapsulates the movie's very essence is a towering feat. Already lauded and applauded, not to mention awarded the top prizes at both the Cannes and Sydney film festivals, Parasite isn't short on achievements. Internationally renowned and beloved as the auteur behind The Host, Snowpiercer and Okja, Bong has crafted a bleak, twisty blend of black tragi-comedy, pulsating thrills and socially relevant horror — a movie that's such a phenomenal example of all that cinema can and should be that you'll want to high-five the filmmaker after watching it. Parasite possesses a pitch-perfect cast of both veteran and up-and-coming actors, all playing their parts with devastating precision. It's scripted, with Okja assistant director turned first-time co-writer Han Jin-won, to tease, mesmerise, infuriate, satirise and amuse in equal measures. And its look and pace, courtesy of the finessed work of cinematographer Hong Kyung-pyo (Bong's Mother) and editor Yang Jin-mo (Bong's Okja), is as polished and probing as its all-important setting. When viewers first meet Ki-taek (Song Kang-ho), his wife Chung-sook (Chang Hyae-jin), and their young but grown-up children Ki-woo (Choi Woo-shik) and Ki-jung (Park So-dam), they're dwelling in a damp, cockroach-infested basement apartment. They're also all out of work. Piggybacking whichever unlocked wi-fi network they can find keeps them going — and, when the streets outside are being fumigated, the family isn't opposed to keeping the windows open to take advantage of the free pest control (health consequences be damned). Combined, their only regular source of income comes from folding pizza boxes, with zero other prospects on the horizon. Then Ki-woo's former classmate Min (Park Seo-joon) asks if he'll fill in at a lucrative private tutoring gig. While Ki-woo doesn't have the requisite university degree such a position usually needs, it's easy to manufacture thanks to Ki-jung's impressive photoshop skills. Taking plenty of cues from this early bit of subterfuge, Parasite could be dubbed the ultimate 'fake it till you make it' movie. Stepping foot inside the film's main setting, Ki-Woo wows not only his new, quickly love-struck teenage pupil Da-hye (Jung Ziso), but her flighty mother Yeon-kyo (Cho Yeo-jeong) too. He's soon part of the household, which also includes tech entrepreneur patriarch Park (Lee Sun-kyun), pre-adolescent son Da-song (Jung Hyeon-jun) and their housekeeper (Lee Jeong-eun). With Ki-woo eager to bring his own family into this rich, luxurious orbit, an underhanded plan emerges. Without spoiling any specifics from this narrative juncture onwards, Bong was inspired to write Parasite after spotting a smudge on his pants. This intriguing tidbit gives very little away, although corrupting an otherwise pristine environment — and pondering whether a splatter of disarray makes supposed perfection and privilege better or worse — is the film's thematic stomping ground. The movie's lush locale draws viewers in, all so that it can shatter the allure. Slippery performances, with seemingly clear-cut characters becoming anything but, do the same. So too does Bong and his crew's exacting craftsmanship, which keeps audiences both immersed and guessing. Add shifting tones and changing genres to the fold as well, because evolution and elusiveness are among the movie's most crucial tools. Indeed, from sets and actors to framing and mood, every element of Parasite is weaponised. More than that, it's all calibrated and wielded for maximum impact. This isn't just a killer picture on all of the standard levels, however. Contemplating society's growing class collisions and inequities, Parasite also makes a killer statement. It shouldn't escape attention that three of the past year's absolute best and most astute works, all from South Korean or Japanese filmmakers, have taken aim at the increasing gap between the haves and the have nots. Or, looking to America as well, that one of 2019's great horror releases plays in the same terrain while also bringing race into the equation. Parasite shares its grifting, struggling family with Hirokazu Kore-eda's Shoplifters, its tonal flips and wiliness with Lee Chang-dong's Burning, and its malevolent tone with Jordan Peele's Us, adding to a blossoming field of urgent, intense and diverse cinema that interrogates the societal status quo with a rightfully scathing eye. That said, there's no mistaking Bong's dark, devious and delightful thriller for any other film — or for anything but a hands-down masterpiece. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_0KJAzyUJc
The second offering from the Rhys Nicholson, Kyran Wheatley team at Giant Dwarf, this is classic New York-style stand-up comedy: an opener, feature set, and world-class headliner, emceed each month by one of the nation's finest talents. You'll be hard pressed to find a higher quality selection of comedy anywhere in Australia — let alone Sydney. So get along on the first Tuesday of the month now, because this is going to be the next big thing.
You don’t call a movie 10 Cloverfield Lane without trying to get your audience guessing. With JJ Abrams in the producer's chair, there's an immediate game afoot. Just how will it connect to Cloverfield, the 2008 found footage creature feature he was also involved in? That's just one of the questions the movie inspires, though in truth it might be the least interesting. Given that the film spends the bulk of its time in a bunker with a suspicious Mary Elizabeth Winstead and a possibly hostile John Goodman hiding from what may or may not be an apocalyptic attack, there are plenty of other things to contemplate. Here's two: is Howard (Goodman) telling the truth when he tells Michelle (Winstead) that he's keeping her underground for her own safety? Or is the paranoid doomsday fanatic using his survivalist obsession for more nefarious means? When an accident brings the two together, Michelle can't help doubting Howard's true motives after she wakes up injured, semi-clad and chained to the wall. He spins a story about global devastation, which fellow cellar dweller Emmett (John Gallagher Jr.) backs up. However, even when the trio settles into a tentative routine of dinners and board games, she can't shake the feeling that something isn't right. Indeed, Michelle might pretend otherwise — and prove determined and resourceful when needed — but there's no mistaking her anxiety and uncertainty. Those emotions aren't hers alone, with 10 Cloverfield Lane forcing viewers to share in her uneasiness. Hiding as much as they make plain, first-time director Dan Trachtenberg and writers Josh Campbell, Matthew Stuecken and Damien Chazelle (Whiplash) sustain a pressure-cooker atmosphere and an air of mystery. Through canny camera placement, fine-tuned framing, savvy editing, a foreboding score and a willingness to take its time, the claustrophobic thriller has great fun teasing its audience. Maintaining a balance of playfulness and suspense also helps counter any similarities to Room or even The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt — and while shades of everything from Psycho to War of the Worlds are also evident, the film's path is its own. Forget the shaky visuals and sprawling nature of its predecessor, too. In an effort Abrams has labelled a "spiritual successor" to Cloverfield rather than a sequel, the images are stable, the focus tight and confined, and the menace more psychological than monstrous. Of course, Goodman ensures the threat of physical terror never quite dissipates, in his most substantial role in years. His richly textured performance is only one part of the on-screen equation though, with Winstead's reactions equally as precise and persuasive. Watching the two face off over what's going on and why they're there — with a mostly affable Gallagher in the middle — makes it easy to forget that there's the bigger puzzle of the feature's name to ponder. They're so effective, as is the film in keeping the mood tense and the surprises coming, that 10 Cloverfield Lane proves gripping irrespective of any monster movie ties.
What do films about bickering neighbours, wannabe heavy metal bands and a boy wandering through the forest all have in common? They're on this year's Scandinavian Film Festival bill. While the annual event always surveys the cinema output of a variety of countries — Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, namely — it also dives into movies on a range of topics. Case in point: one title explores the college exploits of a teenager with supernatural abilities, but it's definitely not the kind of movie that you're thinking of, and another tracks youths trying to survive a mass shooting. They're some of the highlights of the 2018 fest, which tours Australia between July 10 and August — and if you'd like to hear more, keep reading. The full lineup includes everything from border patrol officers and Saint Bernards to icy westerns and an extremely different take on capitalism-drive class clashes. From all of the above and more, here are our six must-sees. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJghTR5y9U0 UNDER THE TREE It sounds like a storyline on any routine soap opera: two neighbouring families get into a turf war over the most ordinary of issues. And yes, as the title suggests, it's a tree. Overhanging branches aren't the only things casting a shadow over these particular lives, however, as marital woes, Ikea, family pets and more become involved in this bleak but hilarious study of bad behaviour. One side acts, the other retaliates, and the film's various spats escalate, although the emotions at the movie's core always remain believable and relatable. As well as featuring a number of impressive performances by Icelandic talents, especially from veteran Edda Björgvinsdóttir, Under the Tree represents another winning effort from writer/director Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurðsson. Like his earlier feature Either Way, which was remade as Prince Avalanche, don't be surprised if this gets the English-language treatment. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mi2N-DFfe7Q THELMA The best super-powered film of the past year doesn't involve Wonder Woman, Black Panther or any other Marvel or DC characters. We're not saying that the big end of town hasn't turned out some great caped crusader flicks (and some terrible ones, too) over the last 12 months or so, but Thelma plays with extraordinary abilities in a completely different manner. The latest work from Oslo, August 31st and Louder Than Bombs' filmmaker Joachim Trier, it's a thriller about a college freshman (Eili Harboe) who copes with her new Oslo surroundings — and adjusts to her new bond with fellow student Anja (Kaya Wilkins) — in ways that surprise, astonish and truly cut to the heart of being a confused, anxious soul in a troubling world. Part sci-fi, part horror, part coming-of-age effort, the end result is a piercing exploration of identity that looks as impressive as it feels. HEAVY TRIP They're the world's first symphonic, post-apocalyptic, reindeer-grinding, Christ-abusing, extreme war pagan, Fennoscandian metal group, as they describe themselves, but these four Finnish villagers don't quite know how to chase their dreams. After 12 years of rehearsing in a slaughterhouse basement, the twenty-somethings finally record their own song — and after accidentally drenching a Norwegian festival promoter with a barrel of blood, Turo (Johannes Holopainen) starts telling everyone that they've scored a huge first gig. What happens next both follows the expected path and throws in plenty of unexpected incidents, altercations and antics, with the comedy caper including everything from a love triangle to grave-robbing to sailing on a viking ship. Still, even when it veers into silly territory, Heavy Trip remains inventive, heartfelt and very amusing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2WRsAyC-K4 VALLEY OF SHADOWS The gothic horror tradition is alive and well in moody, brooding Norwegian effort Valley of Shadows, which proves as haunting and gorgeously gloomy as its title suggests. The film might send a youngster trampling through creepy surroundings, but it carves its own path away from the current Stranger Things-inspired trend and its various offshoots. In fact, anything that seems familiar in the narrative is soon eclipsed by this confident and unnerving movie's commanding tone, as well as its eye-catching 35mm-shot images. Story-wise, the debut by writer/director Jonas Matzow Gulbrandsen follows a six-year-old's (Adam Ekeli) foray into a nearby forest in search of his runaway dog, and the folklore-like events that eventuate. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0RaGwzqLBE WINTER BROTHERS Danish drama Winter Brothers has won multiple awards for its cinematography, and it's immediately easy to see why — shot on 16mm film and casting its lens over snowy landscapes, remote homes, dark mines and the general inner workings of industrial settings, it's never less than striking to look at. As a study of masculinity left to fester in an isolated environment, it's also an emotionally powerful piece, winning Best Picture at the Danish Academy Awards for its troubles. Examining the lives of two miner siblings (Elliott Crosset Hove and Simon Sears) as they engage in a spat with their neighbours (yes, that seems to be a theme this festival) and make moonshine, this tense, textured movie knows exactly how it wants its viewers to feel. Helping perfect the ideal unsettling mood is a score that knows when to drone with ominous purpose, and knows when silence says everything it needs to. U — JULY 22 There's nothing new about recreating a harrowing real-life event from the perspective of those who were there, and giving audiences an on-the-ground view of their horrifying experiences. There's nothing new about adopting that approach when it comes to mass shootings either, or just generally unravelling a tense and terrifying situation in a single shot. Still, Norwegian effort U — July 22 finds the best way to plunge viewers into the thick of one of the most traumatic incidents in the country's history. On the eponymous date in 2011, a right-wing extremist gunned down 69 of the 500 attendees at a youth summer camp on the island of Utøya, with filmmaker Erik Poppe following one 19-year-old's efforts to survive. Lead actress Andrea Berntzen is fantastic as the desperate young woman searching for her sister, and for a way to make it out alive, in a feature that's never easy to watch but remains heartbreakingly engrossing — and important — from start to finish. The Scandinavian Film Festival tours the country between July 10 and August 5, screening at Sydney's Palace Norton Street, Palace Verona and Palace Central from July 10–29; Melbourne's Palace Cinema Como, Palace Brighton Bay and Palace Westgarth from July 12–29; and Brisbane's Palace Barracks from July 19 to August 5. For the full program, visit the festival website.
If seeing movies and TV shows you love pick up shiny trophies is your preferred form of sport, congrats — awards season is here for another year. We're never too far away from Hollywood's latest opportunity to celebrate itself, given that the Emmys were only a couple of months back. But the period between December and March tends to be the entertainment industry's version of Christmas (or until April in 2021, given that the Oscars happened later than usual). Accordingly, it's that time of year for the Golden Globes, which has just announced its latest batch of nominees. That said, if you're keen to actually watch a heap of people collect their accolades come Monday, January 10, Australian and New Zealand time, think again — the ceremony won't be televised due to multiple controversies surrounding the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the organisation behind the awards, and whether it'll stream somewhere (and if any celebrities will actually show up) hasn't yet been revealed. The list of films and series competing still spans plenty of 2021 favourites — covering both the big and small screens, because the Globes likes to have it both ways. Among the cinema fields, Jane Campion's phenomenal western The Power of the Dog leads the charge with seven nods, a feat only matched by nostalgic Kenneth Branagh-directed drama Belfast, which was inspired by the filmmaker's own childhood. And in the TV categories, Succession picked up five nominations, Ted Lasso and The Morning Show nabbed four, and a heap of shows — including Squid Game — picked up three. The Power of the Dog received Australian funding — and from New Zealand, too — so there's a local tie to this year's nominees. Campion also scored a nod for Best Director for the film, and Aussie actor Kodi Smit-McPhee earned a spot among the Best Supporting Actor nominees. Still staying local, Nicole Kidman is a Best Actress in a Drama contender in the cinema fields for playing Lucille Ball in Being the Ricardos, while Succession's Sarah Snook scored a Best Supporting Actress nomination in the TV categories. A heap of other excellent flicks and shows earned some love as well — including a Best Drama nod for Dune, a Best Comedy nomination for Paul Thomas Anderson's Licorice Pizza, acting recognition's for the latter's first-timers Alana Haim (yes, of Haim) and Cooper Hoffman (son of the Philip Seymour Hoffman), plus a trio of nominations for The Great, Hacks and Only Murders in the Building. Other highlights span the Best Actress in a Comedy or Musical nod for Annette's Marion Cotillard, Lupin's two showings, and Jennifer Coolidge's recognition for The White Lotus. Plus, after making history in 2021 for nominating three women for Best Director for the first time ever — after only ever nominating seven other female filmmakers in the Golden Globes prior 77-year run — the awards have given not only Campion but also The Lost Daughter's Maggie Gyllenhaal some love this time around. If you're wondering what else is in the running, here's the full list: GOLDEN GLOBE NOMINEES: BEST MOTION PICTURE — DRAMA Belfast CODA Dune King Richard The Power of the Dog BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE — DRAMA Jessica Chastain, The Eyes of Tammy Faye Olivia Colman, The Lost Daughter Nicole Kidman, Being the Ricardos Lady Gaga, House of Gucci Kristen Stewart, Spencer BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE — DRAMA Mahershala Ali, Swan Song Javier Bardem, Being the Ricardos Benedict Cumberbatch, The Power of the Dog Will Smith, King Richard Denzel Washington, The Tragedy of Macbeth BEST MOTION PICTURE — MUSICAL OR COMEDY Cyrano Don't Look Up Licorice Pizza Tick, Tick … Boom! West Side Story BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE — MUSICAL OR COMEDY Marion Cotillard, Annette Alana Haim, Licorice Pizza Jennifer Lawrence, Don't Look Up Emma Stone, Cruella Rachel Zegler, West Side Story BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE — MUSICAL OR COMEDY Leonardo DiCaprio, Don't Look Up Peter Dinklage, Cyrano Andrew Garfield, Tick, Tick … Boom! Cooper Hoffman, Licorice Pizza Anthony Ramos, In the Heights BEST MOTION PICTURE — ANIMATED Encanto Flee Luca My Sunny Maad Raya and the Last Dragon BEST MOTION PICTURE — FOREIGN LANGUAGE Compartment No. 6 Drive My Car The Hand of God A Hero Parallel Mothers BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN ANY MOTION PICTURE Caitríona Balfe, Belfast Ariana DeBose, West Side Story Kirsten Dunst, The Power of the Dog Aunjanue Ellis, King Richard Ruth Negga, Passing BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN ANY MOTION PICTURE Ben Affleck, The Tender Bar Jamie Dornan, Belfast Ciarán Hinds, Belfast Troy Kotsur, CODA Kodi Smit-McPhee, The Power of the Dog BEST DIRECTOR — MOTION PICTURE Kenneth Branagh, Belfast Jane Campion, The Power of the Dog Maggie Gyllenhaal, The Lost Daughter Steven Spielberg, West Side Story Denis Villeneuve, Dune BEST SCREENPLAY — MOTION PICTURE Paul Thomas Anderson, Licorice Pizza Kenneth Branagh, Belfast Jane Campion, The Power of the Dog Adam McKay, Don't Look Up Aaron Sorkin, Being the Ricardos BEST ORIGINAL SCORE — MOTION PICTURE Dune Encanto The French Dispatch Parallel Mothers The Power of the Dog BEST ORIGINAL SONG — MOTION PICTURE 'Be Alive', King Richard 'Dos Orugitas', Encanto 'Down to Joy', Belfast 'Here I Am (Singing My Way Home)', Respect 'No Time to Die', No Time to Die BEST TELEVISION SERIES — DRAMA Lupin The Morning Show Pose Squid Game Succession BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES — DRAMA Uzo Aduba, In Treatment Jennifer Aniston, The Morning Show Christine Baranski, The Good Fight Elisabeth Moss, The Handmaid's Tale MJ Rodriguez, Pose BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES — DRAMA Brian Cox, Succession Lee Jung-jae, Squid Game Billy Porter, Pose Jeremy Strong, Succession Omar Sy, Lupin BEST TELEVISION SERIES — MUSICAL OR COMEDY The Great Hacks Ted Lasso Reservation Dogs Only Murders in the Building BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES — MUSICAL OR COMEDY Hannah Einbinder, Hacks Elle Fanning, The Great Issa Rae, Insecure Tracee Ellis Ross, Black-ish Jean Smart, Hacks BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES — MUSICAL OR COMEDY Anthony Anderson, Black-ish Nicholas Hoult, The Great Steve Martin, Only Murders in the Building Martin Short, Only Murders in the Building Jason Sudeikis, Ted Lasso BEST TELEVISION LIMITED SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION Dopesick Impeachment: American Crime Story Maid Mare of Easttown The Underground Railroad BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES OR A MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION Jessica Chastain, Scenes From a Marriage Cynthia Erivo, Genius: Aretha Elizabeth Olsen, WandaVision Margaret Qualley, Maid Kate Winslet, Mare of Easttown BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LIMITED SERIES OR A MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION Paul Bettany, WandaVision Oscar Isaac, Scenes From a Marriage Michael Keaton, Dopesick Ewan McGregor, Halston Tahar Rahim, The Serpent BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, LIMITED SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION Jennifer Coolidge, The White Lotus Kaitlyn Dever, Dopesick Andie MacDowell, Maid Sarah Snook, Succession Hannah Waddingham, Ted Lasso BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, LIMITED SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TV Billy Crudup, The Morning Show Kieran Culkin, Succession Mark Duplass, The Morning Show Brett Goldstein, Ted Lasso Oh Yeong-su, Squid Game The 2022 Golden Globes will be announced on Monday, January 10 Australian and New Zealand time. For further details, head to the awards' website. Top image: The Crown, Des Willie/Netflix.
Patience is somewhat of a virtue with The Forgiven. It would be in it, too, if any of its wealthy white characters hedonistically holidaying in Morocco were willing to display the trait for even a second. Another addition to the getaways-gone-wrong genre, this thorny satirical drama gleefully savages the well-to-do, proving as eager to eat the rich as can be, and also lays bare the despicable coveting of exoticism that the moneyed think is an acceptable way to splash plentiful wads of cash. There's patently plenty going on in this latest release from writer/director John Michael McDonagh, as there typically is in features by the filmmaker behind The Guard, Calvary and War on Everyone. Here, he adapts Lawrence Osborne's 2012 novel, but the movie that results takes time to build and cohere, and even then seems only partially interested in both. Still, that patience is rewarded by The Forgiven's stellar lead performance by Ralph Fiennes, playing one of his most entitled and repugnant characters yet. Sympathies aren't meant to flow David Henninger's (Fiennes, The King's Man) way, or towards his wife Jo (Jessica Chastain, The Eyes of Tammy Faye). Together, the spiky Londoners abroad bicker like it's a sport — and the only thing fuelling their marriage. Cruelty taints their words: "why am I thinking harpy?", "why am I thinking shrill?" are among his, while she counters "why am I thinking high-functioning alcoholic?". He's a drunken surgeon, she's a bored children's author, and they're venturing past the Atlas Mountains to frolic in debauchery at the village their decadent pal Richard (Matt Smith, Morbius) and his own barbed American spouse Dally (Caleb Landry Jones, Nitram) have turned into a holiday home. Sympathy isn't designed to head that pair's way, either; "we couldn't have done it without our little Moroccan friends," Richard announces to kick off their weekend-long housewarming party. But when the Hennigers arrive late after tragically hitting a local boy, Driss (Omar Ghazaoui, American Odyssey), en route, the mood shifts — but also doesn't. The wicked turns of phrase that David slings at Jo have nothing on his disdain for the place and people around him, and he doesn't care who hears it. His assessment of the desert vista: "it's very picturesque, I suppose, in a banal sort of way". He drips with the prejudice of privilege, whether offensively spouting Islamophobic remarks or making homophobic comments about his hosts — and he doesn't, nay won't, rein himself in when Richard calls the police, reports the boy's death, pays the appropriate bribes and proclaims that their bacchanal won't otherwise be disturbed. The arrival of Driss' father Abdellah (Ismael Kanater, Queen of the Desert), and his request that David accompanies him home to bury his son, complicates matters, however. While David begrudgingly agrees, insultingly contending that it's a shakedown, Jo helps keep the party going, enjoying time alone to flirt with hedge fund manager Tom (Christopher Abbott, Possessor). John Michael McDonagh hasn't ever co-helmed a feature with his filmmaker brother Martin, but actors have jumped between the duo's respective works, with Fiennes — who starred in Martin's memorable In Bruges — among the latest. The siblings share something else, too, and not just a knack for assembling impressive casts; they're equally ace at fleshing out the characters inhabited by their dazzling on-screen cohorts via witty and telling dialogue. The Forgiven plays like it's in autopilot, though, but having Fiennes, Chastain, Smith and Jones (who appeared in Martin's Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri) utter its lines is a gift. Indeed, here it's the attitudes captured while they're speaking, and the behaviours and mannerisms made plain in how they're speaking, that add layer upon layer to this murky affair. That'd ring true even if Driss, Abdellah and the tense journey with the latter to inter the former weren't even in the narrative. That's one of the issues with The Forgiven: although David and Jo's lives inescapably change due to the accident, it and everything that it sparks almost plays as an aside. The aftermath is given ample attention, more so than the party, but the film frequently feels as David unshakeably does, like it too would rather be immersed in the revelry. Of course, that's much of the point, especially in Jo's parts of the story from there — and Richard, Dally and Tom's, plus everyone else still living it up (including Jack Ryan's Marie-Josée Croze as a French photographer, Operation Mincemeat's Alex Jennings as a British Lord and Old's Abbey Lee as an Australian party girl, complete with a Coles shopping bag holding her belongings). The Forgiven keeps skewering this fact, with McDonagh attempting to do just that every which way he can, but some of his efforts to mirror what's occurring on-screen through the feature's tone just don't land. When The Forgiven does hit its marks, it's weighty and knotty, and given depth and heft by Fiennes — and, during David's trip with Abdellah, by the powerful Kanater, plus the charismatic Saïd Taghmaoui (John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum) as the grieving patriarch's offsider and intermediary. It's savvy as a satire, too, albeit obvious, but when the balance tips the better, more compelling, more meaningful way, it's a far more potent picture. Empathising with David still isn't the tale's point, thankfully, and neither is a simplistic life lesson-filled pilgrimage that sees an affluent man learn the error of his oppressive tendencies against the less fortunate. Unsurprisingly, The Forgiven is at its best when it's as complex as its desert-swept cinematography (by The Guard and Calvary's Larry Smith) is gleaming. It's not quite right to say that McDonagh brings all of the movie's pieces together in the end — again, it's not exactly accurate to say that he always seems to want to — but Fiennes brings the film home. This is one of his finest performances, which is no small feat given the array of excellent portrayals that dot his resume, including his Oscar-nominated work in Schindler's List and The English Patient, as well as his awards-worthy turn in The Grand Budapest Hotel. It's no minor achievement given the loathsome, boozy, reckless and curmudgeonly figure he's playing, either. The rest of the feature's big names leave an imprint, from the well-cast Chastain playing it sharp but loose, to the appropriately shadowy Smith and catty scene-stealer Jones, but never with the same film-defining impact.
Do you have the time to listen to Green Day live? Do you now have 'Basket Case' from the California-born band's iconic 1994 album Dookie stuck in your head? To celebrate three decades since releasing one of the records that defined the 90s, Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt and Tré Cool are returning to Australia to play it in its entirety — and to also bust out their American Idiot album from 2004 in full as well. If you're a Green Day fan, welcome to paradise come Monday, March 3, 2025, when the band will hit up Engie Stadium in Sydney. We hope you have the time of your life getting a blast of 90s and 00s nostalgia, complete with 'When I Come Around', 'Longview', 'She', 'Boulevard of Broken Dreams', 'Wake Me Up When September Ends', 'Holiday' and, yes, 'American Idiot' echoing. [caption id="attachment_972774" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Alice Baxley, Apple Music[/caption] While the visit is part of the group's global The Saviors Tour, which is named for their 14th studio album Saviors, they're clearly happy to keep working through their best-known tunes — and, while they aren't on either Dookie or American Idiot, 'Minority', 'Brain Stew' and 'Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)' have been on Green Day's recent setlist overseas. In support, also bringing the 90s and 00s to mind, fellow California-born group AFI will share the stage on Green Day's 2025 Aussie tour. [caption id="attachment_972777" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Raph_PH via Flickr.[/caption] Top images: Raph_PH via Flickr, Alice Baxley.
Melbourne multi-instrumentalist Mark Zito, better known as Fractures, fell and fractured his neck last year — a pretty unfortunate (dare we say ironic?) incident given he was due to set off on his debut live tour at the time. (It probably hurt a bit, too.) Fortunately, Zito has made a full recovery and kicked off a short string of EP launch shows with an appearance at Splendour last week. Fractures' sounds are delicate, emotive, swoonworthy. Take a listen to his first single 'Twisted', or his most recent, the hypnotic, caramel-vocaled 'Won't Win'. Zito's is a pretty classic, oldie-but-a-goodie formula: the five-piece band, the quiet haunting melodies, plenty of emotion and an aesthetic comparable to Justin Vernon's (comparisons to Bon Iver really shouldn't be purely musical) — but one which earned him a couple of sold-out Sydney and Melbourne shows earlier this year. Zito will launch his Fractures EP at The Vanguard on August 8. (Fingers just crossed he doesn't fracture anything else first.) https://youtube.com/watch?v=q809aWGOsrY
If getting caught in the rain, not doing yoga and making love at midnight are the sort of things you like, then surely you must like piña coladas. All cheesy late-70s songs aside, there's nothing quite like this icy coconut, pineapple and rum drink to get you straight into holiday mode. Meaning 'strained pineapple' and originating from Puerto Rico where it's the national drink, the piña colada has been a steadfast favourite for all those on island time since at least the mid-1950s. The classic version of this tropical cocktail can vary, but for the most part, the drink consists of pineapple juice, coconut cream or coconut milk and rum and can be shaken or blended with plenty of ice. While messing with a classic can sometimes be a lost cause, when you enlist someone like Charlie Ainsbury, ex-This Must Be The Place bartender and Dan Murphy's Spirit Ambassador, to create a twist on the traditional, you end up with some delicious results. And while it's always nice having someone behind the bar pouring, shaking and blending your drinks, it's even better when you can be that person at home and really impress your guests. In the video above, Charlie Ainsbury teaches you the tips and tricks to making a classic piña colada and one with a twist. Study these recipes, stock up on some quality rum and tropical juices, and start wowing your friends with your newly learned piña colada knowledge. And if having your cocktails made for you is more your thing, head to Dan Murphy's House of Discovery, direction Tiki Bar, to immerse yourself further in the world of piña coladas. THE CLASSIC — 50 ml white rum — 50 ml pineapple juice — 50 ml coconut cream — A squeeze of lime juice — A slice of fresh pineapple Combine the rum, pineapple juice, coconut cream and lime juice in a shaker with ice, and give the mix a few good shakes. Pour over ice, and top it off with a fresh slice of pineapple. Charlie's tip: Feel free to add some sugar syrup to this recipe as coconut creams and pineapples vary in sweetness. THE SWIM-UP POOL BAR — 50 ml white rum — 30 ml pineapple juice — 15 ml lime juice — 10 ml orgeat syrup like Crawley's — Nutmeg Shake the rum, pineapple juice, lime juice and orgeat syrup together with glass, then strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with freshly grated nutmeg. Charlie's tip: While white rum is classically used for the piña colada, have fun experimenting with gold and dark rums, too. Sip, savour and boost your cocktail savoir-faire at Dan Murphy's House of Discovery from March 8–10. Get your tickets here.
Northern Beaches hotel Manly Pacific is set to unveil the result of a $30-million transformation this November. The extensive revamp is just a few weeks away from completion and will feature a new set of wellness-focused suites for tourists looking for a luxurious beach stay or Sydneysiders looking to get out of the city for a staycation. Two major elements of the renovations include the introduction of nine new rooms overlooking Manly Beach that will be fitted out with premium amenities and have access to wellness services, plus the new rooftop hotel pool for guests to enjoy between ocean swims and Northern Beaches adventures. "Whether you're here after work, or on a weekend getaway, from the moment you step into our hotel, you'll feel calm, rejuvenated and connected to the ocean," says Manly Pacific General Manager Dylan Cole. "Manly has always had a magical feel to it that can wash away the bustle of the city. At Manly Pacific, we've added a touch of beachside vibrance that amplifies the feeling of being above and away from it all." The Manly Pacific team has enlisted the help of Australian design firm Coco Republic to create a space that reflects the picturesque setting of Manly and its beaches. The refurbished hotel features natural materials and blue-grey tones throughout, evoking the coastal energy of its surrounds. The new features will join Manly Pacific's existing offerings, which include two in-house restaurants, Bistro Manly and Tokyo Joe. The hotel also offers specific work-from-hotel packages that help facilitate working staycations, including a study table, unlimited coffee, complimentary room service lunches and a knock-off cocktail at 5pm. Manly Pacific is located at 55 N Steyne, Manly. The hotel's $30 million renovation will be unveiled in November.
"I kneel before no one," says Teth-Adam, aka Black Adam, aka the DC Comics character that dates back to 1945, and that Dwayne Johnson (Red Notice) has long wanted to play. That proclamation is made early in the film that bears the burly, flying, impervious-to-everything figure's name, echoing as a statement of might as well as mood: he doesn't need to bow down to anyone or anything, and if he did he wouldn't anyway. Yet the DC Extended Universe flick that Black Adam is in — the 11th in a saga that's rarely great — kneels frequently to almost everything. It bends the knee to the dispiritingly by-the-numbers template that keeps lurking behind this comic book-inspired series' most forgettable entries, and the whole franchise's efforts to emulate the rival (and more successful) Marvel Cinematic Universe, for starters. It also shows deference to the lack of spark and personality that makes the lesser DC-based features so routine at best, too. Even worse, Black Adam kneels to the idea that slipping Johnson into a sprawling superhero franchise means robbing the wrestler-turned-actor himself of any on-screen personality. Glowering and gloomy is a personality, for sure, but it's not what's made The Rock such a box office drawcard — and, rather than branching out, breaking the mould or suiting the character, he just appears to be pouting and coasting. He looks the physical part, of course, as he needs to playing a slave-turned-champion who now can't be killed or hurt. It's hard not to wish that the Fast and Furious franchise's humour seeped into his performance, however, or even the goofy corniness of Jungle Cruise, Johnson's last collaboration with filmmaker Jaume Collet-Serra. The latter has template-esque action flicks Unknown, Non-Stop, Run All Night and The Commuter on his resume before that, and helms his current star here like he'd rather still directing Liam Neeson. That said, Black Adam, the character, has much to scowl about — and scowl he does. Black Adam, the film, has much backstory to lay out, with exposition slathered on thick during the opening ten minutes. As a mere human in 2600 BCE in the fictional Middle Eastern country of Kahndaq, its namesake was among an entire populace caught under a cruel ruler hungry for power, and for a powerful supernatural crown fashioned out a mineral called 'eternium' that said subjects were forced to mine. Now, 5000 years later, Black Adam is a just-awakened mortal-turned-god who isn't too thrilled about the modern world, or being in it. Bridging the gap: the fact that back in the day, one boy was anointed with magic by ancient wizards to defend Kahndaq's people (the word "shazam!" gets uttered, because Black Adam dwells in the same part of the DCEU as 2019's Shazam! and its upcoming sequel), but misusing those skills ended in entombment until modern-day resistance fighters interfere. The above really is just the preamble. Black Adam is freed by widowed professor Adrianna (Sarah Shahi, Sex/Life), who is trying to fight the Intergang, the mercenaries who've been Kahndaq's new oppressors for decades — and, yes, Black Adam gets caught up in that battle. But being out and about, instead of interred in a cave, gets the attention of the Justice Society. The DCEU already has the Justice League and the Suicide Squad, but it apparently still needs another super-powered crew. Indeed, Suicide Squad and The Suicide Squad's Amanda Waller (Viola Davis, The First Lady) even shows up to help put this new gang together. That's how Hawkman (Aldis Hodge, One Night in Miami), Doctor Fate (Pierce Brosnan, The Misfits), Cyclone (Quintessa Swindell, Voyagers) and Atom Smasher (Noah Centineo, the To All the Boys movies) don their caped-crusader getup and try to stop Black Adam, or convince him to stop himself. Another blatant act of kneeling on this film's part: its new team. The Justice Society isn't new on the page, and some of its number pre-date their patent Marvel counterparts — but reaching the screen now, after the MCU and the X-Men movies, makes this bunch seem like a rehash. Wings like the Falcon, seeing the future like Dr Strange, controlling the weather like Cyclone, changing size like Ant-Man: that's all covered here, and it's impossible not to make comparisons. That Hawkman, Doctor Fate, Cyclone and Atom Smasher are also given little personality doesn't help. The cast behind them visibly commit, and there's a better flick to be made with far more Brosnan waving around a golden helmet in it (a welcomely sillier one, too), but character development clearly wasn't high among screenwriters Adam Sztykiel (Scoob!), Rory Haines (The Mauritanian) and Sohrab Noshirvani's (also The Mauritanian) priorities. As often proves the case in this genre, because superhero movies have been their own genre for years, the main aim of Black Adam is laying the groundwork for more to come. The titular figure gets an origin story, then an entryway into the broader DCEU, then sets up future franchise appearances, then teases the next step via the obligatory post-credits sting — stop us when this doesn't sound familiar. It's little wonder, then, that everyone around Black Adam feels like filler, including Adrianna's son Amon (Bodhi Sabongui, The Baby-Sitters Club), as well as the villain of the piece. And it's hardly surprising that any attempts at thematic relevance or resonance are thinner than Black Adam's smile. This tries to be a picture about the great responsibility that comes with great power (yep, again), choosing to do the right thing, and the thorniness of being an anti-hero, and also about the merits (or not) of throwing American force around (or not) in other countries; 'tries' is the key word. Collet-Serra does give Sabongui the best action sequences, though, all involving sneaking out of, skateboarding around and skirting attacks in his apartment/building. There's a tactile sense to these moments — as lively and as lived-in as the film gets, too — that's thoroughly absent in the bland, generic look and feel elsewhere. That Black Adam kneels before and could simply be mashing up parts of 300, Clash of the Titans and Tomb Raider for much of its running time, especially visually, just makes a dull movie duller (the DCEU really can't move on from Man of Steel, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Justice League director Zack Snyder, so it seems). When the feature busts out The Rolling Stones' 'Paint It Black', because of course it does, it's both as obvious a choice as there is and a rare dose of energy. And when it shows iconic spaghetti western The Good, the Bad and the Ugly on a TV screen, wishing you were watching that instead comes swiftly — or watching Aquaman's gleeful ridiculousness, Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)'s rampant flair, or the non-DCEU weightiness of Joker or The Batman, actually.
