In the hustle and bustle of Sydney, a good cold brew is like liquid gold — or at least it can be priced that way. A cold brew in the CBD can set you back anywhere up to $7. And, even if you're constantly on the lookout for a good caffeine fix, that won't always fit into the budget. Luckily, coffee roaster Industry Beans is celebrating the second birthday of its York Street store with a special deal. This Friday, March 19 and Saturday, March 20, Industry Beans is offering up its famed cold brew for just $2. All you need to do is download the Industry Beans app, then head down to York Street and order a cold brew via the app. Plus, when you do download the app, you're given $5 to spend on your next purchase. You can head down before work on Friday — or, if you have a big night planned to start the weekend, set a reminder for yourself Saturday morning. That's when an ice-cold coffee might just be what you need to bring yourself back to life.
Sydney Opera House's UnWrapped festival is returning with a dynamic season of new works from independent artists. Ranging from First Nations cabaret to Iranian-influenced jazz, the May program features six attention-grabbing performances, including Sky Blue Mythic — the latest full-length work by acclaimed choreographer and dancer Angela Goh. The award-winning performer is considered to be one of the country's most daring artists, creating boundary-pushing work that captivates and entertains. You can witness Goh's otherworldly choreography come to life in Sky Blue Mythic — which interrogates the space between the familiar and the alien. It'll be performed to a live soundtrack by accompanying producer Corin Ileto, too. Catch Sky Blue Mythic from Wednesday, May 26–Saturday, May 29. For more information — and to book — head to the Sydney Opera House website.
New adaptations of acclaimed classics, tributes to iconic directors, topical thrillers and plenty of glimpses of Berlin — that's what's on the program at this year's German Film Festival. Like its fellow country-specific counterparts (such as the French and Spanish film fests), this showcase of cinema serves up the latest and greatest movies its chosen nation has to offer. In 2021, after sitting out 2020 for obvious years, that means that 30 films will be lighting up the big screen at Palace Norton, Chauvel Cinemas and Palace Central from Tuesday, May 25–Sunday, June 13. A number of GFF's big highlights this year all follow a common thread, because they're linked to the great New German Cinema director Rainer Werner Fassbinder in one way or another. That includes a 40th anniversary screening of Lola, which'll screen via a glorious new 4K restoration; biopic Enfant Terrible, which sees Oliver Masucci step into Fassbinder's shoes; and Berlin Alexanderplatz, a new screen version of Alfred Döblin's 1929 novel — which Fassbinder famously adapted into a miniseries back in 1980. Celebrating today's German greats as well, GFF will kick off with Next Door, the filmmaking debut of actor Daniel Brühl (The Falcon and the Winter Soldier). No spotlight on movies from the European nation would be complete without an appearance by the inimitable Nina Hoss (Pelican Blood), of course, which comes courtesy of drama The Audition. And, there's also Exile, starring Toni Erdmann's Sonia Huller; Fabian: Going to the Dogs, which is set in pre-World War II Berlin; and romantic comedy I'm Your Man, which follows a scientist who agrees to live with a humanoid robot. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GWEoRYylwwI&feature=emb_imp_woyt Top image: Berlin Alexanderplatz.
UPDATE: Thursday, May 6 2021 – Due to new restrictions on dancing and singing, Picnic Presents CC:Disco has be postponed until Friday, June 4. The below article has been updated to reflect this. For the latest information, visit NSW Health. Fish your dancing shoes from the back of your wardrobe — there's a six-hour feel-good dance party coming to Sydney. Local nightlife crew Picnic are set to present yet another joyful session of dance music, this time headed up by internationally regarded DJ, CC:Disco. CC:Disco has played at festivals around Australia and the world including Glastonbury and Splendour in the Grass, and is now set to take on the UNSW Roundhouse following the release of her new compilation First Light Volume 2 on Friday, May 7. Joining her will be two of Sydney's most highly-regarded dance music curators, Adi Toohey and Mike Who. Hosting duties for the night will be in the hands of an array of the city's brightest dancers, performers and personalities. Gaff-E, Kelly Lovemonster, Beau Kirq, Millie Sykes, Radha and StellyG will all take the stage beneath Australia's largest disco ball to enhance the party experience. Tickets are $50 and capacity at the Roundhouse is limited to 900 people under current COVID-safe protocols, so snatch them up quick. [caption id="attachment_810766" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Milli Sykes[/caption]
The past 12 months have been extra light on dance floor action, but boy have we found the perfect way for you to get back into the swing of it now that making shapes is back. Best loosen up those muscles for the ultimate underwater dance party, happening among the fishies at Sea Life Sydney. On Friday, April 23, the aquarium is teaming up with the folks from Silent Sounds to host an after-hours silent disco in its stunning Reef Theatre, complete with 360-degree close-up views of all that ocean life in action. You'll find yourself shimmying with the sharks and moonwalking with manta rays, soundtracked by your pick of tunes played through headphones. And with three resident DJs spinning a mix of fresh hits and classic jams, there'll be dance-friendly sounds for every taste. Before the grooving gets under way, you'll get 45 minutes to explore the aquarium after dark, take some happy snaps in the photo booth and enjoy a few libations at the pop-up bar. Tickets are $50 per person, which includes a drink on arrival, after-hours aquarium access and all three hours enjoying the silent disco shenanigans. [caption id="attachment_805837" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Images: Silent Sounds[/caption]
Reading all seven of JK Rowling's Harry Potter books in 70 minutes? Not even Dumbledore himself could conjure up that kind of magic. Seeing the entire saga play out on stage in the same amount of time, with room for a quidditch match too? Well, thanks to Potted Potter: The Unauthorised Harry Experience, that's another matter entirely. If you don't have the time to reread your favourite novels, are looking for a quick refresher before the next Fantastic Beasts film hits cinemas or would just like a brief wander through the entire story for the fun of it, then this comedic production has you covered. As created by double Olivier Award Best Entertainment nominees Daniel Clarkson and Jefferson Turner, you'll watch two performers relive the wonder of the boy who lived and recreate the terror of he who must not be named — and whiz through it faster than you can say "accio books!" (or almost that fast). And, if you somehow still have no idea what all the Harry Potter fuss is about, consider this the ultimate primer. Of course, Potted Potter: The Unauthorised Harry Experience is a parody, so it comes with plenty of laughs when it plays the Seymour Centre from Tuesday, June 22 to Sunday, July 4. Images: Scott Joe.
When Murder on the Orient Express became a big box office hit back in 2017, it wasn't the first time that the Agatha Christie novel had reached the silver screen. That honour goes to the 1974 movie of the same name, which starred Albert Finney as Hercule Poirot, and featured everyone from Sean Connery and Lauren Bacall to Vanessa Redgrave and Ingrid Bergman. And if you're keen to explore its whodunnit thrills, you can at Dendy Newtown's new Murder Mysteries Film Festival. From, Thursday, March 18–Wednesday, March 31, this six-title fest is all about sleuthing through blasts from the past. Before the next new Poirot flick, Death on the Nile, reaches cinemas — hopefully at some point this year — you can see the 1978 version with Peter Ustinov, Angela Lansbury, Mia Farrow and Maggie Smith, too. Also on the bill: Humphrey Bogart-starring classic The Maltese Falcon, Orson Welles in The Third Man and the aristocratic dramas of Kind Hearts and Coronets. There's also Alfred Hitchcock's masterpiece North by Northwest, which everyone needs to see at least once on the big screen. Like all of Dendy Newtown's festivals, different movies screen on different dates — and multiple times — so checking out the session listing is the best way to schedule your viewing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ek7T9Gyl_J4
It's the excuse you need to stop for a drink on the way home from work, or to even hit quittin' time a little early. From Monday, February 22–Sunday, February 28, The Pacific Club in Bondi is serving up $1.50 oysters — and if that sounds familiar, the venue is extending its usual once-a-week happy hour special and letting you slurp down some super-affordable saltwater bivalve molluscs all day everyday across the entire week. So, whenever The Pacific Club is open during the last week of summer, you'll be able to enjoy natural Sydney rock oysters for $1.50 each. This celebration of freshly shucked oysters does come with a caveat, though: to access the cheap seafood, you will need to buy a beverage. You'll find the venue's usual array of drinks waiting to wet your whistle, including beer, wine and sparkling. And, The Pacific Club has just dropped a new cocktail list, should you feel like pairing a few new tipples with your oysters.
New year, new chance to learn new skills. For most of us, that's how every January starts — but once February, March and April roll around, it's easy to let that plan fall by the wayside. Enter a new collaboration between Carriageworks Farmers Market and Cornersmith, which will load you up with new know-how. And, you'll expand your sustainable repertoire in the kitchen, too. The Sustainable Kitchen Workshops series will take place every Saturday morning at 9am from February 6–April 17 and, because Cornersmith is leading the charge, there's a big focus on preserving, pickling and fermenting. Always wanted to know how to pickle plums? Fancy making your own bottled tomatoes? Desperate to create and perfect your own signature hot sauce? Head along and you'll learn everything you need to. Other sessions hone in on mushrooms, garlic and kosher pickles, plus waste-free shopping and cooking, turning scraps into kimchi and making an an old-fashioned vinegar drink out of preserved seasonal fruit. You'll pay $75 for each 90-minute class — which is a small price to learn a new skill that you'll use for life — and they're being held in Carriageworks' cafe space. Top image: Nikki To.
Each week, Australia's cinemas deliver plenty of excuses to spend time in a darkened theatre with your eyes glued to the big screen. But when the Jewish International Film Festival returns for 2021 — after sitting out last year due to the pandemic — it'll serve up even more reasons to spend a night or several at the flicks, especially if you're keen to explore a top-notch program of movies and television shows with ties to Jewish culture. A hefty lineup spanning 29 features, 19 documentaries and episodes from three TV series is on the bill when the festival hits Sydney between Thursday, February 18–Wednesday, March 24 — running at the Ritz in Randwick from February 18–March 17, and at Roseville Cinemas from March 6–24. JIFF 2021 will open with Incitement, which won Best Film at the Ophir Awards (aka Israel's version of the Oscars), and steps into a young Orthodox law student's attempt to assassinate the Israeli Prime Minister in 1995. At the other end of the fest, it'll close with the first two episodes from the third season of Shtisel, starring Unorthodox breakout Shira Haas as the member of a Haredi family in Jerusalem. Also on offer: Haas again, this time as a teenager with a degenerative health condition in Asia; coming-of-age comedy Shiva Baby, focusing on a college student dealing with dramas at the titular event; and When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit, about a Jewish family fleeing Berlin in the 30s. Or, you can check out Ruth – Justice Ginsburg In Her Own Words, the latest documentary about the late, great Supreme Court Justice; Alan Pakula: Going for Truth, which pays tribute to the director of To Kill a Mockingbird, Sophie's Choice, All the President's Men and more; and The Last Vermeer, with Dracula's Claes Bang as an army officer investigating paintings taken by the Nazis and Aussie star Guy Pearce playing a Dutch art dealer. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbOEtyKJ17A Top image: Shtisel, Ohad Romano.
Call it the SNL effect: in two of their past three films, Julie Cohen and Betsy West have celebrated pioneering women who've been parodied on Saturday Night Live. They've referenced those famous skits in RBG and now Julia, in fact, including their subjects' reactions; Ruth Bader Ginsburg was seen howling with laughter when she first saw Kate McKinnon slip into her robes, and Julia Child reportedly played Dan Aykroyd's blood-soaked 1978 impersonation to friends at parties. Cohen and West clearly aren't basing their documentaries on their own sketch-comedy viewing, though. Instead, they've been eagerly unpacking exactly why a US Supreme Court Justice and a French cuisine-loving TV chef made such a strong impact, and not only in their own fields. Julia makes an exceptional companion piece with the Oscar-nominated RBG, unsurprisingly; call it a great doco double helping. Julia arrives nearly two decades after its namesake's passing, and 12 years since Meryl Streep earned an Oscar nomination for mimicking Julia in Julie & Julia. If you've seen the latter but still wondered why Julie Powell (played by The Woman in the Window's Amy Adams) was so determined to work her way through Julia's most famous cookbook — first published in 1961, Mastering the Art of French Cooking completely changed America's perception of printed recipe collections — let this easy-to-consume doco fill in the gaps when it comes to the culinary wiz's mastery and achievements. Let it spark two instinctual, inescapable and overwhelming reactions, too: hunger, due to all the clips of Julia cooking and other lingering shots of food; and inspiration, because wanting to whip up the same dishes afterwards is equally understandable. In their second film of 2021 — after My Name Is Pauli Murray, another portrait of a woman thoroughly deserving the spotlight — Cohen and West take a chronological approach to Julia's life. The two filmmakers like borrowing cues from their subjects, so here they go with a classic recipe that's been given slight tweaks, but always appreciates that magic can be made if you pair a tried-and-tested formula with outstanding technique. Julia's entire cooking career, including her leap to television in her 50s, stirred up the same idea. Her take on French dining was all about making delectable meals by sticking to the right steps, even while using supermarket-variety ingredients, after all. Julia boasts a delightful serving of archival footage, as well as lingering new food porn-esque sequences that double as how-tos (as deliciously lensed by cinematographer and fellow RBG alum Claudia Raschke), but it still embodies the same ethos. Born to a well-off Pasadena family in 1912, Julia's early relationship with food is painted as functional: the household's cooks prepared the meals, and wanting to step into the kitchen herself was hardly a dream. In pre-World War II America, the expectation was that she'd simply marry and become a housewife, however, but a hunger for more out of life first took her to the Office of Strategic Services — the US organisation that gave way to the CIA — and overseas postings. While stationed in the Far East, she met State Department official Paul Child. After a berth in China, he was sent to France, where the acclaimed Cordon Bleu culinary school eventually beckoned for Julia. From there, she started her own cooking classes in Paris, co-penned the book that made her famous, turned a TV interview into a pitch for her own show and became an icon. There's more to each ingredient in Julia, of course, and to the dish that is its towering central figure (alongside her two siblings, Julia measured over six feet tall, causing their mother to joke that she'd given birth to 18 feet of children). This is an affectionate film that's as light and fluffy in tone as a souffle, but it still packs its menu with the bio-doc equivalent of a full meal. The use of text from Julia and Paul's letters — both to and about each other — seasons its collage of photographs and cooking show snippets with personality. Weaving in sensual shots of cooking in action speaks to the depth of the Childs' marriage, too; in Paris, she'd fashion him up a lavish lunch followed by a sojourn to the bedroom, the movie informs. That said, many of Julia's highlights come from simply watching Julia on TV, including when things didn't always go as planned. Talking head interviews from colleagues, friends, relatives, and other big cooking names such as José Andrés, Ina Garten, and Marcus Samuelsson help flesh out all the necessary biographical minutiae, but viewing Julia in action is the film's version of a main course and dessert all in one. She's unflappable, earthy, humorous and informative, her distinctive voice booming away as she talks through making everything from boeuf bourguignon to roast chicken — and it's easy to glean why America warmed to her as much as the butter-fuelled French fare she taught them to make. Why she sparked an entire genre of cuisine-focused television is just as plain to see, as is her trailblazing status as a female in the industry and a harbinger of better American dinners. The leap from jell-o salads to French omelettes and bouillabaisse was sizeable — and necessary. Julia does come with one spot at the table that's missing a dish. When it trifles with thornier topics than its eponymous cook's career, upbringing, marriage and influence, such as her contentment with being a homemaker pre-TV stardom, her tricky relationship with feminism despite her pro-choice views, and her early homophobia before becoming an AIDS activist, it can feel like it's snacking quickly and moving on. The film savours the good, the great and the extraordinary, but these brief notes still leave a taste. In general, though, it's still the kind of appetising movie that'd have Julia herself exclaiming "bon appétit!". Top image: Photo by Fairchild Archive/Penske Media/Shutterstock (6906383b) Julia Child on the set of her cooking show, 'The French Chef Julia Child, Boston.
If you've ever visited Japan, you've likely made your way to the top of one of Tokyo's tall towers — Tokyo Tower, even — and tried to catch a glimpse of Mount Fuji. You might've even made the trip to the active volcano yourself, and you probably saw its shape splashed across plenty of souvenirs. And you likely spotted variations of Katsushika Hokusai's art work featuring it, too. His Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji series, which includes The Great Wave off Kanagawa, is one of the things he's best known for. Actually seeing Mount Fuji for yourself might be off the cards at the moment, but you can learn more about Hokusai and his work at Australia's annual Japanese Film Festival. It's back for its 25th year in 2021, screening at Palace Cinemas across Sydney from Thursday, November 25–Sunday, December 5, with biopic Hokusai kicking off the festival on opening night. Also on the 21-movie program: Oscar submission True Mothers, which sees acclaimed filmmaker Naomi Kawase spin a story about adoption; Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy, a Berlinale 2021 Silver Bear for director Ryūsuke Hamaguchi; and The Deer King, an animated film that steps into a world plagued by disease — and follows two survivors who might have the cure. Or, you can check out Under the Open Sky, about an ex-yakuza starting again after 13 years in prison; hostage thriller Masked Ward, which comes to the screen from the pages of a medical mystery novel; and comedy Not Quite Dead Yet, about a singer who wishes for her dad's demise. A number of movies by avant-garde directors Shūji Terayama also grace the lineup and, from Monday, November 15–Sunday, November 21, JFF is screening a range of titles free online — so you can keep watching even when you're not in a cinema. Want to transport yourself to Japan? Let the Japanese Film Festival whisk you away from November 25–Sunday, December 5 at Palace Cinemas throughout Sydney. For more information and to book your tickets, visit the website. Images: © 2021 NEOPA / Fictive and Copyright © 2020 HOKUSAI MOVIE.
UPDATE, December 23, 2021: Encanto is currently screening in Australian cinemas, and will be available to stream via Disney+ from December 25. Five years after Lin-Manuel Miranda and Disney first teamed up on an animated musical with the catchiest of tunes, aka Moana, they're back at it again with Encanto. To viewers eager for another colourful, thoughtful and engaging film — and another that embraces a particular culture with the heartiest of hugs, and is all the better for it — what can the past decade's most influential composer and biggest entertainment behemoth say except you're welcome? Both the Hamilton mastermind and the Mouse House do what they do best here. The songs are infectious, as well as diverse in style; the storyline follows a spirited heroine challenging the status quo; and the imagery sparkles. Miranda and Disney are both in comfortable territory, in fact — formulaic, sometimes — but Encanto never feels like they're monotonously beating the same old drum. Instruments are struck, shaken and otherwise played in the film's soundtrack, of course, which resounds with energetic earworms; the salsa beats of 'We Don't Talk About Bruno' are especially irresistible, and the Miranda-penned hip hop wordplay that peppers the movie's tunes is impossible to mentally let go. Spanning pop, ballads and more, all those songs help tell the tale of the Madrigals, a close-knit Colombian family who've turned generational trauma into magic. This is still an all-ages-friendly Disney flick, so there are limits to how dark it's willing to get; however, that Encanto fills its frames with a joyous celebration of Latin America and simultaneously recognises its setting's history of conflict is hugely significant. It also marks Walt Disney Animation Studios' 60th feature — dating back to 1937's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs — but its cultural specificity (depictions of Indigenous, Afro Latino and Colombian characters of other ethnicities included) is its bigger achievement. The focal point of their jungle-surrounded village, the Madrigals are the local version of superheroes. They live in an enchanted home, complete with a magical candle that's burned for three generations, and they each receive special powers when they come of age. The latter wasn't the case for Encanto's heroine Mirabel (Stephanie Beatriz, Brooklyn Nine-Nine), though, and that absence of exceptional abilities has left the bespectacled teen feeling like an outcast. Plus, with her young cousin Antonio (Ravi Cabot-Conyers, #BlackAF) now going through the ceremony, Mirabel's perceived failings linger afresh in everyone's minds. But then la casita, as their supernatural home is known, starts cracking — the flame begins to flicker as well, as everyone's powers waver with it — and it looks like only its most ordinary inhabitant can save the day. Encanto doesn't refer to the Madrigals by any term you'd hear in a Marvel movie, but the imprint of Disney's hit franchise remains evident. Thankfully, director Byron Howard (Tangled), and co-writers/co-helmers Charise Castro Smith (Sweetbitter) and Jared Bush (Zootopia) have sprinkled in a few fun abilities — because mixing up a template sits high among the feature's powers, even when those generic underlying pieces can still be gleaned. Accordingly, one of Mirabel's sisters, Luisa (Jessica Darrow, Feast of the Seven Fishes), is super strong, but the other, Isabela (Diane Guerrero, Doom Patrol), makes flowers blossom with her loveliness. Similarly, while their aunt Pepa (Carolina Gaitán, The Greatest Showman) controls the weather, their mother Julieta (Angie Cepeda, Jane the Virgin) heals through cooking. In one of the most surprising moves ever made by all-ages film, Encanto also nods to Gabriel García Márquez and his novel One Hundred Years of Solitude (superheroes, Disney not-quite-princesses and Colombian magical realism, together at last!). It works because Encanto meaningfully ponders inherited woes and the weight of family expectations, and grounds them in past struggles and the cycles they kickstart. That's the Madrigals' story, as tied to Abuela Alma (María Cecilia Botero, Nurses). And, while delivered in bright and bouncy packaging, it includes noting how the pressure to excel and enchant has caused fissures. Indeed, due to her uncle Bruno (John Leguizamo, Playing with Fire) — who no one is supposed to discuss, as the aforementioned track trills — Mirabel isn't the only Madrigal wrongly deemed to have let the family down. Vibrant, rich, tender, sincere and lively (the songs, pace and lush computer-generated animation just keep earning the term): add in familiar, still, and that's Encanto. Perhaps it's an apt combination, considering that finding beauty in the seemingly standard is one of the movie's key messages. Or, maybe it's just what was always going to happen when the Mouse House mashed up such recognisable parts — there's plenty about Mirabel's tale that's pure Disney 101, too, and we've all enjoyed the childhood viewing to prove it — into a gorgeous and heartfelt love letter to Colombian culture. Either way, the movie remains a modest charmer and, with Beatriz's yearning yet resilient vocal performance worlds away from Rosa Diaz's growl, and her co-stars helping to make the picture melodic several times over, it's winningly cast as well. Encanto is also the fourth feature bearing Miranda's fingerprints in 2021, after In the Heights, fellow animated effort Vivo and his filmmaking directorial debut Tick, Tick… Boom!. Thanks to both his and Disney's involvement, it'll likely take the reverse route traversed by two of those titles and, The Lion King and Mary Poppins-style, end up on a stage sometime in the future. Such a production would inherently lack the creative cinematography that assists in making Encanto such a visual treat — especially in the imaginative journey that Mirabel takes in the movie's second half — but it'd dazzle as a live-action show anyway. One of the film's other joys is the fact that it's poised, fashioned, animated and sung like it's treading the boards already, and that why that's the case — why it exudes big musical energy, even when it feels like its threatening to overdo it at first — is cannily baked into its narrative.
Is Japan on your destination bucket list when Australia finally opens up international borders? Well, until you can hop on a plane and see the real deal, a slice of Japan is coming to your living room with the latest virtual Sydney event. Japanaroo is an online travel, food and arts festival celebrating all things Japanese, running until Saturday, October 2. The interactive online event offers origami workshops, lessons on kintsugi, live walking tours of numerous Japanese cities and cooking classes live-streamed from Tokyo. The festival will transition to a live, in-person event in December with a concert at Sydney Town Hall, pending Sydney's COVID restrictions in summer. The lineup will feature a mix of Aussie and Japanese talent, including singer Kamahl, didgeridoo player William Barton, the Sydney Sakura Choir and taiko drummers YuNiOn. Tickets range from free to $70. You can check out all the different workshops and events here. Ticket sales to the Town Hall concert in December have been temporarily paused, but will be available again soon. Image: Pexels, Satoshi Hirayama
Just over a decade ago, Noomi Rapace was The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo — The Girl Who Played with Fire and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, too. After starring in the first film adaptations of Steig Larsson's best-selling Millennium books, the Swedish actor then brought her penchant for simmering ferocity to Alien prequel Prometheus, and to movies as varied as erotic thriller Passion, crime drama The Drop and Australian-shot thriller Angel of Mine. But Lamb might be her best role yet, and best performance. A picture that puts her silent film era-esque features to stunning use, it stares into the soul of a woman not just yearning for her own modest slice of happiness, but willing to do whatever it takes to get it. It also places Rapace opposite a flock of sheep, and has her cradle a baby that straddles both species; however, this Icelandic blend of folk-horror thrills, relationship dramas and even deadpan comedy is as human as it is ovine. At first, Lamb is all animal. Something rumbles in the movie's misty, mountainside farm setting, spooking the horses. In the sheep barn, where cinematographer Eli Arenson (Hospitality) swaps arresting landscape for a ewe's-eye view, the mood is tense and restless as well. Making his feature debut, filmmaker Valdimar Jóhannsson doesn't overplay his hand early. As entrancing as the movie's visuals prove in all their disquieting stillness, he keeps the film cautious about what's scaring the livestock. But Lamb's expert sound design offers a masterclass in evoking unease from its very first noise, and makes it plain that all that eeriness, anxiety and dripping distress has an unnerving — and tangible — source. The farm belongs to Rapace's Maria and her partner Ingvar (Hilmir Snær Guðnason, A White, White Day), who've thrown themselves into its routines after losing a child. They're a couple that let their taciturn faces do the talking, including with each other, but neither hides their delight when one ewe gives birth to a hybrid they name Ada. Doting and beaming, they take the sheep-child into their home as their own. Its woolly mother stands staring and baa-ing outside their kitchen window, but they're both content in and fiercely protective of their newfound domestic happiness. When Ingvar's ex-pop star brother Pétur (Björn Hlynur Haraldsson, Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga) arrives unexpectedly, they don't even dream of hiding their new family idyll — even as he's initially shocked and hardly approving. Jóhannsson isn't one for telling rather than showing, as Lamb's sparse dialogue ensures. That said, he doesn't unveil Ada a second before he needs to, either. While Maria has a little lamb and its fleece is as white as snow, the film spends much of its first half revelling in how the creature's arrival drastically alters the household's mood. Lamb is firmly a tone poem, in fact, living, bleating and breathing in its titular critter's wake. Something sinister still dwells — and recurrent shots of Iceland's towering surroundings still ripple with foreboding — but Maria and Ingvar have eagerly snatched up what bliss they can. Smartly, when the revealing shot comes, and also when Ada keeps being seen in all her human-animal glory (courtesy of live animals and children, plus CGI and also puppetry), Jóhannsson's winning mix of anticipation and playfulness isn't shorn away. It's easy to spy another picture from this part of the world with an ovine focus and think of Rams (the original, not the 2020 Australian remake). Recalling A White, White Day's musing on grief and its stunning use of wintry landscapes is just as straightforward as well. Throw in the fact that Lamb frolics forth from US distributor A24 — home to fellow folk-horror hits The Witch and Midsommar, the nightmarishly atmospheric Hereditary and The Lighthouse, and the dark and discomforting The Lobster and The Killing of a Sacred Deer, with the company's moniker now accepted in filmic circles as shorthand for a particular type of indie flick — and believing you know what's in store is equally understandable. But like Robert Eggers, Ari Aster and Yorgos Lanthimos, the directors behind those aforementioned features, Jóhannsson has made a disquieting and dazzling movie that couldn't be more distinctive. Indeed, just as Ada is her own creature, Lamb is its own singular film. Nursery rhyme nods and fairy tale-like touches add extra layers to Lamb's contemplation of parenthood, loss and all the stress that comes with each; however, the movie's religious symbolism is less effective. Christmas songs echo, placing the film at a time of year already loaded with meaning. A manger obviously exists on the farm, too. Also, having a woman called Maria embrace motherhood after a miraculous birth clearly isn't an accidental move on Jóhannsson and co-screenwriter Sjón (an Icelandic poet and frequent Bjork collaborator's) behalf. What rings loudest among these inclusions is the notion of grasping onto whatever you need to in order to understand and endure all that life throws your way. Lamb is also a movie about nature versus nurture, so brooding over the impact of choices both overt and innate cosily resides in the same paddock. Enticing, surreal and starkly unsettling all at once, Lamb also benefits from exceptional animal performances — it won the Cannes Film Festival's Grand Jury Prize for Palm Dog, the prestigious event's awards for best canine acting — and its own savvy. It nabbed Un Certain Regard Prize of Originality at Cannes as well, but the movie's shrewdness isn't limited to its standout concept. Each patient shot that roves over the hillside, peeks through the fog, and soaks in the strain and pressure is just as astute. Each rustle, huff and jangle in the film's soundscape proves the same. Every aesthetic decision paints Lamb in unease and uncertainty, in fact, and lets its lingering gaze towards the steely Rapace, affecting Guðnason and their four-legged co-stars unleash an intense and absurdist pastoral symphony of dread and hope, bleakness and sweetness, and terror and love.
After a huge revamp, Manly Wharf Bar is back in action and is a top tier spot among the long list of Sydney's waterfront drinking establishments. Better yet, this summer the bar has partnered with top seltzer brand White Claw for a weekly series of live gigs throughout January so you can have tunes served up with your view. Every Sunday, you can extend those weekend vibes with some of the hottest emerging music acts in the country. Yep, Sunday sessions and live music are well and truly back and we're here for it. And you'll be sipping refreshing White Claws to top it off. Best of all? These gigs are completely free to attend. Kicking off on Sunday, January 9, the series will see electronic musician Mickey Kojak playing his signature synth-heavy, melodic jams. The following weekend (January 16) you'll enjoy disco-inspired dance-pop with the glossy vocals of Triple J Unearthed artist Chase Zera. Then, impeccably dressed electro-pop duo Barley Passable will be performing on January 23, before the series wraps up on January 30 with celebrated Sydney producer Poolclvb. [caption id="attachment_837908" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Chase Zera[/caption] For more information on White Claw Weekend at Manly Wharf Bar, head to the White Claw website.
The Dolphin is offering you the opportunity to sample some fruity and fizzy pet nats at its weekend wine mixer on Saturday, November 21. The party will offer up free tastings of the 20-strong list of pét-nats curated by Point Group Wine Director Shun Eto, with wine by the glass available to buy. "When we first were allowed to have picnics in Sydney my mates begged me to bring delicious pét-nat!" Eto says. "So I was inspired to bring that same bubbly refreshment to the Dolphin Hotel but bigger and better! Pét-nats are great because they aren't too serious and it's a great sesh vino for a long day in the sunshine." Kicking off at 2pm, the mixer will be led by DJ-turned-winemaker Charlie Chux who will be showcasing his new release Moonlight, an organic wine made with his company Acid Wines. Also on hand will be vino experts Tom from Viticult and Jamie from Principal Wines to guide you through the drops you'll be tasting. Best of all, entry is free to the mixer and there are no bookings, so all you have to do is rock up and be ready to sample some wines. This is the second wine mixer The Dolphin is hosting, so if you can't make this one, keep your eyes on the pub's social channels for info on any upcoming events.
There's something rather cool about being ahead of the curve when it comes to cinema, watching the latest and greatest flicks unfold on the silver screen well before anyone else. And at Australia's biggest short film festival, you can do just that. The internationally acclaimed Flickerfest is celebrating its 30th year come January 2021, too, so you can expect an A-class lineup of cinematic delights. The annual short film festival is Australia's leading Academy Award-qualifying short film fest, backed with BAFTA recognition, too. In January, you can catch screenings under the stars at the festival's new beachside home in the northern end of Bondi Beach Park. The outdoor deckchair cinema will be in a glam garden, supported by Waverley Council. And, this year, there'll also be an indoor cinema in the circus-style, mirrored tent The Famous Spiegeltent, which will be a spectacle to behold in itself. You can choose from a program of over 100 short flicks from Australia and around the world, handpicked as the most inspiring, provocative and entertaining among the whopping 2,700 submissions this year. The program is divided into categories, so you can catch all the flicks in the genres that interest you most — like comedy, romance, LGBTQIA+ and documentary films. Want to make a night of it? Drop by the festival's new pop-up garden bar for a pre- or post-show drink and pizza. Plus, there'll be an ultra-swish opening night gala and a wrap party which, for a few extra bucks, you can attend to be part of the action. After wrapping its ten-day stint in Sydney, Flickerfest will share the short film love, popping up at over 40 venues across the country between February and October. We've teamed up with Flickerfest to give away ten double passes. If you're keen to catch a flick for free, enter your details below. [competition]794395[/competition] To see the full Flickerfest 2021 program and grab tickets, head to the website. Flickerfest will run in Sydney from January 22–31, before touring nationally from February–October 2021.
Performed on Burramatta country, In Situ is both a series of dances within Parramatta Park and an interactive experience for the attendee. Ten of Sydney's best choreographers have create a series of solos, performed by the next generation of dance artists. To find the performances, you'll need to download an interactive map onto your phone to help you locate the various dancers, and, as you draw near to a piece, its corresponding music will begin to play through your headphones. Marrying the rich heritage of the country with the landscape of Parramatta Park and innovative technology, this work from Western Sydney's Dance Makers Collective (The Rivoli, 2020) and performed by their youth company, Future Makers, promises to be a captivating experience. Image: Ro Llauro.
Take a deep dive into the wondrous cinematic worlds of Wes Anderson — symmetry, quirkiness, pastel cinematography and all. From January 6–27, Golden Age Cinema is dedicating every Wednesday night to the acclaimed director's work. The series is called Wes Days, because of course it is. Film buffs can enjoy a weekly serve of Anderson's distinctive visual stylings, compelling soundtracks and all-star casts, with the Surry Hills venue playing a different flick or two each week. First up, catch the family dramas of The Royal Tenenbaums on the season's opening day, before opting for a Moonrise Kingdom and Rushmore double, the top-notch pairing of Fantastic Mr Fox and The Grand Budapest Hotel, and a showing of Isle of Dogs. Fancy seeing The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou? That's also screening, but as part of another of the cinema's seasons — so you'll need to head along on Saturday, January 9. As for The Darjeeling Limited, it's planned to hit the venue sometime in February. Fingers crossed that 2021 is the year we all finally get to see Anderson's latest, the pandemic-delayed The French Dispatch, too. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rs7mIoG8ffI
Already known for its bottomless vegan pizza and pasta feasts, Italian restaurant chain Salt Meats Cheese is upping its cruelty-free food game at a monthly special event. Called Soul Meets Cheers, it serves up an entirely plant-based menu, featuring vegan versions of Italian classics. For the feast's November outing — taking place at all Sydney venues from 5pm on Tuesday, November 10 — it'll be focusing on bites to eat inspired the coastal region of Liguria in Italy. Think cauliflower steak with salsa verde, celeriac puree and burnt lemon; kale pesto with sun-dried tomato chips and pine nuts; and a tiramisu made from drunken cherry compote and toasted coconut. And yes, that just a few of the dishes on offer. Your $49 ticket also includes a glass of vegan wine or or Young Henrys beer or cider upon arrival. Or, you can pay an extra $15 at all venues other than Cronulla and get bottomless vegan wine and beer.
It starts with television. It takes place in a Sydney apartment. It lets you watch, and also keeps you away from other people. Yes, when it rolls out its November and December season, You Can Have It All might be the most 2020 event there is. This part-art installation, part-escape room happens inside a Potts Point flat, where director Laurence Rosier Staines unfurls a tale of drama, blackmail, murder and love triangles. One at a time, attendees will step inside the three-room event, begin by listening to someone tell you about the show they've been binge-watching, and work their way through the other two spaces. As for the rest of the details, discovering what's going on is part of the fun — and it's unlikely to resemble anything else you've been to. Head along between Wednesday, November 25–Sunday, December 6, with the exact Potts Point meeting spot only revealed once you've bought a ticket. Sessions begin every five minutes — from 6.30–10pm Wednesday–Friday, 3–6pm Saturday and 3–8pm Sunday. And the whole thing will take a minimum of 20 minutes, although most folks decide to stay longer.
Christmas may not be on your mind just yet, but it's definitely on the mind of the Four Pillars owners, whose pop-up gin store at Myer Sydney City is returning for the festive season this weekend. Located in the George Street department store, it's sticking around straight through to New Year's Eve and includes a store full of exclusive Four Pillars goodies. The gift shop will offer the entire Four Pillars core range of gins and merch, along with a few very limited releases from Four Pillars distillery and the Sydney Lab, including the much sought after 2020 Australian Christmas Gin and new double-barrelled negronis. You'll also find a heap of gin-spiked products, including Christmas puddings, cranberry and orange relish, and a new dry gin salt created by Four Pillars and Olsson's Salt. This year's store won't have tasting or cocktails, unfortunately, but Sydney is now blessed with its own Four Pillars bar in Surry Hills, which you can visit when you've finished shopping. Four Pillars' pop-up store is open 10am–6pm Sunday–Wednesday, 10am–9am Thursday, 10am–7pm Friday–Saturday.
Add Ireland to the list of places that you won't be jetting off to in 2020, but you can still visit via your screen. And, add Australia's annual Irish Film Festival to the growing ranks of cinema events making the jump online — so Aussies around the country can pop their own popcorn, scoop themselves some ice cream and watch along from their couches. In its virtual-only guise, the 2020 Irish Film Festival runs from Thursday, November 19–Sunday, November 29, with a lineup of features, shorts and documentaries on its bill. It's serving up something for everyone, so if you're keen on a dark comedy set in a small Irish town (thanks to Dark Lies the Island) or a doco about Nobel Prize-winning author Seamus Heaney (as seen Seamus Heaney and the Music of What Happens), you'll find both on the program. Among the highlights, horror-comedy Extra Ordinary stands out — as you'd expect of a movie about a driving instructor with supernatural powers, and one that co-stars Will Forte and Aussie comedian Claudia O'Doherty, too. Or, there's also grim and involving gang drama Calm with Horses, as led by Lady Macbeth's Cosmo Jarvis and The Killing of a Sacred Deer's Barry Keoghan. Tickets are on sale now — for individual sessions, in three-movie passes and as an all-access festival-long pass. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4MRcUzmFv8&feature=emb_logo
Times are uncertain and the anxiety is real. But you're sure not alone in those thoughts, as you'll see when acclaimed Australian artist Tina Havelock Stevens presents her latest installation Thank You For Holding at Carriageworks this month. On show from Wednesday, January 6–Sunday, January 24 as part of Sydney Festival, the compelling single-channel video work was created and performed at Carriageworks last August, in response to the wild uncertainty our world has been facing. [caption id="attachment_796294" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Jackie Wolf[/caption] Captured in the work, you'll see Havelock Stevens perform an improvised drumming set from atop a raised platform, as it is wheeled across the space by her co-performer Ivey Wawn — with both artists wearing masks. The ritualistic sounds reverberate powerfully throughout the cavernous space of The Clothing Store building, while the movement of the stage and drum set mimic the chaos and precarity of human existence. A moving exploration of time and change, it'll help you unpack some of the craziness that was 2020. Top image: Video still from 'Thank You For Holding', 2020, by Tina Havelock Stevens.
Inspired by the life of a dear friend, Maureen: Harbinger of Death is a one-person show that celebrates the wisdom and acerbic life advice of older women in a society that often dismisses its female elders. Co-creator and performer Jonny Hawkins takes to the stage in minimal costume — bar for a herbal ciggy — to embody Maureen in her boho living room. Expect storytelling of the most entertaining and heartwarming kind as Hawkins and director and co-creator Ranney bring back their friend's passion for life as a self-described 'working class glamour queen'. Image: Joe Engstrom
In a year like 2020, it can feel like we've reached the end of humanity. Maybe the end of everything? Now, take that morbid vision of the future and sprinkle a bit of cannibalism into the picture. That's what physical theatre maestro Mitch Jones has done with his darkly comic Autocannibal. With Earth's resources completely decimated, the sole-surviving human must consider making a meal of himself in order to live another day. It's the dystopian, visceral clowning around we deserve to start the new year. Images: Jacinta Oaten
Whoever said an old dog can't learn new tricks has never met The Dolphin. The decades-only pub received a makeover in 2016 from Icebergs' Maurice Terzini (who has since stepped away from the project), housed a pop-up bar from one of the world's best bartenders in 2019 and is now trying something it has never done before: brunch. Brunch itself is not new, of course, but it's a new concept for the Surry Hills favourite. Unlike many other iterations of brunch, this one has natural wines, cheese and bacon rotolo and not a single avo toast in sight. The brunch (yes, singular) is happening on Sunday, November 29 in the Surry Hills pub's dining room. Roll in at the leisurely hour of 10am and you'll be loaded up with coffee, food and a cocktail for $65. Coffee comes courtesy of Sydney favourite Mecca, while the food lineup has been designed by Head Chef Josh Carrick. You'll start with a toasted prawn crumpet, avocado and asparagus cracker (see, no toast) and the aforementioned rotolo, then continue with the likes of roasted beetroots, prosciutto and melon, bacon potato waffles and ocean trout, and finish with peaches and cream. Bar Manager Josh Reynolds will be mixing up two cocktails, one of which comes included in the price tag. You can pick from either a smoky bloody mary or a rum punch. Only one session of the brunch is running at 10am.
Somehow, entirely inexplicably, we're already thinking about Christmas. And, we suggest rather than schlepping to the typical department stores or your go-to online shops to get your friends, family or yourself a well-deserved gift, instead you could pick out unique goodies at The Big Design Market. The independent designer extravaganza has moved online this year, so you can nab all the top-quality, handmade, ethical and sustainable wares from your couch. With such a wide range of products, you're sure to find something for even the pickiest people on your list. As it's all virtual in 2020, The Big Design Market is combining its (usually) separate Sydney and Melbourne fairs into one epic 12-day event, featuring more than 200 makers, designers and small creative businesses. Acting as a gateway to each maker's store, the online edition will ensure 100 percent of profits go back to the designer, too, so you can support local while crossing off your Christmas list. It's win-win. Running from Wednesday, November 18 till Sunday, November 29, The Big Design Market Online's interactive catalogue will feature everything from locally made threads to jewellery, furniture, art, textiles, homewares, puzzles, festive food and drink packs, stationery, leather goods and much more. There'll also be a bunch of virtual activities and experiences, plus daily showbag giveaways (valued $300-800), filled to the brim with gorgeous goodies. Just head here for details. The Big Design Market has moved online this year and will take place from November 18–29. Check out all the designers involved — and get a head start on your Christmas shopping — via the website. Lead image: Amelia Stanwix
Every second, minute, hour, day, week, month and year could use a little more David Bowie. For one night in December, Sydneysiders can add a big dose of the music icon's tunes to their evening — and in a mighty fine way, too. iOTA, Jeff Duff, Chris Cooke and The Church's Steve Kilbey will all sing Bowie's tunes, and a 24-piece symphony orchestra will back them up. It's called We Can Be Heroes — The Music of Bowie Orchestrated, because of course it is. It'll be a greatest hits package, so prepare to revisit everything from 'Space Oddity', 'Starman' and 'Rebel Rebel' to 'Fame', 'Changes' and 'Ashes to Ashes'. 'Heroes' will get a spin, because of course it will, and 'Let's Dance' will probably resonate differently this year — as might 'Under Pressure'. It all takes place on Saturday, December 19 at the State Theatre across two performances, with tickets on sale now and capacity capped at 1000 people per gig. Expect to celebrate everything that made the man also known as Ziggy Stardust and the Thin White Duke such a unique marvel — and to add something fun, live and with a crowd to your 2020 calendar. If you need a little more motivation, check out the music video for the track that gives this gig its name below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXgkuM2NhYI&list=LLcaY6bbaXYxfYABVdRh7fYw&index=1419
How'd you like to populate your Christmas feast with local, artisanal goods to make your relatives impressed and your in-laws floored? Carriageworks is bringing back its Christmas Market, where you can buy fresh seasonal produce just a couple of days before Christmas. Importantly, you can also buy gifts just days before the big day — because we know what you're like. Taking over Carriageworks on the evening of Wednesday, December 23, the market will go all Christmas with a cornucopia of the spoils of more than 70 of Australia's best producers, restaurants and designers — think homemade plum puddings, succulent hams, fresh cherries, smelly cheeses and more. Expect the best from the weekly Carriageworks Farmers Market and more, including Christmas hams from Linga Longa Farm and Melanda Park (you'll need to pre-order these), cherries from Kurrawong Organics and Drive In Orchards, mince tarts from Flour and Stone and GF baker Nonie's, oysters from Mimosa Rock, floral beauties from Jonima Flowers and much festive beer from Wildflower and Yulli's Brews. Plus, there'll be plenty more joining the party — so expect to see wine from Eloquesta, truffles from Hartley, cured meats from LP's, desserts from Saga and fermented goodies from Cornersmith. This year, in a bid to keep the capacity COVID-safe, the market will be ticketed, with festive Sydneysiders required to register for a one-hour shopping slot between 4–8pm. Registrations will open on Tuesday, December 1. It's an exciting end to the year for the embattled multi-arts precinct, which was saved from voluntary administration by a multimillion-dollar lifeline, thanks to a group of philanthropists, back in July. Carriageworks Twilight Christmas Market runs from 4–8pm. Images: Jacquie Manning
Start the year strong and strap yourself in for a night of powerhouse vocals. On Monday, January 18, the ARIA Award-winning Casey Donovan will take to the stage at City Recital Hall for a one-off show in association with Sydney Festival. She'll be treating punters to a lineup of absolute hits, backed by her five-piece band and directed by composer Daniel Edmonds. In her trademark style, Donovan is set to steer audiences on a musical journey woven with stories, taking on the tunes of everyone from Billy Joel and Eva Cassidy to Beyoncé, Ed Sheeran and Adele. The acclaimed artist was the winner of Australian Idol at the age of just 16 and has been cementing her status in the Australian music scene ever since, most recently flexing her theatrical chops in the role of Chicago's Matron Mama Morton. As Donovan knows her way around a power ballad, you can bank on this being one super-charged performance. If life feels like it's been lacking on the live music front of late, here's your chance to tap your toes along to some tunes. [caption id="attachment_764363" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Keith Saunders[/caption] For tickets, head here.
They're the masters of immersive thrills, such as smash-hit shipping container installations Seance, Coma and Flight — also known as the Darkfield series. But not even the folks at Realscape Productions are immune to the realities of pandemic life. After spending much of the year locked down with the rest of Melbourne, the team put their nerve-jangling real-life projects on hiatus and whipped up a series of brand-new audio experiences. All of Realscape's recent collaborations with UK creators Darkfield have been designed for fans to enjoy from the comfort of their own homes, such as Double and Visitors — and they've been geared to be every bit as creepy and unsettling as their IRL predecessors. But the next addition to the series, Eternal, promises something extra special. It is inspired by Bram Stoker's Dracula, aka one of the best horror novels ever written (and certainly the best vampire novel), after all. Available until Sunday, January 31, Eternal is presented via the producers' new digital project Darkfield Radio. Like its siblings, it plunges participants deep into an immersive experience by perplexing the senses — with the use of a 360-degree binaural sound, played through your own headphones. But while this year's other shows were aimed at groups of two, this one is made for listening to solo, at home, while you're alone in bed. Originally commissioned by Ireland's Bram Stoker Festival, the 20-minute-long Eternal explores the allure of living forever — and will get you pondering what you'd willingly do to avoid death. The uneasiness everyone feels when they hear something go bump in the night also plays a part, because that's just the kind of sensation the production aims to conjure up. To listen along, you'll need an $11.40 ticket, and to book a spot a late-night spot — with the show available at select times Thursday–Sunday (with exact slots depending on the day, but 9.30pm, 10pm, 12.30am and 1am times, all ADST, on offer). And if you haven't yet given Double and Visitors a listen, they're still available as well. Yep, you can make it a triple feature if you'd like to get especially eerie one night.
If you only know two things about South Korea's film and television industry, then you likely know that it's been responsible for Parasite and Squid Game over the past couple of years. The nation's big- and small-screen output spans much further than that, of course — and, since 2010, Australia has boasted a film festival dedicated to its cinematic prowess. That'd be the Korean Film Festival in Australia, which returns to Sydney's Event Cinemas George Street from Thursday, August 18–Tuesday, August 23 with 13 impressive titles that showcase Korean filmmaking's finest. And while that lineup mightn't be huge numbers-wise, it's still filled with massive names, including two of the biggest movies from any country currently doing the rounds of the international and Australian festival circuits. If you didn't catch up with it at Sydney Film Festival, make a date with Broker, the latest release from acclaimed Japanese filmmaker Hirokazu Kore-eda. The 2018 Shoplifters Palme d'Or-winner has made a movie in Korea — his first Korean-language film, in fact, and it's still exploring the director's favourite topics. That'd be the ties that bind and the connections of family, following two people who illegally take an abandoned infant from a 'baby box facility'. In another drawcard, Broker stars Parasite's Song Kang-ho, who won Cannes' Best Actor Award for his efforts. Also a must-see: Decision to Leave, a noir romance that saw Korean filmmaker Park Chan-wook win Cannes' Best Director gong. Anything that the Stoker and Oldboy director helms is worth a look, but the fact that it has been six years since his movie — 2016's The Handmaiden — makes his latest even more exciting. The rest of the KOFFIA lineup spans opening-night pick Special Delivery, a crime-action film from Park Dae-min that stars Parasite's Park So-dam; mystery Hommage, which again features a Parasite alum — this time Lee Jeong-eun — and charts the searching for missing footage from one of the first feature films directed by a South Korean woman; and In Our Prime, with Oldboy's Choi Min-sik as a North Korean defector and mathematical genius working as a school security guard. Or, there's The Roundup with Train to Busan's Don Lee as a cop chasing a killer; the 80s-set Escape from Mogadishu; and Spiritwalker, about a man who loses his memory and wakes up in a different body every 12 hours — and the list goes on.
If you're a fan of chicken wings, then you might already have July 29 marked in your calendar. It's your annual excuse to tuck into plenty of chook, because that's what National Chicken Wing Day is all about. At Pacific Concept's various German-themed venues — aka Munich Brauhaus and The Bavarian, and at all stores around New South Wales — you won't just find a whole heap of chicken, however. Wings will also be on special from 4–6pm for ten cents each. Yes, you read that price correctly. All wings come with buffalo sauce, and you can nab up to 20 at a time for just $2 — although you will also need to buy a full-priced drink. If you fancy more than 20, that's fine — you'll just need to get more beverages, which we're sure no one will be complaining about. And yes, given that July 29 falls on a Friday this year, this is a special worth knocking off early for.
Back in 2019 and 2020, Bong Joon-ho had a huge couple of years. Not only was the South Korean filmmaker responsible for 2019's best movie in Parasite, but that same thrilling flick nabbed the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival and took out Sydney Film Festival's top prize. Oh, and it cleaned up at the Oscars, too. Parasite isn't just a one-off, either. For more than two decades, the acclaimed director has been making smart movies that continually surprise and delight — and continually defy categorisation. Bong delved into real-life murder mysteries in 2003's Memories of Murder, reinvented the creature feature with 2006 standout The Host, and used 2009's Mother to explore an unnerving family relationship. And, alongside Parasite, they're all getting a big-screen run at Golden Age Cinema & Bar's new The Best of Bong Joon-ho season. Only picking four of Bong's movies to showcase must've been tricky — but all four in the spotlight are masterpieces. You can catch them at the Surry Hills cinema on Friday nights in August at 8.30pm, with Memories of Murder also getting a second showing at 8.20pm on Sunday, August 28.
Ever wanted to go back in time to see just how far we have — or haven't — evolved as a society? Well, at Riverside Theatres you can do just that via its upcoming cabaret production, 30 Something. Set on New Years Eve 1939, the show follows a Hollywood star and a mischievous local maestro as they join forces in Kings Cross to count down to a brand-new decade. Follow the pair of performers as they reminisce on the dramatic happenings of an era defined by The Great Depression, politics and booze through traditional and reimagined music interspersed with cheeky social commentary. It's part party, part immersive theatre production, featuring two of Australia's finest stage stars, Catherine Alcorn and Phil Scott. Get ready for an incredible night at the theatre loaded with historical celebration, big laughs and a damn good time. Keen to party like it's 1939? 30 Something is playing at Riverside Theatres in Parramatta at 8pm Friday, July 22 and 2.30pm on Saturday, July 23. For more information and to book your tickets, visit the website.
Award-winning playwright Dylan Van Den Berg is bringing his new Griffin Theatre Company show Whitefella Yella Tree to Darlinghurst's SBW Stables Theatre for its world premiere from Friday, August 19 until Saturday, September 17. Taking place in the early 19th century, Whitefella Yella Tree follows two First Nations teenagers, Ty and Neddy, who meet under a lemon tree as the country is beginning to be invaded by white settlers. A friendship blossoms, followed by the rush of young love as the boy's relationship turns romantic. Little do they know how their world and their communities are about to change forever. Exploring themes of love, Country and Blak queerness, the play is anchored on two standout performances from Guy Simon (First Love is the Revolution, Wakefield) and Callan Purcell (Hamilton, Bran Nue Dae), who help bring to life Van Den Berg's story of coming of age in the time of colonisation. "There's no one else in Australian theatre writing quite like Dylan Van Den Berg," Director and Artistic Director of Griffin Theatre Company Declan Greene said. "He seeks out the gaps in our cultural memory: the bits erased by wilful forgetting. His plays are feats of vivid imagination, but always bound to an unflinching emotional truth." Previews for Whitefella Yella Tree will take place August 19–22 before the production officially opens on Wednesday, August 24. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Griffin Theatre Company (@griffintheatre)
One of the great things about Alanis Morissette's discography is that it's filled with songs and lyrics that prove apt in plenty of situations. You oughta know that there's a musical dedicated to the Canadian singer's tunes, for instance — and now that it's coming back to Sydney this winter, you might want to say thank you. This news isn't like rain on your wedding day. It doesn't resemble finding a black fly in your chardonnay. And it definitely isn't anything like hitting a traffic jam when you're already late, either. But, it will have you singing those lines, because Tony-winner Jagged Little Pill the Musical will return to Theatre Royal Sydney for a second run. The Broadway show's trip Down Under kicked off at the same venue last December, then moved to Melbourne. Now, it's back in Sydney from Saturday, July 9–Sunday, August 21. Inspired by Alanis Morissette's 1995 album of the same name, Jagged Little Pill the Musical weaves a story around songs from that iconic record. So yes, it's a jukebox musical like Mamma Mia!, We Will Rock You and Rock of Ages. Famed tracks 'Ironic', 'You Oughta Know', 'Hand in My Pocket', 'Head Over Feet' and 'You Learn' all feature, in a production that boasts music by Morissette and her album co-writer and producer Glen Ballard, lyrics by Morissette, and a book by Juno Oscar-winner Diablo Cody. And, songs such as 'Thank U', 'So Pure', 'That I Would Be Good', 'So Unsexy' and 'Hands Clean' all pop up as well, even though they hail from the musician's subsequent albums. The show stars Natalie Bassingthwaighte as Mary Jane Healey, with Jagged Little Pill the Musical telling the Healey family's tale as they struggle with their seemingly idyllic suburban lives after a troubling event in their community. Expect to hear Morissette's tunes — including two new songs written just for the show — used in a story about social issues relevant to today, but also with an overall message of hope, healing and togetherness. Images: Jagged Little Pill the Musical, Australian production, Daniel Boud.
Everything looks better on as big a screen as possible — and if you've always thought that about your streaming-queue favourites and you live in Sydney, you're now in luck. No, you don't need to upsize your television. Instead, you can head to a streaming cinema, sink into recliners and watch whatever takes your fancy from whichever streaming platform you like. Australia's first venue of its type, and only popping up for a month at 6/6–14 Oxford Street in Darlinghurst, the Nebula Streaming Cinema is indeed exactly what it sounds like. It features a 150-inch screen, upon which you can watch your pick of shows and movies from Netflix, Stan, Prime Video, Shudder, Disney+, Apple TV+, Binge, Paramount+ and the hefty list of other streamers — all while tucking into unlimited popcorn, drinks and snacks. None of the above will cost you a cent, either, other than one key thing: your subscription to those streaming services. But, if you're keen to watch Stranger Things, The Boys, Severance or Ms Marvel on a bigger screen than you've got at home, we're betting you're already signed up to the requisite platform. This is a boutique picture-palace experience, though, with room for just you and three pals. Wondering what's behind it? Nebula, which slings portable entertainment products, is promoting its Cosmos Laser 4K projector. Wondering how it works, too? The projector has a built-in Chromecast, which is how you'll access the relevant apps to log in to your choice of streaming services. To give the streaming cinema a whirl, you'll need to nab a booking for a two-hour slot — which also includes on-demand waiter service, bringing those snacks to you so you don't have to get up. At the moment, only times across the cinema's first two weeks have been made available, with extra sessions popping up on a weekly basis.
Idris Elba fights a lion. That's it, that's Beast, as far as film pitches go at least. This South Africa-set thriller's one-sentence summary is up there with 'Jason Statham battles a giant shark' and 'Liam Neeson stares down wolves' — straightforward and irresistible, obviously, in enticing audiences into cinemas. That said, the latest addition to the animals-attack genre isn't as ridiculous as The Meg, and isn't a resonant existential musing like The Grey. What this creature feature wants to be, and is, is a lean, edge-of-your-seat, humanity-versus-nature nerve-shredder. Director Baltasar Kormákur (Adrift) knows that a famous face, a relentless critter as a foe, and life-or-death terror aplenty can be the stuff that cinema dreams and hits are made of. His movie isn't completely the former, but it does do exactly what it promises. If it proves a box office success, it'll be because it dangles an easy drawcard and delivers it. There is slightly more to Beast than Idris Elba brawling with the king of the jungle, of course — or running from it, trying to hide from it in a jeep, attempting to outsmart it and praying it'll tire of seeing him as prey. But this tussle with an apex predator is firmly at its best when it really is that simple, that primal and, with no qualms about gore and jump scares, that visceral. Elba (The Harder They Fall) plays recently widowed American doctor Nate Samuels, who is meant to be relaxing, reconnecting with his teenage daughters Mare (Iyana Halley, Licorice Pizza) and Norah (Leah Jeffries, Rel), and finding solace in a pilgrimage to his wife's homeland. But Beast wouldn't be called Beast if the Samuels crew's time with old family friend Martin (Sharlto Copley, Russian Doll), a wildlife biologist who oversees the nature reserve, was all placid safaris and sunsets. Kormákur doesn't even pretend that bliss is an option, or that the stalking, scares and big man/big cat showdown aren't coming. Ramping up the tension from the outset, his feature begins with the reason that its main maned (and unnamed) creature wants to slash his way through Nate and company: poachers hunting, with the culprits sneaking in at night to elude human eyes and snuff the light out of every feline in a targeted pride, which leaves one particularly large animal, the patriarch, angry and vengeful. Arriving unknowingly in the aftermath, the Samuels family have just chosen the wrong time to visit. Their first encounter with another pride, which Martin helped raise, leaves them awestruck instead of frightened; then they spy Beast's killer beast's handiwork at a nearby village, and surviving becomes their only aim. Swap out Elba from the 'Idris Elba fights a lion' equation and Kormákur would've had a far lesser film on his hands. His premise, wonderfully concise as it is, wouldn't work with any old actor. His entire movie wouldn't, and Beast works on the level it's prowling on — mostly. Screenwriter Ryan Engle (Rampage), using a story by Jaime Primak Sullivan (Breaking In), gives Nate grief and guilt over his past mistakes to grapple with as well as that persistent lion. Yes, the script is that cliched, because action heroes almost always seem to be wooing, worrying about or mourning a woman while they're endeavouring to save something, be it the world, their families or themselves. Elba dances the bereaved absent father dance well, though, with the Beast's depths springing from him rather than the material and its deceased spouse/regretful dad/seize-the-day tropes. Whether coming to widespread fame in one of the best TV dramas ever made, cancelling the apocalypse in a different on-screen altercation with critters, or playing a complicated detective, the man with The Wire, Pacific Rim and Luther on his resume (but not yet Bond) excels at playing people juggling problems and worries beyond their immediate threats. As sure as any feline, big, small, wild or domesticated, will swipe when it's being aggressive, that's what makes Elba brawling with Beast's revenge-seeking big cat such an appealing idea. The other troubles his character weathers here are both formulaic and thinly written, as they were always likely to be in a 93-minute lion attack flick — but, reliably as ever, Elba imparts Nate with the unflinching sense that this bout of king-of-the-jungle chaos is just one of many burdens he's had to face. Elba would've brought that complexity to his part even if Beast didn't saddle Nate with an obligatory dead wife, and often that trauma feels like every other animal in the feature — merely there because the film needs to be about more than Elba feuding with a lion. Nate's thorny relationship with his daughters could've still prickled, then softened and resolidified in the throes of panic, anyway; indeed, both Halley and Jeffries are at their finest when Mare and Norah have to be resourceful, brave and in the moment amid such ever-lurking danger. Kormákur makes that peril palpable, too. With cinematographer Philippe Rousselot (an Oscar-winner three decades ago for A River Runs Through It), he keeps the camera moving and roving amid eye-catching surroundings, letting the beauty of the place linger but rarely allowing a minute's peace in lengthy, unbroken shots. The Samuels' new nemesis is fast, savage and erratic, after all — even if lions are majestic creatures — and also willing to lay in wait, and the director of disaster movies Adrift and Everest wants his viewers to feel all of the above. Perhaps it's apt that when Beast struggles, it's because it's doing more than it needs to, but also with not enough effort — over-plotting Nate, Mare, Norah and Martin's backstories, and yet keeping them so well-worn. The pixels behind the film's animal antagonist also suffer a touch of the same fate; in trying to truly terrify, this CGI cat looks photorealistic as the live-action The Lion King's creatures did, but also preternatural. Nonetheless, the narrative's inherent silliness and illogical leaps aside, too — yes, including Elba punching the movie's bloodthirsty namesake — Beast remains as ruthlessly proficient as a lion at drawing, demanding and grabbing attention. Add it to the menagerie alongside alligator flick Crawl, another wholly predictable, sparse, taut, menacing and effective effort that's never Jaws but never Sharknado. It also isn't 1981's Roar, the wildest lion picture that'll ever exist and one plagued by animal attacks off-screen as well, but nothing else is.
We've all spent more time inside than usual over the past few years. In the process, we've all been looking at our furniture far more often than we usually would. So, if you've been rocked by the urge to redecorate, rearrange and reorganise of late, that's hardly surprising — those well-loved cushions, that old couch or your overflowing shelves could probably do with sprucing up. If IKEA is your furniture go-to, then its mid-year clearance sale is here to help, too — offering discounts of up to 50 percent off on some items. Whether you're in need of something big like a bed, chair or desk, or you're eager to fill your walls and surfaces with frames and vases, you'll find slashed prices on a heap of products. The sale runs until Sunday, July 10 — and, for Sydneysiders, you have multiple options if you're eager to start buying. Head into the Tempe, Rhodes or Marsden Park stores; browse online, then opt for click-and-collect; or do all your perusing and purchasing on the company's website, before waiting for delivery. Getting in quickly is always recommended, given how popular IKEA's sales are — and the fact that all of the chain's discounted wares are available while stocks last. And if you're wondering how cheap is cheap, plates and bowls start at $1, oh-so-many plant pots and fake plants come in at under $10, there's a set of mirrors for $15, and nifty storage tables cost $20 — and that's just the beginning.
What do two nuns in the throes of sexual ecstasy gasp? "My god" and "sweet Jesus", of course. No other filmmaker could've made those divine orgasmic exclamations work quite like Paul Verhoeven does in Benedetta, with the Dutch filmmaker adding another lusty, steamy, go-for-broke picture to his resume three decades after Basic Instinct and more than a quarter-century since Showgirls. His latest erotic romp has something that his 90s dives into plentiful on-screen sex didn't, however: a true tale, courtesy of the life of the movie's 17th-century namesake, whose story the writer/director and his co-scribe David Birke (Slender Man) adapt from Judith Brown's 1986 non-fiction book Immodest Acts: The Life of a Lesbian Nun in Renaissance Italy. For anyone that's ever wondered how a religious biopic and nunsploitation might combine, this is the answer you've been praying for. Frequently a playful filmmaker — the theories that Showgirls is in on its own joke keep bubbling for a reason — Verhoeven starts his first film since 2016's Elle with that feature's more serious tone. The screen is back, the words "inspired by real events" appear and the score is gloomy. When Benedetta's titular figure appears as a girl (played by Elena Plonka, Don't Worry About the Kids), she's the picture of youth and innocence, and she's also so devoted to her faith that she's overjoyed about joining a convent in the Tuscan village of Pescia. But then villains interrupt her trip, and this pious child demonstrates her favour with the almighty by seemingly getting a bird to shit in a man's eye. It isn't quite as marvellous as turning water into wine, but it's its own kind of miracle. As an adult (Virginie Efira, Bye Bye Morons), she'll talk to strapping hallucinations of Jesus (Jonathan Couzinié, Heroes Don't Die), too, and use her beloved childhood statuette of the Virgin Mary as a dildo. There is no line between the sacred and the profane in Benedetta: things can be both here, and frequently are. Case in point: on her first night at the convent, after a bartering session between her father (David Clavel, French Dolls) and the abbess (Charlotte Rampling, Dune) over the girl's dowry for becoming a bride of christ, a statue of the Virgin Mary collapses upon Benedetta, and she shows her sanctity by licking the sculpture's exposed breast. So, 18 years later, when she's both seeing Jesus and attracted to abused newcomer Sister Bartolomea (Daphné Patakia, Versailles), they're the most natural things that could happen. To Benedetta, they're gifts from god, too. She does try to deny her chemistry with the convent's fresh novice at first, but the lord wants what he wants for her. Unsurprisingly, not everyone in the convent — the abbess' daughter Sister Christina (Louise Chevillotte, Synonyms) chief among them — agrees, approves or in believes in her visions. Verhoeven puts his own faith in crafting a witty, sexy, no-holds-barred satire. That said, he doesn't ever play Benedetta as a one-note, over-the-top joke that's outrageous for the sake of it. His protagonist believes, he just-as-devoutly believes in her — whether she's a prophet, a heretic or both, he doesn't especially care — and he also trusts her faith in her primal desires. His allegiance is always with Benedetta, but that doesn't mean that he can't find ample humour in the film or firm targets to skewer. The hypocrisy of religion — "a convent is not a place of charity, child; you must pay to come here," the abbess advises — gets his full comic attention. Having the always-great Rampling on-hand to personify the Catholic Church at its most judgemental and least benevolent (at its money-hungry worst, too) helps considerably. Indeed, what the veteran English actor can do with a withering glare and snarky delivery is a movie miracle. The filmmaker behind RoboCop, Total Recall and Starship Troopers' futuristic visions has also long trusted in sex and violence. Here, he trusts that thrusting them together in a story about a lesbian nun who shows signs of the stigmata and scandalises her convent several times over will create his favourite kind of on-screen chaos. He's right, but there's always a smart and scathing point to Benedetta's nudity, fornication and physical altercations, and to how viciously the church responds. Humanity is messy. People are flesh and pulsating urges, no matter who they deify. Those who grasp power by instilling fear and demanding unquestioning allegiance will never put the masses ahead of their own dominance. Amid the boobs, blood and potential vaginal splinters — and communal defecation, farts lit on fire and gynaecological torture tools — these truths are steadfast. While Rampling is clearly having a ball as the abbess — and still gives the figure vulnerability — it's the committed and spirited Efira who goes deep. She visibly relishes her role as well, and brings depth, nuance and poignancy to every swoop and swirl in its tonal rollercoaster ride. The skill required to slide from religiously rapturous to sexually euphoric can't be underestimated, but Efira ensures it looks seamless and never silly, even when the film swings between soapy Jesus makeout sessions, matriarchal power struggles, porn-style sapphic tumbles in the convent sheets and comets in the sky. As Verhoeven already does, his French lead makes Benedetta's audience believe in her, too. She's fervent, bold, intelligent, rebellious and passionate, all traits her character shares, and exposes as much of Benedetta's emotional landscape as she does skin. As she navigates a torrid affair, beatific faith, the worst of Catholicism's scorn and even the looming threat of the plague (everything's a pandemic movie now), Efira is a beaming vision herself. That's part of the self-aware altar that Verhoeven worships at, knowing the glamour his star brings to a film that's always going to be known as "that lesbian nun flick" — and actively embracing the 'hot lesbian' on-screen trope while using his lead character and entire movie to subvert everything they come into contact with. He's also visually meticulous to a painterly degree; Benedetta is ravishing in multiple ways, including in the contrasting colour palette its bodies, habits and 17th-century convent life in general affords. That the feature ultimately avoids hitting just the obvious spots, embraces mayhem, gleefully provokes and doesn't completely penetrate as far as it could feels like an appropriate climax, and it's also the result that only Verhoeven could've bestowed.
When the Scream franchise posed the question it'll forever be known for, it skipped over a key word. Ghostface is clearly asking "do you like watching scary movies?", given the entire point of frightening flicks is seeing their thrills and chills, and being creeped out, entertained or both. We all know that's what the mask-wearing killer means, of course, but the act of viewing is such a crucial part of the horror-film equation that it's always worth overtly mentioning. Enter new slasher standout X, which splashes its buckets of viscera and gore across the screen with as much nodding and winking as the Scream pictures — without ever uttering that iconic phrase, though, and thankfully in a far less smug fashion than 2022's fifth instalment in that series — and firmly thrusts cinema's voyeuristic tendencies to the fore. That name, X, doesn't simply mark a spot; it isn't by accident that the film takes its moniker from the classification given to the most violent and pornographic movies made. This is a horror flick set amid a porn shoot, after all, and it heartily embraces the fact that people like to watch from the get-go. Swaggering producer Wayne (Martin Henderson, The Gloaming), aspiring starlet Maxine Minx (Mia Goth, Emma), old-pro fellow actors Bobby-Lynne (Brittany Snow, Pitch Perfect 3) and Jackson Hole (Scott Mescudi, Don't Look Up), and arty director RJ (Owen Campbell, The Miseducation of Cameron Post) and his girlfriend/sound recorder Lorraine (Jenna Ortega, doing triple horror duty in 2022 so far in Scream, Studio 666 and now this) are counting on that truth to catapult themselves to fame. Hailing from Houston and aroused at the idea of repeating Debbie Does Dallas' success, they're heading out on the road to quieter climes to make the skin flick they're staking their futures on, and they desperately hope there's an audience. X is set in the 70s, as both the home-entertainment pornography market and big-screen slashers were beginning to blossom. As a result, it's similarly well aware that sex and death are cinema's traditional taboos, and that they'll always be linked. That's art imitating life, because sex begets life and life begets death, but rare is the recent horror movie that stresses the connection so explicitly yet playfully. Making those links is Ti West, the writer/director responsible for several indie horror gems over the past decade or so — see: cult favourites The House of the Devil and The Innkeepers — and thrusting a smart, savage and salacious delight towards his viewers here. Yes, he could've gone with The Texas Porn-Shoot Massacre for the feature's title, but he isn't remaking the obvious seminal piece of genre inspiration. In this blood-splattered throwback, which looks like it could've been unearthed from its chosen decade in every frame (and was actually filmed in New Zealand rather than Texas), West pays homage to a time when flicks like this did pop up with frequency — while slyly commenting on what's changed to shift that scenario. He also explores the process of filmmaking, of putting both sex and death on-screen, and the conversation around both, all while his characters decamp to a quiet guesthouse on a remote property where they start making the film-within-the-film that is The Farmer's Daughter. Upon arrival, gun-toting, televangelist-watching, pitchfork-wielding owner Howard (Stephen Ure, Mortal Engines) is instantly unfriendly. Wayne hasn't told him why they're really there, but he's soon snooping around to see for himself. Also keen on watching the bumping 'n' grinding is Howard's ailing wife Pearl, who he warns his guests to stay away from, but is drawn to the flesh on show. There's a genius stroke of casting in X that deserves discovering while watching, and speaks to one of the movie's other thematic obsessions. As West ponders the heyday of the type of flick he's making — and the picture within it as well — he contemplates what kinds of bodies we fetishise and find horrific. Desire and shame are flipsides of the same coin, and Pearl's lust towards her young and virile visitors contrasts with Maxine's insecurity, too, although the latter remains determined to use nature's gifts to shoot her shot. X doesn't always cut especially deep, but its musings on commodifying and worshipping youth and beauty still pierce, particularly when aided by such a committed and compelling turn by Goth, charismatic work from Henderson, Mescudi and Snow, and a crucial spurt of slipperiness from Ortega. That said, nothing carves as forcefully and gleefully as the film's many expertly staged death scenes. Knocking its pretty young things (and in Wayne's case, a tad older) off one by one, X revels in and relishes the art of depicting movie's kills. In fact, that depictions of erotica and mortality can be art is another of the film's fascinations. Viewers watch the two out of curiosity, titillation, and a mix of shock and allure, but find far more in porn and horror when they're executed with exacting eyes. Accordingly, as shot by West's frequent cinematographer Eliot Rockett — an alum of The House of the Devil and The Innkeepers as well — X's atmospheric and textured imagery makes this point inherently in all of its retro-styled glory. Every element in the movie is meticulous about its timeframe, right down to Maxine's Linda Lovelace-esque appearance, and never in the service of mere nostalgia. West's love of slow-burn horror setups also plays an influential part, teasing things out before the army of money shots. So too does his knowledge that whatever his audience imagines in their head will always be more shocking than what he commits to celluloid — yes, even with ample amounts of guts still strewn all over the place in the second half, and often. A pivotal moment about a third of the way through, and perhaps X's best, says plenty: in a lake by their cabin (because West eagerly nods to Friday the 13th also), Maxine swims while a snapping alligator closes in behind her. The film peers down on this scene patiently from above, basking in stillness as the mood turns tense, unsettling and terrifying — and serving up one helluva sight. In other words, West makes X a flick that viewers don't just want to peer at the sleaze and the nasty body count, or to see people get screwed in multiple ways, but because it's so smart, savvy and spectacularly staged while straddling and embracing that fine line between pleasure and pain. "We turn people on and that scares 'em," Bobby-Lynne says early, and it's a fitting mantra for the movie overall. And when it climaxes, it firmly leaves audiences wanting to watch more. In great post-viewing news, West has already shot a prequel called Pearl as part of a planned trilogy.
Broken Hill is arguably New South Wales' ultimate long-distance road-trip, and it's a must-visit at any time. If you did need an extra push, however, the inaugural Mundi Mundi Bash gives you the opportunity to camp for three days in the remote outback while enjoying performances from some of Australia's brightest and best. Paul Kelly is probably the best-known name on the bill, but there are also artists such as Kate Ceberano, country songwriter Caitlyn Shadbolt and perhaps the world's most famous cover band, Bjorn Again — odds are they'll bring the house down. If you've ever wanted to spend a weekend partying away in the red dirt, here's your perfect excuse. For more information, head to the website. Images: Nathan Edwards, Destination NSW
When a show gets programmed for a second season you can expect it to be top-tier. And that's exactly what you'll get with Outhouse Theatre's incredible production of Ulster American which is set to return this June. After sold-out shows in 2021, the blistering comedy will take to the stage at the beloved Riverside Theatres in Parramatta from Wednesday, June 8 till Saturday, June 11. The story follows an encounter between a playwright, an ambitious theatre director and an Oscar-winning actor who all meet to discuss the career-propelling potential of a new play. But what starts out as a promising opportunity for the trio quickly descends into chaos. It's a play that doesn't shy away from the big topics either, tackling issues surrounding privilege, power and consent head-on. Keen to check it out? Ulster American will play at Riverside Theatres from Wednesday, June 8 till Saturday, June 11 with tickets starting from $49. For more information and to book, visit the website.
Most folks haven't spent time in a prison for the criminally insane. If you live in Australia, odds are that you haven't navigated the American welfare system, either. And, you likely didn't go to a New York City high school — and you probably haven't walked into a Florida domestic violence shelter as well. But watch the documentaries of Frederick Wiseman and you'll feel otherwise. His observational films peer deeply at the institutions they're surveying, and offer viewers the next best thing to being there. It was true of In Jackson Heights, which is set in the culturally diverse NYC neighbourhood. It's the same of Ex Libris: The New York Public Library, which is clearly about the obvious. And it's accurate of Central Park, gloriously so. For the past 55 years, Wiseman has amassed quite the filmography — and a selection of his movies will be flickering across Sydney cinemas thanks to this year's Sydney Film Festival retrospective program. At It Takes Time: Ten Films by Frederick Wiseman at SFF, the documentarian's first-ever directorial effort, Titicut Follies, will get a showing. So too will 2020's City Hall. Pretend to spend a whole lot of time staring at the screen, being transported to the US and savouring every second of it. Also on the lineup: 2009's La Danse: The Paris Opera Ballet, spreading the Wiseman love beyond American institutions. This ode to the now 92-year-old filmmaker will kick off during SFF and then keep running afterwards — showing at the Art Gallery of NSW from Wednesday, June 8–Sunday, June 19, then at Dendy Cinemas Newtown from Sunday, July 3–Sunday, July 31.
You may not think a good gym session should be followed up with a delicious frozen dessert. Maybe an afternoon of lifting weights followed by indulging in a double-choc or salted caramel and peanut frozen treat doesn't seem like the smartest idea if you're working for those gains. Well, if you see the YoPRO Frozen Dessert Van outside your gym this month, you don't have to run the other way. It will be roaming around Sydney to give away free frozen dessert sticks or scoops of your choice for ten days only. We can't give too much away but you might want to keep a look out at Manly Wharf on Sunday, March 6 and North Bondi Surf Lifesaving Club on Saturday, March 12. It'll also be parked outside gyms around town during the week — follow YoPRO on Instagram to get the scoop on where you need to be to score a free and delicious protein-packed frozen dessert. The namesake healthy snack expert's new line of high-protein frozen desserts are perfect for when you're after some guilt-free indulgence. There's a range of delicious flavours on offer, with each tub packed with ten grams of protein, no added sugar and less than 165 calories per serve. For more information, head to YoPRO's Instagram.
Frequently, when Jungle Collective hosts one of its huge sales in Sydney, it fills a warehouse with indoor plants — and jungle vibes. But between Wednesday, March 2–Sunday, March 6, it's going virtual with its weird and wonderful pieces of greenery instead. And, it's hosting its biggest online plant sale ever. Whether you're after a hanging pot plant, some palms for the garden or a giant Bird of Paradise, chances are you'll find it here. You'll just be doing your shopping online via the Jungle Collective website rather than heading in-store. More than 250 different species will be on offer, which is a hefty range — and, nationwide, there'll be more than 20,000 plants on offer, too, with prices starting at $10. While this is a 100-percent online event, you do still need to register for free tickets in advance. Once you've nabbed yours, you can drop into the sale whenever you like — with early bird access open on the Wednesday night for those who RSVP, and the sale open to everyone from Thursday–Sunday. As for deliveries, your plants will make their way to you over the following week between Thursday, March 10–Friday, February 18, with more details given when you make your purchase. Delivery costs $15–30 depending on your area, with orders within 25 kilometres driving distance nabbing free delivery if you spend $150 — and everyone living further away getting $15 off. Or, if it's easier, Jungle Collective is also doing pick-ups as well. You'll just need to be able to head to its Alexandria warehouse at Bourke Road from 4–6pm on Monday, March 14.
Hoyts Cinemas across Sydney are reopening on July 2 and are about to become the most magical places in NSW, as all eight movies in the Harry Potter franchise light up the screen over two spectacular weekends. Split into two parts — so you won't need a time turner to stay awake — the marathon kicks off at 10am on Saturday, July 4 with Harry, Hermione, Ron's first four years at Hogwarts and runs until 7.30pm. These same four films will be screened at the same times on Sunday, July 5, too. The following weekend, the marathon will pick back up again at 10am at Saturday, July 11, when the battle against You Know Who begins in earnest. Similarly to the week before, the last four flicks will also be screened on the Sunday. Tickets to the flicks are going for $10 a pop — so, yes, you will need to buy individual passes to each one — which means you can pick and choose. Love Goblet of Fire? See it twice. Not a big fan of the Half-Blood Prince? Skip it and go out for lunch instead. In fact, tickets to most Hoyts films are currently $10 as part of an opening special. If you're curious about what else is on the program, check out our list of 13 news films hitting the big screen this July. Harry Potter movie marathons are happening at all Hoyts NSW cinemas except Chatswood Westfield.
