Every film is a portrait of ups and downs, no matter the genre. Without change and complications, plus either a sprinkling or a shower of chaos, there's little in the way of story for a movie to tell. In just three features, each hitting cinemas Down Under in successive years since 2022, Macedonian Australian filmmaker Goran Stolevski has demonstrated how deeply he understands this fact — and also that life itself is, of course, the same rollercoaster ride. So, when Housekeeping for Beginners starts by jumping between a joyous sing-along and a grim doctor's visit, he lays that juxtaposition between existence's highs and the lows bare in his third picture's frames. He has form: You Won't Be Alone, his folkloric horror film set in 19th-century Macedonia, segued early from new life to a witch's fate-shaping demands; Of an Age, a queer love story that unfurls in Melbourne, kicked off by flitting between dancing and a desperate against-the-clock rush. In You Won't Be Alone, the shapeshifting Wolf-Eateress who chose an infant to be her protege was played by Anamaria Marinca, the Romanian actor who has proven an unforgettable screen presence ever since the one-two punch of 2004's TV two-parter Sex Traffic — which won her a Best Actress BAFTA — and 2007's Cannes Palme d'Or-winning film 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days. Stolevski reenlists her assistance for Housekeeping for Beginners, and also illustrates his awareness of another immutable fact: that the eyes of Anamaria Marinca relay tales all by themselves. Here, they're weary but sharp and determined. They're devoted yet fierce, too. They possess the unrelenting gaze of someone who won't stop fighting for those she loves no matter what it takes, and regardless of how she initially reacts, a path that her social-worker character Dita is no stranger to traversing. That aforementioned crooning comes courtesy of precocious five-year-old Mia (newcomer Džada Selim), her rebellious teenage sister Vanesa (fellow debutant Mia Mustafa) and the charming Ali (Samson Selim, another first-timer), the young man who newly shares their Skopje abode. Everyone, including Vanesa and Mia's mother Suada (Alina Șerban, Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn), dwells under Marinca's Dita's roof — with the latter not just cohabitating with her girlfriend and her kids, but turning the house that she inherited into a refuge for those that North Macedonian society frowns upon. Ali is the latest lover of Dita's longterm gay roommate and friend Toni (Vladimir Tintor, Kumovi), hanging around after an app hookup. Young lesbians Elena (Sara Klimoska, Tin Kamp), Flora (Rozafë Celaj, Sophia) and Teuta (Ajshe Useini, yet another newcomer) also call the spot home. Being queer isn't a criminal offence in Housekeeping for Beginners' setting, but both same-sex marriage and adopting children by LGBTQIA+ couples are illegal. In the country's class system, being anything but Macedonian is also hardly greeted with warmth; Dita is Albanian, while Suada, her children and Ali are Romani. This motley crew is navigating each and every day the best that they can together; however, their safe space has grief in its future. It's Suada and Dita who attend the medical appointment at the movie's start, with Suada diagnosed with stage-four pancreatic cancer. Her one wish: that Dita adopt her girls, and also get married to and play happy families with Toni, who is Macedonian, so that Mia and Vanesa will be free of the stigma that Suada has always had to weather as a Roma woman. Stolevski is a plunge-in director — and screenwriter and editor, again taking on all three roles on Housekeeping for Beginners as he did on Of an Age. He dives into lives already in action and motion, crafting films that feel like they're dropping in. Ups and downs have preceded the events that his movies spin into their plots, then, and more will follow after his flicks tap out. Accordingly, he isn't one to spoon-feed specifics and context. The dynamics between his characters in Housekeeping for Beginners are revealed to audiences naturally, as are the setbacks and discrimination they encounter, often as viewers spend time in Dita's always-noisy, always-bustling home. While this isn't a one-location picture — Šutka, the Skopje municipality that's the world's only local administrative area with Balkan Romani as its official language, also features heavily — it is a film where observing its key figures in surroundings both comforting and challenging conveys as much as dialogue. Putting Marinca at the fore, a mix of grace and intensity beaming from her performance as Dita, was always going to rank among Stolevski's best choices in a feature filmmaking career that's already filled with stellar casting (see: Constellation's Noomi Rapace, Bad Behaviour's Alice Englert and Elite's Carloto Cotta in You Won't Be Alone; and also Swift Street's Elias Anton, Eden's Thom Green and Savage River's Hattie Hook in Of an Age). He's also a detail-driven director, making emotions and complexities plain in decisions as simple as the arrangement of people at a wedding and where the camera peers (or doesn't) when someone is speaking. And, again and again, he guides portrayals to match. From Șerban, he gets blistering power, with Suada explosive from the moment that she questions whether her medical treatment is being shaped by her ethnicity. Džada Selim, Samson Selim and Mustafa are all discoveries, too, breathing realism and vitality into the movie's youngest hearts and minds. Roving and intimate cinematography from Naum Doksevski (Sestri) also ensures that watching Housekeeping for Beginners feels akin to stepping inside it — and pondering the same questions that Dita, Suada, Toni, Ali and company each are. As the film that was selected as North Macedonia's Oscar contender in 2024's Best International Feature category (The Zone of Interest won) rides just a sliver of the ups and downs that its characters will face in their days, albeit significant ones, it gets them examining what comprises a family. There might be no such thing as a smooth-sailing journey from birth to death, or a surefire way to avoid heartbreak and loss, for anyone. There certainly isn't within Housekeeping for Beginners, which can also skew darkly comic when it comes to the bureaucratic hoops that require jumping through. But as Stolevski charts in his third movie about yearning for a place to belong, it's the people that you share those travails with day in and day out that makes a household.
If all you wanted for an early Christmas gift this year was for the Matildas to put on a spectacular show at the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup, Australia's national women's soccer team didn't disappoint. If all you're now hoping for this actual festive season is to hear three of the squad's stars chat about their experiences — and their careers in general, as well as what's brought them to this point — then the first-ever Open Air Live event is going to deliver there, too. Taking place at 7pm on Thursday, December 21 at Sydney's Commbank Stadium, Open Air Live will feature Matildas goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold, forward Caitlin Foord and defender Alanna Kennedy, who'll be back in Australia to get talking. All three impressed on the pitch in July and August, and cemented their place as Aussie sporting heroes, even if the semi-final loss to England meant that the Matildas didn't end up with the ultimate prize. On offer as well: a live masterclass where Arnold, Foord and Kennedy will show off their skills; and a match-day vibe thanks to four stages and ample use of the stadium screens. There's obviously plenty for the three Matildas players to discuss. Their Women's World Cup efforts enraptured the entire nation, including breaking viewing records to become the most-watched program on Aussie TV since 2001 when current records began, and likely ever. They had Nikki Webster sing to them in Brisbane afterwards, and are getting a team statue in the Queensland capital. And, of course, the campaign was the result of years of hard work both as a squad and on the individual level to get the Tillies to this point. Arnold, Foord and Kennedy will be back in Australia for the event from the UK, where all the trio play in the Women's Super League. Arnold is West Ham United's captain, while Foord plays for Arsenal and Kennedy for Manchester City. Top image: Tiff Williams.
If the date of January 26 finds you looking for a thoughtful way to reflect on the impact of Australia's colonisation on its First Nations people, you should join the folks from Sydney Festival the evening prior. For the sixth year in a row, the festival will be running a vigil at Barangaroo Reserve. Unlike previous years, the 2024 iteration will span 45 minutes from 8.30pm, in place of the overnight ceremony that's taken place in years gone by. This year, the event is titled Vigil: The Future and will be all about hope and empowering young voices, giving them a platform to share their stories and art. The ceremony will feature a large-scale public installation and a performance from a choir of young First Nations singers. The event is free and registration is not required this year. If you can't make it in person, the festival is also streaming Vigil: The Future online as part of Sydney Festival's AT HOME digital program.
UPDATE, Friday, June 21, 2024: May December is available to stream via Binge, Prime Video, YouTube Movies and iTunes. A line about not having enough hot dogs might be one of its first, but May December is a movie of mirrors and butterflies. In the literal sense, director Todd Haynes wastes few chances to put either in his frames. The Velvet Goldmine, Carol and Dark Waters filmmaker doesn't shy away from symbolism, knowing two truths that stare back at his audience from his latest masterpiece: that what we see when we peer at ourselves in a looking glass isn't what the rest of the world observes, and that life's journey is always one of transformation. Inspired by the real-life Mary Kay Letourneau scandal, May December probes both of these facts as intently as anyone scrutinising their own reflection. Haynes asks viewers to do the same. Unpacking appearance and perception, and also their construction and performance, gazes from this potently thorny — and downright potent — film. That not all metamorphoses end with a beautiful flutter flickers through just as strongly. May December's basis springs from events that received ample press attention in the 90s: schoolteacher Letourneau's sexual relationship with her sixth-grade student Vili Fualaau. She was 34, he was 12. First-time screenwriter Samy Burch changes names and details in her Oscar-nominated script — for Best Original Screenplay, which is somehow the film's only nod by the Academy — but there's no doubting that it takes its cues from this case of grooming, which saw Letourneau arrested, give birth to the couple's two daughters in prison, then the pair eventually marry. 2000 TV movie All-American Girl: The Mary Kay Letourneau Story used the recreation route; however, that was never going to be a Haynes-helmed feature's approach. The comic mention of hot dogs isn't indicative of May December's overall vibe, either: this a savvily piercing film that sees the agonising impact upon the situation's victim, the story its perpetrator has spun around herself, and the relentless, ravenous way that people's lives and tragedies are consumed by the media and public. While Oscar nods mightn't have come of it, May December is also an acting masterclass by two thespians who already have one such shiny trophy on their mantles each, plus a performer who turns in a stunner of a portrayal that's his best yet. With Haynes behind the camera, this is no surprise: watching the talent before his lens, even when they're Barbie dolls in Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story (the genuinely plastic rather than Margot Robbie kind), means bathing in pure emotion. In her fifth film for the director after Safe, Far From Heaven, I'm Not There and Wonderstruck, Julianne Moore (Sharper) perfects the clash of control and insecurity within Gracie Atherton-Yoo, the movie's Letourneau substitute. It's a magnificent effort from someone who is never anything less than that — and Natalie Portman (Thor: Love and Thunder), who plays a part so sharp that it cuts as Elizabeth Berry, an actor preparing to play Gracie in a new picture, is every bit her equal. With Charles Melton (Riverdale) as Gracie's husband Joe Yoo, there's a case of art imitating life, in a way. His character spends Elizabeth's visit and his entire time with Gracie coming second, and he's behind his co-stars in terms of fame, but it's Joe's plight that's the core of May December and also Melton's performance that hauntingly lingers. This film begins with faeces as well, which isn't emblematic of what's to come, either, but still an important inclusion. A package of it sits on the Yoo family's doorstep when Elizabeth arrives to meet them for the first time — and Gracie makes it clear that this has happened before. May December sets its narrative 23 years after Gracie and Joe were initially caught together. They were colleagues at a pet store aged 36 and 13, respectively. They now have three kids, one (Piper Curda, The Flash) at college and twins (debutant Gabriel Chung and Somewhere in Queens' Elizabeth Yu) graduating high school, and have built a life after Gracie's prison sentence. Still residing in Savannah, Georgia, as they always have, she baked cakes and he's most passionate about raising monarch butterflies. There's a wariness over Elizabeth's project among the Yoos, but reassurance that this will be a sensitive take is also part of her time with her latest subject and her spouse. Make no mistake, because Haynes and Burch don't: for the role that she's hoping will elevate her beyond the TV series that she's best-known for, Elizabeth sees Gracie and Joe as mere source material. She interviews others, such as Gracie's first husband (DW Moffett, Monarch) and her eldest son from that marriage (Cory Michael Smith, Incomplete), each conversation saying as much about the actor as the woman she's set to bring to the screen. As rigorously rendered by Portman, she also becomes enamoured with the scenario that she's unfurling. A moment where Elizabeth loses herself explaining sex scenes to school kids — and the conflict between portraying pleasure and pretending not to actually feel pleasure — is savagely revealing. As Killers of the Flower Moon also does, this deeply astute movie has much to say about how circumstances like Joe's become sensationalised news and entertainment fodder, what that betrays about society and why people lap it up; add reflecting on its own existence and purpose to May December's many profoundly intelligent layers. When mirrors appear, they're frequently used around Gracie and Elizabeth. Of course, the latter is being a mirror herself. Cinematographer Christopher Blauvelt — Kelly Reichardt's regular collaborator; see: Showing Up, First Cow, Certain Women, Night Moves and Meek's Cutoff — visually recalls Ingmar Bergman's 1966 psychological drama Persona, as the movie in general does, as the lines between its two women start to blur. May December is partly a movie about what Gracie and Elizabeth spy when they're studying what's in front of them, and how divorced from reality both are. Gracie embraces a carefully erected fantasy where there's nothing more than love to her relationship with Joe, regardless of her domination over their household and repeated dissolving into tears in their bedroom. Elizabeth only takes in how she can become Gracie to her own advantage. Although Haynes and Blauvelt ensure that Moore and Portman are everywhere, neither of their characters will or can confront themselves or their manipulations. Finally challenging everything that's been his daily existence since he was a child, and the role that he's been inhabiting whether he truly wanted to or not — or was capable of making that decision at such a young age — is the shy Joe. The only word that fits: devastation. May December knows this before Joe accepts it, which campy lines about frankfurters on bread accompanied by dramatic music — the film adapts and reorchestrates the score from 1971 Palme d'Or-winner The Go-Between, in fact — oh-so-cannily play into. With its rich and meticulous visuals, tonal seesawing that can court laughs and welcome melodrama, and evocatively grand music, Haynes' feature isn't being erratic. It's crafted with shrewd understanding that discomfort is the only way to respond to what it's depicting, and that there's no one mood that suits. So, Haynes plunges May December and its audience into the full emotional spectrum. Consider the film a cocoon where transformation takes place, to soaring results.
Move over New York — it's time for New South Wales to be overrun by a simian civilisation. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes doesn't swap the Statue of Liberty for the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Rather, it was just made in Australia; this franchise is long past needing to anchor itself in a specific location, but America's west coast is the in-narrative setting. No it-was-earth-all-along twists are necessary, either, as France's famous gift to the US signalled back in 1968 when Pierre Boulle's novel La Planète des singes initially made it to the screen. More than half a century later — plus four sequels to the OG Planet of the Apes, both live-action and animated TV shows, Tim Burton's (Wednesday) remake and the reboot flicks that started with 2011's Rise of the Planet of the Apes — the saga's basics are widely known in pop culture. The titular planet is humanity's own. In this vision of the future, a different kind of primate runs the show. Since day one, every Planet of the Apes tale has been a mirror. Gazing into the science-fiction series means seeing the power structures and societal struggles of our reality staring back — discrimination, authoritarianism and even the impact of a world-ravaging virus should ring a bell— but with humans no longer atop the pecking order. These are allegorical stories and, at their best, thoughtful ones, probing the responsibilities of being the planet's dominant force and the ramifications of taking that mantle for granted. Not every instalment has handled the task as well as it should've, but those that do leave a paw print. Coming after not just Rise of the Planet of the Apes but also 2014's Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and 2017's War for the Planet of the Apes, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes falls into that category. First helmed by Rupert Wyatt (The Gambler), with Matt Reeves (The Batman) taking over for the second two titles, the most-recent Apes trilogy had Caesar (Andy Serkis, Andor) at its centre. Raised by humans before the simian flu devastated the population and evolved apekind, he spearheaded the latter's uprising. That said, Caesar also retained his compassion for homo sapiens, especially as he gleaned how the worst traits in all primates are the same no matter what they're covered in. His time has now been and gone in the franchise. Swapping from one dystopian saga to another, The Maze Runner, The Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials and The Maze Runner: Death Cure director Wes Ball picks up briefly with a farewell to Caesar — but then, for the bulk of the picture, he takes Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes forward through many generations and several hundred years. The influential figure's name is now revered, and his wisdom — but, like humans, apes mould the plights and teachings of historical leaders to suit their own agendas. To some, Caesar is the reason to treat people, or "echoes" as they've been dubbed after losing the ability to speak, with kindness, understanding what the species once was and how it has fallen. For others, particularly of the power-hungry variety, he's the justification for retaining control of the planet by violence and at all costs. But in the peaceful eagle clan, birds not long-ago commanders are the main focus. So, when adolescent Noa (Owen Teague, You Hurt My Feelings), his crush Soona (Cowboy Bebop) and pal Anaya (Travis Jeffery, Before Dawn) leap into the story early, they're collecting eggs to take home, nurture and then rear the hatchlings, one of their community's rites of passage. In a narrative penned by Josh Friedman (Foundation) that nods eagerly to classic westerns, the pursuit of dominance at its most vicious at the hands of a warrior tribe taints young Noa's life quickly. Soon, everything that he knows is gone, sparking a hero's journey to rescue those among his loved ones that he can. When he crosses paths with orang-utan sage Raka (Peter Macon, The Orvill), he receives guidance, including about Caesar's pleas for ape unity. He's also counselled to tamper down his anger at and disdain for the feral human (Freya Allan, Baghead) shadowing his tracks, who he partly blames for his status quo turning to tragedy. Proximus Caesar (Kevin Durand, Abigail), the ruler directing a monkey regime of carnage, only has eyes for as much authority and supremacy as he can amass — and so in him, the encampment that he's made where apes enslave apes and his staunchly anti-human ideology, Noa finds a threat. Decades since dressing up actors in costumes to play the series' apes was the norm, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes doesn't just have thematic and emotional realism on its side — it's never been hard to spot the franchise's parallels with reality — but also the verisimilitude gifted by its motion-capture approach (with Wētā FX doing the honours). That's how Serkis inhabited his part, and how Teague and company (everyone except Allan and Ricky Stanicky's William H Macy from the top-billed cast, in fact) follow in his footsteps. Serkis was a special consultant on the production, aiding the actors with their simian performances; the feelings conveyed through their work as a result are deep and affecting. Whether Teague is charting Noa's coming-of-age arc away from blissful naivety, the scene-stealing Macon is making Raka's appeal for empathy resonate or Durand is commanding every second that he's in sight as the hubristic Proximus, their portrayals are rich and insightful. Yes, you could call the performances that drive Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes' "human". Painted with pixels over the top, the film's digital fur looks so vivid that audiences can be forgiven for thinking they can touch it — and that combination of naturalistic, grounded and relatable portrayals with special effects that get viewers investing in the movie's animals as animals is potent and pivotal. In a saga that's always been committed to aping the state of the off-screen world, that reflective effect is essential. Ball and his team, cinematographer Gyula Pados (Shazam! Fury of the Gods, plus the last two Maze Runner flicks) among them, also do detail and world-building well, rendering the planet a mix of lush greenery and decaying human relics that equally appears as authentic as CGI can. Their biggest struggle: that there's so much to explore in this new Planet of the Apes beginning that not everything is told as gracefully and clearly as it could be, even across 145 minutes. As with almost everything that hits screens of late, this has been conceived as the catalyst for more to come — and it earns the enthusiasm to keep swinging.
Seeing the Wallabies test their mettle — on their own turf — against one of the Northern Hemisphere's best teams is always a huge occasion but things promise to be particularly spicy this time around. This will be the first time the Welsh team has visited our shores since 2012, and Australia will be out for revenge on Saturday, July 6 following a comprehensive defeat during a disappointing 2023 World Cup campaign. The Wallabies have replaced coach Eddie Jones with former Ireland head Joe Schmidt and will be looking to build up momentum given the Rugby World Cup will be taking place in Australia in only three years. The Wallabies' chances are looking good, too — Wales lost all of their matches in this year's Six Nations Championship and were saddled with the wooden spoon for the first time since 2003. Both teams are sleeping giants looking to start a new cycle, and you can watch it all unfold at Allianz Stadium on July 6. Images: Rugby Australia
In The Hunger Games and its sequels and prequels, a post-apocalyptic totalitarian state enforces order by murder, picking children via lottery to compete until just one remains standing. Before it reached pages and screens, The Running Man, Battle Royale and Series 7: The Contenders were among the stories that got there first, always with kill-or-be-killed contests at their cores. Now Boy Kills World enters the fray, but in a city ruled over by despot Van Der Koy matriarch Hilda (Famke Janssen, Locked In), with a group of candidates chosen annually, then slaughtered at big televised display that is The Culling no matter what. The titular Boy (played by the US Goodnight Mommy remake's Nicholas and Cameron Crovetti as a kid) is the rare exception: after witnessing his sister and mother's execution in this nightmarish realm, he's simply left for dead. Making his feature debut, director Moritz Mohr (TV's Viva Berlin!) holds tight to another big-screen staple: a revenge mission. As an adult, that the role of Boy falls to Bill Skarsgård fresh from John Wick: Chapter 4 says plenty. The vengeance that's always fuelled that Keanu Reeves (The Matrix Resurrections)-led franchise, and fellow influence Oldboy as well, mixes with cinema's wealth of fight-to-the-death tales. Also thrown in with the fervour of a fan mixing together his favourite things — which is Mohr's unapologetic approach from start to finish — is a colour scheme that Kill Bill also deployed, Deadpool-style humour and violence, notes cribbed from Matthew Vaughn's Kingsman movies and Argylle with its carnage, and nods to video games and Hong Kong action fare plus Looney Tunes and anime. Accordingly, the make-what-you-adore school of action filmmaking gets another spin with a first-time helmer in 2024, alongside Dev Patel's Monkey Man. Revelling in cartoonishness is unique to Mohr's flick, however — right down to enlisting H Jon Benjamin, aka the voice of Sterling Archer and Bob Belcher in Archer and Bob's Burgers, respectively, as Boy Kills World's narrator. He's Boy's voice, in fact. When we said that Skarsgård's casting says much, it has to; his steps into the red vest of a protagonist who is deaf and mute, and his is a physically expressive instead of vocal performance. Cue Benjamin to utter Boy's explanatory inner monologue, and cue the makings of a modern-day silent-film star in Skarsgård (his next part is a remake of silent classic Nosferatu by Robert Eggers, who directed his brother Alexander in The Northman, and it has the perfect lead if ditching dialogue like the OG movie was on the cards). As penned by Tyler Burton Smith (2019's Child's Play remake) and Arend Remmers (Oderbruch) — based on a story by Remmers and Mohr, and also a proof-of-concept short that helped the pair get iconic Evil Dead filmmaker Sam Raimi (Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness) onboard as a producer — Boy Kills World's script is as busy as the movie's list of influences. Mostly, it's packed with characters, and mainly with adversaries for Boy to smash, crash and bash his way through. After experiencing the life-changing trauma of losing his kin at such a young age, he gets set on his course for retaliation by training in the forest with the Shaman (and yes, that The Raid, The Raid 2 and John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum's Yayan Ruhian is in the role is also telling about Mohr's inspirations). Boy is primed for clash after clash (after clash after clash), then, as his campaign for eye-for-an-eye retribution kicks into gear. Michelle Dockery (Downton Abbey: A New Era) as Hilda's sister Melanie, Sharlto Copley (who was also in Monkey Man) as Melanie's husband Glen, Jessica Rothe (the Happy Death Day franchise) as family enforcer June27: they're all in Boy's way. By his side, he has a hallucination of his sister Mina (Punky Brewster), as well as resistance fighter Basho (Andrew Koji, Warrior) in the flesh. A knack for casting also pumps through Boy Kills World beyond its star, but this is always Skarsgård's show. Bill kills. He's traversed dystopias before in Allegiant, grappled with the complexities of a ruling class in Anna Karenina, been immersed in a single-minded mission in Atomic Blonde, given the Deadpool vibe a spin in Deadpool 2, and conveyed everything through his eyes as IT and IT: Chapter Two's Pennywise — and, sporting an action-star physique, he's a find-someone-who-can-do-it-all lead as Boy. If you need an actor to play a literally silent-type hero and play the hell out of it, Skarsgård is clearly your man. Three questions linger at the heart of Mohr's film, though, two within the storyline and themes, and one for audiences. The first: what makes the action archetype at Boy Kills World's centre truly tick? The second: in a bloodthirsty crusade for reprisals, what's genuinely right and what's wrong? And the third: although this is an impressively choreographed affair that values stunts as much as The Fall Guy (Black Widow and Kingsman: The Golden Circle alum Dawid Szatarski is responsible for the flick's spectacle as its action director and designer, and also fight co-ordinator), would its genre mashup work without Skarsgård's magnetism? The initial pair of queries are thought starters rather than inquiries that receive a firm answer; they're Boy Kills World's efforts to note that revenge tales and their unspeaking protagonists could use some unpacking. The third question, unsurprisingly, earns a hearty no. Skarsgård gives Boy Kills World its strongest element, and leaves it with a calling card as both an action force and a silent wonder. Mohr ends the feature with his own as an enthusiastic filmmaker giving his all to a highly stylised and slapstick love letter. And for viewers? The quippy humour is spotty, as is the relentlessly frenetic cinematography (by Dark Satellites' Peter Matjasko) that can swing from feverish to exhausting — and, while jam-packed, the film feels its 111-minute length. Still, being entertained by the sheer delirious display of it all, with the picture's B-movie energy, love of gore and unwillingness to hold back, is as easy as inserting coins into an arcade machine.
Tennis is a game of serves, shots, slices and smashes, and also of approaches, backhands, rallies and volleys. Challengers is a film of each, too, plus a movie about tennis. As it follows a love triangle that charts a path so back and forth that its ins and outs could be carved by a ball being hit around on the court, it's a picture that takes its aesthetic, thematic and emotional approach from the sport that its trio of protagonists are obsessed with as well. Tennis is everything to Tashi Duncan (Zendaya, Dune: Part Two), Art Donaldson (Mike Faist, West Side Story) and Patrick Zweig (Josh O'Connor, La Chimera), other than the threesome themselves being everything to each other. It's a stroke of genius to fashion the feature about them around the game they adore, then. Metaphors comparing life with a pastime are easy to coin. Movies that build such a juxtaposition into their fabric are far harder to craft. But it's been true of Luca Guadagnino for decades: he's a craftsman. Jumping from one Dune franchise lead to another, after doing Call Me By Your Name and Bones and All with Timothée Chalamet, Guadagnino proves something else accurate that's been his cinematic baseline: he's infatuated with the cinema of yearning. Among his features so far, only in Bones and All was the hunger for connection literal. The Italian director didn't deliver cannibalism in Call Me By Your Name and doesn't in Challengers, but longing is the strongest flavour in all three, and prominent across the filmmaker's Suspiria, A Bigger Splash and I Am Love also. So, combine the idea of styling a movie around a tennis match — one spans its entire duration, in fact — with a lusty love triangle, romantic cravings and three players at the top of their field, then this is the sublime end product. Challengers is so smartly constructed, so well thought-out down to every meticulous detail, so sensual and seductive, and so on point in conveying Tashi plus Art and Patrick's feelings, that it's instantly one of Guadagnino's grand slams. In 2019, the picture's present day — a choice that enables Challengers to avoid everything pandemic-related — Art and Patrick go racquet to racquet in New Rochelle, New York. Pinging in-between their on-the-court confrontation, after they progress through the tournament on opposite sides to clash in the final, are flashes to moments from 2006 onwards. It was in that year, as teen doubles partners known as "Fire and Ice" (and best friends, and childhood tennis academy roommates), that the pair met Tashi. She's as confident when she's not standing on a green surface as she is on it, and on it she's an undoubtable prodigy. They're both immediately attracted to her. They each ask for her number at the same party while all three are together. In Challengers' later timing, however, Art is her husband and Patrick her ex-boyfriend. Art has also enjoyed almost every success that a tennis player can hope for, other than winning the US Open. Completing his career slam is his aim, with the New Rochelle contest about getting him back into form to stop a losing streak. Patrick has to sleep in his car to make the fixture; for him, earning a wildcard to the bigger dance and a chance at the kind of glory his former pal has long been basking in is the mission. The duo hasn't talked in years. The reason: a falling out about matters of the heart. But Challengers doesn't simplistically have its two men battle it out for Tashi as a prize, even when she promises a date to whoever wins their first game against — not with — each other in the mid-00s segments. Tashi is a force to be reckoned with. She'd never let herself become a trophy. Her career is cut short due to injury, sparking a move into coaching Art, and she's as ferocious and strategic there — and in their marriage — as she was when pursuing her own tennis fame. Then there's the inescapable bond between Art and Patrick anyway; Tashi's home-wrecker comments about sliding into the middle of their relationship aren't empty in Guadagnino's hands, whether a three-way kiss or loaded words are being exchanged. The director works with the first feature script by playwright, novelist and screenwriter Justin Kuritzkes — and it's no wonder that authenticity beats at the heart of this deeply sultry, raw and evocative (and horny) movie. While this isn't a tale taken from actuality, Kuritzkes is the husband of filmmaker Celine Song, whose Oscar-nominated 2023 debut Past Lives not only leapt into another complicated love triangle but was loosely drawn from her own experiences. The two movies are playing different games, though, yet share the same richness of chemistry, lingering sexual tension, and understanding of how burning love and pining to be seen are life-shaping and -changing sensations. They're each so precisely helmed in their vastly dissimilar ways that they're works of art, and so expertly cast that their stars will always rank the respective flicks as career and performance highlights. Continuing the trend of Spider-Man love interests giving tennis films a whirl (see: Civil War's Kirsten Dunst with Wimbledon, then Poor Things' Emma Stone with Battle of the Sexes), Zendaya doesn't just make Tashi formidable and unforgettable; her portrayal, which is one of her best ever alongside Euphoria, firmly matches. Neither the movie nor its leading lady polish over the character's fierceness and ruthlessness when it comes to her passion, instead exploring what's behind her intensity from the outset: being a Black star who isn't from a comfortable background in a world that's all about whiteness and privilege. She's magnetic to viewers, and to Art and Patrick, who are brought to the screen with romanticism and vulnerability by Faist, and with spirited but comfortable charm by O'Connor. Challengers loiters at the net, where two sides are pushed together — not as any balls bounce through the bouts depicted, but in unpacking every pairing that can be made from its main trio, racial and economic divides that definte their realities, and the thin line that can become a vast chasm regarding genuinely grasping your dreams versus forever chasing them. As it hops and rushes about — including between time periods, characters, games and romances — Challengers zips and zings, and lunges and thrusts. Guadagnino's knack for immersion keeps working up the bracket film by film, to hypnotic effect here. There's no Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives or Memoria dreaminess to cinematographer Sayombhu Mukdeeprom's lensing, but the same crispness, as seen in his work on Call Me By Your Name and Suspiria as well, remains. New for Challengers is the dynamism of the sports scenes, and of switching from character to ball vantages, each absorbing visual choices. Marco Costa, who returns from Bones and All, edits just as energetically. And amid songs by Donna Summer, Lily Allen and Nelly, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross' second Guadagnino score, also after Bones and All, is an adrenaline-dripping disco and electronica whirlwind that couldn't better set and reflect the propulsive mood. Talk about an all-round ace.
What better way is there to beat the Sunday scaries than with a couple of cold beers surrounded by adorable greyhounds? Yulli's Brews is facilitating a greyhound-filled afternoon at its Alexandria brewery on Sunday, April 16 to raise money for Greyhound Rescue and encourage adoption of some four-legged pals. Adoption and Ales will run from 1–6pm, with the local independent beer-maker's full range of beers pouring, the grill firing in the kitchen and a friendly group of hounds from Greyhound Rescue hanging out in the brewery. Yulli's is setting up a karma keg on the day which will be raising money to help re-home pups in need. You can just head in and enjoy a beer, mingle with the dogs, chat with the volunteers about info on greyhound adoption, or start the application process on the spot. Anyone who does apply on the day will receive a free LickiMat Enrichment Kit for their new greyhound to enjoy. Plus, other dogs are welcome to come along and join in on the fun.
When you're a film festival that's all about the best cinema from Spain and Latin America, and you've been showcasing flicks from the two regions for a quarter century, how do you mark the occasion? If you're Australia's annual Spanish Film Festival, you put together a hefty 25th-birthday festival filled with 32 movies. That's the just-announced plan for 2023's event, which will take over the screens at Palace Norton Street, Palace Verona, Palace Central and Chauvel Cinema in Sydney from Tuesday, June 20–Wednesday, July 12 — complete with Spanish box-office hits, stars from beloved series, a focus on female directors and plenty more. Kicking off the fest is the Australian premiere of culinary comedy Two Many Chefs, which follows a father-and-son pair reuniting in the high-cuisine scene in Bilbao. Also a high-profile must-see is the festival's centrepiece selection Alcarràs, the winner of the Berlin Film Festival's Golden Bear in 2022. It popped up at a few local fests last year, and is now finally being made available to a wider Aussie audience. Other highlights include five-time Goya Award-winner Prison 77, a smash in its homeland starring Miguel Herrán from Netflix's Money Heist; The Kings of the World, which focuses on five Medellín teenagers; and Four's a Crowd, the latest from The Bar, Witching and Bitching and As Luck Would Have It filmmaker Álex de la Iglesia. Plus, there's thriller A Singular Crime, about a wealthy businessman's disappearance in Argentina in the 80s — and Staring at Strangers, where The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent's Paco León spies on a family from inside a closet (and yes, sounds like it takes its cues from Parasite). Film lovers can also look forward to rom-com My Father's Mexican Wedding, about two Spanish siblings travelling abroad for the titular nuptials; Mighty Victoria, which sees residents of a small town try to build their own steam train in 1930s Mexico; black-and-white horror film History of the Occult; and feminist Argentinian western The Broken Land. The 2022 fest boasts an Australian link as well via Greg Mortimer, about the passengers and crew on the Australian cruise ship that left for Antarctica just prior to the COVID-19 pandemic being declared. And, the Spanish Film Festival's survey of prominent Spanish and Latin American women directors includes seven movies, while its five-title 2023 retrospective is dedicated to iconic Spanish filmmaker Carlos Saura, who passed away earlier in 2023.
If you haven't had the opportunity to visit BrewDog's massive South Eveleigh beer bar, a long weekend full of cheap beers might be just what you need to twist your arm. The 910-capacity venue — one of our favourite dog-friendly bars in Sydney — is staying open every day of the Easter long weekend and sweetening the deal with a bumper happy hour. Every day between Monday, April 3–Monday, April 10 you can get pints for schooner prices for two hours. The Tappy Hour promotion runs on the bar's core beer range from 2–4pm across the eight days. That includes the BrewDog Pale Ale and IPA, the Lost Larger, the Hazey Jane, the Punk XPA, the citrusy Elvis Juice and the Brownsnake Ginger Beer — all for up to $4.80 off per pint. There will also be free bar snacks available throughout the week. Plus BrewDog's usual deals will be in full swing, including all-you-can-eat chicken and cauliflower wings for $25 on Wednesday and two-for-one vegan mains on Easter Monday.
Baba's Place has been doing pop-ups and special one-off events for a while — before the team even found its home in Marrickville. The Baba's Place story started with collaborations at beloved inner-west venues like Rolling Penny and Bush, and since opening a permanent restaurant last year, the team has hosted a range of events from art exhibitions to Baltic wine nights. On Sunday, July 26, Baba and co are celebrating Georgian khachapuri with the help of Melbourne's Gray & Gray Food and Wine. The Khachapuri Street Party will be happening from midday until 4pm on the Sunday, with plenty of Georgian eats, wine and music. Khachapuri is a form of wood-fired bread often filled with cheese and egg. There will be four variants of the doughy treats on offer: the Adjaruli filled with three cheese, egg yolk and NSW truffles; the Kharcho Dream boat featuring beef gravy, parmesan cream, pickled onion and red adjika; the Flaky Meskhetian packed with Baba's specialty fetta, mushroom and onion; plus the Gurian Sunrise with potato, cheese, roasted garlic, spring onion and egg. Entry is free, just head down and nab yourself a hearty weekend lunch and a glass of wine.
Stop us when Lost Illusions no longer sounds familiar. You won't; it won't, either. Stop us when its 19th century-set and -penned narrative no longer feels so relevant to life today that you can easily spot parts of it all around you. Again, that won't happen. When the handsome and involving French drama begins, its protagonist knows what he wants to do with his days, and also who he loves. Quickly, however, he learns that taking a big leap doesn't always pan out if you don't hail from wealth. He makes another jump anyway, out of necessity. He gives a new line of work a try, finds new friends and gets immersed in a different world. Alas, appearances just keep meaning everything in his job, and in society in general. Indeed, rare is the person who doesn't get swept up, who dares to swim against the flow, or who realises they might be sinking rather than floating. The person weathering all of the above is Lucien Chardon (Benjamin Voisin, Summer of 85), who'd prefer to be known as Lucien de Rubempré — his mother's aristocratic maiden name. It's 1821, and he's a poet and printer's assistant in the province of Angoulême when the film begins. He's also having an affair with married socialite Louise de Bargeton (Cécile de France, The French Dispatch), following her to Paris, but their bliss is soon shattered. That's why he gives journalism a try after meeting the equally ambitious Etienne Lousteau (Vincent Lacoste, Irma Vep), then taking up the offer of a tabloid gig after failing to get his poetry published. Lucien climbs up the ranks quickly, both in the scathing newspaper business — where literary criticism is literally cash for comment — and in the right Parisian circles. But even when he doesn't realise it, his new life weighs him down heavily. Lost Illusions spins a giddy tale, but not a happy one. It can't do the latter; exactly why is right there in the title. As a film, it unfurls as a ravishing and intoxicating drama that's deeply funny, moving and astute — one that's clearly the product of very particular set of skills. No, Liam Neeson's recent on-screen resume doesn't factor into it, not for a second. Instead, it takes an immensely special talent to spin a story like this, where every moment is so perceptive and each piece of minutiae echoes so resoundingly. The prowess behind this seven-time César Award-winner belongs to three people: acclaimed novelist Honoré de Balzac, who wrote the three-part Illusions perdues almost 200 years ago; filmmaker Xavier Giannoli (Marguerite), who so entrancingly adapts and directs; and Jacques Fieschi (Lovers), who co-scripts with the latter. There's more to Lucien's story — pages upon pages more, where his tale began; 149 minutes in total, as his ups and downs now play out on the screen. When Louise decides that he doesn't fit in, with help from the scheming Marquise d'Espard (Jeanne Balibar, Memoria), spite rains his way. When Etienne introduces him to the realities of the media at the era, and with relish, he's brought into a dizzying whirlwind of corruption, arrogance, fame, power, money and influence. When Lucien starts buying into everything he's sold about the whys and hows of his new profession, and the spoils that come with it, Lost Illusions couldn't be more of a cautionary tale. Everything has a price: the glowing words he gleefully types, the nasty takedowns of other people's rivals and the entire act of spending his days doing such bidding for the highest fee. Balzac's text was of its time — albeit savagely so — and also ahead of its time. Or, you could say that the years and technologies have changed since the 1800s, obviously, but human nature hasn't. Giannoli and Fieschi intentionally tease out Lost Illusions' still-relevant and even prescient notions, of course, and the result is a movie that looks rich and period-appropriate in every frame, and yet also feels timeless. Part of that sensation stems from the verve with which Giannoli helms, even with his feature sprawling across such a lengthy duration. Like Lucien when he naively thinks that his dreams are achievable in the film's first act, or when he later eagerly laps up the benefits of his choices — despite fellow writer Nathan d'Anastazio's (Xavier Dolan, IT: Chapter Two) attempts to warn him otherwise, and as his decisions start to impact his new girlfriend Coralie (Salome Dewaels, Working Girls), an actress — Lost Illusions has a spring, bounce and dance in its step. Yes, that's Xavier Dolan, director of Heartbeats, Laurence Anyways, Tom at the Farm, Mommy and more, in a tremendous supporting role as one of Lucien's rivals. Giannoli gets the very best out of his supporting cast, including the always-welcome Lacoste, his Irma Vep co-star Balibar and the ever-reliable de France. But, as wonderful as each proves, none are tasked with conveying exactly what the movie's moniker exclaims. When viewers meet Nathan, Etienne, the Marquise and Louise, none have many illusions to lose. Voisin, with eyes that gleam so brightly when Lucien is praised for his poems in his provincial home town, is saddled with seeing fantasies crash, morals twist, hopes wither and hard truths set in. He has to express Lucien's growing lust for status, too, as well as his increasing willingness to shrug off the ramifications. It's a thorny part, and a consummate performance. While Voisin was also superb in Summer of 85, he's even better here. Lost Illusions has much to say about heads filled with dreams; about quests to become the hero of one's own narrative; about the forces, such as cynicism, cash, class structures and an obsession with how everything looks, that trample earnestness and sincerity. It enlists narration to help voice it, but the intricate imagery lensed by cinematographer Christophe Beaucarne (Hold Me Tight) utters plenty anyway. Although almost everything glitters and appears exquisitely golden, little is beyond aesthetics. This is a film where opinions are bought, and not just in print. Paying for boos at theatre shows, including the more sensationalistic productions on "the boulevard of crime", is so commonplace that no one questions it. Lost Illusions itself wouldn't ever need the same tactics IRL, but this movie exists in a world where nothing it explores seems fanciful, farcical, an imagining of fiction or a relic of history. If viewers had any illusions otherwise, prepare to lose them in this sumptuous and savvy picture.
If you're looking for a chance to step back and unwind, beloved Sydney gallery the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) is hosting free weekly wellbeing sessions. Art Flow offers you the opportunity to take an extended lunch break on a Thursday to soak in some creative R&R, or begin your weekend with a dose of art and relaxation. Art Flow consists of 45-minute sessions running between 10.15am and 12.15pm Thursdays and Saturdays. The program is open to everyone over the age of 18 and invites participants to take 45 minutes to contemplate art and mindfulness. Each week there are four sessions, two on the Thursday and two on the Saturday, with a different artwork at the centre of the experience each week. The first four artworks will be Angela Tiatia's Lick, Elizabeth Mipilanggurr's Bamagora (conical pandanus palm mat), Nicholas Mangan's A World undone, and Khadim Ali's The Haunted Lotus. "The Museum of Contemporary Art Australia is excited to launch this new program, created in response to these post- Covid times, where connection and wellbeing are more important than ever," MCA Director of Audience Engagement Gill Nicol says. "Being with art can help reduce stress and be a powerful source of wellbeing." Entry is free but if you want to ensure you've got a spot, head to the MCA website. [caption id="attachment_750113" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Liam Cameron[/caption] Top image: Art Flow: a wellbeing experience, MCA, 2022. Photograph: Anna Hay
In the dying days of 2019, Camp Cope's valiant leader Georgia Maq released the raw and vulnerable solo album Pleaser. The album continues the deeply personal lyrics of many of Camp Cope's best songs, but trades shredding guitars and plucky bass lines for more synthesisers. Since its release, Maq has been booked to perform the album at Vivid for its past two iterations, before the festival was ultimately cancelled both times. Finally, at Vivid's grand return in 2022, she'll be taking to the Sydney Opera House's Utzon Room to perform tracks from Pleaser as well as her biting new single 'Joe Rogan' about a toxic guy she dated. The show will mark Georgia Maq's return to the Sydney Opera House for the first time since Camp Cope's headline show in 2019 and their back-to-back sold-out shows as part of Vivid 2017. Top image: Jo Duck
During Vivid, three local party-starting collectives are pulling together killer dance music lineups for a series of studio parties. Local independent record label Future Classic has helped foster some of the country's most beloved dance music acts and some of our biggest musical exports. Acts like Flume, Flight Facilities, Ta-ku, G Flip and Methyl Ethel have all come through with support from the label. As part of the Sydney Opera House's Vivid Live lineup, Future Classic is throwing one of their renowned parties inside the iconic Circular Quay venue. This time around the night will be headed up from a set by resident bass-loving Pizza Guy Touch Sensitive, alongside appearances from Tseba, Ayebatonye and Deepa. Inner West DJ crew Mad Racket will also be jumping in on the action with a lineup featuring Ken Cloud, Simon Caldwell and Natalie Slade. While the final two parties are courtesy of Astral People — with an all-night-long set from Barcelona's John Talbot — and Picnic, who have enlisted Wax'O Paradiso, Adi Toohey, Kali, Evie and Hyfe. Each event kicks off around 9pm and will stretch until the early hours of the morning, with music blaring past 2am. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16psgxa-OR8 Top image: Jordan Munns
On Saturday, May 21 Australia will head to the polls as Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese face off. Newly opened bar and restaurant The Bob Hawke Beer & Leisure Centre will be hosting an Election Day party for anyone looking to get into the spirit of things with a beer in hand. Named for former Labour leader and Prime Minister Bob Hawke, the Marrickville venue was opened at the beginning of 2022 by local brewery Hawke's inside of its inner west brewery. On election day the bar will have the full Hawke's range on offer to sample, and will be showing the election coverage live on the venue's big screen. There will also be two tip jars on the bar throughout the day — one for Albo and one for Scomo — where patrons can vote with their spare change. Swing by after heading to the polling station for a quick beer, or stick around later into the night until the election's winner is announced. If things get too intense during the day, you can also head to the leisure centre for a round of pool and peruse the countless memorabilia the venue exhibits. And, the brewery's 80s-inspired Chinese bistro The Lucky Prawn will be open so you can order yourself a hefty serving of honey king prawn, XO pippies and deep fried Viennetta.
Each weekend Sydney is filled with markets. It's a local favourite activity for a Saturday morning. But this weekend, a special one-off fruit and flee market is popping up in Darlinghurst filled with artisan goods from a group of local independent creatives, curated by everyone's favourite fruit-shaped candle-maker Nonna's Grocer. For the uninitiated Nonna's Grocer creates hyper-realistic candles shaped like fruit and vegetables ranging from humble oranges and lemons through to custard apples and heirloom tomatoes. The market will be going down at Abstract Thoughts Gallery, the new exhibition and creative space located next to Cafe Freda's. You can expect a wide variety of goods including Noona's famous candles, flowers, lube, jewellery, condiments and a wide range of homewares from brands and creatives such as Sophia Kaplan, Sake Sake, Condimental, Tabitha Hope and Cafe Freda's themselves, just to name a few. Popping up at the gallery space from 3–8pm on Saturday, May 21 and Sunday, May 22, you'll be able to browse your way through the market before heading next door to grab a cocktail, natural wine or something to eat. For all the information and brands taking part, head to the Nonna's Grocer Instagram account. [caption id="attachment_707077" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Condimental[/caption]
American Express has pulled together a killer lineup for the ultimate live music bar crawl happening throughout Surry Hills and Darlinghurst on Sunday, May 29. The new initiative, Back the Night, will see a selection of beloved venues, bars and restaurants hosting live sets from a huge roster of local music talent performing some of their most intimate gigs to date. The night is being headlined by Gang of Youths who are trading in the country's festival main stages and arenas for underground live music hub Oxford Art Factory. Coming off the band's latest standout album Angel in Realtime, the gig will mark their first show back in their hometown since 2019. The always-popular five-piece will be bringing their high-energy live show to the OAF at the very reasonable Sunday time of 7.30pm. In the lead-up, ticketholders of Back the Night can catch the likes of Boy & Bear, Alex Lahey, Odette, Didirri, Imbi, Jess Kent and Maple Glider popping up around the city. While the likes of Lahey, Kent and Maple Glider can be found at more traditional venues Hyde Park House and The Columbian, Didirri will be performing with Cap Carter at Stanley Street Italian restaurant Bill & Toni's, and Boy & Bear will be making their appearance around the corner at American barbecue joint Surly's American Tavern. All the venues taking part in the night are within a 15-minute walking radius of each other, meaning you can mosey around the inner-city suburbs, catching whichever bands you please. Tickets are $70 and grant you access to all of the different venues. Head to the AMEX website to see the full lineup and set times. [caption id="attachment_655350" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Bill & Toni's, Kimberly Low[/caption] Top image: Andre&Dominqiue via Destination NSW
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. With that in mind, it's a compliment to say that The Bob's Burgers Movie could've easily stayed on television, slotting in among the 238 episodes that precede it — but longer. Vitally, however, it doesn't ever simply feel like a few TV episodes simmered together. That can be the television-to-film curse, as Downton Abbey: A New Era demonstrated recently. Thankfully, as The Simpsons Movie and all three SpongeBob SquarePants films so far have also achieved, that isn't the case here. Instead, this super-sized stint in the Belcher family's company sports as much care, attention to detail, plot, gags, character-building moments, in-jokes, puns and musical numbers as a 102-minute portion of Bob's Burgers needs. It features the same colourful animation that works such a treat on TV, with added shadows for a cinematic feel, plus the lively voice acting that's the heart and soul of the show — but it's its own meal, and never merely four servings of fries passed off as something more substantial. 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). Meat-slinging, killer-hunting, carnival-frolicking mania and mayhem is the name of the game — dripping one-liners and puns, too, including the obligatory next-door store gag ("Sew You Think You Can Pants" is the film's offering) — and it all makes the leap to cinemas with well-oiled ease. So does the non-stop onslaught of quick gags, verbal and sight included; the extravagant musical numbers and action-flick-esque setpieces, which are all gorgeously choreographed even though they're animated; and the always-loose vibe that can entertainingly feel like the voice cast are just riffing. And, while it might've felt gratuitous, Bouchard and company's efforts to find space for plenty of the series' motley crew of neighbours and other supporting players is as natural as dipping chips in whatever sauce takes your fancy. Also part of this animated gem: robot aliens who hate music, a village inhabited by Wonder Wharf workers called Carnieapolis, fantasy horse rides, creepy skeletons and an underground lair that Wes Anderson could've dreamt up. And, obviously, the overflowing affection for its oddball family that's always made all things Bob's Burgers as engaging as it is firmly remains on the menu as well — as eagerly sprinkled with fondness for the Belchers' many quirks, their routine woes, and their daily efforts to just get by, be happy, love each other and enjoy their modest existence. Without that, The Bob's Burgers Movie would've just been any old film. With it, it's exactly what viewers have adored for over a decade. This show doesn't need to be your regular dish to fall for its charms, though. Whether it's your first bite or your 239th, it's a delight.
Chiswick has long been a staple in the Sydney culinary scene — for ten years, in fact. So, from Friday, May 6, Chiswick will be marking that milestone with a month-long celebration. There's plenty to celebrate. As well as being known for its picture-perfect grounds, Chiswick is home to one of Sydney's only kitchen gardens with produce grown on site — which means that it serves up a seasonal menu that exudes a welcome balance of innovative fine dining and a warm sense of homeliness. Unsurprisingly, it has quickly found itself at the heart of the Woollahra community as a result. Creator Matt Moran and his team are releasing a digital recipe book to commemorate the big birthday, and also doing special-edition Providoor boxes. But if you're keen to head in, you'll find the venue looking even more stunning thanks to Sydney floral design studios Wilder and Hermetica, which'll both be styling some large-scale elaborate works. And, then there's the birthday menu, which will continue to echo Chiswick's planted-to-plated philosophy. Moran has collaborated with newly appointed Head Chef Taylor Cullen to create a lineup that honours Chiswick's signature dishes and gives diners a peek into what the next ten years might have in store. Expect bara-masalata with flatbread, grilled peppers with harissa, and butterflied trout with roe and Chiswick garden herb dressing — plus slow-roasted lamb with hummus, tabouli and mint salsa, and a fig and macadamia bombe alaska to finish things off. Price-wise, Chiswick's tenth birthday collective menu will set you back $90 per person. Top image: Steven Woodburn.
If you're a fan of psych rock or you're looking for a night of top tunes and some free beers, listen up. Beloved Sydney brewery Yulli's is hosting a showcase of top-notch Australian psych bands from 7pm on Friday, May 6. Pysch rock has had an explosion in popularity over the past decade here in Australia thanks to the likes of world-conquering psychedelic bands like Tame Impala, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard and Pond, as well as exciting local bands like Fascinator and The Lazy Eyes. Yulli's has pulled together a lineup of four exciting young bands putting out colourful psych tunes to perform on the night. On the lineup: Pasiflorez, Fungas, Silky Red and Memory Motel. The four bands will each take to the stage between 7 and 9pm, meaning you can pack in some live music early into your Friday night. Those that get down promptly will also be treated to some of Yulli's renowned brews, with free food and beers being given out to the first 50 patrons through the door.
Rarely seen and utterly breathtaking, the ambitious contemporary ballet Kunstkamer has arrived in Sydney for a two-week run of performances by The Australian Ballet. Created by pioneering Dutch dance company Nederlands Dan Theater (NDT), this ballet had never been performed by another theatre company until the Australian premiere at the Sydney Opera House on Friday, April 29. The work of NDT House Choreographers Sol León and Paul Lightfoot, and Associate Choreographers Marco Goecke and Crystal Pite, Kunstkamer is a jagged and boundary-pushing two-part ballet that draws its inspiration from the 1734 book The Cabinet of Natural Curiosities by Dutch pharmacist, zoologist and collector Albertus Seba. The Australian Ballet Artistic Director David Hallberg calls this ballet "truly an immersive experience" and has even come out of retirement to perform as part of the run of shows. "Sol León, who's one of the four choreographers, asked me to come on board in this role," Hallberg said. "It took a little enticing because obviously I have said goodbye to the stage and I wasn't looking for opportunities to return to the stage, but I found that in this role, in this experience, in this opportunity with the dancers, in this work, it was the right time." Two dancers will perform Hallberg's part for the remainder of the Sydney shows, before he returns to the stage once more for the Melbourne premiere next month. Hallberg is not the only special guest dancer to be taking part in The Australian Ballet's Kunstkamer. The ensemble has also been joined by NDT member Jorge Nozal, who is reprising his role from the 2019 world premiere season in the Netherlands for the full run of shows down under. "Jorge is the first guest artist of my directorship, and I am really excited that it will be someone unexpected for the audience and enriching for the company," proclaimed Hallberg. "Jorge is admired by our dancers and artistic team and I am thrilled to have the opportunity to introduce him to our audience, alongside the dancers of The Australian Ballet, in the role that was created for him by Sol León." You can catch the performance at the Sydney Opera House until Saturday, May 14 before it moves onto the Arts Centre Melbourne for a run of shows between Friday, June 3 and Saturday, June 11. [caption id="attachment_852138" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Prudence Upton[/caption] Top image: Daniel Boud
Erskineville's Imperial Hotel is a favourite among many, with props sure to go to its thrilling dining events (which bring dazzling queens to the stage for super-charged performances alongside a fantastic feed). So, you'll be excited to learn American Express delicious. Month Out is bringing a special one-night only Drag 'N' Dine extravaganza to the inner west local. The dress code? Fabulous. On Thursday, May 5, you and your friends can enjoy a stand-out plant-powered dinner — hosted by Khanh Ong — while you're serenaded and titillated by stellar drag performers. And, if you're an American Express Card Member, you can nab 15 percent off your ticket right up until the day before (just use your Australian-issued American Express Card when securing your tickets through Resy). Tickets are $89 and include a cocktail on arrival, a delicious set menu and a drag production with all the razzle dazzle. With two seatings on offer — 6pm and 8.30pm — it's the perfect opportunity to get raunchy at the dinner table. Ready for a night of spectacular performances and irresistible food? Book yourself a table at The Imperial Hotel's Drag 'N' Dine presented by American Express delicious. Month Out. For more information and to book, visit the website.
It's been 12 years since Inception melted our brains with dreams within dreams within dreams — and El Camino Cantina might've just come up with the margarita equivalent. Already known for its wild marg flavours, and for turning other beloved foodstuffs into frosty 'ritas, it's now swirling its latest batch of varieties together. So you might be sipping an ice block within a margarita within a swirled cocktail, for instance. First, the flavours. Calippos and pine lime splices aren't just for eating now, with El Camino's calypso crush and pine lime Splice varieties interpreting the beloved icy treats. Or, there's also mango strawberry, watermelon mint, and both lychee colada and lychee lagoon. Yes, lychees feature in a big way. Available from Tuesday, February 1–Monday, February 28, this whole margarita special is called Summer of Swirls, and costs $20 for a 15-oz glass, $24 for the 20-oz size and $35 for a tasting paddle of four 220-millilitre glasses. In Sydney, you'll find them quenching your summer thirst at El Camino in The Rocks, Entertainment Quarter, Manly and Miranda.
There's nothing quite like a true story, whether it's a wild, chaotic, so-strange-it-can-only-be-true kind of tale or an informative, eye-opening yarn. That's Antenna Documentary Film Festival's cinematic bread and butter, with the Sydney-based event rolling out a new lineup of factual flicks for ten fests now — and it's celebrating hitting that big milestone with an impressive 2022 program. When the festival returns from Wednesday, February 2–Sunday, February 13 — hitting up Dendy Newtown, Palace Chauvel, Palace Verona, MCA Australia and Powerhouse Museum — it'll do so with a lineup of 50 features and shorts, as well as a day-long industry chat about the medium. The big highlight is all those feature-length docos, of course, including the 13 movies in the fest's official competition. Among the titles competing for the event's $10,000 prize, Charm Circle serves up a portrait of eccentric New York family navigating and has been likened to Grey Gardens — and also opens the festival. In terms of other competition standouts, it's joined by homegrown effort The Lake of Scars, which heads to regional Victoria; Courage, which explores the protests against the 2020 Belarus presidential election; and The Bubble, which ventures to a Florida retirement home with 155,000 retirees, 54 golf courses and 70 swimming pools. Or, elsewhere throughout the program, Jagged dives into Alanis Morissette's career; The Real Charlie Chaplin uses audio recordings, reconstructions and personal archival materials to traces Charlie Chaplin's Hollywood stardom; Sisters with Transistors celebrates pioneering women in the electronic music scene; and The Most Beautiful Boy in the World unfurls the story of Death in Venice actor Björn Andrésen, who earned that nickname as a the 15 year old. Yes, it's a great year for docos about the entertainment industry. Plus, you can see Sundance award-winner All Light, Everywhere, which examines the shared histories of cameras, weapons, policing and justice; The Gig Is Up, which ponders the gig economy; and the Cannes-awarded A Night of Knowing Nothing, which contemplates university student life in India.
When Hollywood's biggest awards can run for 93 years and only give two female filmmakers its Best Director gong in that entire time so far, it's clear that gender diversity hasn't been big on the cinema industry's priorities for most of the last century. But for six years now, the Melbourne Women in Film Festival has been doing its part to celebrate women in film, as its name makes plain — and it's back for 2022 both in-person and online. The mixed format means that Melburnians can head along to ACMI from Thursday, February 10–Monday, February 14, while folks elsewhere — or those in Melbourne who can't make it physically — can watch along at home. On the bill, cinephiles will find a showcase of movies that champion female-guided on-screen comedy, a topic that'll also echo through the fest's conversations and skills-development programs. Screening highlights include short Groundhog Night, about a dad caring for his daughter with disability; 2018 Tropfest entry Paper Cut, which plays with gender experiences; and closing night's Love and Other Catastrophes, the 1996 indie classic starring Frances O'Connor and Radha Mitchell. Among the talks and workshops lineup, The Culture of Comedy will dive into using the genre to unite creatives and viewers from different backgrounds, while Creating Comedy Online will provide tips for women looking to make a digital splash by making viewers laugh.
There's something oh-so-relaxing about staring at the sea, even if you're feasting your eyes on the water via the big screen. That's the concept behind the Ocean Film Festival Australia. You can't always spend all your time at the beach, by the river or in a pool — but you can spend an evening peering at the next best thing in a cinema. On select dates in March, screening at either 6.30pm or 7pm depending on the venue, the festival will unleash a cinematic feast of water-focused wonders onto the silver screen at various venues around Sydney. Head to the Randwick Ritz Cinemas on Tuesday, March 1, the Hayden Orpheum in Cremorne from Wednesday, March 2–Friday, March 4 and United Cinemas at Opera Quays from Wednesday, March 9–Thursday, March 10. Film-wise, viewers will spend time both above and below the ocean's surface thanks to a compilation of shorts from around the world. Expect to chase big waves, explore a range of sea life and get a hefty ocean rush, plus a heap of other sea adventures. The program is united by a love of the ocean, an appreciation of the creatures who dwell in its waters and a curiosity to explore the substance that comprises more than two-thirds of the earth. It's the next best thing to diving in, all without getting wet. [caption id="attachment_840734" align="alignnone" width="1920"] John Kowitz[/caption]
The Sydney Mardi Gras is almost upon us and, along with it, a feast of new queer cinema is about to descend upon the city. For 29 years now, the Mardi Gras Film Festival has added the latest LGBTQIA+ movies to Sydney's big celebration, and it's doing the same again in 2022 — but, as happened in 2021, it's going hybrid with both physical and online screenings. Accordingly, if you're a Sydneysider who's keen to get your big-screen queer film fix between Thursday, February 17–Thursday, March 3, you can, with the fest showing at Event Cinemas George Street, and holding one one-off sessions at Hayden Orpheum, Cremorne and Event Cinemas in Parramatta and Hurstville. But if you feel more comfortable watching from home during the current Omicron outbreak or you're a fan of LGBTQIA+ movies located elsewhere in Australia, you'll also be able to enjoy MGFF digitally as well. The fest's 2022 lineup spans 119 films from 37 different countries, covering 32 narrative features, 15 documentaries, four episodic screenings, a retrospective and nine programs of shorts — so yes, there's more than a bit to watch. That said, different flicks will play in cinemas and on-demand, as happens with hybrid fests, but more than half of the program will be available for those playing along at home and interstate. Opening the fest on the big screen is Wildhood, which is set in Canada's Atlantic Provinces and hails from MGFF's focus on First Nations filmmaking for 2022. In-cinemas only, it's joined by high-profile international film festival circuit highlights such as Great Freedom, an immensely moving drama about a man's experiences being imprisoned under Germany's former law criminalising homosexuality; and Benedetta, which follows a 17th-century nun who shocks her convent with visions, wild power plays and lesbian affairs, and happens to be the latest feature by Basic Instinct, Showgirls and Elle director Paul Verhoeven. Or, there's the Carrie Brownstein and St Vincent-starring mockumentary The Nowhere Inn, which has them both play versions of themselves, and The Novice, about a queer student on a university rowing team. Other standouts include Mexican magical realist drama Finlandia; documentaries about queer comic creators, lesbians in post-punk 80s London and American artist Keith Haring; and closing night's B-Boy Blues, which is based on the celebrated novel o the same name.
When word arrived in 2021 that Sydney was getting a new European-focused film festival, it couldn't have been better news for movie lovers. Europa! Europa is all about showcasing flicks from across the whole continent, so you can see the latest and greatest titles from France, Spain, Italy, Romania and more all at the one event — and, when it debuts at the Ritz Cinemas in Randwick from Friday, February 4–Sunday, February 27, it'll kick off with one mighty fine program. Opening the lineup is The Souvenir Part II, sequel to 2019's exceptional The Souvenir — which means that Europa! Europa is launching with the new team-up between rising star Honor Swinton Byrne and her mother Tilda Swinton. The follow-up picks up where the first movie left off, with Swinton Byrne's aspiring filmmaker attempting to cope with the tragic events of the last flick, all while she shoots her next project. Once again directed by British helmer Joanna Hogg, it'll start the festival in sublime form. (And if you're keen to see the original, it's on the bill as well.) Also bookending the fest: closing night's France from inimitable writer/director Bruno Dumont (Joan of Arc, P'tit Quinquin). A satire of the media industry, it stars No Time to Die and The French Dispatch's Léa Seydoux as a journalist forced to navigate the aftermath of injuring a pedestrian in a traffic accident. Other standouts include 13 films that were submitted as their country's entries for this year's Best International Feature Film Oscar, such as Bosnia and Herzegovina's social-realist fairytale The White Fortress and North Macedonia's Sisterhood, which is about toxic friendships — and a number of titles that wowed last year's Cannes Film Festivals, like Norwegian supernatural thriller The Innocents and the Before Sunrise-esque train-set love story Compartment No 6. Or, there's also Andrea Arnold's (American Honey) Cow, aka the most gripping and moving documentary portrait of a dairy cow's life that you're ever likely to see; Earwig, the English-language debut of acclaimed French director Lucile Hadžihalilovic (Innocence, Evolution); Vortex, which sees Climax filmmaker Gaspar Noé swap his usual wild fare for an Amour-style look at ageing; and No Fucks Given, starring Blue Is the Warmest Colour's Adèle Exarchopoulos as a flight attendant for a low-cost airline.
Dear Dear Evan Hansen: don't. If a movie could write itself a letter like the eponymous figure in this stage-to-screen musical does, that's all any missive would need to communicate. It could elaborate, of course. It could caution against emoting to the back row, given that cinema is a subtler medium than theatre. It could advise against its firmly not-a-teenager lead Ben Platt, who won one of the Broadway hit's six Tony Awards, but may as well be uttering "how do you do, fellow kids?" on the big screen. It could warn against shooting the bulk of the feature like it's still on a stage, just with more close-ups. Mostly, though, any dispatch from any version of Dear Evan Hansen — treading the boards or flickering through a projector — should counsel against the coming-of-age tale's horrendously misguided milk-the-dead-guy narrative. When the most interesting thing about a character is their proximity to someone that's died, that's rarely a great sign. It's the realm of heartstring-tugging illness weepies and romances where partners or parents are bereaved, sweeping love stories are shattered and families are forever altered, and it uses the sickness or death of another person purely as a prop to make someone that's alive and healthy seem more tragic. That's worlds away from engaging sincerely with confronting mortality, loss, grief or all three, as so few movies manage — although Babyteeth did superbly in 2020 — and it's mawkish, manipulative storytelling at its worst. Dear Evan Hansen gives the formula a twist, however, and not for the better. Here, after a classmate's suicide, the titular high schooler pretends he was his closest friend, including to the dead kid's family. A anxious, isolated and bullied teen who returns from summer break with a fractured arm, Evan (Platt, The Politician) might be the last person to talk to Connor Murphy (Colton Ryan, one of the Broadway production's understudies). It isn't a pleasant chat, even if Connor signs Evan's cast — which no one else has or wants to. In the school library, Evan prints out a letter to himself as a therapy exercise, but Connor grabs it first, reads it, then gets furious because it mentions his sister Zoe (Kaitlyn Dever, Dopesick). Cue days spent fretting on Evan's part, wondering if he'll see the text splashed across social media. Instead, he's soon sitting with Cynthia Murphy (Amy Adams, The Woman in the Window) and her husband Larry (Danny Pino, Fatale), who inform him of Connor's suicide — and that they found Evan's 'Dear Evan Hansen' note on him, and they're sure it's their son's last words. With his high school misery amply established through catchy songs, and his yearning to connect as well, Evan opts to go along with the Murphys' mistaken belief, including the idea that he and Connor were secretly the best of pals. As penned for both theatre and film by Steven Levenson (Tick, Tick... Boom!) — with music and lyrics by Benji Pasek and Justin Paul (The Greatest Showman) — this plot point is meant to play with awkwardness and longing, but it's simply monstrous. Indeed, the longer it goes on, with Evan spending more time with Connor's wealthy family than with his own mum Heidi (Julianne Moore, Lisey's Story), a nurse always working double shifts, the more ghastly it proves. It's lazy writing, too, because this isn't just a tale that defines its lead by their connection to a deceased person; it's about someone who intentionally makes that move themselves, then remains the recipient of all the movie's sympathies. It'd be generous to wonder if Dear Evan Hansen feels more nuanced and earnest writ large on the stage — genuinely reckoning with Evan's actions, which see him become a viral sensation and inspiration, rather than merely excusing his lies because he's lonely, and also dismissing Connor as mostly angry and unliked. Or, if perhaps the theatre version highlights the potential dark comedy in such abhorrent choices being made by a teen that desperate to fit it and be found by others. Either way, it wouldn't change the movie's approach. Director Stephen Chbosky has a history with disaffected youth thanks to The Perks of Being a Wallflower, which he adapted from his own novel. Via the same film, he also has form with oversimplifying details to evoke strong emotional reactions. That's Dear Evan Hansen all over, no matter how unconvincingly it tries to be an uplifting tale of self-acceptance. Platt's casting doesn't help; he played a college student almost a decade ago in Pitch Perfect, and was never going to pass for a high schooler under a camera's gaze, especially with such emphatic and mannered overacting. He's inescapably forceful, appears to think he's still in a theatre and really just resembles an adult satirising teens. While Dear Evan Hansen sings heartfelt ballads about sociopathic behaviour, and bakes cognitive dissonance deep into its frames as a result, it'd be far too magnanimous to see Platt's performance as a response to the musical's many thematic and tonal mismatches. His co-stars can't save the film, but they surround him with far better work — especially from the reliably impressive Dever, plus Adams and Moore making the most of their thin parts, and also Amandla Stenberg (The Eddy) as one of Evan's high-achieving but also struggling classmates. Those standout supporting performances illustrate one of the movie's most unfortunate traits, apart from the story it's working with: its constant and incessant self-sabotage. Among the cast and the film's aesthetic choices, there's occasionally enough that hits its marks, but that can't balance out everything that doesn't. The fluid and kinetic camerawork busted out for early number 'Sincerely, Me' delivers another prime example, noticeably contrasting with the feature's otherwise static look and mood — only for the latter to return once it's done. Of course, lively cinematography and choreography could never overcome Dear Evan Hansen's questionable narrative and wildly misplaced sentiments, or its misfire of a central portrayal, but so many of the picture's choices feel like it's writing hate mail to itself.
First, the sad news: Melbourne Queer Film Festival doesn't run year-round. That makes its in-person festivals all the more special, of course, but hitting a Melbourne cinema isn't the only way to get your MQFF fix in 2022 — including if you live beyond the Victorian capital. Spreading its program of LGBTQIA+ movies as far and wide as it can, MQFF also has an online component this year called MQFF+. Streaming from Monday, November 21–Sunday, November 27, it features 25 films that you can watch from home. Yes, that's more than half of the physical lineup, complete with many of the fest's big highlights. On the bill: the Brazilian titles that both launched and wrapped up the fest in-person, aka opening night's Private Desert, about a genderfluid blue-collar worker in an online relationship who goes missing; and closing night's Uýra: The Rising Forest, focusing on trans-indigenous artist Uýra. Or, among other highlights, movie lovers can check out Blitzed!, about the eponymous London nightclub, with Boy George, Princess Julia and Spandau Ballet sharing their memories; Black as U R, a documentary about the lack of attention paid to the black queer community; Youtopia, exploring the inadvertent formation of a hipster cult; and My Emptiness and I hones in on a young trans call-centre worker. Films are available individually, or with three- and five-movie passes — with the latter giving cinephiles a discount.
Between Thursday, December 8–Wednesday, December 14, Palace Cinemas is giving movie buffs in Sydney an extra present. 'Tis the season, after all. It's not just the gift of great flicks — that is, the chain's daily bread and butter — but the gift of cheap great flicks. The one catch: you need to be a Palace Movie Club member. Head to the company's venues around the city — so at Norton Street, Verona, The Chauvel and Palace Central — across the week in question, and you'll only pay $8 to see a film. Haven't yet seen Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Bros, Don't Worry Darling or Top Gun: Maverick yet? Catching up will cost you $8. Keen to check out Decision to Leave, Bones and All, She Said, The Menu, Seriously Red, Violent Night, The Velvet Queen and Armageddon Time? Also $8. We'd keep naming movies, but you get the picture. Booking in advance is highly recommended, given how much everyone loves going to the flicks for little more than the price of a cup of coffee. If you do nab your tickets online, you will have to add a transaction fee to the cost. You won't be able to use the $8 deal on special events and film festivals, or on two-for-one offers and other deals — but you've now got plenty of movies to see for cheap.
Pair the wonders of the night sky with the sweet sound of the cello at a new experience from Blue Mountains Stargazing. Taking over the Wentworth Falls lookout in the Blue Mountains from 8.30pm on Saturday, December 10, this symphonic stargazing session will feature live performances from local cellist Emily Williams and celebrated didgeridoo player Charlie McMahon. Attendees will arrive to experience the sunset over Jamison Valley before being treated to the music of Williams and McMahon. From there, an astronomy workshop will be led by astrophysicist Dimitri Douchin with the assistance of laser guides. The workshop will feature constellation storytelling; star observation using the naked eye, telescopes and binoculars; and a Q&A with Douchin. As you gaze up at the sky, you'll also be treated to a free hot chocolate before Williams returns for a final cello performance. Tickets will set you back $110 for adults, $80 for children and $90 for concession tickets.
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 — Oxford Art Factory's New Year's Eve shindig will indulge both your retro and your festive urges. Drinks, tunes, fashion: expect all of the above at the No Scrubs: 90s and Early 00s party from 9pm on NYE. 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 season. If you want to use Mariah Carey as a style icon, it'd be fitting. Whatever you choose to wear, there's a costume competition giving away more than bragging rights. 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 $30.19 in advance, with the fun running through until 3am. That price includes a free glass of sparkling on arrival, and you'll pay for your 90s- and 00s-inspired cocktail specials from there. Top image: Destination NSW.
One person's favourite film can be another's cinematic nightmare, and vice versa, but every ten years the British Film Institute's Sight & Sound magazine names the best flicks ever made anyway. From a wide-ranging poll, it compiles a list of the 100 greatest movies of all time — and if you're a movie buff, you'll know that 2022's rundown is newly upon us, stacked with stellar pictures and has been sparking plenty of debate. Simply perusing and arguing about these kinds of rankings is one way to engage. Using the poll to fill in gaps in your cinema knowledge is a better way, and Golden Age Cinema & Bar is here to help. From Thursday, December 28 till the end of summer, it's screening a selection of titles currently considered the greatest of the greatest. If you haven't seen them, you're in for a treat. If you have but not on a big screen, you are as well. Sight & Sound Greatest Films of All Time: A Selection includes this year's number-one pick, of course — and there really isn't anything else like Chantal Akerman's Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (which we also recommended to you back at the beginning of the pandemic when we were all streaming flicks about loneliness, isolation and confinement). Other highlights on the clearly stacked bill include Stanley Kubrick's masterpieces 2001: A Space Odyssey and The Shining, the always-stunning Apocalypse Now: The Final Cut, the mafia dramas ofThe Godfather and Goodfellas, recent heartbreaker Portrait of a Lady on Fire, Studio Ghibli's gorgeous My Neighbor Totoro and Jane Campion's Oscar sensation The Piano. Or, there's David Lynch's Blue Velvet and Mulholland Drive, Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing, Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window and Vertigo, and Claire Denis' Beau Travail, because Golden Age has curated a mighty impressive shortlist. Including Casablanca, In the Mood for Love, Rashomon, The Red Shoes, The Apartment, Blade Runner and Citizen Kane, too, there's 33 films on the lineup in total.
From road trips to romantic getaways, the South Coast has already given us a long list of reasons to visit. But it looks like Shoalhaven's iconic Huskisson Hotel has gone one better and added another to the calendar — collaborating with Fever Tree and Shoalhaven Council to host this year's Gin Flight Festival. And we're not mad about it. Held at White Sands Park (adjoining the Husky) on Saturday, November 26, Gin Flight Festival will see both local and big-city distillery heavyweights — including Hendrick's slinging some deliciously fruity creations — mixing up their best juniper berry-based cocktails across two fun-filled timeslots. And, whether you enjoy a family-friendly daytime session from midday to 4pm, or kick on for an evening sesh from 4.30 to 8pm, you're guaranteed some gin-credible beachside party vibes. At this all-ages event, you can expect lawn games overlooking the beautiful bay, a lineup of live musos and plenty of photo opportunities in Gin Flight's signature floral swing. Hungry? Pack your own picnic rug, and check out some ridiculously fresh food pop-ups showcasing top-notch local cuisine. If you've ever wondered if there was any way to improve a weekend away at Husky — where you can enjoy direct access to the Huskisson Hotel and Beach, whale-watching cruises, as well as some of the best cafes, restaurants and bars in Jervis Bay — then adding an epic gin festival to the mix should just about it do it. Tickets to this unmissable event are $15 + processing fee (for adults children under 18 are free), and sure to sell out fast, so head to the website and select your preferred session today.
One of Sydney's venues is going green this summer, celebrating a big pop-culture phenomenon that's still getting plenty of affection two decades after it first hit. Yes, after all this time, everyone still loves animated favourite Shrek. So, Oxford Art Factory is hosting the ultimate Shrek party for adults: Shrek Rave. Rediscover why it really isn't easy being an ogre while listening to a Shrek DJ set, and joining in on a Smash Mouth sing-along. Still remember the words to the band's version of 'I'm a Believer'? Of course you do, and you have the song stuck in your head right now. Also part of the fun: Shrek-themed drink specials including Shrek Juice, Donkey Drank and Farquaad Fizz; free green glow sticks; an all-green dress code (obviously); a free green glitter bar; and a prize for best Shrek-inspired outfit. Here, all that glitters is indeed gold — and green — with the party happening from 9pm on Saturday, January 14. Tickets cost $30.19 per person. And yes, there's an earlier event in November, but it has already sold out because Sydneysiders sure do adore Shrek that much.
Whisky and oysters and Mapo, oh my. On Sunday, November 26, The Rocks will be the setting for the launch of Waterford Whisky: Waterford Single Farm Festival, hosted by whisky haunt The Doss House. Entry to the festival is free, and you can expect pop-ups from plenty of local producers, including freshly shucked oysters from East 33, baked goodies from organic bakery Infinity Bakery, specially-made whisky and cocoa gelato from Newtown favourite Mapo, as well as toasties and snacks courtesy of The Doss House. Also on the agenda for the day are Waterford Whisky Cocktails, whisky-tasting flights and traditional and contemporary Irish music performed live. Waterford Irish Single Malt Whisky is making waves and breaking traditions in the spirits world. Not only does it drop the traditional 'e' found in Irish whiskey, but it is also the first on the island to bring in traceability to showcase its dram's terroir (or téireoire as it calls it, a combination of the Irish for Ireland, Éire, and terroir) and produce the world's first biodynamic whisky. It is the brainchild of Mark Reynier, former head of Bruichladdich and Renegade Spirits, who will be attending the launch festival and hosting an intimate masterclass tasting of the never-before-seen range, which includes the aforementioned biodynamic whisky, a certified organic whisky, a single farm origin tipple, and a super smoky peated number. Tickets to the whisky masterclass will set you back $70.14, plus the booking fee, places are extremely limited, so be sure to book your spot on the website. The Doss House isn't the only place you will be able to find Reynier this summer. He's hosting Waterford Whisky tastings across the eastern coast. Starting at The Gresham, Brisbane, on November 23; then The Oak Barrel, Sydney, on November 27; then on to 18th Amendment, Melbourne, on November 28; before finishing up at The Elysian, Melbourne, on November 29. The Doss House has a very close connection to Waterford Distillery; owner Ciara Doran's family farm back in Ireland is one of the hundred Irish growers supplying barley to Waterford. The single-origin whisky made from these grains is yet to be released, but it is a full-circle moment for Doran and her family as her venue was chosen as the site for the official launch of the whisky in Australia. Images: Alana Dimou
Edgar Wright's Don't and Rob Zombie's Werewolf Women of the SS must be on their way to the big screen soon. With Thanksgiving's arrival, three of the five films teased as trailers in 2007's Grindhouse — and at the time only conceived to exist as those faux trailers — have come to full-length feature fruition. So, the double of Robert Rodriguez's Planet Terror and Quentin Tarantino's Death Proof didn't just give the world biochemical zombies and a murdering stuntman, but Machete, Hobo with a Shotgun and now Eli Roth's turkey-holiday slasher horror. In this first stint behind the lens since 2021 documentary Fin, plus 2018's vastly dissimilar Death Wish and The House with a Clock in Its Walls before that, the Cabin Fever and Hostel filmmaker knows the right mood: when you're plating up a film that began as a gag ad, leaning into both tropes and a knowing vibe is the best choice for carving a path forward. There's a downside to the joke beginning and happy winking now, though: Thanksgiving sure does love sticking to a tried-and-tested recipe. Roth and screenwriter Jeff Rendell, both returning from 16 years back and sharing a story credit, have taken to the whole "Halloween but Thanksgiving" approach with the utmost dedication — because it's as plain as a roasted bird centrepiece that that's what they've purposely cooked up. The mood, the nods, the derivation: they don't add up to a new masterpiece, however, genre-defining, cult or otherwise. But there's something to be said for a film that commits to its bit with this much relish, so bluntly and openly, and with the tongue-in-cheek attitude that was baked into the Grindhouse package slathered on thick. And yes, the image that no one has forgotten for almost two decades returns, alongside other signature shots from Thanksgiving's proof-of-concept sneak peek. As they splatter around gore, not gravy, plus guts that don't belong to poultry, Roth and Rendell have given themselves a task: reverse-engineering an entire feature from a spoof trailer that made fun not just of holiday horror flicks, but of Roth's part in torture porn's boom. They're also eager to ensure that their picture locks in its place on the occasion-centric viewing calendar. The raucous Thanksgiving slides in before Black Christmas and New Years' Evil, dates-wise, and joins a roster that also spans My Bloody Valentine and April Fools' Day. This slice of the scary-movie spectrum isn't small, both in general and with past Thanksgiving-themed fare — for the latter, see also: Blood Rage, Black Friday, Blood Freak, ThanksKilling and Boogeyman, and more — but, blatantly angling for sequels as well, Roth and Rendell don't just want to dish up one serving. Thanksgiving could go by Black Thursday, the shopping opportunity that's also been dubbed Grey Thursday and Brown Thursday, because that's when and why its carnage commences. The place is still Plymouth, Massachusetts, and the slasher who'll start offing teens still nabs disguise cues from pilgrims — wearing a John Carver mask specifically, which noticeably resembles not just Plymouth Colony's first governor but V for Vendetta's Guy Fawkes mask — but the 2022-set opening is all about a crushing trip to score bargains. At RightMart, the masses gather when it's traditionally dinnertime, demanding with increasing ferocity to be let inside. The shoving and shouting becomes a stampede after the crowd sees Jessica Wright (Nell Verlaque, Big Shot) and her friends enter early because it's her dad Thomas' (Rick Hoffman, Billions) store. For some, the results are fatal, whether via being caught underfoot, copping shards of glass or getting scalped by trolleys. In adding to the bowl while spooning in pieces from horror classics, Roth and Rendell take inspiration not just Halloween but from Dawn of the Dead — aka that shopping spree gone savage — as well as A Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th and The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. If Thanksgiving was a feast itself, it'd be everything from dark and light meat with cranberry sauce to sweet potatoes and pumpkin pie smashed together in a blender. Here's another mission on Roth's list: crafting killer setpieces and slayings, with the Black Thursday onslaught at the top of the heap. Not every death is inventive, but this movie and its director are all about the audience impact, with endeavouring to incite cheers, screams and laughs their stuffing and seasoning. That said, Thanksgiving is strongest when it's fresh out of the oven, then dutifully works through its recreated offings from the Grindhouse trailer and soon proves content with a stock-standard cat-and-mouse game. The bulk of the flick occurs a year following the RightMart riot, when Jessica and her fellow survivor pals Gabby (Addison Rae, He's All That), Evan (Tomaso Sanelli, Holly Hobbie), Scuba (Gabriel Davenport, Mistletoe Time Machine) and Yulia (Jenna Warren, The Young Arsonists) get tagged in a creepy social-media post. Then a diner employee turns up dead not long after waiting on them, a spree begins, and Sheriff Newlon (Patrick Dempsey, Disenchanted) and his colleagues aren't much help. Although biting into consumerism's worst impulses is on the menu, as is satirising the chase for viral fame in these always-posting times, the themes and plot aren't the main course. That status goes to upping the body count with bloodthirsty and grisly enthusiasm. The key thing to be thankful for here is that Thanksgiving's creative forces are patently having schlocky fun, including with their McDreamy casting, practical effects and some visual moments — and they don't ever stomach being subtle about it. Ditching the throwback look hasn't meant scrapping the 70s-esque tone or toning down the revelling in getting gruesome. There's a difference between appreciating how much enjoyment went into whipping up the movie and consistently having more than a by-the-numbers time with it, though. Excited chefs can still cook average meals with sprinklings of flavour, as Roth does. There's also one goal that Thanksgiving threw out with the bones: creating a picture that doesn't make viewers certain that they saw most of the best bits in that years-ago trailer.
For most, there isn't much in Alice Walker's Pulitzer Prize-winning 1982 novel The Color Purple that screams for the musical spin. Broadway still came calling. On the page, this tale always featured a jazz and blues singer as a key character. When it initially reached the screen in 1985 with Steven Spielberg (The Fabelmans) directing, it also worked in an anthem that earned an Oscar nomination and has been much-covered since; Quincy Jones composed the film's score and produced the movie. But if the idea of lavish song-and-dance numbers peppered throughout such a bleak account of incest, rape, domestic abuse, racism, injustice, violence and poverty feels like hitting a wrong note, claims otherwise keep springing. First arrived 2005's Tony-winning stage adaptation, then 2015's also-awarded revival. Now, joining the ranks of books that became movies, then musicals, then musical movies just like the new Mean Girls, a second feature brings Walker's story to cinemas — this time with belted-out ballads and toe-tapping tunes. With each take, The Color Purple's narrative has predominantly remained the same as when it first hit bookshelves, crushing woe, infuriating prejudice and rampant inequity included. Musicals don't have to be cheery, but how does so much brutality give rise to anything but mournful songs? The answer here: by leaning into the rural Georgia-set tale's embrace of hope, resilience and self-discovery. Ghanaian director Blitz Bazawule follows up co-helming Beyoncé's Black Is King by heroing empowerment and emancipation in his version of The Color Purple — and while the film that results can't completely avoid an awkward tonal balance, it's easy to see the meaning behind its striving for a brighter outlook. When what its characters go through as Black women in America's south in the early 20th century is so unsparing, welcoming wherever light can pierce the gloom is a human reaction, and how Celie (American Idol-winner Fantasia Barrino in her feature film debut) copes. Although the sun streams, there's little that's merry about The Color Purple's protagonist's existence when the latest movie begins, or afterwards. On her second pregnancy to her bullying father Alfonso (Deon Cole, Black-ish), who sees her as mere property, the teen Celie (fellow first-timer Phylicia Pearl Mpasi, who was a writer on Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies) knows that this baby will be snatched from her again. But at least she has her sister Nettie (Halle Bailey, The Little Mermaid) to dote on, cling to and protect — until she doesn't. Celie is traded to farmer Mister (Colman Domingo, Rustin) for a cow and a couple of eggs, after he asks for Nettie. The younger sibling soon comes knocking on the door after Celie is burdened with cooking, cleaning, mothering his existing kids and weathering more abuse; however, the sisters are forced apart when Mister still can't get what he wants. Heartbreak is The Color Purple's baseline: over Celie's abhorrent treatment by her dad, and then by Mister; at two girls with nothing else to rely on being torn so cruelly from each other; and at the onslaught of pain that keeps streaming, and widely. With Sofia (Oscar-nominee Danielle Brooks, Peacemaker), the wife of Mister's son Harpo (Corey Hawkins, Dracula: Voyage of the Demeter), Celie meets someone who is unapologetic about her place in the world — even in such a harsh and discriminatory world — only for the xenophobic use of the law to cut her down. With aforementioned crooner Shug Avery (Taraji P Henson, Abbott Elementary), who Mister would prefer to have by his side, she finds more than a push towards self-confidence, a true confidant and friendship; alas, happiness in any form is so frequently fleeting. This Marcus Gardley (I'm a Virgo)-penned The Color Purple might package its championing of persistence and sisterhood with emotion-dripping songs, but it still shares much with its big-screen predecessor beyond its plot. Many holdovers come via personnel. Spielberg and Jones return, both as producers. Oprah Winfrey does the same, swapping from playing Sofia in her acting debut the first time around, which earned her both Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations. Another of the original movie's key cast members pops up for a cameo appearance. Also a blatant commonality: that film iterations of this story continue to tamp down The Color Purple's queer romance. 'What About Love?', a duet between Celie and Shug, is a dreamy picture-stealer. As Shug helps Celie to finally value her own desires, Barrino and Henson make a glowing pair. There's passion in their rousing relationship — but if 2024 isn't the time to make their love more than a footnote, then when? Alongside getting audiences yearning for more of Celie and Shug together, that standout tune epitomises a facet of the film that's evident from the very moment that anyone starts singing: this is a stagey production. When musical numbers are pitched as lively escapist fantasies, which isn't rare, Bazawule appears to be making the choice purposefully. Again, although it doesn't always go as smoothly as planned, the reasoning tracks. For Celie and Sofia in particular, finding ways to persevere through everything that they endure, and to retain or regain any sense of spirit, means confronting big emotions. And just as it does in a theatre rather than a cinema, The Color Purple as a musical goes big when those feelings are released through song. (The movie also gets overly enthusiastic with its editing, which proved the case when Jon Poll took on the same role on The Greatest Showman as well.) Even when the exuberant tone doesn't land and emphasising the sets is clunky, Bazawule has compiled an exceptional cast. Barrino and Brooks reprise their turns from the stage, with considerable tasks following in Whoopi Goldberg (Harlem) and Oprah's footsteps — but their expressive performances, which make everything that courses through both Celie and Sofia ripple from the screen, are each rich, raw and resonant. Henson is entrancingly sultry and fierce as Shug, Bailey caring and determined as Nettie, Domingo monstrous but damaged as Mister and Hawkins accommodating as Harpo. Louis Gossett Jr (Kingdom Business) and Jon Batiste (an Academy Award-winner for Soul's score) also make an impression in small parts. This lineup of talent is reason enough to have The Color Purple flicker and echo as a movie musical. And when this reclamation of a grim tale shines brightest, it shines in the same way that Celie's life eventually does: through the right company.
If you were to see a fridge standing in the middle of Bondi Beach, what would you do? And, perhaps more importantly, what would you hope to find inside? On Saturday, January 20, you can put this situation to the test IRL — and we can tell you now that gelato awaits, plus flavoured milks. Gelato Messina and Westinghouse are teaming up on a giveaway, so one of the latter's refrigerators will indeed be onsite. You'll need to head to Campbell Parade opposite Roscoe Street between 10am–4.30pm, but getting in quick is recommended as the freebies are only available while stocks last (and any chance to grab some Messina for nothing is bound to be popular). On the menu: mini ice cream pops in choc jersey milk and coconut passionfruit varieties, as well as choc malt, dulce de leche and strawberry flavoured milks. One person will also win the fridge itself, so you might end up treating your kitchen as well as your tastebuds.
When Song Kang-ho hasn't been starring in Bong Joon-ho's films, he's been featuring Park Chan-wook's and Kim Jee-woon's, plus Lee Chang-dong's and Hong Sang-soo's as well. One of Korea's acting greats boasts a resume filled with the country's directing greats — so getting the Memories of Murder, The Host, Thirst, Snowpiercer and Parasite star, plus Joint Security Area, Sympathy for Mr Vengeance, Lady Vengeance and Secret Sunshine talent, to play a filmmaker for his The Good the Bad the Weird and The Age of Shadows filmmaker feels like perfect casting even before Cobweb starts spinning its reels. Song's career highlights are already many, complete with a Cannes Best Actor Award for working with Japan's Hirokazu Kore-eda in Broker. Here, he's reliably and rakishly charming in a movie-making ode and on-set farce. For his own director Kim, Song plays a director Kim — but on-screen version Kim Ki-yeol is living in the 70s, and also in a rut. Once an assistant to a famed and acclaimed helmer who has passed away, now he's openly mocked by critics for his trashy fare in one of Cobweb's first scenes. He's made most of a masterpiece, however, or so he believes. The only thing that's required to ensure it's a complete classic is two more days to undertake re-shoots. His film is meant to be finished, but he's adamant that the cast and crew reteam (and his producer foot the bill) to ensure that the creative visions that keep haunting his dreams can become a feted triumph. Convincing everyone that he needs to isn't the only tricky feat, with challenges upon challenges unspooling the longer that the fictional Kim and his colleagues spend bustling. Also involved amid the lights, cameras and action: Shinseong Film Studio's Chairwoman Baek (Jang Young-nam, Project Wolf Hunting), who's hardly enamoured with Kim's new plan; Mido (Jeon Yeo-been, Glitch), the heir to his mentor's company; and actors Min-ja (Lim Soo-jung, Melancholia), Ho-se (Oh Jung-se, Revenant), Yu-rim (Jung Soo-jung, Crazy Love) and Madam Oh (Park Jung-soo). Cue doubts, shaky promises, unexpected alliances, philandering, secret pregnancies, squabbles about prominence, allergies to fake blood, fires, stars trying to juggle shooting the movie and a TV drama, and a supporting actor so wedded to stepping into a detective's shoes that he's deducing on the side between takes. It's an anything-that-can-go-wrong-will situation, and equal in careening chaos to two other recent behind-the-scenes filmmaking comedies: One Cut of the Dead and remake Final Cut, just without the zombies and single-shot gimmick. In both that 2017 Japanese hit and its 2022 French do-over, a commitment to keep filming and making art regardless of the cost thrashed around the picture as heartily as the flesh-eating undead. Courtesy of a script co-written with Shin Yeon-shick (1seung), Kim Jee-woon's characters share that determination without such pronounced life-or-death stakes. Bringing a cinematic reverie to fruition is a leap of faith, as Cobweb understands. When it works, it's not just magic but alchemy. "Here's to the ones who dream" might've been crooned by Emma Stone in La La Land rather than in this fellow tribute to that dream, but the sentiment fits. While Cobweb finds plenty of amusement in the on-screen Kim's madcap last-dash scramble to make the motion picture he'll always be known for, it also respects the passion, yearning, gumption and quest. There may be no shuffling masses to contend with, but there are movie-chomping censors who must approve every element that's destined to grace celluloid. For Song's Kim, zombies might've been nicer to deal with. The all-business Baek is all about toeing the line. Without the censors' tick, not a frame will reach audiences — and careers can crumble via blacklisting, too. Kim won't compromise on his tour de force, except that the whole whirlwind reshoot is a constant exercise in compromise. As various solutions spring up to stop the authorities' interference, including persuading them that the new ending will give them an "anti-communist film", setting Cobweb five decades back is a choice with meaning. Harking back to the days when South Korean cinema IRL was at the mercy of the state under the Yusin system rather than truly driven by artists, the film applauds the dedication and the hustle that sees any picture exist, and especially one under such circumstances. Cobweb's cast also deserve praise, with Song unsurprisingly chief among them, as he tends to be in whatever he's in. His selling task is twofold: swaying the production-within-a-production's on- and off-screen players to give their all to crafting his movie the way that it dances through his head, and whether or not it seems to make even a bit of sense; and getting Cobweb's audience invested not just in the madcap mania that Kim Jee-woon can't stop embracing, but emotionally. His co-stars are also up to going along for the ride, particularly Jeon as Kim's co-conspirator in pulling the whole gambit off. Both Song and Jeon get moments as actors playing actors, when Kim and Mido's respective fervour sees them resolved to step in front of the camera to guarantee the performances they want. He's best known for A Tale of Two Sisters, A Bittersweet Life and I Saw the Devil, but Kim Jee-woon is no stranger to dark comedy, as he eagerly plies here. His regular cinematographer Kim Ji-yong, who has been working with the director on and off since A Bittersweet Life, is equally acquainted with lavish lensing — and while Cobweb isn't as ravishing as his efforts on Park Chan-wook's 2022 stunner Decision to Leave (because almost nothing is), it remains an arresting sight as it flits from the black-and-white of Kim Ki-yeol's noir-esque Hitchcock-meets-soap opera flick to the retro period sheen of his existence. Don't go expecting to know exactly what the on-screen Kim is so feverish about, though. His counterpart splashes around the OTT movie inside the movie in fits and bursts, but it suits. Believing that Song's Kim believes in it is easy in a film this savvy, entertaining and adept at weaving its many strands.
Spring is here, and with it is longer days and sunny afternoons primed for soaking up some rays with a refreshing beverage in hand. If this sounds up your alley, the latest iteration of Opera Bar's rosé festival Rosé All Day is returning for ten days in September. Throughout the festival, the harbourside bar with an incredible view of the bridge will be thinking and drinking pink. Expect frosé, spritzes, pét-nat, cocktails, and rosé both still and sparkling, with varieties from Big Dreams, Petite Amour, Tar & Roses and Chandon. There will even be boozy rosé soft serve covered in freeze-dried raspberries, plus a Bro-groni — a negroni made from gin, rosé vermouth, Aperol and Whispering Angel rosé. Accompanying all of the pink drinks will be a pink food menu featuring oysters with a rosé mignonette, beetroot hummus with rosemary flatbread and salmon rillet on brioche. And, you can expect daily live music and a shimmer squad on weekends. Tickets to the rosé festival cost $40, and include entry plus three pink drinks for you to claim at any point. After that, you'll have to purchase your drinks as you go.
While Messina's main jam is usually crafting supremely scoffable varieties of gelato, the brand's love of food extends far beyond the freezer. The cult gelateria has often teamed up with savoury-focused culinary heroes, throwing big ol' food parties. For the next Messina Eats at the brand's expansive new Marrickville HQ, the dessert specialist is doing things a little differently, inviting a baking crew close to its heart for the weekend pop-up. Shadow Baking is the new project of three of Messina's head chefs — Tom Mitchell, Florian Fritsch and Remi Talbot. Usually, if you want to get your hands on the team's flaky creations, you'd have to head to The Cannery's monthly markets — but, to give more Sydneysiders the chance to taste the Shadow Baking treats, it's popping up for a Messina Eats party in the HQ car park. Expect macadamia and mandarin croissants, custard tart danishes, reuben croissant sandwiches, pandan and coconut brioche, and a special one-off kouign-amann custard gelato sando in collaboration with Messina. Shadow Baking is set to open a permanent outpost in Darlinghurst soon. Once it arrives, you expect all the goodies from The Cannery Markets plus plenty of regular collaborations between the baking team and Gelato Messina. If you want to get your hands on a next-level pastry to kick off your weekend, the Messina Eats: Shadow Baking collab is popping up at 1 Rich Street, Marrickville from 8am on Saturday, September 16 until sold out.
There's no shortage of ways to celebrate Halloween, whether scary movies, eerie art, a trick-or-treating stint, playing with Lego or themed mini golf is your thing. Here's a particularly tasty one: getting dressed up in costume and scoring a free Krispy Kreme doughnut. The chain is known for giving away its round treats, including handing out 100,000 of them each National Doughnut Day. For Tuesday, October 31, it isn't locking in an exact number of doughnuts that'll be on offer — but it will give one to everyone who turns up to a Krispy Kreme store dressed for the occasion. If that isn't an excuse to don your spookiest outfit, then what is? To snag yourself a signature glazed freebie, head to your closest Krispy Kreme store in Sydney — there's 17 stores stretching in NSW from Penrith to the CBD — on Tuesday, October 31 while wearing a Halloween-appropriate costume. You'll receive one original glazed doughnut per person, and you don't have to buy anything else to nab the treat without paying a cent. Of course, Krispy Kreme is hoping that you will be possessed by the Halloween vibe while you're in-store — or beforehand — and treat yourself to something from its themed range. On offer until Tuesday, October 31: four different varieties.
One of 2023's most-anticipated films is hitting Palace Cinemas' big screens on Saturday, October 28. That flick: Strange Way of Life, the latest work by inimitable Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar (Parallel Mothers). It's a 30-minute short, hence the fact that it won't get the usual silver-screen release — and it's also a sublime queer western starring Ethan Hawke (Moon Knight) and Pedro Pascal (The Last of Us). Almodóvar? Hawke? Pascal? Queer western? Yes, that's Strange Way of Life, which is why it's such a must-see. It made its Australian debut at this year's Sydney Film Festival, heading to our shores straight from premiering at Cannes — and now it's showing in the Harbour City again at Palace's Fashion Focus Premiere sessions at Palace Norton Street, Palace Verona and Palace Central. In this bite-sized film, Sheriff Jake (Hawke) and rancher Silva (Pascal) share a history, working together as hired gunmen a quarter-century ago. Then, circumstances bring them back together; however, a reunion isn't the only reason they've crossed paths again. "The strange way of life referred in the title alludes to the famous fado by Amalia Rodrigues, whose lyrics suggest that there is no stranger existence than the one that is lived by turning your back on your own desires," explains Almodóvar. Tickets cost $25 for Palace Movie Club members and $30 otherwise, for sessions that include a glass of prosecco or wine upon arrival — and are all about celebrating not only the short, but also the costumes designed by Anthony Vaccarello, with fashion house Saint Laurent producing the film. Also on offer: an interview with the one and only Almodóvar before the short plays. Palace Norton Street and Palace Central are doing drinks at 6.45pm and the screening at 7pm, while the times are 7.15pm for a 7.30pm start at Palace Verona.
Fan of magic? Addicted to your phone? We've got good news for you. Metaverse of Magic, a theatre show combining stagecraft and sorcery, will be coming to Sydney this November. Think of it like the magic shows of yesteryear, redefined for the digital age. And here's where it gets really fun: you're not just a spectator, you're an active participant, with your smartphone effectively transforming into a magic wand to use to interact with the show. Kicking off in Sydney, then Canberra and Brisbane, the show offers a blend of traditional magic from real pros from around the world. Using your phone, you'll join DIGI, an artificial consciousness bridging our world and the Metaverse, and embark on a quest to uncover the secrets of four masters of illusion and attempt to gain access to the mysterious Inner Realm. No pressure. Taking centre stage is YouTube and TikTok sensation Ash Magic, along with a galaxy of global stars, including Tokyo's Hara Hiroki, Australia's Charli Ashby, New Zealand's Jarred Fell, Taiwan's Horret Wu and Amsterdam's Sabine van Diemen. The show runs for two weeks only, opening on Tuesday, November 7 and running until Sunday, November 19, at Sydney Coliseum Theatre at West HQ. So get in quick, and get set for a grand magic show — but not as you know it. Just don't forget to charge your phone. Intrigued? Grab your tickets here.
Three Blue Ducks' chef Darren Roberston has come together with Japanese Roku Gin to create an exclusive dining event to showcase the spirit of shun: A Taste of Bellingen. Having opened in July 2023, The Lodge in Bellingen has been celebrated for its new menu, which features bold flavours and fresh, seasonal produce. It's bringing its Asian-inspired menu to Three Blue Ducks' Rosebery location for two seatings: dinner on Friday, November 10, and lunch on Saturday, November 11, hosted by celebrated Three Blue Ducks chef Darren Roberston. Robertson crafted the luxe Asian-inspired menu with Japanese flavours inspired by the botanicals used in Roku Gin. He will host the exclusive dining event and guide diners through the four courses to symbolise the four seasons — each served with a special Roku gin cocktail. Some of the dishes on the menu include oysters with ginger and cherry blossom, salt and pepper squid, grilled asparagus with spanner crab mayo and gyokuro togarashi, barramundi with fragrant dashi, sencha furikake and sea greens and for dessert, diners will get to enjoy a yuzu tart with soft meringue and creme fraiche. The time-honoured Japanese tradition of shun (pronounced "shoon") encourages us to enjoy produce at its most ripe. The Japanese spirit Roku Gin exemplifies shun, crafted using a selection of six Japanese botanicals (roku actually means six in Japanese). Each botanical is carefully harvested at the peak of its season, ensuring the gin captures the essence of shun in every sip and savour. The six botanicals are sakura flower, sakura leaf, sencha tea, gyokuro tea, sanshō pepper and yuzu. Roku is the premium Japanese craft gin from the House of Suntory. A Taste of Bellingen menu is available from Friday, November 10 (dinner only) until Saturday, November 11 (lunch only). Tickets are extremely limited. They cost $120 (plus booking fee) per person and are now available to book on the Three Blue Ducks website. Images: Rob Palmer (images of Darren Robertson), Jude Cohen
You may recognise Jad 'Funk' Nehmetallah from his heated Gogglebox debates about the correct pronunciation of falafel. But, the restaurateur-turned-reality-tv-star is also responsible for Misc. Parramatta, the sleek 300-seat venue that opened in Parramatta Park late last year. Already a Western Sydney favourite, Misc. is taking things up a notch for one special weeknight with the Mersel x Misc. Wine Dinner. Set against the leafy green backdrop of Parramatta Park, the one-night-only event will see the venue collaborate with Mersel Wines, one of the best producers of Lebanese vino. While you might typically expect excellent drops from Spain and Italy, the rolling hills of Lebanon are also responsible for producing some rather excellent reds and rosé which will be on display at the dinner. While the evening will take you on a journey through the vineyards of the Middle East by showcasing five of Mersel's most popular creations, it will go beyond the bottle by pairing them with a four-course menu curated by Executive Chef Sebastian Geray. With a soundtrack courtesy of East West Trio and violinist Yena Choi, the occasion will be a perfect opportunity to embrace the Misc. ethos: "To tell the best stories. And make the most memorable experiences. To feast together. Break some bread. Order a bit of this. Add a bit of that. Drink something. And together we will let the good times roll." Mersel x Misc. Wine Dinner will take over the Parramatta diner on Thursday, July 13. You can nab tickets for $160 via the event's website.
