When Frozen the Musical opened in Sydney in December 2020, it was a very big deal. Sydney was not only the first stop on the stage production's international tour, but it was one of the only places in the world where people could see a Broadway show — and it still is today. So, if you've got your hands on one of those hot tickets, you should make the most of it. Luckily, a bunch of local venues have jumped on the bandwagon to celebrate this cultural phenomenon coming to town. If you've found yourself swept up in the magical story of Princesses Anna and Elsa — and you just can't get 'Let It Go' out of your head — make it last with these Frozen-themed treats. TREAT YOURSELF TO A WHIMSICAL BRUNCH Darling Square's Auvers Cafe has pulled out all the stops with its themed menu to celebrate Frozen the Musical. The menu is available throughout the production's Sydney run, giving you the perfect excuse to indulge in a decadent brunch before or after you see the show. For drinks, there's the Ice Palace Mocktail, the Warm Hug white hot chocolate and the Snow Queen cocktail. Sweet tooths can pair their drink with The Coronation Croissant (stuffed with creamy spirulina and blue caracao sugar flakes) or the North Mountain Pancake Stack (vibrant blue spirulina pancakes topped with lychee marscapone, vanilla ice cream and berries). After something savoury? Opt for the Arendelle Fjord (blue-eye cod with risotto, tempura oyster, spirulina fish broth and edamame) instead. [caption id="attachment_803745" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Jasper Avenue[/caption] GET A BRAIN FREEZE FROM THIS ICY BLUE DESSERT All Frozen fans know ice plays a crucial role in the story, so it should be a big part of your experience seeing the musical, too. Darling Square's Dopa Don and Milk Bar has just the thing. The Frozen Storm is Dopa's spin on kakigōri, a Japanese-style shaved ice dessert. Kakigōri is traditionally sweetened with condensed milk, but this limited-edition version incorporates blue pea flower, blue spirulina syrup and coconut and banana cream. And as you dig into the delightful domed dessert you'll come across purple potato, sago, coconut jelly and another surprise ingredient. ORDER THIS OTT CAKE MADE BY DESSERT ROYALTY When Elsa accidentally sets off an eternal winter in the Kingdom of Arendelle, it's, well, pretty bad. But Masterchef Australia alum Reynold Poernomo has once again proven his dessert king title with this Eternal Winter cake. Available through his popular dessert bar KOI, Eternal Winter features raspberry, vanilla, mint, chocolate brownie and strawberry marshmallow. Given how intricately decorated it is, this cake is only available for click-and-collect, which you can do here. KOI has also just announced a special Frozen-inspired Snowflake Egg, with white chocolate, vanilla and citrus, which will be available for click-and-collect from its Chippendale and Ryde stores between March 18 and April 1. SIP THIS COOL BLUE COSMO Whether you're a Sydney local or you've travelled from afar to see the award-winning show, one way to break the enchanting spell after the show is heading straight home. Instead, book a night at Novotel Sydney Darling Square, which is just around the corner from the Capitol Theatre, and take advantage of its proximity to some of Sydney's best restaurants and bars. One such spot, which is conveniently connected to the hotel, is Pumphouse. The heritage-listed bar is serving this brilliantly blue Frozen Cosmo, garnished with blueberries and mint, for $20 while the show is running. Keen to pair your cocktail with a feed? Pumphouse also runs a pre- and post-theatre dining special. All you have to do is flash your theatre ticket to score a main meal and drink for $25 per person. For the latest info on NSW border restrictions, head here. If travelling from Queensland or Victoria, check out Queensland Health and DHHS websites, respectively. Top image: 'Frozen the Musical', Lisa Tomasetti
There are under two months left in the year (???) and before we finally leave 2020 behind us, we've still got the holiday season to look forward to. You might be starting to stress about what to get your relatives, friends or partner this holiday season, but stress no more. Marimekko has organised all of its best homewares, furnishings and clothes into a handy gift guide designed to make purchasing your holiday gifts as easy as possible. The gift guide is organised into six simple categories: under $50, under $150, under $300, clothing, home and bags and accessories. For under $50, you can pick up a variety of mugs, bowls, tea towels and other kitchenware. For under $150, you'll be able to gift a sleek serving plate featuring a leather handle or some of Marimekko's distinct glassware, and, if you're looking to splurge on someone special, the under $300 category features a range of designer clothes including a couple of immensely stylish yet comfortable bathrobes. One highlight of the online gift guide (and Marimekko's new 2020 home collection) is Swedish designer Carina Seth Andersson's new mouth-blown glass candleholders and beloved minimalist vases. The new line of candleholders come in subtle tones of powder pink, green and warm amber. While you're perusing the gift guide, you might find a self-gift and something to spruce up your own household before the end of the year. To check out Marimekko's gift guide and its new 2020 home collection, head to the website. FYI, this story includes some affiliate links. These don't influence any of our recommendations or content, but they may make us a small commission. For more info, see Concrete Playground's editorial policy.
For those of you who secretly pat yourself on the back with every Facebook notification and retweet, meet your self-esteem boosting sidekicks: Molly and Olly. In case you needed reminding of just how popular you are, these mini robotic siblings are here to stroke your ego by releasing a sweet scent or treat upon every post, mention or retweet received. Created by software developing agency MintDigital, Molly and Olly bring social media interaction to another level. Once plugged into your computer, adorable Olly may be synced with any online network. When you receive a comment or a post, Olly will release a scent into the room; the more online notifications, the more aromatic your room. Molly, the slightly larger of the two, may similarly be synced to any network of your choosing. Instead of dispensing scents to congratulate you on a notification, however, this robot will give you your sugar fix by dispensing an edible treat. Social networking success never tasted (or smelled) so sweet. [via That's Like, Whoa!]
We all have a family story to tell, but we can't all tell it like Sarah Polley. The actor known for such films as Dawn of the Dead and Splice and director of quietly acclaimed features Take This Waltz and Away From Her has turned her hand to documentary with Stories We Tell, and it's been demanding attention from festival audiences around the world. Unfortunately, it's one of those films that it's best to know as little of as possible when you go in, so this is going to be a short article. Suffice to say, Polley's primary interest is her mother, Diane Polley, an actress and extrovert who relished the escape from home life that came with roles on the stage. She died in 1990, when Sarah was 11, leaving behind a web of secrets that lay hidden for many years — until her daughter grew up and started to pull at the threads. Polley has a great cast of characters in her life to work with (every member of her family is interviewed), but the magic of this movie is ultimately in her storytelling. It's wittily edited, warm and makes some rather uncanny use of Super 8. The result is probably the most enthralling and entertaining family memoir around. Stories We Tell is in cinemas on September 26. Thanks to Palace Films, we have ten double advance screening passes to give away, valid from September 13-22. To be in the running, subscribe to the Concrete Playground newsletter (if you haven't already), then email hello@concreteplayground.com.au with your name and address.
One of the great joys of being a Nicolas Cage fan is seeing what the actor adds to his resume next. In the past year alone, for example, he has fought alien ninjas from space, hosted a series about the history of swearing, loaned his voice to The Croods franchise again, starred in the yet-to-be-released first English-language film from equally over-the-top Japanese filmmaker Sion Sono and announced that he'll play Joe Exotic in a new drama series based on the Tiger King star's life. His next project: battling demonic animatronic mascots in an effort to save a possessed amusement park. That's the premise behind Willy's Wonderland, which gets a straight-to-home-entertainment release in the US in February — and will undoubtedly do the same Down Under, although a release date for the latter is yet to be announced. Here, in a plot that sounds very close to the video game series Five Nights at Freddy's, Cage plays a quiet loner who becomes stuck in a small town when his car breaks down. He's short on cash, so he takes a night job cleaning the abandoned Willy's Wonderland. Soon, however, fending off the haunted attractions that roam the site's halls is added to his janitorial duties. The film is likely to go one of two ways: absolutely OTT like its lead, or the kind of movie that you only keep watching because of its star. Either way, as the just-dropped trailer shows, expect plenty of Cage demanding your attention in the way that only he can — and adding yet another weird and wild role to his ever-growing resume. Check out the trailer below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0v27rfaoB2Y Willy's Wonderland releases in the US on Friday, February 12, but doesn't currently have a release date Down Under — we'll update you when further details come to hand.
First came 2018's The Haunting of Hill House. Then, in 2020, The Haunting of Bly Manor arrived. 2021 had Midnight Mass and 2022 dropped The Midnight Club. Spring scares just as Halloween approaches and new Mike Flanagan-created Netflix series just keep going hand in hand, it seems. The Fall of the House of Usher is set to keep the trend going — and serve up another unsettling streaming show from the filmmaker also behind Oculus, Hush, Ouija: Origin of Evil, Gerald's Game and Doctor Sleep. This time, Flanagan is taking inspiration from none other than iconic horror author Edgar Allan Poe, with The Fall of the House of Usher sharing its name with one of the writer's short stories from back in 1840. On the page, the tale steps into the lives of the Usher family — and on the screen, that's Flanagan's approach as well. He's drawing upon Poe's works more broadly, however, while sticking with the killer The Fall of the House of Usher moniker. As the just-released first trailer for the series makes plain — with the sneak peek dropping ahead of the eight-episode show's Thursday, October 12 arrival — there's a touch of Succession to The Fall of the House of Usher as a miniseries as well. The Ushers are wealthy and powerful. Roderick Usher (Bruce Greenwood, The Resident) has children who think they should go next at running the family business. Of course, Succession didn't then start offing said heirs in creepy, eerie and downright gory ways, as happens here. What's the CEO of pharmaceutical company, and a shady one at that, to do when a strange woman starts getting murderous with his own flesh and blood? That's this series — which, based on the trailer, isn't afraid to get unhinged. As well as horror in general and his recent spate of spooky Netflix efforts, Flanagan is known for bringing back his go-to actors again and again. Greenwood was in both Gerald's Game and The Haunting of Hill House, while Carla Gugino (Gerald's Game, The Haunting of Hill House, The Haunting of Bly Manor, Midnight Mass), Henry Thomas (Ouija: Origin of Evil, Doctor Sleep, The Haunting of Hill House, The Haunting of Bly Manor, Midnight Mass, The Midnight Club), Carl Lumbly (Doctor Sleep), T'Nia Miller (The Haunting of Bly Manor), Rahul Kohli (The Haunting of Bly Manor, Midnight Mass, The Midnight Club) and Samantha Sloyan (Hush, The Haunting of Hill House, Midnight Madness) are among the talents that've all stepped in front of the filmmaker's camera before. The Fall of the House of Usher also stars Star Wars legend Mark Hamill — and also Mary McDonnell (Veronica Mars) as Madeline Usher, Roderick's twin sister. Check out the trailer for The Fall of the House of Usher below: The Fall of the House of Usher streams via Netflix from Thursday, October 12. Images: Eike Schroter / Netflix.
To really get a feel for a country, you have to experience its cuisine. And that doesn't just mean eating in nice restaurants—it means learning about the history, stories, sources, recipes and love that goes into creating dishes that have endured for centuries. If you're seeking inspiration for experiences like that, we've teamed up with Intrepid Travel and picked out eight of the best culinary holidays Asia has to offer. You get the best of both worlds: sightsee like a tourist but live and eat like a local. South Korea When thinking of South Korea, do you think of fried chicken, bibimbap, Korean barbecue and, of course, kimchi? You can get the chance to explore all these tasty treats on an eight-day loop of the country. Start in Seoul with a trip to Gwangjang Market (as seen on Netflix's Street Food) before attending a kimchi-making session in Jeonju. Other highlights include a dive into the burgeoning microbrewery scene, a home-cooked meal in Busan and a celebratory barbecue experience back in Seoul. South Korea's rich and diverse food scene offers much to explore, and this tour is an ideal taster of what the country has to offer. Sri Lanka The beautiful island nation of Sri Lanka is known for both its culture and its food, and you can experience the best of both on this twelve-day tour. Be part of the action at the famous Negombo fish market, tuck into traditional curries and dosas cooked by Tamil families and enjoy a local snack of buffalo curd and treacle. While the food isn't to be missed, there's much to do besides. Lion Rock is a picturesque climb with ancient frescoes, and the journey from Kandy to Bandarawela is a breathtaking scenic train ride. For the grand finish, you'll hit Colombo, the country's capital, where you can take in the city buzz and enjoy a meal celebrating the area's Dutch heritage. Thailand You probably enjoy a pad Thai now and again, and there's a decent chance you can whip up a fairly decent Thai curry (if armed with a jar of paste and a tin of coconut milk), but have you ever experienced a khan tok dinner? A Northern Thailand speciality, this eleven-dish meal has long been a traditional welcome, and the opportunity to prepare, cook and eat this customary feast is arguably the highlight of Intrepid's eight-day excursion to Thailand. Elsewhere, there are trips to Chiang Mai temples, an overnight train ride across the country, and a visit to Tha Kha Floating Market. You'll be blown away by the vibrancy and beauty at every turn. India Far too often, we make the mistake of thinking of Indian food as one single cuisine while, in reality, it's one of the most rich and varied food cultures on the planet. That's why you need half a month for a trip stretching all the way from Delhi to Goa. The itinerary reads like a spice lover's dream. You'll hit the 'Lane of Parathas' in Delhi, a chaat crawl in Agra, Rajasthani desserts in Jaipur, thali in Udaipur, a street crawl in Mumbai, and a cooking class in Goa. That's without even mentioning the Taj Mahal, Sikh temples and the Bollywood movie experience that will punctuate your time away from everyday life. [caption id="attachment_970029" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Yana Tatevosian via iStock[/caption] Georgia Located on the edge of Asia on the banks of the Black Sea is the gateway to Europe: Georgia. Australia may be pretty good for overseas cuisine these days, but you'd struggle on these shores to find dishes like nigvziani badrijani (eggplant and walnuts), zhizhig galnash (noodles and lamb) or khinkali (traditional Georgian dumplings). All these dishes and more are available on this circuit of the country, starting in the capital, Tbilisi, and also taking in Telavi, the Pankisi Valley and Gudauri. And it's not just food. There's also the opportunity to hike up to Gergeti Trinity Church and catch a glimpse of Mt Kazbegi, a glacier that stands over 5,000m tall. Vietnam Banh mi, pho and bao are high-street staples here in Australia, but there's nothing like the real thing. You'll get to sample the genuine article on this tour of Vietnam, which also includes a cooking class in Hoi An that's preceded by a trip to the local market to find ingredients. There's also plenty of travelling and a bunch to see as part of this itinerary. There are two overnight train journeys, boat cruises, picturesque drives and even a sightseeing trip aboard a motorbike. This holiday comes to an end in Ho Chi Minh City, where you can soak up the atmosphere of the busy markets and marvel at the incredible produce on offer. Japan The Land of the Rising Sun has something for everyone, from skiing and sightseeing to cherry blossoms and huge city metropolises. But what we're talking about here is food and, more accurately, damn good food. Sushi is obviously a must, and in this Tokyo tour you'll be schooled in the art of sushi — which includes its history, how to choose the best cuts and, of course, how to prepare it. Additionally, there's a home cooking class in Kanazawa on the north coast, a visit to a green tea farm in Uji, a sake tasting in Kyoto, and more besides. Cambodia This diverse southeast Asian country has a rich heritage and vibrant food culture. This organised trip will show you the best this gem of a country has to offer. You'll see where reportedly the world's finest pepper is grown and taste pepper ice cream. You'll get to experience a traditional Khmer cookery class in Phnom Penh. You'll even get the chance to make cocktails in Siem Reap using local fruits and herbs. There's also plenty of opportunity for sightseeing, and you'll come away from your trip feeling like you've got to know Cambodia and perhaps even planning your next trip back. Get out, explore, dive into adventure and find your WOW with Intrepid Travel. Find out more on the website.
Want to have your blood curdled, feast like it's your last night on earth or just get scarily sweaty on the d-floor? Lure out your inner ghoul with our top Halloween picks. Hijinks Halloween Hijinks has already seen the Festivalists take over the Sea Life Sydney Aquarium once and now they're responsible for Sydney's only underwater Halloween party. In between the search for a sunken treasure, guests can expect voodoo magic tricks, vampire selfie opportunities, Thriller dance-offs and Frankenstein makeover workshops. Matched with interactive art and theatre experiences, appearances from a host of Sydney's favourite entertainers and more surprises along the way, this day-early Halloween event is selling fast. Thursday, October 30, from 6.30pm at Sea Life Sydney Aquarium. Tickets $25. Ouija Beats at Luna Park Free rides, demented circus performers, spooky light shows and a killer program of Australia's best beatmakers including Cosmo's Midnight, Basenji, Panama and more will take over Luna Park this Halloween. The Big Top's first ever Ouija Beats party is the product of FBi Radio, The Music and LPS, who have put their heads together for a contemplation of the paranormal. The Halloween action kicks off at 6pm. Tickets are on sale here. Friday, October 31, from 6pm at Luna Park Big Top. Tickets $59. Beetlejuice Halloween Party at Golden Age Cinemas Practice your most angsty Winona Ryder and slap on some white face paint because Golden Age Cinema and Bar are ignoring their afterlife caseworker this Halloween and turning to Beetlejuice. The party starts with two screenings of Tim Burton's cult classic, after which you could win cocktails and prizes for the best dressed ghost. With music courtesy of Pelvis DJs, you'll be dancing well into the afterlife. Friday, October 31, from 6.30pm at Golden Age Cinema and Bar. Tickets $20/15. Nightmare on Stanley Street with Rupert & Ruby Uniting a handful of the Darlinghurst street's vendors, Nightmare on Stanley Street is the pre-Halloween party for the foodie. Nightmarees can explore both tricks and treats at a haunted mental institution (Kubrick's), the Addams Family mansion (Rupert & Ruby) and a scene from 'Return of the Titanic' (Hazy Rose), with live music from 9.30pm. Tickets include your choice of a Halloween-themed drink or dish at each of the venues. Thursday, October 30, from 7.30pm at Stanley Street, Darlinghurst. Tickets $60. Jurassic Lounge: Day of the Dead Extinction isn't permanent, apparently. Sydney's Night at the Museum-like party, Jurassic Lounge, is being resurrected for a one-off event to celebrate Dia de los Muertos — the Mexican holiday Day of the Dead. Returning to the Australian Museum and tying in with the new Aztecs exhibition, The Festivalists' beloved after-hours event will once again take over the entire museum. Saturday, November 1, from 6.30pm at the Australian Museum. Tickets are now sold out. Newtown Hotel's Second Birthday Halloween Party To celebrate their second year delivering great entertainment night after night, the Newtown Hotel is throwing what can now be called their Annual Halloween Party. So get freaky, get creepy and don your best Day of the Dead attire for a wild night of terror, tunes and treats. Local songwriting talent Andy Golledge will be crooning in rootsy hues, followed by Melbourne rockers Kingswood, who will be dropping hits from their latest album Microscopic Wars. Free drinks start flowing at 6pm. Thursday, October 30, from 6pm at Newtown Hotel. Entry is free. Jesse Willesee's The Slenderman Experience Sydney artist Jesse Willesee is transforming the Kings Cross Hotel again this Halloween, this time into a forest haunted by creepy internet meme Slenderman. The walk-through, four-level experience promises 3D ghost projections, a blood room and live actors doing their very best to freak everybody out. Persist through the four levels to the rooftop, where you can shake off the spooks and sip on some Halloween-themed drinks. Entry is $10 and the haunted forest starts rustling from 8pm. Friday, October 31, from 8pm at the Kings Cross Hotel. Tickets $10 on the door. This Thing x The Finer Things Halloween at Goodgod Hosted by record labels The Finer Things and This Thing, Goodgod Small Club's Halloween shindig is one of the last times Sydneysiders will be able to catch local producer Guerre live. Playing some spine-tingling tunes alongside the spoken word enigma are Wooshie and Silent Jay's new project N.B.L Players (Nothing But Love), Jace XL and Ry 4. Friday, October 31, from 11pm at Goodgod Danceteria. Tickets $10 or $5 for early birds. Morning Gloryville Sydney Presents: Fluroween Halloween doesn't have to be all ghoulish spook and gross fake blood. Morning Gloryville thinks Halloween should include an early morning rave for a good cause where fluro clothes and even brighter dance moves won't be frowned upon. Featuring all the usual healthy goodies as well as Retrosweat's Shannon Dooley and Sydney-based artist Morphingaz, Fluroween is raising money for the Mental Health Association and the Black Dog Institute. The party starts pumping nice and early at 6.30am. Wednesday, October 29, from 6.30am at UTS Underground (15 Broadway). Tickets $20/$25 on the door. By the Concrete Playground team.
If you only have time for a quick night away from the city and don't want to waste any of it driving to your destination, why not head seaside? Taylor Made Escapes has you covered with a luxury overnight experience on your own private yacht. Picture gorgeous Palm Beach scenery, crystal clear waters, deluxe cabins and champagne in the sunshine for some premium glamour. During the day, you can enjoy a secluded ocean swim or take a rowboat to shore. At night, watch the sunset over the horizon and relax on the calm sea while getting stuck into a decadent seafood platter. Rates start at $499 for two people, with additional guests charged at $100 per person (maximum six overnight guests). It's time to start planning the ultimate Sydney sleepover.
Woolloomooloo's favourite craft beer basement, The Old Growler, has announced a brand spanking new menu and entertainment lineup launching in February. Newly appointed chef Chris Hulm has joined forces with head chef Alexander Watts to whip up food offerings designed to complement the venue's pared-back vibe. Meat lovers will be pleased by pub food like fried chicken wings with lime and aioli and grass fed beef burgers alongside a few fancier options like hickory smoked pork belly with apple, fennel, dates and candied walnuts. It goes without saying that a craft beer or two is the perfect accompaniment to any dish, with a weekly rotation of beers from local craft breweries on offer. Live music will also be a feature, from blues to funk to gypsy jazz. Venue owner Jack Brown says, "We really feel we've identified what the locals in the area want and need after trading and collating their feedback for over a year." One of the really positive forces in the culture of Kings Cross, Old Growler has an atmosphere that's part Italian trattoria, part industrial saloon, part inviting cave. Its focus on sustainability and local community makes it a place we'll always come back to. Thanks to the Old Growler, we have two $50 food and drink vouchers to give away. To be in the running, subscribe to the Concrete Playground newsletter (if you haven't already), then email win.sydney@concreteplayground.com.au with your name and address.
Sydney Theatre Company artistic directors Cate Blanchett and Andrew Upton have taken inspiration from movies, novels, the preoccupations of the world and the ingenuity of local artists to create a 2012 season where you can see My Fair Lady with an Aussie soap star in place of Audrey, commune with the numerous townsfolk of Dylan Thomas's literary Llareggub and lose yourself in a magic realist world freshly sown by Tim Winton. If there's a centrepiece, it may be Never Did Me Any Harm, a new Australian work by Kate Champion and her physical theatre company, Force Majeure. Bouncing off Christos Tsiolkas's The Slap and the abundance of opinions everyone has on parenting, it promises to visit Australian suburbia, and it might not be the most polite houseguest. Unmissable and alliterative directors Simon Stone (The Wild Duck, Baal) and Sam Strong (Speaking in Tongues) each helm a play: Stone Face to Face, a co-adaptation with Upton from the classic Ingmar Bergman film about the nightmares that come to intrude upon a woman's life; and Strong Les Liaisons Dangereuses, which casts Hugo Weaving and Pamela Rabe as its manipulative, feuding Marquise and Vicomte (yes, this story was once incarnated as Cruel Intentions). Following in the footsteps of the phenomenal August: Osage County and Terminus, the international slot in 2012 will be filled by Edinburgh's Traverse Theatre with their Midsummer (a play with songs), apparently a romantic comedy you can enjoy without irony or shame. Outside the main stage program, there's also an all-male Pirates of Penzance and a new collaboration from Ontroerend Goed (Once and for all we’re gonna tell you who we are so shut up and listen) and STC's Residents to look forward to. Check out the full program at the STC website.
With a snap of the fingers, the Marvel Cinematic Universe underwent a huge change back in Avengers: Infinity War, and its movies and TV shows have been dealing with the fallout ever since. But another snap might be coming — not within the ever-sprawling franchise's on-screen narratives, but thanks to a possible slowed-down pace when it comes to filling cinemas and streaming queues with Marvel's heroes. All Marvel all the time: that's seemed to be Disney's approach to building the MCU, and our eyeballs have been busy as a result. In 2021 and 2022 alone, seven films and eight television shows made their debuts, spanning everything from Black Widow, Eternals, Thor: Love and Thunder and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever through to WandaVision, Loki, Moon Knight and Ms Marvel. And, 2023 has already kicked off with Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 to come in May. Disney is reportedly thinking about easing the flow of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, however, and also getting better at curating it. Multiple recent reports and interviews, including in The Hollywood Reporter and Entertainment Weekly, have spoken about releasing fewer movies and shows each year, as well as ensuring there's more space between them. "The pace at which we're putting out the Disney+ shows will change so they can each get a chance to shine," Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige told Entertainment Weekly. Just as Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania hit cinemas last week, Marvel pushed back its third big-screen release for 2023, The Marvels, from July 28 to November 9. It teams up Captain Marvel (Brie Larson, Just Mercy), Ms Marvel (Iman Vellani) and WandaVision's Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris, Candyman), but viewers will now have to wait a few more months to see the end result. That's one of a few shifts that the MCU has put in place since unveiling its huge phase five and phase six plans in mid-2022, with other dates moving back as well. Now in its multiverse saga, with a big focus on Jonathan Majors (The Harder They Fall) as new big bad Kang the Conqueror, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has delayed the return of Blade — this time starring Moonlight and Green Book Oscar-winner Mahershala Ali — to September 5, 2024. It'll come after a new Captain America movie on May 2, 2024, called Captain America: New World Order, focusing on Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier) with the cape and shield, plus Thunderbolts on July 25, 2023. 2024 will also see the next Deadpool flick arrive on November 7 co-starring Hugh Jackman, with The Son actor returning to the role of Wolverine, and both Deadpool and Wolverine entering the MCU. From there, expect yet another Fantastic Four film, which'll now release on February 14, 2025 (with no cast yet announced), plus Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars following on May 1, 2025 and April 30, 2026, respectively. While slight changes have already been made to the movie slate's dates, more may come in light of Feige's comments — and Disney CEO Bob Iger's own comments that the Mouse House must improve its curating skills with its content. And, the same may prove true of the MCU's small-screen lineup, none of which has set dates so far. 2023 is meant to see five shows arrive: the Samuel L Jackson-starring, Nick Fury-focused Secret Invasion, which was initially expected in autumn Down Under; Ironheart, which features the Dominique Thorne (Judas and the Black Messiah)-played character first seen in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever; season two of Loki; Hawkeye spinoff Echo; and witchy WandaVision spinoff Agatha: Coven of Chaos. But, it's now reported that only Secret Invasion and Loki are certain to hit this year. After that, a new 18-episode Daredevil series starring Charlie Cox (King of Thieves) and Vincent D'Onofrio (The Unforgivable), this time called Daredevil: Born Again, is on the schedule for 2024. These films and series are all still on their way — so, while you might not be watching quite as many new Marvel movies and TV shows over the next few years after all, they're still coming, just better spread out. Maybe this far in, more breaks from the Marvel Cinematic Universe will make the heart grow fonder, especially if you've been feeling a bit of MCU fatigue. For more information about Marvel's upcoming slate of films and TV shows, head to the company's website. Via The Hollywood Reporter and Entertainment Weekly. Top image: Photo by Jay Maidment. © 2022 Marvel. All images: courtesy of Marvel.
FOMO — Australia's clash-free, one-day summer festival — is back for a fifth year. This year, it's making its return to Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, and it has just dropped its full lineup. Texas-via-California rap collective Brockhampton is the first of multiple international acts to be announced for the event, which has previously hosted the likes of Nicki Minaj, Post Malone and Kali Uchis. Led by Kevin Abstract, and formed through an online forum, Brockhampton is a modern day boyband made up of rappers, directors, photographers, engineers, producers, graphic designers and DJs. The group last performed here in 2018, touring the country with Listen Out festival. [caption id="attachment_724680" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Brockhampton[/caption] Joining Brockhampton will be Canadian producer Kaytranada, who's set to drop a new album before heading down under, and US rapper Lizzo, who'll be bringing her catchy hits 'Juice' and 'Truth Hurts' — as well as other bangers off her just-released album Cuz I Love You — to Aus for the first time ever in January. Other big names on the lineup include French singer Madeon, UK rapper Octavian and, from the local contingent, hip-hop artist Chillinit and Sydney producer Ninajirachi. While we've just hit winter here in Aus, we've also just hit festival announcement season, so expect a heap more summer music events to drop their lineups in the upcoming weeks — Spilt Milk and Grapevine Gathering have already dropped theirs, too. FOMO 2020 LINEUP Brockhampton Kaytranada Lizzo Madeon Jax Jones Octavian Rico Nasty Meduza Chillinit Whipped Cream Dombresky Ninajirachi Plus triple j Unearthed and local artists TBA FOMO 2020 DATES Saturday, January 4 — Brisbane Showgrounds, Brisbane Sunday, January 5 — Elder Park, Adelaide Saturday, January 11 — Parramatta Park, Sydney Sunday, January 12 — Melbourne Showgrounds, Melbourne FOMO will take place in January 2020. Pre-sale tickets are available from 9am on Wednesday, July 3 — you can sign-up for those here. GA Tickets will drop at 9am on Monday, July 8. Top images: Jordan Munns. Updated July 1.
If hearing Placebo's 'Every You Every Me' and The Verve's 'Bittersweet Symphony' gets you thinking about Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ryan Phillippe, Reese Witherspoon and Selma Blair, then you're clearly a Cruel Intentions fan. And you if were a 90s or 00s teen who watched and rewatched the 1999 classic over and over again — soaking in all those dangerous liaisons, the scheming that went with them, Joshua Jackson's blonde locks and Gellar in a decidedly non-Buffy role — then you'll probably be first in line to see Cruel Intentions: The 90s Musical. The film-to-theatre production has been unleashing its teen tumult and throwback soundtrack in America since 2015, and now it's finally heading to our shores. And yes, those aforementioned Placebo and The Verve songs get a spin, because of course they do. Because it's a jukebox musical, the show is also filled with a heap other tunes from that late 90s, early 00s era, too; think: *NYSNC's 'Bye Bye Bye', Britney Spears' 'Sometimes', No Doubt's 'Just A Girl', Jewel's 'Foolish Games', Christina Aguilera's 'Genie In A Bottle' and Sixpence None the Richer's 'Kiss Me', for starters. If you've seen the movie — the original, not the direct-to-video 2001 and 2004 sequels, one of which starred a very young Amy Adams (The Woman in the Window) taking over Gellar's role — then you'll know the story. Based on 1782 novel Les Liaisons dangereuses, which was also been adapted in the 1988 film Dangerous Liaisons with Glenn Close, John Malkovich, Michelle Pfeiffer and Uma Thurman, Cruel Intentions follows step-siblings Sebastian Valmont and Kathryn Merteuil. Manipulating each other's love lives is their main hobby, a pastime that levels up a few notches when Kathryn places a bet on whether Sebastian can sleep with Annette Hargrove, the headmaster's daughter at their exclusive prep school. On-screen, Phillippe played Sebastian, Gellar vamped up the film as Kathryn and Witherspoon stepped into Annette's shoes. Exactly who'll be following in their footsteps when Cruel Intentions: The 90s Musical hits Melbourne's Athenaeum Theatre from May 25, 2022 and then Sydney's State Theatre from June 29 — with further cities to be announced — hasn't yet been revealed. Cruel Intentions' writer/director Roger Kumble co-created the musical, so expect it comes with quite the screen-to-stage pedigree. Also, it's coming to Australia via David Venn Enterprises, who also brought The Wedding Singer: The Musical Comedy and Bring It On: The Musical our way. Check out the trailer for the US production of Cruel Intentions: The 90s Musical below: Cruel Intentions: The 90s Musical will play Melbourne's Athenaeum Theatre from May 25, 2022, and then Sydney's State Theatre from June 29 — with further cities to be announced. For more information and to join the ticket waitlist, head to the musical's website.
Vivid is not something you should do on an empty stomach. If you're at could-eat stage before you embark on your citywide tour of Sydney's biggest light installation, then you're sure to surpass cranky-starving-sore feet stage by the time you're done. Luckily, the good folks at Westfield Sydney are staying open late Thursday to Saturday during the festival with a food court full of food and seats to let you rest your weary legs. So in between catching a gig at the Opera House, completing the Light Walk or partying with Björk, you can pop into the Pitt Street shopping centre for some dumplings at Din Tai Fung or New Shanghai, smash a bowl of ramen at Ippudo, snack on pork buns at Tim Ho Wan or grab a rice bowl to go from Rice Workshop. On levels five and six, Westfield Sydney will also have an enchanted forest light installation set up. Out in Pitt Street Mall, they'll also have a 3D sculpture in the shape of a sodium chloride crystal. Named True Life, the installation will be lit up with images of larvae and coral cells as seen under a lens in real time, giving you an insight into what true life consists of. From a practical standpoint, Westfield Sydney is also offering valet parking throughout the festival. Something to keep in mind when you're circling the city trying to find a park. You can access it via 135 King Street, Sydney.
If you tend to do all your best thinking in the shower, then pay attention. We know it's difficult to keep track of all those deep thoughts as you lather, rinse, repeat; but never fear, AquaNotes are here. Shower-thinkers can now write down their genius ideas on AquaNotes, a waterproof notepad that can be hung in the shower. The paper is made from soy-based ink, so it can absorb water and still be written on when it gets wet. Accompanied by a cedar wood pencil, this revolutionary piece of stationery will never let a good idea be forgotten. Whether you have a revelation about how to stop world hunger or just remember what you meant to buy at the grocery store, AquaNotes will be just a few feet from the soap dish to save the day. Bubble bath thinkers are not excluded, as AquaNotes are durable enough to be used all the way underwater. To boot they're recyclable and environmentally friendly. https://youtube.com/watch?v=p-7zABpEN3E [via Whathecool]
As the slow TV trend has already taught us, staring at one gradually moving sight for an extended period can be extremely relaxing. As anyone who has ever visited an aquarium or had their own fish tank knows, watching sea creatures swim around also fits that description. Combine the two, and you have Sea Life Melbourne Aquarium's pandemic-era online resources: a series of calming videos designed to help Melburnians — and everyone, really — cope with everything that the past 14 months or so has thrown at us. Whether you're a Victorian back in lockdown, or you're located elsewhere throughout the country, we're certain that your day — and your daily routine — could use the kind of splash that only ocean critters can provide. On offer as part of 'Marine Mindfulness' are a range videos split across two sections, spanning guided meditation and slow TV. With the guided meditation clips, you have two choices: peer at luminous jellyfish for ten minutes, or spend six minutes with the creatures in Melbourne Aquarium's 2.2-million-litre oceanarium. Whichever you opt for, you'll also listen to soothing narration which tells you more about the marine life you're looking at. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7FBVO7zrVZg&feature=emb_logo Prefer just watching and soaking in some peaceful music? The slow TV lineup has you covered. Spend 20 minutes watching the inhabitants of the aquarium's coral atoll, or 13 minutes peering at penguins, lizards, sharks, rays, fish and eels — and a pumpkin treat — last Halloween. There's also a 20-minute look at life in the oceanarium, as well as a 17-minute clownfish video. Sea Life Melbourne Aquarium's 'Marine Mindfulness' videos are available to view online. This article was first published on April 22, 2020, and was updated on May 29, 2021 with the most up-to-date information.
It’s time to crawl out from under your winter clutter and embrace the sunshine with bare limbs and sparse shelves; spring has arrived and we couldn’t be more relieved. More sunlight and (slightly) warmer weather makes now a great time to ditch any excess your home/wardrobe/office space may have accumulated and add some fresh pieces. We’ve got a few tips on cleaning out your home or office space as well as expert advice from Joshua Speechley, one half of the couple behind HIM&I online store, on how to make your place pop. HIM&I focus on simple, minimal, top-quality pieces. “Everything we sell on HIM&I we personally love, so our home is really a reflection of the store,” says Speechley. Garage Sale, Yard Sale, Bake Sale Step one is to declutter, and a great way to get rid of your goods is through a garage sale. It’s extremely tempting to go out and buy heaps of sparkly new things to spruce up your place, but without this essential first step you run the risk of being a contestant on an Australian version of Hoarders. Any clothes that are still in good nick that you don’t wear anymore, wash them, give them an iron (or boots a polish), and price them kindly. Bring out old books, magazines, knick-knacks, anything you’re not using; you’d be surprised what people will take off your hands for a reasonable price. Anything left over at the end of the day can go to The Salvos, Brotherhood of St Laurence, or hard rubbish. Sorted. Here how to bring all the boys (and girls) to the yard, no milkshakes required. A kickass flyer: Pop culture references and puns go down a treat. Baked goods/lemonade stand: It’s cute, the smell will lure passers-by in, and you know you need a cupcake at 10am on a Saturday. Dress the part: Look fabulous, and others will want your steez. We recommend a splashy bum bag. No really — it’s a great conversation starter, and so handy when keeping track of the cash being exchanged. Image: Mark Nye, ClubofHumanBeings.com via photopin cc. Do Your Homework, in a Fun Way A little bit of research can go a long way, and it’s a great way to justify poking around on social media. “We do find a lot of inspiration on Instagram," says Speechley. "It’s a great platform for finding other people's amazing creativity, there are so many creative DIY people out there! Magazines are always great too, [like] Inside Out, Frankie and Smith." Research doesn’t have to be restricted to the page, you’re just as likely to be inspired by getting out and about. As Speechley advises, “Markets and, of course, friend's houses are always great too, seeing what our friends are coming up with or finding here and there is always a big inspiration.” Get Crafty If you’re looking to deck out your digs with some new pieces, why not flex those craft skills that have been idling since primary school and make something yourself? Record boxes, planter walls, bookshelves, beds, you name it, Speechley and partner Kara Allen have attempted to make it. “Not all to great success,” Speechley points out, “but that ones that have worked out we’re completely stoked with ... Head down to your local hardware store and give it a crack.” Another bonus to having something you actually made decorating your place? You can guarantee no one else will have the same item adorning their walls or shelves. If you’re a bit of a novice, there's no need to fret, as many places offering affordable, fun, one-off classes for those looking to get their hands dirty. Our favourite places running classes include Work-Shop (Sydney and Melbourne), Laneway Learning (Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane), Colourbox Studio (Melbourne) and Koskela (Sydney). Avoid IKEA Rule number one: think outside the box. “It’s a trap!" says Speechley. "Sure, you can find some great items at IKEA, you get them home and you love them. Until you see them at eight of your friends houses ... We’ve found spending the little bit extra, to get something a bit more unique, or with more of a personal touch, means you’ll love the item more, and for longer!” Flower Bomb It’s spring. Everything is in bloom. They smell amazing. They’re colourful. They cheer you up. Why the heck wouldn’t you fill your house with floral goodness? If flowers aren’t your thing, succulents never die, or any other indoor plant/fern is actually good for your health. Lauren from Fowlers Flowers in Melbourne recommends blushing bride, hellebores, geraldton wax, tulips, magnolia buds, and king proteas for this season, but just about everything is in bloom at the moment, so pick whatever takes your fancy. Image by Lucy Djevdet.
Sometimes ice cream speaks louder than words. And on the topic of marriage equality, where words of support from 72 percent of Australians hasn't made much of an impact on policy makers, making a statement with frozen dessert is worth a shot. That's what Ben & Jerry's are doing with their latest push in the campaign for Australian marriage equality. They've partnered with The Equality Campaign (formerly Australian Marriage Equality) to ban punters ordering two scoops of the same flavour in their Australian stores until marriage equality is achieved. That's right: no more double scoops of New York Super Fudge Chunk. Using its scoops as a symbol, the ice cream giant is also offering an in-store postal service across their 26 stores nationwide, allowing patrons to write a message in support of marriage equality to their MP — these will then be hand-delivered by the Ben & Jerry's team. The in-store service will only be available from May 22 through June 9, but you can also have your message faxed to your local MP through The Equality Campaign website, which directs you to your specific MP by area code. This small, yet timely move is made in advance of the next parliamentary sitting on June 13 and is meant to keep marriage equality at the forefront of parliamentary debate and make it easier for Aussies to communicate their support of LGBTQI+ rights to the government. The Ben & Jerry's brand has a history of commitment to social justice and has been particularly focused on marriage equality in recent years, notably with their 2013 launch of the I Dough, I Dough ice cream flavour and campaign. The flavour will be back in stores this month to further hit the message home — but only one scoop at a time. The debate around marriage equality has continues to garner support from big brands, with Airbnb's 'incomplete' rings, Skyy Vodka's Cheers to Equality campaign and Qantas CEO Alan Joyce confirming the airline's support of the issue. And, on the opposite side of the equation, let's not forget the consumer boycott against Coopers after The Bible Society released a tone-deaf video trivialising marriage equality. Maybe losing the freedom to choose our own ice cream flavours will force some policy makers to spring into action. The Ben & Jerry's same-flavour ban will be instated across their 26 Australian stores. You can drop off a letter to your local MP at your nearest store until June 9 or send it over via The Equality Campaign website.
When one year ends and another begins, looking back is always on the agenda. When summer holidays arrive with lazy days and cruisy itineraries, streaming binges await. Combine the two and you've got a date with 2023's small-screen highlights — but don't just stick to the shows that you saw and loved over the past 12 months. Because no one can watch everything that drops when it drops, you no doubt missed plenty of gems when you weren't glued to your couch. A nun battling AI, Pete Davidson's latest riff on his own life, a new series from Drive filmmaker Nicolas Winding Refn and a twist on Sweeney Todd are just some of the fresh 2023 streaming shows that you mightn't have had a chance to catch up with yet, but can now. There's more where they came from. As we did in 2021 and 2022, we've highlighted 15 ace new arrivals over the past year that deserve a place in your streaming queue. Don't spend your break endlessly scrolling through the ever-growing array of streaming platforms — we've done the hard work for you. MRS DAVIS It was back in March 2022 that the world first learned of Mrs Davis, who would star in it and which creatives were behind it. Apart from its central faith-versus-technology battle, the show's concept was kept under wraps, but the series itself was announced to the world. The key involvement of three-time GLOW Emmy-nominee Betty Gilpin, Lost and The Leftovers creator Damon Lindelof, and The Big Bang Theory and Young Sheldon writer and executive producer Tara Hernandez was championed, plus the fact that Black Mirror: San Junipero director Owen Harris would helm multiple episodes. Accordingly, although no one knew exactly what it was about, Mrs Davis existed months before ChatGPT was released — but this puzzle-box drama, which is equally a sci-fi thriller, zany comedy and action-adventure odyssey, now follows the artificial intelligence-driven chatbot in reaching audiences. Indeed, don't even bother trying not to think about the similarities as you're viewing this delightfully wild and gleefully ridiculous series. There's also no point dismissing any musings that slip into your head about social media, ever-present tech, digital surveillance and the many ways that algorithms dictate our lives, either. Mrs Davis accepts that such innovations are a mere fact of life in 2023, then imagines what might happen if AI promised to solve the worlds ills and make everyone's existence better and happier. It explores how users could go a-flocking, eager to obey every instruction and even sacrifice themselves to the cause. In other words, it's about ChatGPT-like technology starting a religion in everything but name. To tell that tale, it's also about nun Simone (Gilpin, Gaslit), who was raised by magicians (Love & Death's Elizabeth Marvel and Scream's David Arquette), and enjoys sabbaticals from her convent to do whatever is necessary to bring down folks who practise her parents' vocation and the show's titular technology. She also undertakes quite the literal nuptials to Jesus Christ, is divinely bestowed names to chase in her quest and has an ex-boyfriend, Wiley (Jake McDorman, Dopesick), who's a former bullrider-turned-Fight Club-style resistance leader. And, she's tasked with a mission by the algorithm itself: hunting down the Holy Grail. Mrs Davis streams via Binge. Read our full review. A MURDER AT THE END OF THE WORLD Whichever miniatures are stuffed inside a snow globe, a simple shake surrenders them all to the same fate: flakes falling in their tiny dome. Pop culture's enduring murder-mystery obsession can feel much the same way. When the pieces start raining down in seven-part miniseries A Murder at the End of the World, there's much that instantly feels familiar from a heavily populated field of recent and classics whodunnits. That checklist includes a confined single setting, potential victims cooped up with an unknown killer, rampant secrets and lies, fingers pointed everywhere, Nordic noir's frosty climes, an eerie butler, a wealthy host who might just have the most to lose and, of course, a gifted gumshoe sleuthing through the group. A Murder at the End of the World radiates its own Gen Z Sherlock Holmes vibe, though. That's even how its sharp protagonist is described, and early. In the role of 24-year-old hacker-turned-author Darby Hart, who is invited by billionaire recluse Andy Ronson (Clive Owen, American Crime Story) to an intimate Iceland symposium of bright minds, Emma Corrin (Lady Chatterley's Lover) also turns Agatha Christie. The OA creators Brit Marling and Zal Batmanglij have put their own intriguing, involving, can't-stop-watching spin on their addition to the genre, as they make clear early. As the duo share writing duties and split time in the director's chair — with Marling also co-starring — they take cues from The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and Stieg Larsson's sequels as well, all while also sliding their series in alongside Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery; however, the mood, ambition, pursuit of weighty themes, shadowy conspiracies, earnestness and love of telling puzzle-box tales match perfectly with their last show, plus their film collaborations Sound of My Voice and The East. Two timelines unspool: the present-day storyline at the ideas salon, where bodies are soon falling; and the the road trip that Darby took with fellow Reddit-aided citizen detective Bill Farrah (Harris Dickinson, Scrapper) to solve the case that fuels her debut novel. Both are compelling; shake this snow globe for more and you won't want to stop. A Murder at the End of the World streams via Disney+. Read our full review. THE CHANGELING It isn't by accident that watching The Changeling feels like being read to, rather than simply viewing streaming's latest book-to-TV adaptation. Landing from the pages of Victor LaValle's novel of the same name, this horror-fantasy series is obsessed with stories, telling tales and unpacking what humanity's favourite narratives say about our nature, including myths and yarns that date back centuries and longer. Printed tomes are crucial in its characters lives, fittingly. Libraries, bookstores, dusty boxes stacked with old volumes, beloved childhood texts, a rare signed version of To Kill a Mockingbird with a note from Harper Lee to lifelong friend Truman Capote: they all feature within the show's frames. Its protagonists Apollo Kagwa (LaKeith Stanfield, Haunted Mansion) and Emma Valentine (Clark Backo, Letterkenny), who fall in love and make a life together before its first episode is out, even work as a book dealer and a librarian. And, The Changeling also literally reads to its audience, because LaValle himself relays this adult fairytale, his dulcet tones speaking lyrical prose to provide a frequent guide In a show created and scripted by Venom, Venom: Let There Be Carnage, Fifty Shades of Grey and Saving Mr Banks screenwriter Kelly Marcel, there's nothing more potent and revealing than a story, after all — and The Changeling believes in the power of tales to capture, explain, transport, engage, caution and advise, too. Aptly, New Yorkers Apollo and Emma meet amid books, in the library where she works and he frequents. It takes convincing to get her to agree to go out with him, but that leads to marriage and a child. The Changeling's astute thematic layering includes Apollo's repeated attempts to wrangle that first yes out of Emma, however, setting up a train of thought that has many future stations. In-between early dates and domesticity, Emma also takes the trip of a lifetime to Brazil, where an old woman awaits by Lagoa do Abaeté. The locals warn the visitor to stay away but she's mesmerised. What happens between the two strangers sends the narrative hurtling, with the lakeside figure tying a red string around Emma's wrist, granting her three wishes, but advising that they'll only come true when the bracelet falls off by itself. The Changeling streams via Apple TV+. Read our full review. BUPKIS In its opening moments, Bupkis unloads — twice, in completely different ways, while ensuring there's zero doubt that this is a series about Pete Davidson starring Pete Davidson as Pete Davidson. First, the former Saturday Night Live comedian gets Googling while alone in the basement of the Staten Island home he shares with his mother Amy (Edie Falco, Avatar: The Way of Water). The results about Ariana Grande, Kate Beckinsale and Kim Kardashian's ex aren't positive; so, to shake off the unpleasantness of reading '12 Things Horribly Wrong with Pete Davidson', he switches from "scumbro" with "butthole eyes" comments to porn. He's wearing a VR headset, and he's soon deep in self-love. Then his mum walks in. Bupkis clearly isn't wary about getting crude. It isn't concerned about satirising its central figure, either. Instead, this semi-autobiographical dramedy relishes the parody. At the age of 29, Davidson has reached the "you may as well laugh" point in his career, which is hardly surprising given he's spent the past decade swinging his big chaotic energy around. Partway through the eight-episode series, while keen to claim some perks for being Davidson's mother — other than doting on her son, that is — Amy shouts at wait staff that "Marisa Tomei played me!". Add that to Bupkis' gleeful, playful nods to reality. An opening statement before each instalment stresses the difference between fact and fiction, and why the show has the moniker it has, but art keeps imitating life everywhere. There's no switching names, however. Davidson is indeed Davidson, his IRL mum is called Amy and his sister is Casey (Oona Roche, The Morning Show). As in The King of Staten Island, they've been a trio since 9/11, and dealing with losing his New York City firefighter dad still isn't easy. Off-screen, however, Davidson must be a fan of My Cousin Vinny, plus the gangster genre. Hailing from the former as Tomei does, and famed for his performances in the latter like The Sopranos star Falco, Goodfellas, Casino and The Irishman alum Joe Pesci is a pivotal part of Bupkis as Davidson's grandfather Joe — a hilarious and delightful part, unsurprisingly. Bupkis streams via Binge. Read our full review. MATILDAS: THE WORLD AT OUR FEET Passion flows as feverishly through the Australia's women's national football team as talent, and Matildas: The World at Our Feet boasts plenty of examples to show it. Covering the lead up to the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup, this six-part documentary series sees enthusiasm and emotion everywhere, regardless of who the squad is playing, why or where, and the end score. Kicking goals? Joyous. Winning games? Euphoric. Taking every step needed to do their best at soccer's ultimate contest, especially because it's being held on home soil for the first time ever? A positively peppy and determined task. Inspiring girls across Australia to follow in their footsteps? For Sam Kerr and company, that's what their hard work is all about. To start this doco's sixth episode, Kerr and several teammates chat about how much it means to them to be galvanising tomorrow's female athletes, a topic that pops up more than once across the entire series. In this particular instalment, they also discuss the equivalent influence in their own lives: Cathy Freeman's 400-metre gold-medal run at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. "We didn't have a role model in women's football, or any sport," shares goalkeeper Lydia Williams. "Watching Cathy Freeman at 2000, that just kind of ignited my dreams," she continues. "At the time, I was just amazed — blown away that every single person in the country could be talking about one person, and she was a female athlete," adds Kerr. "As I sat in my lounge room as a nine-year-old girl and watched her, that inspired me to one, be proud of who I am, but to also follow my sporting dreams to play football for Australia," says fellow striker Kyah Simon. The force of their feelings radiates from the screen, and Matildas: The World at Our Feet's audience beams the same emotions right back at them. Matildas: The World at Our Feet streams via Disney+. Read our full review. LUCKY HANK When Better Call Saul finished its six-season run in 2022, it was the end of an era. Not only did one of the absolute best TV shows of the past decade and the whole 21st century so far wrap up, but the Breaking Bad universe with it for now. And, it meant that the wonderful Bob Odenkirk was no longer on our screens regularly. Thankfully, with the arrival of Lucky Hank, the latter was only a short-lived state of affairs. This dramedy — because everything is a dramedy at the moment — hails from The Office actor/co-writer Paul Lieberstein, adapts Richard Russo's 1997 novel Straight Man, and casts its Undone and Nobody star as a Pennsylvanian college professor. The eponymous Hank Devereaux Jr inhabits a whirlwind of chaos, including underfunding at his university in general, unhappy colleagues in the English department he chairs, students challenging him, a wife that's tiring of academic life and the fact that he's only penned one book thanks to a hefty bout of writers' block. If some of the above sounds familiar, that's because The Chair flicked through similar territory in 2021 — also engagingly, and with Sandra Oh at its centre. Like that series, Lucky Hank thrives through its excellent lead casting, with watching Odenkirk still one of the easiest things in the world no matter what he's in. He has excellent company, including Lieberstein's The Office co-star Oscar Nuñez as Railton College dean, Mireille Enos (Hanna) as his wife, and Diedrich Bader (Shazam! Fury of the Gods) as a friend and co-worker. As a guest star, one and only Twin Peaks legend Kyle MacLachlan is also among the cast. Odenkirk wears middle-aged malaise so devastatingly well, though, which made Better Call Saul one of the best tragedies there is, and helps Lucky Hank prove as thoughtful as it is charming. There's depth to Hank's experiences, too, with Russo's tome based on his own time teaching at several colleges. Lucky Hank streams via Stan. THE BIG DOOR PRIZE Sometimes Apple TV+ dives into real-life crimes, as miniseries Black Bird did. Sometimes it mines the whodunnit setup for laughs, which The Afterparty winningly achieved. The family feuds of Bad Sisters, Servant's domestic horrors, Hello Tomorrow!'s retrofuturistic dream, the titular take on work-life balance in Severance — they've all presented streaming audiences with puzzles, too, because this platform's original programming loves a mystery. So, of course dramedy The Big Door Prize is all about asking questions from the outset. Here, no one is wondering who killed who, why a baby has been resurrected or if a situation that sounds too good to be true unsurprisingly is. Rather, in a premise isn't merely a metaphor for existential musings, they're pondering a magical machine and what it tells them about themselves. Everyone in The Big Door Prize does go down the "what does it all mean?" rabbit hole, naturally, but trying to work out why the Morpho has popped up in the small town of Deerfield, where it came from, whether it can be trusted, and if it's just a bit of fun or a modern-day clairvoyant game are pressing concerns. When the machine arrives, it literally informs residents of their true potential. Crowds flock, but not everyone is initially fascinated with the mysterious gadget. Turning 40, and marking the occasion with that many gifts from his wife Cass (Gabrielle Dennis, A Black Lady Sketch Show) and teenage daughter Trina (Djouliet Amara, Devil in Ohio), high-school history teacher Dusty Hubbard (Chris O'Dowd, Slumberland) is nonplussed. Amid riding his new scooter and wondering why he's been given a theremin, he's baffled by all the talk about the Morpho, the new reason to head to Mr Johnson's (Patrick Kerr, Search Party) store. As school principal Pat (Cocoa Brown, Never Have I Ever) embraces her inner biker because the machine said so, and charisma-dripping restaurateur Giorgio (Josh Segarra, The Other Two) revels in being told he's a superstar, Dusty claims he's happy not joining in — until he does. The Big Door Prize streams via Apple TV+. Read our full review. COPENHAGEN COWBOY Ten years ago, Nicolas Winding Refn released his second Ryan Gosling-starring film in succession, won his second Sydney Film Festival Prize, and was a reliable source of dazzling and blisteringly atmospheric crime fare thanks to Drive and Only God Forgives — and also the Pusher trilogy and Bronson before that pair. In the past decade, however, he's only brought one more movie to cinemas. The Neon Demon was a gem, too, and about as Refn as Refn gets, but that was back in 2016. Smaller screens have been beckoning the Danish director, thankfully. He launched his own free streaming service, and also co-created, co-wrote and directed the ten-part, Miles Teller (Top Gun: Maverick)-starring Too Old to Die Young. Refn's latest effort gets episodic as well, and sees him return to his homeland for the first time since Valhalla Rising — and, while it feels filtered through David Lynch's sensibilities alongside his own, Copenhagen Cowboy remains Refn through and through. The visuals have it, as they always do when this filmmaker is behind the lens. Neon aplenty, how he composes a room, how his characters peer on at the world around them, the use of 360-degree pans, the chilly mood, his overall aesthetic flair: they're all here. So, too, is another of the director's essentials, courtesy of a synth-heavy score by Cliff Martinez. That combination makes an entrancing mix, as it has over and over before, but Copenhagen Cowboy is never simply a case of empty style, sound and vision. Also present is an enigmatic tale, this time about the magnetic and mysterious Miu (Angela Bundalovic, Limboland). Considered a "living lucky charm" and highly sought after for her talents, she's the show's entry point to Copenhagen's criminal underworld. Can she help Rosella (Dragana Milutinovic, also Limboland) get pregnant? What kind of eerie situation has she found herself in? Are her gifts genuine? It wouldn't be a Refn project if questions didn't linger in the pulsating sense of stillness. Copenhagen Cowboy streams via Netflix. IN LIMBO Not to be confused with 2023 Australian film Limbo, six-part Aussie dramedy In Limbo not only takes its title to heart, but also uses the idea as fuel for a supernatural buddy comedy. Indeed, before the first episode is out, Nate (Bob Morley, Love Me) is palling around with his lifelong best friend Charlie (Ryan Corr, House of the Dragon) from the afterlife. The former doesn't know why he's still a presence. The latter is understandably reeling from the tragedy, and initially thinks that spying Nate is just a drunken hallucination. No one else, not Nate's wife Freya (Emma Harvie, Colin From Accounts), eight-year-old daughter Annabel (Kamillia Rihani, The Twelve), supremely very Catholic mother Maria (Lena Cruz, Wellmania) and affable father Frank (Russell Dykstra, Irreverent), can see their dearly-departed loved one as a ghost. It's Christmas, too, in this Brisbane-shot and -set series, and facing the festivities after such a shock is far from easy. While heartily deploying Brisbane Powerhouse and New Farm Park as settings, that's a lot for one show to delve into — and delve it thoughtfully does. Tackling grief, mental health and suicide is never simple, even in a show about someone haunting their best mate, and including when such topics have been increasingly popping up in Australian fare of late (see also: Totally Completely Fine). In Limbo is clearly made with care, empathy and understanding — and, crucially, doesn't attempt to offer any firm answers, instead acting as a conversation starter. At its core, the always-excellent Corr plays a complicated role with charm. That's no surprise given his resume, and he couldn't be better cast. Corr's likeable performance always dives deep into the about-to-get-divorced Charlie's struggle without Nate physically by his side, with Nate now his ghostly offsider and with his own problems, and never brushes past the character's flaws. And, just as importantly as the show's focus on 21st-century masculinity and friendship, Corr makes such a great double act with Morley that filmmakers should be clamouring to pair them up again ASAP. In Limbo streams via ABC iView. Read our full review, and our interview with Ryan Corr. HELLO TOMORROW! In 2022, scam culture was here to stay, as drawn-from-reality hits such as Inventing Anna and The Dropout repeatedly promised. In 2023, playing fast and loose with the truth sits at the heart of Hello Tomorrow!, too, which tells a fictional tale about the deceptions people spin to chase their dreams. The show's beaming face: travelling salesman Jack Billings (Billy Crudup, The Morning Show), the regional manager for BrightSide Lunar Residences, and a passionate pusher of timeshares on the moon. He's this intriguing dramedy's version of Don Draper, but with Mad Men's 60s surroundings swapped for The Jetsons-style robot help and hovering vehicles. There's a The Twilight Zone-meets-Leave It to Beaver feel to Hello Tomorrow!, too, as its characters seek the same thing we all do: a better life. Creators Amit Bhalla and Lucas Jansen (both Bloodline alumni), also co-writers and showrunners with You're the Worst's Stephen Falk, zoom in further, focusing on the reasons anyone holds onto to hope their lot will improve. Befitting any blend of all of the above series, the look of Hello Tomorrow! is retro-futuristic, steeped in 50s-era visions of what might come. The time and place is an alternative version of that decade, in a suburban enclave called Vistaville, where one of Jack's biggest fibs has its origins. He's summoned back with his crew of hawkers — the gambling-addicted Eddie (Hank Azaria, The Simpsons), promotion-coveting Herb (Dewshane Williams, In the Dark) and resident righthand-woman Shirley (Haneefah Wood, Truth Be Told) — by his mother Barbara (Jacki Weaver, Penguin Bloom) after his wife Marie (Annie McNamara, Severance) is injured by a self-driving delivery van. His son Joey (Nicholas Podany, Archive 81) is struggling to cope, a task made all the more difficult by Jack's absence from his family's lives for decades. He's skilled at sharing stories about his domestic bliss on the moon to customers, but being a happy head of a lunar household is merely one of his go-to falsehoods. Hello Tomorrow! streams via Apple TV+. Read our full review, and our interview with Hank Azaria. THE CONSULTANT If there's a question that no employee wants to hear from the person setting company agendas, pulling strings and signing paycheques, it's "what do we do?". In moody and mysterious workplace nightmare The Consultant — which adapts horror author Bentley Little's 2016 novel of the same name, but plays like Severance filtered through Servant — Regus Patoff (Christoph Waltz, Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio) asks a variation of it early. "What do we make?" he queries at CompWare after he arrives amid grim circumstances. The mobile gaming outfit came to fame under wunderkind Sang (TV first-timer Brian Yoon), so much so that school groups tour the firm's office. Then, during the visit that opens this eight-part, excellently cast and supremely easy-to-binge thriller, a kid shoots and kills the company's founder. That doesn't stop Regus from showing up afterwards clutching a signed contract from Sang and spouting a mandate to do whatever it takes to maximise his legacy. Regus is as stern yet eccentric as Waltz has become known for — a suit- and tie-wearing kindred spirit to Inglourious Basterds' Hans Landa, plus Spectre and No Time to Die's Ernst Stavro Blofield. He first darkens CompWare's door in the thick of night, when only ambitious assistant Elaine Hayman (Brittany O'Grady, The White Lotus) and stoner coder Craig Horne (Nat Wolff, Joe vs Carole) are onsite, and he won't take no for an answer. There's no consultant job for him to have, Elaine tells him. There's no business to whip into shape, she stresses. By the next morning, he's corralling employees for an all-hands meeting and telling remote workers they'll be fired if they don't show up in-person within an hour, even if he proudly doesn't know what CompWare does — or care. From there, The Consultant gets creator Tony Basgallop, who is also behind Servant, doing what he loves: kicking off with a blow-in, unsettling a group already coping with tragedy and reordering their status quo with severe methods. Both of his current shows lace the chaos that follows with nods towards the supernatural, too, and both ask what bargains we're willing to make to live the lives we're striving for. The Consultant streams via Prime Video. Read our full review. THE HORROR OF DOLORES ROACH It takes place in New York, not London. The era: modern times, not centuries back. Fleet Street gives way to Washington Heights, the demon barber to a masseuse nicknamed "Magic Hands", and pies to empanadas. There's still a body count, however, and people end up in pastries as well. Yes, The Horror of Dolores Roach namedrops Sweeney Todd early, as it needs to; there's no denying where this eight-part series takes inspiration, as did the one-woman off-Broadway play that it's based on, plus the podcast that followed before the TV version. On the stage, the airwaves and now via streaming, creator Aaron Mark asks a question: what if the fictional cannibalism-inciting character who first graced penny dreadfuls almost two centuries back, then leapt to theatres, films and, most famously, musicals, had a successor today? Viewers can watch the answer via a dramedy that also belongs on the same menu as Santa Clarita Diet, Yellowjackets and Bones and All. Amid this recent feast of on-screen dishes about humans munching on humans, The Horror of Dolores Roach is light yet grisly, but it's also a survivalist thriller in its own way — and laced with twisted attempts at romance, too. That knowing callout to Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street comes amid an early banquet of knowing callouts, as The Horror of Dolores Roach begins with a play based on a podcast that's wrapping up its opening night. Newspaper clippings in actor Flora Frias' (Jessica Pimentel, Orange is the New Black) dressing room establish that the show takes its cues from a woman who got murderous in the Big Apple four years prior, and helped get unwitting NYC residents taking a bite out of each other. Meet the series' framing device; before the stage production's star can head to the afterparty, she's face to face with a furious Dolores (Justina Machado, One Day at a Time) herself. The latter isn't there to slay, but to haunt the woman spilling her tale by sharing the real details. Two decades earlier, Dolores was a happy resident of Lin-Manuel Miranda's favourite slice of New York, a drug-dealer's girlfriend, and a fan of the local empanada shop. Then the cops busted in, The Horror of Dolores Roach's namesake refused to snitch and lost 16 years of her life. When she's released, gentrification has changed the neighbourhood and her other half is nowhere to be found. Only Luis Batista (Alejandro Hernandez, New Amsterdam) remains that remembers her, still in the empanada joint, and he couldn't be keener on letting her stay with him in his basement apartment below the store. The Horror of Dolores Roach streams via Prime Video. Read our full review. HIGH DESERT In High Desert, the always-excellent Patricia Arquette (Severance) leads a private investigator comedy that dapples its jam-packed chaos under California's golden sun, against the parched Yucca Valley landscape and with an anything-goes philosophy — not to mention a more-mayhem-the-merrier tone. She plays Peggy Newman, who isn't letting her age get in the way of perennially struggling to pull her life together. That said, when the eight-part series starts, it's Thanksgiving 2013 and she's living an upscale existence in Palm Springs, with gleaming surfaces abounding in her expansive (and visibly expensive) home. Then, as her husband Denny (Matt Dillon, Proxima) jokes around with her mother Roslyn (Bernadette Peters, Mozart in the Jungle), and her younger siblings Dianne (Christine Taylor, Search Party) and Stewart (Keir O'Donnell, The Dry) lap up the lavish festivities, DEA agents swarm outside. Cue weed, hash and cash stashes being flushed and trashed, but not quickly enough to avoid splashing around serious repercussions. A decade later, High Desert's protagonist has been sharing Roslyn's house and trying to kick her addictions while working at Pioneertown, a historical attraction that gives tourists a dusty, gun-toting taste of frontier life. Peggy would love to step back in time herself when she's not pretending to be a saloon barmaid — to when her recently deceased mother was still alive, however, rather than to her glitzy post-arrest shindigs. Still angry about being caught up in a drug bust, Dianne and Stewart have zero time for her nostalgia and a lack of patience left for her troubles. Their plan: to sell Roslyn's abode with no worries about where Peggy might end up. Her counter: doing everything she can to stop that from happening. High Desert doesn't just embrace the fact that living and breathing is merely weathering whatever weird, wild and sometimes-wonderful shambles fate throws your way; in a show created and written by Nurse Jackie and Damages alumni Jennifer Hoppe and Nancy Fichman, plus Miss Congeniality and Desperate Housewives' Katie Ford, that idea dictates the busy plot, too. High Desert streams via Apple TV+. Read our full review. TOTALLY COMPLETELY FINE In Thomasin McKenzie's breakout role in 2018's deeply thoughtful and moving Leave No Trace, she played a teen being the responsible one while living off the grid with her PTSD-afflicted father. She turned in a magnificent performance in a film that also earns the same description — one of that year's best — and a portrayal that rightly ensured that more work came her way. In Totally Completely Fine, the New Zealand actor is again excellent, as she's been in Jojo Rabbit, The Justice of Bunny King, Old and Last Night in Soho in-between; however, this six-part Australian series, which makes ample use of its Sydney setting, casts McKenzie as the least responsible among her siblings. Vivian Cunningham's elder brothers John (Rowan Witt, Spreadsheet) and Hendrix (Brandon McClelland, Significant Others) are conscientious and family-focused, respectively, while she has internalised her bad decisions to the point of thinking that she ruins everything. But then her grandfather passes away when she's at a particularly low moment, wills only her his cliffside house and also leaves a note saying that she'll learn what to do with it. When Totally Completely Fine begins, Vivian is close to saying goodbye. Soon, she discovers that her inherited home is a destination for others feeling the same way. Creator Gretel Vella (a staff writer on The Great, and also a scribe on Christmas Ransom and Class of '07) doesn't shy away from a a tricky topic, as her definitely-not-totally-completely-fine protagonist becomes an unofficial counsellor to strangers — like runaway bride Amy (Contessa Treffone, Wellmania) — who step into her yard planning to commit suicide. This character-driven series doesn't ever reductively posit that only struggling people can help struggling people. Instead, it sees life's difficulties everywhere, the many ways that folks attempt to cope and don't, and the parts that others can have in that journey. McKenzie's performance is pivotal, selling the deep-seated grief that has defined Vivian's life, the chaos she's embraced as an escape, and how telling others that they have something to live for is both complicated and crucial. Totally Completely Fine streams via Stan. BAD BEHAVIOUR When high school is hellish on television, sometimes that happens literally; Buffy the Vampire Slayer's teens did their studies above a hellmouth and Stranger Things' crew is constantly trying to avoid the Upside Down. In Bad Behaviour, hell is the girls of Silver Creek, the wilderness campus of an exclusive all-female boarding school where young women decamp to spend a year learning resilience away from the wider (and supposedly wilder) world. It's where Joanna Mackenzie (Jana McKinnon, We Children From Bahnhof Zoo) attended on a scholarship, sharing a cabin with Alice Kang (Yerin Ha, Sissy) before they cross paths again ten years later — Jo striving to become a writer, but paying the bills in hospitality; Alice a musical prodigy-turned-global classical star. While Jo doesn't have fond memories of her year away, she's shocked at Alice's frosty reception. Indeed, she'd always thought that the domineering Portia (Markella Kavenagh, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power) was the bully of their dormitory, making her own experience a nightmare. But this blast from the past gets Jo rethinking her own behaviour. Adapted from Rebecca Starford's book of the same name by Pip Karmel (Total Control) and Magda Wozniak (Neighbours), with Corrie Chen (New Gold Mountain) directing, Bad Behaviour is spot-on about the Mean Girls-meets-The Lord of the Flies realm it navigates. Starford's tome is a memoir, after all. For anyone who has ever been or known a teenage girl — so, everyone — this four-part series feels deeply lived-in, even if you've never attended a private school, let alone such an education institution's remote campus. With McKinnon, Ha and Kavenagh all delivering potent performances, and the latter making a memorable antagonist, the mood is equal parts tense and reflective. As Bad Behaviour flits between Jo's time at Silver Creek, including the thrall that Portia held over her, and her adult awakening to who she really was while she was there, it's unafraid to face stark truths about our teenage demons as well. Bad Behaviour streams via Stan. Check out the trailer.
'May you live in interesting times.' Ancient Chinese curse Interesting times indeed. As the world collectively bites its nails while watching the US government sink, literally by the second, further and further into unfathomable debt, Apple is doing OK. Really OK, in fact. Latest figures show that while the US government has an operating cash balance of US$73.7 billion dollars (they are currently spending 200 billion dollars more a month than they are collecting), Apple has US$76.4 billion in its piggy bank. That's right — Apple officially has more money than the US government. Apple's success is mostly due to their recent iPhone sales, with an estimated 20 million units shipped in the last quarter. As the US government is estimated to finish the year with a US$15 trillion debt, Apple predicts to be bringing in about 25 billion dollars. So while there may be no government money to pay for pensions, schools and hospital, you can rest assured that we will still be able to text. And if you want to get your head around just how much a 15 trillion dollars is but find the endless zeros confusing, these visuals should help. We'll never think about the Statue of Liberty in quite the same way again.
FBi Social, the Sydney radio station's first ever pop-up live music venue, opened its doors last week. Housed on the second level of the refurbished Kings Cross Hotel, in stumbling distance of the Coca Cola sign, FBi is hoping to use the space to further their ever evolving mission of helping emerging local bands break through to larger audiences. With a 200-person capacity and a 24/7 license, and the aim of taking Kings Cross back to it's live music/dive bar roots, it's sure to be a very exciting couple of months. Rarely can you make me go to Kings Cross. The place evokes memories of dangerously high heels, bogan's blaring bad music from their souped up cars and being hit on by drug dealers. But FBi Social will be enough to get me, and many like me, to venture to the end of William Street. And perhaps the biggest perk is that no longer will you have to catch two buses and a train to a shoddy warehouse at the back of Marrickville to see emerging live music. It all kicks off this weekend, with Friday night's Socially Acceptable bringing you FBi's favourite emerging DJ's to assist you in all manner of hand-clapping, toe-tapping and hip-thrusting. The lineup of bands kick off on Saturday night with Dance To The Radio, featuring The Preachers, Underlights and Sister Jane. Gigs over the next two months include Ernest Ellis, Pikelet and Guineafowl, and will sit side by side with nights devoted to genres such as folk, hip hip and experimental music.
Boardwalk Empire: The Complete Third Season will be released on DVD and Blu-Ray on August 21, and the best way to enjoy Boardwalk Empire is to be the Boardwalk Empire. Okay, so you cannot really become a boardwalk or an empire but you can look like you belong in the show by heading to Cleveland's Salon & Cafe, who are celebrating the impending release by offering a Boardwalk Empire-inspired haircut menu. (Note that they are not offering food filled with hair but rather a menu of haircuts to choose a style from.) For $70, men can choose from eight dapper hairstyles, including Nucky Thompson's classic deep parted short back and sides and Mickey Doyle's undercut with high side part and length. They can also get a smooth cutthroat shave for an additional $20, which is always worth it. Women can choose from two elegant styles for $85: Margaret Thompson's low side chignon with pinned loose curls or Gillian Darmody's low side bun with loose marcel waves. All cuts come with a complimentary drink — take that prohibition. It is all part of the salon's partnership with HBO to promote the release. Patrick Casey, the salon director, said "Boardwalk Empire, and more generally the 1920s era, is having a massive impact on grooming and style of today". It is for a limited time only so glam yourself up and get your gangster on whilst the '20s are still on the style palette.
Ridley Scott directs an all-star cast in The Counselor, the first original screenplay from Cormac McCarthy. Fans of the gritty, unflinching writing behind The Road will definitely want to check out this soon-to-be released drama-thriller. It stars man of the moment Michael Fassbender (currently generating praise for his turn in 12 Years a Slave) as a hotshot lawyer who gets involved in the dangerous world of drug trafficking and, quelle surprise, throws his near-perfect life (good job, beautiful fiance) into chaos. It's worth seeing for Javier Bardem alone, who demonstrates yet again just how well he can play the bad guy and rock an unsettling hairstyle. Although his 'do this time round doesn't quite live up to his No Country for Old Men coiffure in the creep-o-metre stakes. There are also performances from Penelope Cruz, Brad Pitt and Cameron Diaz in a surprisingly hard-edged role that looks set to showcase her dramatic range outside of comedy. The Counsellor is in cinemas on November 7, and thanks to Twentieth Century Fox, we have ten double in-season passes per state to give away. To be in the running, subscribe to the Concrete Playground newsletter (if you haven't already), then email us with your name and address. Sydney: win.sydney@concreteplayground.com.au Melbourne: win.melbourne@concreteplayground.com.au Brisbane: win.brisbane@concreteplayground.com.au
Here's the headlines: Drake has announced Australian and New Zealand gigs for 2025; it'll be his first trip this way since 2017; and you're now going to have 'Hotline Bling', 'Too Good', 'Passionfruit', 'Nice for What', 'In My Feelings', 'One Dance' and 'Laugh Now Cry Later' stuck in your head again. The Canadian artist is bringing his Anita Max Win tour Down Under, locking in seven shows in four cities. Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Auckland, this is what's next. The five-time Grammy-winner will head this way in February and March, kicking off on Sunday, February 9–Monday, February 10 at Rod Laver Arena in the Victorian capital. The following week, it's the Harbour City's turn at Qudos Bank Arena across Sunday, February 16–Monday, February 17. After that, Drake will play the Brisbane Entertainment Centre and Spark Arena in Auckland on Friday, February 28–Saturday, March 1. The Degrassi: The Next Generation star last took to the stage in this neck of the woods on his Boy Meets World tour, and eight years will have passed between those shows and his 2025 visit. The platinum-selling singer is fresh off his 2023–24 It's All A Blur Tour, which saw him chalk up over 80 soldout shows in North America. On that last visit, Drake had four studio albums to his name: 2010's Thank Me Later, 2011's Take Care, 2013's Nothing Was the Same and 2016's Views. He's doubled that since, so expect tunes from 2018's Scorpion, 2021's Certified Lover Boy, 2022's Honestly, Nevermind and 2023's For All the Dogs, too. The Anita Max Win tour's announcement isn't new news if you've been paying attention to Drake's social media, where he's been teasing details — but now consider it all officially locked in. And yes, there's plenty of space between his 2025 Aussie and NZ shows — a great sign if you're worried about a huge demand for tickets, because there's room for more concerts to be announced. Drake's 'Anita Max Win' Tour 2025 Australian and New Zealand Dates Sunday, February 9–Monday, February 10 — Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne Sunday, February 16–Monday, February 17 — Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney Monday, February 24 — Brisbane Entertainment Centre, Brisbane Friday, February 28–Saturday, March 1 — Spark Arena, Auckland Drake is touring Australia and New Zealand in February 2025, with various ticket presales from Tuesday, December 2, 2024 at various times — and general sales from 12pm local time on Friday, December 6, 2024. Head to the tour website for more details. Images: The Come Up Show via Flickr.
The murky world of web analytics is usually left to advertising types and businesses who want to know about you so they can sell stuff to you. But the newly launched browser extension and website, Voyurl, aims to enhance your browsing experience through infographics that break down your web habits with real-time recommendations. Founder Adam Leibsohn was one of these advertising types. Having had a successful career in advertising as Group Director of Digital Strategy at a NYC advertising agency, Anomaly, Leibsohn has channelled his expertise in consumer behaviour and developed Voyurl, or what he calls the "anti-social social network." He says while social networking sites bring your social circle to the fore, Voyurl is more concerned with how you browse the web. At this month's NY Tech Meetup, Leibsohn was applauded by the audience when he said: "unlike a lot of services, we [Voyurl] actually don't want you to authorise Facebook or Twitter." Instead, what Voyurl does is collect your browsing information and present it in a series of infographics that lets you see trends, recommendations and comparisons seamlessly. There is an option to share your information through social networking of course, but the focus remains on your browsing habits. A feature that lives up to Leibsohn's claim that the browser extention is the "anti-social social network" is the "anti-me" button that presents information based on your anti-self (in case you were curious about what sort of websites your anti-self would be looking at). Concrete Playground got in touch with Adam Leibsohn in New York and asked about the gap Voyurl fills in the user browsing experience and, yes, the usually murky world of web analytics. What did you have in mind when you thought of the concept for voyurl? So, for a long while, I worked as a digital strategist at an ad agency in New York. After being introduced to countless marketing technology firms and data auctioneers that use an ethical gray area to peddle in user data, I thought it was time for a platform that was open about its data use and put the user first. With that in mind, we sought out to build Voyurl. We want to disrupt the behavioural data marketplace that occurs without most peoples' awareness by putting the control of this behavioral data back into the hands of those who generate it: all of us who use the web. We want empower people through their data. So, we've begun to build a platform that puts all this data to work for anyone who generates it. The best part is that you don't have to do a thing. You just browse the web like you already do; and, we'll do the rest. How does it work? We analyse behaviour, not identity. So we try our best to determine where on the web your behaviour indicates positive preference. Then, we find other people who have behaved like you. And then, we figure out what stuff those folks have looked at and liked that you haven't seen yet... and we recommend those things to you. And since your browsing behaviour powers our content recommendation engine, we'll never recommend something to you if you've clicked on it before... ever. This way every recommendation we make to you is guaranteed to be genuinely new, each and every time. How will this benefit businesses? For us, this is mainly about how it can benefit our members. If our members are empowered through their data, then maybe businesses will be encouraged to figure out a better way to interact with them to get data they need. So really, we're trying to create a dynamic that fosters a positive experience through data for everyone. If both consumers and businesses can get what they want by leveraging data, we think we're taking a step in the right direction. What feedback have you gotten so far? The feedback has been incredible. People are really enjoying the data, the trends, the content recommendation, and the comparisons and fun features we offer. For instance, we allow users to invert our recommendations so that they can get content fed to them that's 180º away from who they are. It's our little way of allowing you to take yourself out of the filter bubble. Folks have been really great with feedback and input. They're already looking for some fun new features to help make things more social. If you want to try Voyurl for yourself, can can access the private beta via invitation at www.voyurl.com/concreteplayground
For screen fiends who spend their winters indoors at their favourite picture palaces, there's one surefire way to know that better weather has hit: the arrival of outdoor cinema season. When Sydney's chillier temperatures give way to sunny days and warm nights, the city's spaces set up plenty of openair big screens showing flicks. One such spot: The Rocks Laneway Cinema. As you might know from past runs, this film-loving pop-up sticks around for close to half the year, screening movies every Wednesday night — and for free. After returning for the end of 2024 in November, it's screening until March 2024. Mark your diary for a date on Atherden Street. Also, get ready for different monthly themes. December will naturally showcase Christmas classics. On the lineup: 80s-era laughs thanks with Steve Martin (Only Murders in the Building) and the late, great John Candy in Planes, Trains and Automobiles, which screens on Wednesday, December 4; a dose of Dr Seuss via The Grinch Who Stole Christmas on Wednesday, December 11; and 90s favourite Home Alone 2: Lost in New York on Wednesday, December 18. Laneway Cinema's movies screen from 7pm each week — and although entry is free, bookings are recommended because seating is limited. Heading along also means helping a good cause, with the proceeds from every $2 bag of popcorn sold going to charity. The beneficiary changes monthly, too, with Plate It Forward receiving the funds in December. If you're the kind of cinemagoer that needs snacks and sips, the venues around laneway have plenty to eat and drink on offer. That means making a date with spots such as Caminetto Restaurant, Ribs and Burgers, Pancakes on the Rocks, Playfair Restaurant and more. Obviously, you'll need your wallet for whatever tempts your tastebuds. Images: Anna Kucera / Adam Scarf.
It isn't often that Americans seek inspiration from Australia; our humble shores are prone to mimicking rather than leading by example. And yet, just last week, Melbourne boys Chris McPherson and Chris Rendell launched Flinders Lane, a New York eatery inspired by their home city. "Most of the Australian restaurants in the city are like Outback Steakhouse or the Crocodile Dundee sort of vision," McPherson told the Village Voice. "We wanted to bring back what's actually there." Their venue, which opened on February 3, is full of the cross-section of cultures and cuisines that is so unique to Australia. McPherson and Rendell met a few years back, quickly agreeing on the need to plot a restaurant that would pay homage to modern Australian food. Predominately driven by a serious case of homesickness, the Aussie expats quickly set to work, establishing a spot for contemporary Australian cooking, a long way from home. The result? A delicious array of fresh seafood and Australian fruit and veg, from chef Rendell. Many dishes also sport an identifiable Asian influence — highlights include tandoori rabbit, steamed snapper in sesame broth and a chicken san choy bau. Drinks-wise, the boys aim to offer a boutique selection of domestic and international wines, as well as a seasonal cocktail list, steering away from the heavy Shirazes that characterise many stereotypical perceptions of an Australian drop. Three tap beers, including the classic Coopers Green, are also available to accompany your grub. The 40-seat eatery isn't covered with Melbournalia; its sleek, pared-back look is a more subtle nod to the city. There is, however, a stunning collection of Melbourne photography, including a massive print of namesake Flinders Lane on the back wall. Flinders Lane New York is located in the East Village: 162 Ave A, 212-228-6900. Via Fork in the Road.
Earlier this week, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) continued its court battle versus Apple; the controversy has been waging since the March release of Apple's latest iPad. Despite product advertising that markets the new iPad as equipped with "Wi-Fi + 4G", it has proven incompatible with Australia's 4G network. As such, the ACCC has asserted that Apple is currently engaging in false marketing and should change the title of the iPad (formally known as the iPad/4G) when it is sold locally. According to the SMH, Apple and the ACCC met on April 16 in Sydney at a mediation session which resulted in "no resolution". The pair were set to meet later that day in Melbourne for a directions hearing to determine the course of action going forward. As of right now, Apple has agreed to refund Australian customers who bought the new iPad under the illusion that they could utilise its 4G network. The company has also posted signage is stores where the device is sold to warn customers of its lack of 4G. The ACCC, however, is still pushing for an official device name change. This case could prove monumental to Apple, the technology company giant which has established a remarkably reputable name for itself. Not only will a court case loss force Apple to admit the shortcomings of one of its most-prized products, but it may set a precedent for how Apple markets is products in different parts of the globe. Already, in the UK, the advertising standards group ASA has begun exploring similar consumer complaints regarding the iPad's 4G capabilities. https://youtube.com/watch?v=BqbRxoF-Oc4
Where: Numerous venues around Sydney When: January 8-30, 2012 (tickets on sale November 9) Web: www.sydneyfestival.org.au The reinvigorated Sydney Festival has completely transformed our city in summer (note the flagpoles which every year proclaim just that) and it’s made Sydney a truly amazing place to be in January. The whole city is turned into a summer wonderland, there’s something amazing to do every single night, and people flood The Domain to see sophisticated performances while merrily sipping beer, cider, goon or all three. But mostly what the Sydney Festival does is bring us some truly spectacular performers – Sufjan Stevens, Grizzly Bear, Emmylou Harris, Camera Obscura and this year's headliner, PJ Harvey – whose artistic merit is second only to their ability to entertain. The Sydney Festival now has a total audience of about 1 million, making it the most attended cultural event in Australia. Every year the festival grows and improves, and with the state government recently giving the Festival a heap of cash to extend their program, it makes the prospects for this summer’s partying very exciting indeed. Concrete Playground has compiled a short list of musical, theatrical and artistic must-sees and -dos during Sydney Festival 2012. Click on the images below to read on...
Exercise comes easy in the Harry Potter world. Between playing quidditch, evading dementors, waving wands about, bounding after Hagrid and hunting down horcruxes, Harry, Ron, Hermione and company have plenty of opportunities to get active — even when they're not hopping on a broom or apparating between places. And while the rest of us can't join them, we can imagine otherwise while wearing enchanting activewear. In their latest pop culture-themed range, Brisbane's BlackMilk Clothing is releasing a treasure trove of Harry Potter items for wizarding fans to spend their galleons on. It's the real, official deal, and it's their second HP-centric line this year. But, where their Hogwarts collection included Great Hall and Marauder's Map skater dressers, Daily Prophet leggings and house-themed high-waisted leggings, this time you can get kitted out in Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff or Slytherin tanks, tights and tunics, and pretend you're training for the Triwizard Tournament. A full preview of the 16-piece range is available on the BlackMilk website, with the magical selection going on sale on December 19. If it's a Harry Potter Christmas you're after, it'd make the perfect gift — or something to wear when you're doing Harry Potter yoga, watching the films with a live orchestra, watching The Cursed Child or waiting for the Pokemon Go-like Harry Potter game to come out. For more information about BlackMilk Clothing's Harry Potter activewear range, head to their website.
Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras comes but once a year, but when it does, it brings all the pomp and splendour that an international festival of equality of this magnitude deserves. From parties that last all night to exhibitions of dance, from celebrations of culture to intense discussions of social progression, Mardi Gras compiles the most important events that celebrate the diversity in this city that defines our daily life. With such a magnificent array of things to see and do and with so little time to see and do them all, picking the best of the bunch can be a bit tricky. So here's our list of the top events to soak in this Mardi Gras. Image: Ann-Marie Calilhanna.
In a characteristically M.I.A. move, the iconoclastic 'Bad Girls' singer has ingeniously tapped Versace knock-offs in Power Up, a new design collaboration with Versace itself, launching online on October 16. It's admirable just how consistent M.I.A.'s self-branding moves are. She's been wearing Versace around for a while now, and after the likes of her 'XXXO' music video, the trashy glitz of the label seems perfectly tailored to her. The 19-piece Versace Versus X MIA collection has all the trappings you'd expect from both M.I.A. and the prestigious design house, with a decidedly ghetto-bling set of gold medallions and classic Medusa heads emblazoning leggings and tops alike. The shapes channel sportswear while the colour palette is dominated by black and white and kooky shades of green, gold and pink. Sanskrit-inspired script mingles with blocky geometrics, lotus blossoms and the trademark angular Greek border, all combining in prints so bold it's pretty much guaranteed that the rest of your outfit will fade into obscurity. But it's the source of the designs — Versace rip-offs touted for cheap on the grimy streets of East London — that take this particular collab to the next level. M.I.A. told WWD: "Versace's designs have always been copied, now it's Versace that copies the copies, so those that copy must copy the copies. So this will continue." Indeed, M.I.A., what a house of mirrors you allow us to inhabit. Any passerby in the know is forced to acknowledge the Power Up wearer's subversive, high-low culture, pro-yet-anti-yet-pro-capitalist fashion statement as he or she steps out in authentic, expensive imitations of imitations. Fully aware of MIA's game, photographer Jaime Martinez shot the collection's campaign on the mean streets and in front of cheapo clothing stalls. The final lookbook is, appropriately a series of souped-up, lo-fi gifs. We doff our hats to the collection. Via PSFK.
Fine dining institution Nel restaurant is bringing a whole new world of nostalgia to Sydney, with the return of its Once Upon a Time degustation. The Disney-themed feast was first created by Executive Chef Nelly Robinson — and the third iteration, which was meant to take place in mid-2021 until lockdown hit, is it's most fanciful yet. Available from Tuesday, January 18–Saturday, April 9, the 11-course menu features the 'Hundred Acre Wood', a honey-glazed confit pork belly with a Winnie the Pooh-themed twist — and 'Boo's Best Friend', a white chocolate and mint parfait that's designed to resemble Monster Inc protagonists Mike and Sully. Drifting away from the animated classics, the 'Dead Man's Chest; serves up red squid marinated in spiced beetroot juice and topped with a black garlic emulsion. And if all that isn't enough, you can also opt for a drinks package, which includes paired cocktails and wines for $105. While the menu is inspired by your childhood, you'll need that adult salary to enjoy it, with food setting you back $145 per person. The Once Upon a Time menu is available for dinner Tuesday–Saturday and for lunch on Saturday. [caption id="attachment_816116" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Dead Man's Chest[/caption]
Finally we have proof that Hogwarts exists, and it is in the shape of 400,000 Lego blocks. Alice Finch, a mother of two from Seattle who became a Lego aficionado after building blocks with her son, has unveiled her completed scale rendition of Hogwarts, and it is arguably the largest Lego structure built by a single person, measuring 4m in length. This is impressive enough, but when you look inside and uncover the magic of intricately detailed rooms and scenes from the world of Harry Potter, you can see that no block has been left untouched. Finch’s masterpiece took a painstaking 12 months of building, but that time let her perfect her Hogwarts by allowing her to research the books, films, and sets of the magical series to record the finest detail, from moving staircases right down to the old-fashioned slide projector in Lupin's Defence Against the Dark Arts class. This effort has not gone unrecognised either, with Finch taking home both the People's Choice and Best in Show Awards at Brick-Con 2012 — two awards much deserved for continuing the magic that J.K. Rowling first started more than 15 years ago. And why did she do it? "I wanted my kids to be able to play in all the spaces where the story takes place," she told Brick Brothers. You may not be able to play with your own giant Hogwarts, but you can visit Alice's by looking through the Mirror of Erised (your computer screen) at her photoset here. We've picked out a few of the best pictures below. Hogwarts exterior Feasting in the Great Hall. Durmstrang students enter Hogwarts Potions class Gryffindor noticeboard Gryffindor common room The greenhouses Astronomy towers and Ravenclaw
Victorians, South Australians, Tasmanians and Australian Capital Territory residents will all soon be able to holiday in New Zealand again, with the trans-Tasman bubble set to reopen on a restricted basis. Quarantine-free travel between Australia and NZ was put on pause on Saturday, June 26 due to rising COVID-19 cases in the former, with the NZ Government pledging to review the situation within 72 hours — which it has now done. From 11.59pm NZT/9.59pm AEST on Sunday, July 4, folks who live in the three aforementioned Aussie states and one territory will be permitted into NZ without quarantining — so if you're a Melburnian in need of a holiday after the city's lockdown earlier this month, that's great news. The trans-Tasman bubble will still remain suspended with all other Aussie states and territories, so with New South Wales, Queensland, Western Australia and the Northern Territory. Those four regions all currently have some form of lockdown either in place or coming into effect — until Friday, July 9 in Greater Sydney and till Friday, July 2 in plenty of Queensland, for instance — so residents there can't travel far anyway. https://twitter.com/covid19nz/status/1409703615296532483 In a statement today, Tuesday, June 29, NZ COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins did note that the plan to resume the bubble could with selected Aussie regions could still change, depending on what the next few days hold. "The health advice today is that at this point, the spread of COVID-19 in those parts of Australia appears to have been contained. There is robust surveillance, testing and contact tracing to detect and manage cases, and adequate border controls are in place to prevent the spread of new cases," the Minister said. "Officials will continue to review the situation between now and Sunday." Victorians, South Australians, Tasmanians and ACT residents keen to head to NZ when the bubble kicks back in will need to provide evidence of a negative pre-departure test before they're able to fly. Also, you can't have been in Queensland, Northern Territory and Western Australia on or after 10.30pm NZT/8.30pm AEST on Saturday, June 26 — or in NSW after 11.59pm NZT/9.59pm AEST on Tuesday, June 22. Regarding the other states, "the pause with Western Australia, Northern Territory, New South Wales and Queensland will remain in place so that outstanding test results can be returned and to give New Zealand time to assess next steps. This will be reviewed again on Tuesday 6 July," said the Minister. To find out more about the status of COVID-19 in Australia, head to the Australian Government Department of Health's website. To find out more about the virus and travel restrictions in New Zealand, head over to the NZ Government's COVID-19 hub.
With the Taronga Conservation Society recording 26 Australian shark attacks in 2016 alone, we don't blame you if you're starting to feel a little bit wary about jumping in the ocean. There have been countless attempts to keep surfers safe, from nets and drumlines to shark-deterrent wetsuits and, unfortunately, culling. But thanks to some innovative new shark-detection technology from the minds at University of Technology Sydney (UTS) and The Little Ripper Group (the guys behind Westpac's Little Ripper rescue drones), beaches might be a tiny bit safer this summer. The SharkSpotter system — which has been years in the making and is ready to be implemented in the coming weeks — uses artificial intelligence to detect sharks in live video feed and images collected by Little Ripper's battery-operated drones. Working off UTS' algorithm and some state-of-the-art sensors, the unmanned aircraft can even tell the difference between sharks and other sea animals, boasting a 90 percent accuracy rate. Once a shark's been spotted, they'll be able to warn swimmers of the potential threat using an on-board megaphone and alert surf lifesavers and emergency services. According to Chief Executive Officer of Westpac Little Ripper Lifesaver, Eddie Bennet, the shark-friendly system is a total game-changer. "This smart algorithm gives us yet another capability in patrolling beaches which we have been doing regularly for almost a year," he said, calling the technology "a major milestone in addressing shark attacks with very real ability to save a life". The SharkSpotter will be used to patrol beaches across Queensland and New South Wales from the start of the surf life saving season next month. Exactly where the drones will be deployed will change each week, with locations only confirmed on the Friday before the weekend. However, it's likely they'll be places around Byron and the north coast of NSW, and around the Sunshine and Gold Coasts in Queensland. Via news.com.au.
Around the world, IDAHO is a big event. The International Day Against Homophobia and transphobia (IDAHO) reminds you how far LGBTI rights have come in some places, and how far they have to go in others. IDAHO asks you to do something big or small to oppose homophobia on May 17, the anniversary of the day homosexuality was declassified as a disorder in the influential psychiatric diagnostic manual DSM. There are activities, festivities and demonstrations of support going on all around Sydney — on Uni campuses, galleries, across Sydney's west and even at Parliament House. At Pine Street Creative Arts Studio in Chippendale, IDAHO Sydney is putting on its annual IDAHO exhibition, Fragility. Changing the way people do things is hard. If you'd like to start your thousand-mile journey with a simpler footstep, IDAHO Sydney's exhibition draws together art from across the queer and queer-friendly community. This year, as well as the art, IDAHO is calling out for stories. At the exhibition itself Pride History will be collecting queer oral histories on May 21. You can go in any day to get a look at the art, and if you go in Saturday the 21st you get a chance to be part of history in the bargain.
If you're looking for something a little different to do on a sunny afternoon this summer, consider sipping an ice-cold drink and kicking back to dance-worthy tunes on an island while world-class sail boats race around Sydney Harbour. Any excuse to hang out in the sunshine, right? Returning to Sydney for its second season, SailGP will see the world's fastest yachts, with teams from Australia, Denmark, France, Great Britain, Japan, Spain, and the US racing through our iconic harbour on Friday, February 28 and Saturday, February 29. It's set to be an exhilarating couple of days — and you can get right in the middle of all the action at the event's Island Arena on Shark Island. Grab a premium ticket ($250) and you'll enjoy a gourmet hamper and drinks from an open bar, plus huge screens showing the race, live race commentary, DJs and entertainment. All tickets to Island Arena include ferry transfers to and from Shark Island departing Man O'War Steps. Rather be cruising alongside the yachts? Hop on a spectator boat run by Captain Cook Cruises (from $112), where you can get plenty of food and bevvies as you watch the race from the water. Or you can register to bring your own boat to a great spot on the water for free. If you'd rather go behind the scenes, you can book in for a tour of the boats on Cockatoo Island from February 17–27 for $29, too. For all the information on the different ticketing options, head here.
All the young'uns know by now that the smiley-dreadlocks-guy in Daft Punk's 'Get Lucky' music video has a long and venerable history of bringing feelgood vibes to the discotheque. That's because he's Nile Rodgers of Chic, legendary hitmaker, and he'll be headlining the 23rd Meredith Music Festival. Chic was formed in 1976 and at 60, Rodgers is still at the centre of the music biz. After recently rocking Glastonbury with Daft Punk and moving Golden Plains Sixxx to the core last year (prompting Nile to say, "Every show we've had a special connection to the crowd but oh tonight was spiritual"), Chic will get the crowd grooving at the Meredith Supernatural Theatre with their epoch-defining tunes, as well as classics produced by Nile for other colossal artists. 'Le Freak', Good Times, 'Everybody Dance', 'Let's Dance', Like A Virgin, 'Original Sin': are you sensing a theme here? A theme of awesome? Two hours of mirrorball-spinning sounds will ensue. If you can't make it to Meredith, fear not — Chic is touring Australia and will perform at the Sydney Opera House on December 7, sure to be a sultry Saturday night, as part of the Music at the House program. Meredith Music Festival runs over three days from December 13–15. To go in the ballot for tickets, visit the festival website and subscribe before 11.23pm on August 12.
If you've ever looked askance at your cookbook collection and thought "this does not speak to me on an emotional level," you're not alone. New York-based artist Automne Zingg feels ya — so much so that the artist, musician, and illustrator has recently published two cookbooks inspired by the thick, syrupy sadness of Morrissey and Nick Cave. 'Defensive Eating with Morrissey' and 'Comfort Eating with Nick Cave' are full of gems like "Boy with the corn in his side" and "Peas let me get what I want". Which, yes, are two great recipes for corn and peas. Oh, and if you hadn't guessed, the cookbooks are vegan. Zingg has provided the illustrations of sad Morrissey and Cave eating food, with Joshua Ploeg, of The Touring Vegan Chef, responsible for the recipes. But it's not all corn and peas, thankfully. Ploeg has unveiled some pretty sick vegan treat recipes like ice cream, cookies and cheesecake. Morrissey and Nick Cave were both almost involved, but in the end declined for different reasons. Of course, don't let that stop you from enjoying the below kind of sexy picture of Morrissey eating corn. We said kind of, remember.
So, you want to save some money. Perhaps you're looking to finally put a deposit down on your first home. Or maybe your ol' clunker of a car is on its last kilometres. Or do you simply want to treat yourself to that pair of Gucci sunnies you know you don't actually need but you can't stop thinking about? Often, while we're in savings mode, we switch to totally denying ourselves the things we love, making ourselves miserable in the process. But the good news is you don't have to give up everything. Save smarter, not harder. And have fun doing it. To help get you started, we've partnered with Great Southern Bank to come up with some easy ways to save without having to live a totally joyless existence. From chopping your weekly food bill to a banking hack that'll have you adding to your savings without even noticing, these tips will keep you on track. BECOME YOUR OWN BARISTA We know, we know. You need your caffeine fix. We're not saying to cut that double-shot oat milk latte altogether, but buying one or two a day adds up really quickly. Keen to crunch some numbers? Let's say your average coffee costs $4 and you buy two every day — that's $2920 spent on java every year. Add that up over five years and it's a whopping $14,600. Instead, invest in a bit of kit to get your coffee hit at home. Proper espresso machines are great, but also pricey. Keep an eye out for a secondhand one and you might be able to score a bargain. Alternatively, get a good percolator and some quality beans. You can score a percolator for as little as $12 (that's three coffees) that'll last for years to come. For beans, you can get your fix from top Aussie coffee roasters. While price varies due to blends, beans and all sorts of things, beans from local roasters will usually cost somewhere between $15–23 for 250 grams (about 35 cups worth). You might even want to throw a milk frother into the mix, then you'll be whipping up deluxe coffee at home in no time. Best of all, you can do it all in your dressing gown. Then, once a week or so, treat yourself to the real deal at that local cafe with the cute barista. You're only human, after all. DITCH THE CROWDED COMMUTE This one is kind of a no-brainer for inner-city dwellers. Why go through the hassle of being packed onto hot and crowded public transport, especially in the age of social distancing? The same goes for driving — nobody wants to waste time (and petrol) sitting in traffic. Even if it means starting half an hour sooner than you would normally, walking to your destination means you're getting exercise and saving money. For longer trips look into getting a bike, scooter or skateboard (again, secondhand bargains are everywhere). If you have to travel quite the distance, electronic bikes are a godsend. Whether you're already in the office or are going back when restrictions further ease, ditching the public transport life even once or twice a week is better for the bank, the environment and your physical and emotional wellbeing. MEAL PREP LIKE A PRO Meal prepping: it sounds tedious at first, but once you get into the swing of it, it's really not that much of a hassle. And, spoiler alert, it can actually be fun — or, at least, it'll give you a sense of achievement on an otherwise unproductive Sunday. If you're a novice, start simple: try roasting a whole chook with veggies. You'll easily get a couple of dinners out of it, and the leftover meat can be used for sandwiches, salads and burrito bowls. Oh, and don't bin the carcass — it'll make a great homemade stock that you can portion out and freeze for later. Don't eat meat? Dust of that slow cooker and make a huge dhal for an easy-yet-nourishing feed. The more prep you do, the better and more inventive you'll get with it. Soon your homemade lunches will easily surpass that underwhelming $18 toastie you ordered on Uber Eats. FOLLOW THE SEASONS Now that you're on the way to becoming a whiz in the kitchen, you'll want to know how to cut down that grocery bill. It's just simple supply and demand, really. Shopping seasonally means that if you're buying something that's readily available the price is lower as there are fewer costs going into acquiring it. We're incredibly fortunate in Australia to have amazing fruit and veg available all year round, but certain things grow in abundance in summer rather than winter and vice versa. So, embrace shopping and cooking seasonally. You'll eat well and expand your repertoire while saving so that it feels almost natural. [caption id="attachment_737580" align="alignnone" width="1920"] SWOP Clothing Exchange, Trent van der Jagt[/caption] GET THRIFTY Thrift shops, Salvos, Vinnies, Depop, Facebook Marketplace — there's no end to the bargains and unique pieces you can find without the hectic price tags. More often than not, op shops are located near other op shops so you can make a day of traversing a few and seeing what you can find. Pro tip: go to affluent suburbs, where you're more likely to uncover some rare gems in top condition. And while you're mindlessly doomscrolling on your phone at night, try browsing on Depop. You'll be surprised and delighted by the great designer pieces you can find from the likes of 3.1 Phillip Lim, Acne Studios, Zimmermann and more. EMBRACE THE GREAT OUTDOORS Spring is here, so it's time to get outside and enjoy some fresh air and sunshine. And it'll be lighter on the wallet than a night on the town. Pack a picnic and head to the park for a long-awaited catch-up with your mates. If you're lucky, you'll be able to snag a public barbecue to have a cook-up and embrace the simple pleasures of a DIY outdoor feast. Toss a frisbee or a football, challenge your buds to a game of Finska, and stuff sausages into your pockets so all the dogs come to play with you. Okay, maybe not that last one, but you get the idea. BANK BETTER Knowing where your money is and why you're choosing to put it there is important in terms of goals and improving your overall financial literacy. If you're clamouring to get your first home, choose a bank that maximises your saving potential, such as Great Southern Bank. Great Southern Bank is empowering young Aussies with their banking to get them to their savings goals faster. Whether you're saving for a house deposit or just want to develop better banking habits, Great Southern Bank has a number of smart tools and features to get you there. One is The Boost, where you can set a predetermined amount (between $0.01 and $5) from your everyday transaction account to be automatically transferred to your savings account every time you make a purchase. That means every sambo, short black and schooner is subtly boosting your savings. Once you've got that all set up, you'll want to keep your savings fund from shrinking. For instance, if you get a bit tap happy when you're out having a good time (who doesn't), your bank balance can take quite the hit. This is where having a spending cap on your account can come in handy. Be realistic about how much you'll need depending on the activity. And, here's the tricky part: don't transfer more. You'll thank yourself later. Great Southern Bank is empowering Aussies to get clever with their banking. Whether you want to stick to your savings goals with The Boost or hide your house deposit fund from yourself with The Vault, Great Southern Bank helps you get there. For more information on savings tools and home loan options, head to the Great Southern Bank website. Top image: SWOP Clothing Exchange, Trent van der Jagt
With 24 percent of London's rush-hour traffic now made up of cyclists, the call for infrastructure upgrades is growing louder. Following the deaths of six cyclists within a fortnight last November, more than 1000 concerned riders staged a 'die-in' outside the Transport for London headquarters in mid-December. Now, architect and cycling fan Lord Norman Foster is proposing a solution: the SkyCycle. It's 135 miles (or 217km) of car-free cycle paths that would be built in the air, supported by pylons, at a height of three storeys, above the routes established by London's current railway lines. Fifteen metres of width would handle up to 12,000 cyclists every hour. More than 3 million people would live and work within ten minutes' of one of SkyCycle's 200 access points. "It's a lateral approach to finding space in a congested city," Lord Foster said. "By using the corridors above the suburban railways we could create a world-class network of safe, car-free cycle routes that are ideally located for commuters." SkyCycle is a collaboration between Foster and Partners, Space Syntax and Exterior Architecture. Space Syntax director Anna Rose compared the system's potential to that of previous major infrastructure changes that have "transformed the fortunes" of London. "Bazalgette's sewer system helped remove the threat of cholera to keep London at the forefront of the Industrial Revolution; the Underground strengthened London's core by making long-distance commuting possible," she said. "SkyCycle is conceived in this tradition as a network of strategic connections from the suburban edges to the centre, adding the much needed capacity for hundreds of millions of cycle journeys every year with all the social, economic, environmental and health benefits to London that follow." However, London is not the final stop. Sam Martin of Exterior Architecture told the Guardian that SkyCycle's ambition is, ultimately, international in scope. "The dream is that you could wake up in Paris and cycle to the Gard du Nord. Then get the train to Stratford, and cycle straight to London in minutes, without worrying about trucks and buses." The catch? The usual — time and money. The current projected cost is £220 million and the construction period is up to 20 years. In the meantime, however, Londoners have been taking advantage of their new cycle super highway. Via Inhabitat.
Audrey Wilkinson — or the patch of land in the Hunter Valley that its vineyard calls home, to be specific — has been around for some time. It's been more than 150 years since the Wilkinson family first acquired the spot, and almost 120 years since it started winning awards for its tipples. The winery has been owned by the Agnew family since 2004, who've continued on with a small and dedicated staff that's devoted to the task at hand. Simply put, these guys know their stuff when it comes to vino. Located on 270 acres, the winery is sure to impress any wine aficionado. You can go on a tour of the on-site wine museum, enjoy a tasting in the cellar door, have a picnic among the vines, sample fortified wine and fromage, and even stay a night in one of the stone cottages.
Until now, you mightn't have heard of Laramie in Wyoming. It's the US state's third-largest city, however, and it's about to receive a whole heap of attention. On Thursday, February 23, what just might become your new true-crime obsession will drop, with The Coldest Case in Laramie focusing on a dark recent chapter in the locale's history: the unsolved murder of a college student in 1985. Sometimes, it feels like every day brings a new true-crime show or podcast, but this one has the pedigree of Serial behind it. The Coldest Case in Laramie hails from Serial Productions, the company behind Sarah Koenig's grimly addictive podcast, which has been owned by The New York Times since 2020 — and this is the first Serial Productions show hosted by a New York Times reporter. A long-unsolved murder. An unexpected arrest. A slam-dunk case that mysteriously fell apart. Our new podcast "The Coldest Case in Laramie" debuts on Feb. 23. https://t.co/VHhJehV6uI — Serial (@serial) February 19, 2023 Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter Kim Barker — who also penned the book The Taliban Shuffle: Strange Days in Afghanistan and Pakistan back in 2011, which was adapted into the Tina Fey-starring movie Whiskey Tango Foxtrot — steps behind the microphone on the new podcast, which will release all eight episodes at once. More than just hosting and investigating, Barker harks back to her own home town, where 22 year-old college student Shelli Wiley was murdered by being stabbed repeatedly, then dragged into her apartment which was subsequently set alight. Barker was a sophomore in high school at the time, and now revisits the case after a career that's taken her to ProPublica, The Seattle Times, The Spokesman-Review, the Chicago Tribune and more. While audiences will want to learn the full details while listening, The Coldest Case in Laramie sifts through a crime that saw two arrests that didn't stick, plus a suspect that many residents of Laramie said they knew was responsible when Barker started digging in January 2021. [caption id="attachment_889890" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Casey Fiesler via Wikimedia Commons[/caption] Accordingly, this story not only tells of a shocking loss of life — a homicide that Barker was unable to forget — and the quest to find the culprit, but of the procedural roadblocks that've followed. "What's cool about this show is that it really highlights not only Kim Barker's extraordinary investigative skills, but also her talent as an interviewer," said Serial's executive editor Julie Snyder, announcing The Coldest Case in Laramie. "In an almost fly-on-the-wall type of storytelling, we get to follow Kim while she works, and we come to discover that this is a story with many unreliable narrators." The Coldest Case in Laramie arrives after Serial Productions and The New York Times have previously launched podcasts such as Nice White Parents, The Trojan Horse Affair and We Were Three. And, it drops after a big 2022 for the OG Serial, after Adnan Syed's murder conviction was vacated by the Baltimore City Circuit Court, sparking a new Serial episode. The first season of Serial gave rise to HBO documentary series The Case Against Adnan Syed, too — and, from the basic details alone, The Coldest Case in Laramie sounds like just the kind of tale that could do the same. The Coldest Case in Laramie will be available to listen to via Apple Podcasts, Spotify and more from Thursday, February 23. Top image: Nyttend via Wikimedia Commons.
For one very special night the renowned Yangjiang art collective, currently exhibiting at 4a Centre for Contemporary Asian Art, will be taking over the Chinese Garden of Friendship. With DJs throughout the evening and food and drinks by the Grasshopper Eating House, the Yangjiang group will be putting you at the centre of their art with calligraphy, face-painting and intimate performance pieces. In their trademark After Dinner Calligraphy, they will use food scraps from the event to create a large-scale work, and the night will finish with the artists feeding guests an array of tea designed to spark a shift in your physical and spiritual perceptions.
Erth, the creators of the immersive plant and sculpture exhibition currently running out of Royal Botanic Garden's The Calyx, is winding the clock back 65 million years with a series of dinosaur-heavy picnics in two lush Sydney spots. Popping up at the Royal Botanic Gardens and Parramatta Park, Erth's Prehistoric Picnic will bring a series of huge dinosaur puppets and inflatables to these green spaces for an hour of dino wonder. These dinosaur recreations will stretch their legs and wander their way around the picnics to the delight of adults and children alike. Included in the roster of millennium-old creatures is the newest edition to Erth's repertoire: a set of three-metre tall thunderbirds that will be strutting their stuff across the prehistoric events. Entry costs $30 and doesn't come with a picnic included, so it's recommended you break out the new blanket you bought at the end of the last lockdown and pack an array of snacks for the whole group. Sessions are running from Saturday, January 8–Friday, January 14 at Parramatta Park and from Saturday, January 15–Sunday, January 30 at the Royal Botanic Gardens, with 9am and 11am time slots available.
Initially, Force of Nature: The Dry 2 was the most-anticipated new Australian movie of 2023. Now, it's taking that label for 2024 instead. After being postponed from its planned August 2023 release amid the current SAG-AFTRA strike, the Aussie film will hit cinemas in February 2024. Fans of Aussie mysteries, page-to-screen crime tales, Eric Bana (Dirty John) getting sleuthing and all things Aaron Falk, take note. The follow-up to 2021's The Dry, Force of Nature: The Dry 2 is now slated to reach the big screen Down Under on Thursday, February 8, 2024. If you're keen to see the film as soon as possible, you'll have the chance a few days earlier, with advance screenings also locked in from Friday, February 2–Sunday, February 4. When Bana stepped into Falk's shoes in The Dry, more movies were always bound to follow. On the screen, the film became a massive Australian box-office hit in 2021 thanks to its twisty mystery, determined detective, stunning scenery and spectacular cast. It was capitalising, of course, on the story's proven success on the page. And, to the delight of movie producers and audiences, the beloved novel by author Jane Harper was just Falk's first appearance. Accordingly, throw that formula together again and you now have Force of Nature: The Dry 2. This second effort sees the core duo of Bana and writer/director Robert Connolly (Blueback) return, with the latter again investigating a case. This time, as both the movie's initial teaser and full trailer explore, Falk is looking into the disappearance of a hiker from a corporate retreat attended by five women. Alongside fellow federal agent Carmen Cooper (Jacqueline McKenzie, Ruby's Choice), Falk heads deep into Victoria's mountain ranges to try to find the missing traveller — who also happens to be a whistle-blowing informant — alive. Also featuring in Force of Nature, which has a powerhouse list of Aussie talent just like its predecessor: Anna Torv (The Last of Us) as missing hiker Alice Russell, plus Deborra-Lee Furness (Jindabyne), Robin McLeavy (Homeland), Sisi Stringer (Mortal Kombat) and Lucy Ansell (Utopia). Richard Roxburgh (Aunty Donna's Coffee Cafe), Tony Briggs (Preppers) and Kenneth Radley (The Power of the Dog) pop up, too, while Jeremy Lindsay-Taylor (Heartbreak High) is back in the role of Erik Falk. Reteaming not just after The Dry, but also 2023 release Blueback, Connolly and Bana make quite the pair when it comes to Aussie crime cinema — with Connolly the producer of one of the best local crime movies ever made, aka 1998's unnerving The Boys, and Bana famously the star of the similarly excellent Chopper. Fans of Harper's work also have The Survivors to look forward to, but on the small screen. It's heading to Netflix from the pages of the author's text of the same name, and isn't linked to The Dry or Force of Nature. Here, the Tasmanian-set story follows families still coping with the loss caused by a massive storm in their seaside town 15 years earlier, then faced with a new murder. Check out the full trailer for Force of Nature: The Dry 2 below: Force of Nature: The Dry 2 will release in Australian and New Zealand cinemas on Thursday, February 8, 2024, with advance screenings from Friday, February 2–Sunday, February 4. Read our full review of The Dry. Images: Narelle Portanier.
Clear your diary, grab your sneakers and prepare to get busy, boombastic and nostalgic — another new music festival is coming to southeast Queensland, with Shaggy and Sean Paul topping the bill. After attracting more than 20,000 festival-goers each year for the past decade, New Zealand's huge One Love Festival is making its first-ever trip across the ditch. The reggae-focused fest will debut in Australia on Saturday, February 1, 2020, taking over Southport's Broadwater Parklands for a day of Jamaican-influenced tunes. Yes, the festival is taking place in the summertime — and yes, Shaggy is bound to sing that classic track — however he'll have plenty of company when he hits the waterside stage. As well as Sean Paul, the lineup also includes old-school reggae stars Toots and the Maytals, Polynesia's Fiji and New Zealand's Sons of Zion, as well as 1814, Third World, Lion Rezz, Paua and the One Love DJs. The one-day Gold Coast leg — which will take place a week after the 2020 New Zealand fest — marks the fifth new music festival headed to the region in the next six months. It's clearly a great time for fans of massive outdoor live music gigs, with the XXXX brewery hosting its first music festival in mid-November, Coolangatta welcoming beachside fest Sandtunes at the end of that month, Calvin Harris and Armin van Buuren hitting up Brisbane for Festival X at the same time, and Wildlands arriving in Brissie just before the end of the year. One Love Festival will take place on Saturday, February 1, 2020, at Southport's Broadwater Parklands on the Gold Coast. Tickets go on sale on Wednesday, September 11 at Oneloveaustralia.com.
As the Hunter Valley is Australia's oldest wine region, we can certainly assume they know what they're doing when putting on food and wine events. Ready to confirm this is Uncorked Balmoral, a day of celebration of the tasty things you can eat and/or drink that hail from the Hunter Valley region. Wine and food stalls will be set up on the day for drifting to leisurely, and there's a serious smorgasbord to attend to as well. Allandale Winery, Briar Ridge Vineyard, Colvin Wines, McLeish Estate Wines, Tyrrell's Wines and Vinden Estate are just a few of the names that will be serving up a slosh of your fave pinot. Restaurants and producers on display include the Hunter's Muse Restaurant, Bar Coco, The Cellar Restaurant, Hunter Valley Cheese Company and Pukara Estate — and while you're putting all of that in your gob, Soul Shack Entertainment will be providing the soundtrack. Wine tasting vouchers will be going for $4 each and Hunter Valley Riedel wine glasses for $15, while those who've got their sights set on a winey time already can pre-purchase glasses and 4 tasting tickets for $31. There's also a free shuttle bus from Mosman and Spit Junction to Balmoral Beach every 15 minutes, so you've really got no excuse.
