Uniting the world's imaginative minds in its annual conference, Semi-Permanent will return to Sydney this May for its 10th year. Semi-Permanent caters to the creative community, no matter what the field. Artists, graphic designers, agency personnel, fashion designers: any sort of artistic discipline is welcome. Attendees will gather at the Bayside Auditorium to listen to a series of talks by industry idols. This year’s line-up includes NY photographer David Alan Harvey, Sydney graphic designer Vince Frost, and GMunk, an LA motion graphics designer whose work lit up Tron Legacy. There are 15 speakers in total, each delivering a 45-minute speech throughout the two-day conference.
Now, you can cycle all the way from Green Square to Central Station without having to shake off a dirty look from a single road raging driver. The City of Sydney has created a 2.4 kilometre long bike path, keeping two-wheelers entirely separated from four-wheelers; linking Zetland, Waterloo, Alexandria and Redfern. "It’s a really important route," says City of Sydney Cycling Strategy Manager Fiona Campbell. "Green Square’s going to see 40,000 new residents in coming years and those people are only fifteen minutes’ ride from the city... It’s going to be such an attractive option that I think lots of people are going to use it." In addition to functioning as a commuter route, the path will also serve as an arts-leisure adventure. "There’s the National Centre for Indigenous Excellence [at 166-180 George St]," Campbell explains. "There’s also Prince Alfred Pool at one end, a skate park in Waterloo and the City’s Library and facilities at Joynton Park, which it connects to." On Saturday, June 14, between 11am and 2pm, Prince Alfred Park will host a massive launch party, dubbed Roll Through Redfern. Australian Balkan Gypsy trio Lolo Lovina will provide the live soundtrack, the Veggie Patch Van will be selling gourmet delights and there’ll be pedal-powered smoothies, as well as free coffee (yes, you read that right, FREE COFFEE). You’ll also be able to score bike help without spending a cent — whether you need safety tips, route advice or assistance of the mechanical variety. Meanwhile, Green Square’s regular markets will be happening at Joynton Park between 9am and 2pm. Everyone who gets themselves a stamp either there or at Prince Alfred Park will enter a draw to win a $1,000 bike package, a Magellan bike computer or a bunch of Prince Alfred Park Pool multi-visit passes. The Green Square-Central cycle way brings the Council one step closer to the realisation of its masterplan — to ensure that Sydney cyclists can enjoy at least 200 kilometres of bike paths by 2030. "We’ve already got about 110, 120 kilometres of network, though much of it’s not separated," Campbell says. "We’ve got twelve kilometres so far of separated cycleways. The 200 is going to be made up of mixed traffic streets and shared cycle paths as well. A lot of it just needs upgrading." The statistics indicate that pro-cycling campaigns and infrastructural changes, particularly segregated paths, are making a big impact at road level. "Each facility that we open sees a massive increase in cycling," Campbell confirms. "Accounts of the Bourke Street cycleway, for example, show that there are five times as many riders on Bourke Street, near the Phelps intersection, as there were four years ago. Whenever we put it in a new cycle way, it just booms. People really, really want to ride. Give them the option to do that in a comfortable, beautiful, pleasant way, and they’ll be in there." If you’re curious about cycling in the city but still feeling reluctant to take the plunge, check out the free bike maintenance classes and cycling in the city courses happening every single week at both Sydney Park and Joynton Park.
Berowra Waters Inn holds a semi-mystical position in Australian culinary history. Arriving on a summer's day with remnant bushfire smoke over the sparkly water of the Hawkesbury river, the restaurant is concealed in a fitting magical haze. Dusthole Bay is filled with dinky boats that seem to be straight out of a Dr Seuss storybook — a boy putts past us in a rusted red tinnie with his kelpie sitting at the helm as we take the short ferry trip to the restaurant, which has been operating under Irish-born chef Brian Geraghty for a bit over a year now. Only an hour out of the city, with a feeling of timelessness and food to rival any city establishment, Berowra Waters is just the ticket for city slickers in need of a day's rural rejuvenation. The sandstone icon, originally designed by Glenn Murcutt, hovers on the cliff edge like a genteel houseboat that might sail off at any moment. Inside we're welcomed by modest formality: the famous Fritz Hansen Series 7 chairs at white linen tables, a sage green banquette with black trimming set into the sandstone, a silver vase of proteas. The Australian decor, including expansive watercolours by local artist Chris Kenyon, is elegant and successfully resists Australiana. Geraghty's partner, Victoria, leads a bright, professional team on the floor. Thirty-year-old Geraghty's experience at Quay, Pied a Terre and Bilson's informs a classic approach to the four- or seven-course degustations on offer. Australian poet Martin Langford wrote a poem called Mahler in Midsummer, in which he describes Mahler's heavy European music vanishing in the Australian heat. The same might be said of French food in an Australian summer. White borage, baby coriander and shiso expire before they reach the table, and a creme fraiche boudin amuse-bouche only just holds its form in the heat. However, the trout mousse in a salted caramel tuile withstands it — a little barrel of sophistication. The menu hits its straps at the third course with swordfish, avocado and squid arriving under a layer of cucumber jelly. The al dente cubed squid is a textural bridge between the avocado puree and firm swordfish. Geraghty's umber squid consomme and jelly is deep sea serious, matched well by a 2011 Joseph Cattin Gewurztraminer, the lychee and passionfruit notes holding their own against the umami of the squid consomme. Beef short rib in anchovy crust with watercress is a satisfying end to the main course and the 2010 Coto de Hayas Crianza Tempranillo Grenache is a suitably weighty match. Before dessert we're presented with goat's cheese, Corella pear jelly and hazelnut mousse, unhappily accompanied by toasted muesli. Geraghty's defence of the offending muesli is that his Irish childhood was full of oatcakes. We'll forgive him the nostalgia because the Old Rosie Cloudy Cider is such a good match for the cheese itself, the lactic kick from the cheese and grassy funk of the cider a perfect combination for a hot day on the river. To avoid the ignoble task of driving back to Sydney through peak hour, either catch the seaplane home with all your gold bullion or book a couple of days at the Calabash Bay Lodge just up the river. The charm of Geraghty and team's refinement in a bush setting proves that Berowra Waters Inn hasn't finished making history yet.
As we inch closer and closer to Christmas, it not only means that work is nearly out for the year, but also that the summer festival season is about to begin. After a short hiatus in 2024, Spilt Milk is back and better than ever this year. The lineup is positively jam-packed and there's a whole lot of fun pop-ups, giveaways and bars setting up for each leg of the festival. The festival has a legacy of kicking off Australia's summer with huge lineups, large-scale art exhibitions, and a slick lineup of food and boutique bar experiences. As usual, Jim Beam will be back at Spilt Milk helping to make sure you and your mates have this year's best festival experience. To make sure you don't miss a second of fun, we've teamed up with Jim Beam to pull together absolutely everything you need to know about Spilt Milk 2025. [caption id="attachment_1008775" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Gregory Shamus via Getty Images[/caption] Who's Headlining Spilt Milk 2025? This year's lineup is one for the ages. On the bill, you've got Kendrick Lamar, Doechii, Sara Landry, and Dominic Fike headlining. You can also catch ScHoolboy Q, Nessa Barrett, Skin on Skin, Sombr, Rebecca Black, The Dreggs and more. Kendrick's last tour of Australia was in 2022, and, if his now iconic Super Bowl performance is anything to go by, his set simply can't be missed. Expect bell-bottoms and a bunch of shade thrown Drake's way. Fresh off her Grammy win for Best Rap Album this year, Doechii is another headliner we can't wait to see live. If her hit 'Anxiety' hasn't been in your head all year, it will be now. ARIA Award-winning Aussie Genesis Owusu has also just been added to the lineup. Owusu brings his unique blend of hip hop, funk, punk, and soul to the already stacked event. His track 'PIRATE RADIO' took over our playlists at the top of the year and even earned triple j's most played for back-to-back days. [caption id="attachment_1002003" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Supplied[/caption] What Are the Set Times for Spilt Milk 2025? With a lineup this good, you can't just show up and hope for the best. You really need to map out your plan for the day. We've done the hard work and collated all of the set times for you so you can plan when to drop by the Jim Beam Container Bar to slip into their Confessional Booth, snag some prizes, and still have enough time to make it to Kendrick. Of the headliners, Kendrick will take the stage at 9:35pm, Sara Landry at 8:35pm, Doechii at 8:05pm, Dominic Fike at 6:50pm all on the Angove Stage. You can catch the full list of set times in the Spilt Milk app. [caption id="attachment_1040567" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Supplied[/caption] Where's the Best Place to Hang Out Between Sets? Alongside one of the best festival lineups, the on-ground experiences at Spilt Milk are shaping up to be this summer's moment. Expect the kind of music, vibes, and memories that will define the year for you and your mates. Head to the Jim Beam Container Bar between sets or to kick off your day at Spilt Milk Ballarat and Canberra. Of course, you'll find a bar stocked with ice-cold Jim Beam drinks, like Ginger Beer, limited edition Vanilla Cola, and the classic Jim Beam & Cola. But, beyond just icy drinks, you'll find the best place to hang out and seek shade during the festival. This year, the Jim Beam setup will feature a container bar area, plenty of shade, and huge loungers to cool off on with your mates. Plus, there's a rooftop bar section atop the container with a view out across the whole festival. [caption id="attachment_1001754" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Billy Zammit[/caption] To free you from the guilt of past flaky friend discretion, you can step into the confession booth hosted by Will Gibb. Simply drop the lore of the most diabolical reason you have ever flaked on your mates, Will will hear you out and then determine what prize you're up for. It could be VIP upgrades for you and your mates' tickets, Jim Beam merch like a slick new cap, or even a disposable film camera to capture your day. The Jim Beam Mates Confessional will be open from 2–5pm in Canberra and Ballarat. That means you'll have plenty of time to confess your sins, nab a prize, and still catch the headliners. But, it's not just partying, you'll also find art exhibitions curated in collaboration with socially conscious art studios. This year, Spilt Milk has collaborated with Studio A, an art studio focused on empowering artists with disability, and Victoria Park Art's initiative that supports the same cause, for outdoor exhibitions you can peruse between sets. Best enjoyed together, visit Jim Beam's website for more information.
If you take your Easter chocolate seriously, why not seek out the best of the best? Dear Florence — the French patisserie housed in Sydney's Japanese-inspired hospitality precinct Prefecture 48 — has unveiled its first-ever treat for the holiday season. Inspired by the classic Cadbury Creme Egg, The Easter Cake Egg gives a monumental glow up to the supermarket fave. Just how much of a glow up are we talking about? In the Dear Florence reimagining, creamy coconut mousse stands in for the egg white, passionfruit curd is used for the yolk and coconut dacquoise brings that essential spongy texture that makes the Cadbury OG so moreish. The egg is then covered in a corn flake-inspired coating before a two-tone chocolate spray delivers a rousing finish. Responsible for this fascinating creation is executive pastry chef Aoife Noonan. Hailing from Dublin, Noonan worked at some of the best restaurants in Ireland before a four-year stint as head pastry chef at her home city's celebrated fine-diner Patrick Guilbaud, a two Michelin-starred restaurant since 1996 that helped put Ireland on the map as a culinary destination. She further bolstered her credentials as head pastry chef at legendary Sydney restaurant Aria, and this fine-dining precision and technical nous are on full display with her latest creation. This limited-time creation undoubtedly befits Dear Florence's reputation for haute dessert. The Japanese-inspired flavours of The Easter Cake Egg combine with a healthy dose of nostalgia to ensure each bite transports you back to your childhood munching on Cadbury's creations. Yet this inspired reimagining is a far more mature affair — developed for an adult palette, it features carefully shaped layers that reveal an exciting surprise, as refined textures and flavours contrast and complement each other with impressive results. This thoughtful concept reflects how things are done at Dear Florence, an intentionally high-end patisserie committed to crafting desserts that evoke emotions, celebrate traditions and tell stories. Not all stories are forever, though — The Easter Cake Egg is only available until Saturday, April 19. Opened in 2024, Dear Florence has rapidly emerged as one of Sydney's must-try patisseries. Gracing the front of Prefecture 48's historic Sussex Street home, the storefront looks more like a jewellery store than somewhere to stock up on cakes and tarts. However, one glimpse of Noonan's inventions gives you the impression that these immaculately presented desserts could just as well be precious stones — and her latest creation is no exception. Dear Florence is open Tuesday–Saturday from 10am–3pm at Prefecture 48, 230 Sussex St, Sydney. Head to the venue's website for more information.
Remember being bored? Filling your time with TikTok challenges, cruising from beach to beach on a road trip, or gliding along a promenade in your favourite pair of skates? Those peak summer vibes are what we're craving now that autumn has kicked into gear and we've swapped slides for sensible shoes. But, you don't have to live in the moment. At least not all day. Together with our friends at TikTok, we've picked out five sunshine-filled videos that capture that endless summer feeling so you can tap into it anytime you like. Go on, have a taste. [embed]https://www.tiktok.com/@teigan_nash/video/6785796678071979270[/embed] Former Saturday Disney host Teigan Nash has been keeping busy over summer with a couple of pals in the pool. Here she's taking on The Avengers pool challenge and totally nailing it. If you're wondering, Teigan is second from the front. Follow @teigan_nash for more wholesome, Australia-loving content. [embed]https://www.tiktok.com/@zulfiyeah/video/6892730698013216002[/embed] Effortlessly gliding through a Victorian car park, Zülfiye here is the boss of eight-wheeling through summer. She can waltz, shoot hoops, strut and 'Buss It', too. Most of all, she's crushing it on a pair of skates at every rink, wharf and promenade in Melbourne. And we're here for those feel-good vibes. [embed]https://www.tiktok.com/@aimeemassie/video/6894703521560579330[/embed] Newcastle-born pro skater Aimee Massie has serious board skills, as any#skatergirl would already know. Here, she's proving something we already knew: we don't need skater bois and we certainly don't need the everyday sexism Aimee is calling out in her TikTok videos. We see you Massie and we're loving your work. [embed]https://www.tiktok.com/@pnuks/video/6784646050956332294[/embed] If we could bottle up "Almost there. Almost there. Have a break" from Paniora Nukunuku we'd use it as daily inspo in the office. The Sydney-based social influencer is a youth worker and advocate for giving people a fair go. Here, @pnuks gives us a joyful take on having a fake leg on a spicy hot summer's day at the beach. We can almost feel the heat. [embed]https://www.tiktok.com/@pachalight/video/6901777782364310786[/embed] Is there anything better than a dunk in the ocean? How about doing it with a great big grin on your face because you've found a job you love and you live it every day? That's the vibe we're picking up from Aussie surfer Pacha Light. The emerging pro is based on the Gold Coast and here she's channelling pure summertime happiness. We love it. Download TikTok to watch more summer-loving videos. Top image: Pexels; Larry Snickers
Bendigo? More like why haven't you Bendigone yet? We're sorry for the bad joke, but not sorry to point you in the direction of this not-so-little gem. Located 150 kilometres northwest of Melbourne, Bendigo has long been a destination for art, fashion and design (the huge Bendigo Art Gallery), pottery (the town is famous for its ceramics) and fine dining (including one with a chef hat). But even if you don't like to see art, potter or eat (who are you kidding with that last one?), there is more to see than just all that. Bendigo is also ready to roll this autumn with a lineup of events that'll have you begging your friends to make the two-hour drive with you. We've partnered with Bendigo Tourism to bring you the best of 'em — get your calendar open in another tab and start planning.
Few areas of Sydney have gone through as much of a transformation in the past decade as Alexandria and Rosebery. What was once considered a mostly industrial area has seen swaths of commercial and residential development. First, former warehouses were converted into restaurants, creative hubs and entertainment spaces. Then came a futuristic new library and the food-filled laneway at Infinity by Crown Group. There is also an aquatic centre and a huge 6200-square-metre park in the works. It's an area in flux, which means it's a pretty exciting part of Sydney to both live in and visit. But, as there is so much to explore here, we decided to ask you — Concrete Playground readers — what local businesses you love to support. So, follow this guide to find the best places to visit in Alexandria and Rosebery, as chosen by you. Read on to discover some of the most popular picks to visit during the day. Then, flick the switch above and we'll dim the lights to show your favourite things to do in Alexandria and Rosebery once the sun goes down.
Every year is a big year for movies, but 2023 is set to be downright explosive, all thanks to one of the most-anticipated films of the year. That feature: Christopher Nolan's latest, and his first flick since Tenet. It just explores a little thing called the atomic bomb, focusing on J Robert Oppenheimer. "They won't fear it until they understand it. And they won't understand it until they've used it," says the titular figure in the just-dropped full Oppenheimer trailer. Played by Nolan regular Cillian Murphy (see also: The Dark Knight, Inception, The Dark Knight Rises and Dunkirk), the "father of the atomic bomb" narrates the new sneak peek with plenty of such telling comments. Here's another: "I don't know if we can be trusted with such a weapon, but we have no choice". Yes, Nolan is going back to the Second World War again, focusing on the eponymous American physicist, aka the man who helped develop the first nuclear weapons as part of the Manhattan Project. Also earning the director's attention: the fact that Oppenheimer needed to risk destroying the world to save it. Charting his life, his part in birthing the atomic bomb and how it changed the world — and the fallout — should make for gripping viewing, although viewers will need to wait until July 20, 2023 Down Under to find out. The new trailer follows a brief teaser in mid-2022, and provides a bigger glimpse of what's in store. Oppenheimer's story also includes heading up Los Alamos Laboratory — and observing the Trinity Test, the first successful atomic bomb detonation in New Mexico on July 16, 1945 — as this latest bit of footage shows. Nolan is always in serious mode, but this is a solemn affair even by the Memento, Interstellar and Dark Knight trilogy filmmaker's standards. And, it looks like a spectacle, in no small part thanks to being shot in IMAX 65mm and 65mm large-format film photography, including sections in IMAX black and white analogue photography for the first time ever. Based on Kai Bird and Martin J Sherwin's Pulitzer Prize-winning book American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer, the film boasts an all-star cast, including Emily Blunt as the physicist's wife, biologist and botanist Kitty (reteaming Blunt with Murphy after A Quiet Place Part II) — plus Matt Damon (The Last Duel) as General Leslie Groves Jr, director of the Manhattan Project; Robert Downey Jr (Dolittle) as Lewis Strauss, a founding commissioner of the US Atomic Energy Commission; and Florence Pugh (The Wonder) as psychiatrist Jean Tatlock. Also set to pop up: Josh Hartnett (Wrath of Man), Michael Angarano (Minx), Benny Safdie (Stars at Noon), Jack Quaid (The Boys), Rami Malek (No Time to Die) and Kenneth Branagh (Death on the Nile). Oh, and there's Dane DeHaan (The Staircase), Jason Clarke (Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty), Olivia Thirlby (Y: The Last Man), Alden Ehrenreich (Solo: A Star Wars Story) and Matthew Modine (Stranger Things) as well. Check out the full trailer for Oppenheimer below: Oppenheimer will release in cinemas Down Under on July 20, 2023. Images: © 2022 Universal Studios. All Rights Reserved.
Something delightful has been happening in cinemas in some parts of the country. After numerous periods spent empty during the pandemic, with projectors silent, theatres bare and the smell of popcorn fading, picture palaces in many Australian regions are back in business — including both big chains and smaller independent sites in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. During COVID-19 lockdowns, no one was short on things to watch, of course. In fact, you probably feel like you've streamed every movie ever made, including new releases, Studio Ghibli's animated fare and Nicolas Cage-starring flicks. But, even if you've spent all your time of late glued to your small screen, we're betting you just can't wait to sit in a darkened room and soak up the splendour of the bigger version. Thankfully, plenty of new films are hitting cinemas so that you can do just that — and we've rounded up, watched and reviewed everything on offer this week. TITANE Eye roll-inducingly terrible bumper stickers be damned; no one honks if they're horny in Titane. Revving when aroused is more this petrol-doused body-horror film's style, spanning characters both flesh and chrome. When she's seen writhing in fishnets atop a flame-adorned vintage Cadillac, the stony-gazed Alexia (debutant Agathe Rousselle) is working. She's titillating a Fast and Furious-style car crowd with her sexed-up display, but the car model still seems to hum with every gyration. After wrapping up, murdering a grab-happy fan with the metal chopstick keeping her hair up and then showering off the gooey, gory evidence, she's soon purring rhythmically inside that gleaming vehicle. Yes, in a plot detail that spilled the instant Titane premiered at this year's Cannes Film Festival, where it won the prestigious Palme d'Or, this is the French car sex flick. How does someone fornicate with an automobile? Not inside or on the waxed hood, but copulating with the vehicle itself? That's one of this pumping piston of a movie's least interesting questions, although Titane does go there. In her sophomore effort after the also-phenomenal teen cannibal film Raw, writer/director Julia Ducournau isn't too interested in those specifics. She splashes the bouncy sex scene across the screen with lights flashing, human and motor pulsating as one, and pleasure seeping like exhaust fumes, but it's hardly the picture's only point of interest. Titane isn't the first feature to flirt with carnality and cars — Ridley Scott's The Counsellor had a gas-fuelled rendezvous less than a decade ago; Crash, from body-horror godfather David Cronenberg, is also steeped in automotive eroticism. But Ducournau's addition to the parking lot shrewdly links mechanophilia with agency and control, particularly over one's feelings and body. First, before cylinders start lustily thrusting, Titane finds the initial growls of Alexia's four-wheeled fascination via a quick race through her childhood. As a seven-year-old (fellow first-timer Adèle Guigue), she enjoys audibly rumbling along with the engine. She also likes kicking the chair in front of her, exasperating her dad (French filmmaker Bertrand Bonello, director of Nocturama and Zombi Child) into an accident. For her troubles, she gets a plate of the titular element inserted in her cracked skull. That steely stare matches the alloy in her head even then. From the outset, Ducournau pairs blood and metal, reshaping her central figure while laying bare her vulnerabilities. She kicks her film into a gear it'll keep shifting into again and again, too, because this is a movie about modifications: physically, emotionally and while trying to claim one's own sense of self. Titane isn't just the French car sex film, clearly. It isn't merely a car sex movie about a woman partly forged from titanium, and with a penchant for piercing her way through those who block her road. Nor is it simply the French car pregnancy flick, with Alexia and the Caddy's tryst bearing fruit — a condition she tries to conceal, especially after more deaths lead her to Vincent (Vincent Lindon, At War), a fire chief who takes her in as his long-missing son. If Ducournau had made her script out of metal, she'd be moulding it in its molten form. She'd be letting it bubble; key to Titane's blistering appeal is its eagerness to let things boil, then brim over, because the feelings and ideas it works with are that scorching. If her feature was a car instead, it'd be that libidinous, fire-emblazoned Cadillac, which arrives with a bang, lures Alexia in and then lets loose. Read our full review. VENOM: LET THERE BE CARNAGE What's more ludicrous in Venom: Let There Be Carnage: an alien invasion of one man's body that turns into a parasite-host odd-couple show, or a prologue that thinks Woody Harrelson could've been a 90s teen? Kudos to this sequel to 2018's Venom for starting how it means to go on, at least. With its opening, set in 1996 in a home for unwanted children, the film doubles down on silliness, overblown theatrics and packaging itself as a cartoonish lark. The goofiness of the original box-office hit was among its best traits, and worked because that ridiculousness rattled against the movie's gritty superhero setup. Venom adopted all the stylistic markers that've become the serious-minded caped-crusader formula, then let Tom Hardy bounce around like he was in a comedy. But this time, everyone's gone more than a little vaudeville, as has the movie — and the outcome is right there in the title. Carnage isn't just an apt term to describe the film, which has actor-turned-director Andy Serkis (Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle) behind the lens; it's also the name of its second symbiote, aka a flesh-munching extra-terrestrial who inhabits a bag of bones, then brings out its basest urges. Mercifully, Let There Be Carnage isn't big on rehashing the mechanics established in the initial flick, but Venom fits the bill, too, after the creature took up residence inside San Francisco journalist Eddie Brock (Hardy, Capone), then unleashed the franchise's one-body, two-personality double act. Carnage, the red-hued parasite, is the spawn of Venom, albeit bursting forth from condemned serial killer Cletus Kasady (Harrelson, Zombieland: Double Tap) after a scuffle with Brock. And yes, this is the kind of feature that has the scenery-chewing Harrelson proclaim its subtitle with glee. He bellows "let there be carnage!" with winking jokiness, but resembles a ringmaster announcing the next act in a big top. Scripted by returning scribe Kelly Marcel, who also mined Fifty Shades of Grey for all the humour she could — and using a story co-credited to Hardy, who clearly has an attachment to his Marvel-but-not-Marvel Cinematic Universe character — Let There Be Carnage isn't burdened with much plot. After getting murderous following his separation from girlfriend Frances Barrison (Naomie Harris, No Time to Die) in their youth, Kasady will only tell his tale to Brock before he's executed. The latter goes awry due to Carnage's arrival, and a deal. The new symbiote will reunite Kasady with Barrison, whose ability to manipulate sound has seen her locked in an asylum, if the sadistic criminal assists his havoc-wreaking passenger to dispense with Brock and Venom. Cue the obvious — yes, carnage — and an inevitable showdown. Harrelson wasn't an adolescent in the 90s, but his performance nods to that decade, back when his resume spanned White Men Can't Jump, Natural Born Killers, The People vs Larry Flynt, EDtv and the like. That isn't a compliment; he's simply summoning-slash-parodying that heyday, and he's in a film that wishes it released then. Indeed, Let There Be Carnage could've been the hit of 1993, 1999 or any other year before Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy reshaped the genre, the MCU turned it into one of the predominant forms of big-screen entertainment (and now small screen, too), and superhero flicks began arriving every few weeks. Really, Harrelson's work here feels like a chaotic distraction rather than a throwback nudge, because there's only one great thing about Let There Be Carnage: Tom Hardy arguing with himself Read our full review. BAD LUCK BANGING OR LOONY PORN Banging is the certainly word for it; when Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn begins, it's with high school teacher Emi (Katia Pascariu, Beyond the Hills) and her camera-wielding husband Eugen (first-timer Stefan Steel) having loud, enthusiastic, pink wig-wearing sex — and filming it. Romanian writer/ director Radu Jude (I Do Not Care If We Go Down in History as Barbarians) shows the explicit three-minute snippet of footage as others will see it, because others will indeed see it: the students at Emi's school, their parents and her fellow teachers among them. All genitalia and thrusting and lustful talk (and shouted queries through the door from whoever is looking after the couple's child), this graphic opening also makes a bold and firm statement. So many people within the film's frames will take issue with it as vocally as Emi and her partner are enjoying themselves — and they're unmistakably enjoying themselves — but Jude definitely isn't one of them. 2021's Berlinale Golden Bear-winner, Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn also starts with a gleeful provocation — not just to those seeing Emi and Eugen's home video within the movie, but to Jude's viewers. It's a jolting opening that's exactingly orchestrated to make audiences react, then unpack their own instant reflexes in tandem with the rude on-screen posse that may as well be waving pitchforks. The underlying question: to those who object, what makes this raunchy romp between two consenting adults so shocking? Worse exists on the internet en masse all the time, so is it its unexpected arrival? Within the picture, is it the fact that Emi is a teacher, a woman or that she's unapologetic, too? Both queries speak to ideas long internalised about what we see where, who we allow to do what, and the power that comes from enforcing arbitrary and hypocritical judgements about supposed immorality and obscenity. Indeed, loving, animated, costumed and sex toy-aided intercourse between a married couple in the privacy of their own home is the nicest thing that graces Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn — until the feature's glorious climax, that is. What follows the intimate clip is a razor-sharp satire of a world that's so indifferent to so much ghastliness and so often, yet remains so unaccepting of carnality and so quick to use it as a reason to unbridle our worst sniping impulses. The film wields that notion as a weapon, all as Emi and Bucharest's other residents also navigate the pandemic. Jude could've set his scorching feature at any time, but overtly drawing attention to the daily behaviour that's been accepted while the globe battles a decimating virus — and the fact that some here would rather fixate on a different and trivial kind of viral spread — makes a blunt but perceptive point. Accordingly, in the cinema verite-style first section, Emi rushes around the city on foot, going about an ordinary day that morphs into anything but. Actually, given that she learns of the sex tape backlash while surrounded by everyday hostilities and vulgarities, this chapter reinforces an ugly truth: that the performatively horrified responses from the parents of Emi's students are all too routine. Then, Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn's second act unleashes scathing and playful cine-essay snippets about the country's past, the planet's present, human behaviour — often at its most atrocious — and how porn is used as both a scapegoat and an anaesthetic. Lastly, a mask-wearing Emi is interrogated and publicly humiliated by parents and teachers, their punitive savagery and blatant sanctimoniousness on full display. Read our full review. THE UNFORGIVABLE There's a sense of symmetry to the fact that Netflix drama The Unforgivable marks Sandra Bullock's first movie in three years — since she last graced the big screen in Ocean's 8 and also starred in the streaming platform's hit Bird Box, both in 2018. After winning her Best Actress Oscar back in 2009 for The Blind Side, Bullock has appeared on-screen sparingly, featuring in just seven films over that period; however, when she puts in a phenomenal performance, she's as excellent as ever. In The Unforgivable, she does haunted, dead-eyed and determined like it's second nature, playing against-type as a woman just released from prison after a 20-year stint for murder. That said, she's also one of the best things about a movie that's almost everything else enough — serviceable-enough, watchable-enough, engaging-enough, compelling-enough — as it tracks an overstuffed redemption quest. Bullock's Ruth Slater has had two decades to stew on the incident that sent her to prison: the killing of a sheriff (W Earl Brown, No Man of God) who was trying to evict her and her then five-year-old sister Katie (Neli Kastrinos, Yellowjackets) from their family's farmhouse following their father's suicide. Upon getting out, she's warned by her parole officer (Rob Morgan, The United States vs Billie Holiday) about the difficulties of reintegrating back into normality, but finding her sibling (Aisling Franciosi, The Nightingale) is the sole thing on her mind. That's complicated by Katherine's lack of memory of anything before her adoption, and her protective new parents (Succession's Linda Emond and The Comey Rule's Richard Thomas). And, while there's enough meat in that family reunion saga for the film's plot, that's only one of its threads. Screenwriters Peter Craig (Bad Boys for Life), Hillary Seitz (Eagle Eye) and Courtenay Miles (Mindhunter) have adapted The Unforgivable from three-part 2009 UK TV series Unforgiven; hence the jam-packed storyline that feels as if it's unwilling to trust that just one or two of its subplots could garner an emotional response. Also included: the stigma of life as a convicted cop-killer, a label that follows Ruth's every move; the sheriff's now-grown sons (Wonder Wheel's Tom Guiry and Dickinson's Will Pullen) and their revenge plans; a tentative connection with a colleague (Jon Bernthal, The Many Saints of Newark) at the fish factory where she works nights; the couple of well-off lawyers (The Suicide Squad's Viola Davis and Godfather of Harlem's Vincent D'Onofrio) who now live in the Snohomish County home that started all her trouble; and a secret that Ruth's been carrying for years. Davis is sorely underused, but also exceptional in her few scenes, carving out as much space as she can in a film that always seems hurried. There should be urgency to The Unforgivable, of course, given Ruth's desperate focus on reconnecting with her sister, but there's a sensation of rushing rather than immediacy. Still, thanks to her two biggest female names — with one yearning yet closed off, and the other segueing from affronted to understanding, Bullock and Davis' scenes together are repeated highlights — filmmaker Nora Fingscheidt (System Crasher) ensures that neither tension nor intensity is lacking in her English-language debut. With cinematographer Guillermo Navarro (Dolittle), she also smartly mines the parallels between Seattle's grey climes and the many shades in Ruth's restarted life, but The Unforgivable still never manages to quite match its best elements. BEST SELLERS Best Sellers is the latest case of casting-by-internet, or so it seems, at least: pairing up Aubrey Plaza and Michael Caine smacks of a feverish film Twitter dream. They both turn in fine performances, too, with the former coming off career-best work in Black Bear to play independent publishing house editorial director Lucy Stanbridge, and the latter getting a meatier role than his last Christopher Nolan-directed bit-part (that'd be Tenet) as cantankerous writer Harris Shaw. Lucy needs a big bestseller to save the business, which she took over from her father. Harris has been typing out manuscripts for the five decades since his sole success, which made the elder Stanbridge, but hasn't submitted the one he's under contract for to the company. Enter Lucy's solution to her pressing problem, and one that the reclusive Harris only goes along with because he's short on cash. Knowing how Best Sellers will turn out is as easy as knowing which marks the always-likeable Plaza and Caine usually hit. Indeed, it's knowing why their team-up instantly sounds like a winner on paper — she's acerbic, albeit in a slightly lighter mode than seen in her breakthrough Parks and Recreation role, while he relishes being a curmudgeonly, outdated drunk who yells "bullshite!" so much that it's soon a viral catchphrase. There's plenty to like about their scenes together, especially when sweetness seeps into the surrogate grandfather-granddaughter bond that develops while Lucy and Harris are on tour spruiking his new book anywhere and everywhere they can. In their solo moments, they both find rich notes of yearning and melancholy in their unlikely duo, too, cementing the film's tender but comic look at odd-couple kindred spirits. Nevertheless, while boasting its own shelf of charms, Best Sellers is more standard than stellar. Mostly, actor-turned-directing first-timer Lina Roessler and screenwriter Anthony Grieco, a fellow thespian-turned-debutant, remain happy doing the minimum — which is understandable when you have Plaza and Caine leading the show, but keeps the film from cutting as deeply as it could. There's hints of savvy savageness in Harris' rallying against the literary world, the commerce of publishing and everything that comes with being a celebrity, although it always sticks to the expected. The same applies in Lucy's willingness to rethink the usual relationship between art and money in order to get the new book, The Future Is X-Rated, to strike a chord with readers as the pair make dive bars their offices on their cross-country road trip. A movie can be nice and neat at once, and for one to be a pro while the other proves a con — and this is one of those movies. Even though it could've been so much more, Roessler's feature is an easy, undemanding and cosy watch, and its soft hues ensure that feeling remains as plain as an all-caps book cover. Best Sellers is also far too eager to stick to cliches, including that aforementioned gentle visual approach, which feels bluntly tailored to the weekday matinee crowd. Time might be against them — he's 88 now, and made it sound as if he might be done with acting while doing real-life promotional duties for Best Sellers, although he then walked that back — but here's hoping that Plaza and Caine get a second on-screen chance. Their first collaboration definitely whets the appetite for more; in fact, that's the firmest imprint it leaves. STRAY In gorgeous and glorious 2016 documentary Kedi, Istanbul's stray cats received their moment in the cinematic spotlight, and also expressed much about the Turkish city and its human inhabitants in the process. The result was perfect — purrfect, even — regardless of whether you're normally a feline fan. Indeed, it's the defining movie about mousers, and also about their relationship with both places and people (even trying to put the likes of Garfield, Cats, A Street Cat Named Bob and its sequel A Christmas Gift from Bob, some of cinema's other go-to kitties, in the same company is thoroughly pointless). With Stray, it's now their canine counterparts' time to shine, so animal-adoring film lovers can spread their love between cats and dogs equally. Where Kedi elicited purrs of elation, this dog-centric delight is a piece of tail-waggingly tender and thoughtful cinema, too. Istanbul isn't just an arbitrary choice of setting for this compassionate film; it has a 'no kill, no capture' law when it comes to the dogs roaming its streets, which is why there's more than 100,000 of them scampering around. That leaves documentarian Elizabeth Lo spoiled for choice, but she only spends time with a few of those woofers. They span street veterans Zeytin and Nazar, both of whom prowl the pavement as comfortably as they would someone's home, as well as puppy Kartal. As they sniff and scurry their way through their days, Lo stitches together a perceptive and textured portrait of their lives, of the city around them, and of the people who help and are helped by them — and, just like in Kedi (which she wasn't affiliated with at all), there's plenty of two-legged Istanbulites who prove forever changed by these canines' presence. Here, there's a group of young street-dwelling Syrian refugees that are especially touched by Zeytin, Nazar and Kartal as well. Making her first full-length film after a background in doco shorts, the director/cinematographer/editor lets her four-legged subjects be the stars, even though humans are an inescapable part of their existence. Lo is also happy to let her audience observe her furry heroes. More than that, she frequently places the camera at canine height so that viewers feel as if they're seeing the world through a dog's eyes, or getting as close as they can (far closer than simply watching your own pet on a home video, for instance). Forget saccharine Hollywood flicks that use that idea as a gimmick (see: A Dog's Purpose and A Dog's Journey — or, better yet, don't see them because they're terrible). In Stray, immersion and insight are the key aims. And, they're feats that the soulful and contemplative movie repeatedly, patiently and ruminatively delivers. The result is a doggie treat of a crisply lensed doco, and one of the biggest joys of both Kedi and Stray alike is the sensory experience that comes with their on-the-ground approach. Neither movie merely wants to just show audiences how their chosen animals live, but to convey as much detail as possible — which is where that canny camerawork, and also the feature's naturalistic soundscape, barks loudest. Some elements of Stray do strive a little too hard to resonate, though, such as its philosophical quotes about dogs and composer Ali Helnwein's score. But just as it's impossible to begrudge a pooch for being too energetic, it's difficult to fault a film this shrewd, earnest and heartfelt about the crucial role that canines inhabit in human civilisation, the many ways we benefit, and the sheer magic of a pure pupper-people connection. CRY MACHO Clint Eastwood has already had his animal phase, thanks to 1978's Every Which Way but Loose and 1980's Any Which Way You Can. At the age of 91, he's already had almost every phase in his career he's going to both in front of and behind the lens. Still, with Cry Macho, he takes the road already well-travelled by seemingly every other on-screen action star and tough guy. Eastwood has been far more than that across his filmography, but he's now buddying up with a child as everyone from Arnold Schwarzenegger and Vin Diesel to Dwayne Johnson and Liam Neeson have before him. Indeed, Cry Macho overtly resembles one of the latter's most recent movies, The Marksman, which only hit cinemas earlier in 2021. It stemmed from a former Eastwood collaborator, in fact, and felt like it should've starred him — which leaves his latest following in its footsteps. They aren't impressive footsteps to retread, although Eastwood and screenwriter Nick Schenk (a veteran of the actor/director's Gran Torino and The Mule) help imbue their feature with more depth than its predecessor. Their approach is straightforward and easy, yet it works, in no small part because seeing Eastwood stride across the frame always brings his wealth of prior roles to mind. Cry Macho leans into and toys with that past. That's an apt move in another way, given that this film could've been made with this star/helmer in the 80s, but he passed on it. Schwarzenegger also cycled in and out of the project a decade ago, but it seems this movie needed to wait for Eastwood. The throwback vibe it sports — that comes as much from it being penned by N Richard Nash in the 70s, rejected as a screenplay, then turned into a novel, as from being set in 1979 and 1980. A rodeo star whose life changed via injury (his own) and tragedy (losing his wife and son), Mike Milo (Eastwood) is content enough with his quiet twilight years. Alas, his old boss Howard (country singer Dwight Yoakam) now says that the cowboy owes him a favour. The rancher's teenage son Rafo (Eduardo Minett, La rosa de Guadalupe) apparently needs rescuing from his mother (Fernanda Urrejola, Party of Five), and Mike is the man reluctantly tasked with travelling to Mexico City to carry out the job. Unsurprisingly, the situation isn't as clearcut as Howard contends, with corrupt Federales, car thieves and other unhappy strangers on their path all muddying the road home even further. But a forced stopover in a small town, where cantina owner Marta (Natalia Traven, Soulmates) becomes the new female influence in their lives, helps forge a rapport. There's also a rooster called Macho, which is Rafo's best friend and his source of income via cockfighting — and the reason that Eastwood growls out the line "if a guy wants to name his cock Macho, that's fine with me". Mike doesn't take to the fowl at first but, of course, his way with animals is one of his defining traits. Cry Macho's chief struggle — its balance of what gleams and what's trite — shines through in this rooster relationship. There's something moving in the bond that obviously forms between Mike and Macho, as it does between Mike and Rafo, but it's also happy to be overly mawkish. The film looks the sun-drenched western part, and Eastwood plays his own part with grizzled grace; however, those uneasy balancing acts just keep popping up. Here, reflecting on what it really means to be macho and a hero goes hand in hand with writing off sexually confident women and having the movie's two primary female characters basically throw themselves at Eastwood, for instance. PALAZZO DI COZZO If Franco Cozzo was to spruik Palazzo Di Cozzo the same way he's promoted his baroque furniture business over the decades, he'd likely repeat one phrase: "grand documentary, grand documentary, grand documentary." He'd do so because that's what he's known for, and because his ads peppered with "grand sale, grand sale, grand sale" are a part of Melbourne's history, even inspiring a single that hit the charts. On the city's TV screens, Cozzo has been the face of his eponymous homewares store, so much so that he's a local celebrity. His lively exclamations fill much of this doco, too, through archival clips, observational footage of him at work and a to-camera interview. In the latter chat, he sits on one of the ornate chairs he's made a fortune selling, and answers interview questions like he's holding court — and for Melburnians familiar with his name and citywide fame, and for the uninitiated elsewhere, Palazzo Di Cozzo explains both the reason he's regarded as such a prominent personality. Written and directed by feature-length first-timer Madeleine Martiniello (The Unmissables), the result is a film about the hardworking jump its subject took from arriving in Australia from Sicily in 1956 to becoming part of the cultural fabric of his new home. Speaking about the mural painted of Cozzo in Footscray, graffiti artist Heesco notes that his tale is "the migrant dream"; however, while this affectionate film happily stresses that point, it also blissfully takes the easiest route. As a straightforward chronicle that covers the basics — who Cozzo is, what he's done, and also where, when, why and how — Palazzo Di Cozzo ticks the expected boxes in an informative and engaging-enough fashion. It tracks his story from making the move to Melbourne by boat and starting out as a door-to-door salesman, through to his 70s and 80s heyday, his frequent media presence, and his standing today. It lets his personality lead the way, too. And, the film also spends some of its early moments chatting to people who've decked out their houses with his wares, or watched their parents to do the same, to underscore what the rococo aesthetic has meant to Italian expats as an opulent slice of home. But even when one interviewee is in tears recounting how hard her mum and dad must've worked to spend $17,000 on Cozzo furniture in the 70s, there's always a sense that Palazzo Di Cozzo isn't scratching as deep as it should. The documentary doesn't avoid moments that Cozzo would rather forget, and even shows him getting irate when questioning heads in a direction he doesn't like; however, it also indulges rather than interrogates the persona that's leapt up around him over the years. Cue too many instances of people parroting his style of English back to him, and indulging a cartoonish stereotype — and very little effort to understand why that's the image Cozzo chose, what his popularity for playing that part says about Australia and its attitudes towards migrants, and also what the nostalgia afforded his way now says as well. Palazzo Di Cozzo is now screening in Sydney and Melbourne after opening in Brisbane earlier in the year when New South Wales and Victoria were in lockdown. If you're wondering what else is currently screening in Australian cinemas — or has been lately — check out our rundown of new films released in Australia on July 1, July 8, July 15, July 22 and July 29; August 5, August 12, August 19 and August 26; September 2, September 9, September 16, September 23 and September 30; October 7, October 14, October 21 and October 28; and November 4, November 11 and November 18. For Sydney specifically, you can take a look at out our rundown of new films that released in Sydney cinemas when they reopened on October 11, and what opened on October 14, October 21 and October 28 as well. And for Melbourne, you can check out our top picks from when outdoor cinemas reopened on October 22 — and from when indoor cinemas did the same on October 29. You can also read our full reviews of a heap of recent movies, such as Herself, Little Joe, Black Widow, The Sparks Brothers, Nine Days, Gunpowder Milkshake, Space Jam: A New Legacy, Old, Jungle Cruise, The Suicide Squad, Free Guy, Respect, The Night House, Candyman, Annette, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised), Streamline, Coming Home in the Dark, Pig, Big Deal, The Killing of Two Lovers, Nitram, Riders of Justice, The Alpinist, A Fire Inside, Lamb, The Last Duel, Malignant, The Harder They Fall, Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain, Halloween Kills, Passing, Eternals, The Many Saints of Newark, Julia, No Time to Die, The Power of the Dog, Tick, Tick... Boom!, Zola, Last Night in Soho, Blue Bayou and The Rescue.
Sydneysiders love pizza. Sydneysiders also love a bottomless deal. So it is cause for celebration that Harbour City folk can finally celebrate both these passions at once, courtesy of Surry Hills pizzeria, 170 Grammi. Luigi Esposito — the pizzaiolo who helped ignite Sydney's love of woodfired slices, most notably at his popular chain of Neapolitan restaurants, Via Napoli — is laying on a Roman feast every Friday lunchtime. From midday–4pm, diners can get their fill of Rome's most quintessential cuisine, including freshly fried suppli (Rome's answer to arancini), schiacciata, a traditional crisp flatbread loaded with slices of mortadella, and of course, 170 Grammi's pizza-fication of classic Roman mains, including the already-iconic carbonara and porchetta pizzas. Be sure to leave room for dessert. 170 Grammi's maritozzi (cream-filled Roman doughnuts) come in a range of styles, from classic flavours like traditional vanilla and pistachio to more contemporary twists, like Nutella and Kinder Bueno. During your 90-minute seating, you'll enjoy free-flowing Aperol spritzes, as well as a selection of wines, beers and soft drinks. And at $69 per person, inclusive of all drinks and food, not only is this one of the most delicious bottomless deals in Sydney — it's also one of the most affordable. Images: Trent van der Jagt.
Any Penrith local you come across can tell you everything you could conceivably want to know about The Log Cabin. The historic pub has stood on the shores of the Nepean River since 1826, hosting passing travellers looking for a cup of tea or a stiff drink (travellers like Charles Darwin, if the stories are to be believed) until an electrical fire saw it come down in 2012. In 2022, the beloved pub was rebuilt and reborn, and it brought a brand new offering to travellers and diners alike: the upper-level dining room, Sinclair's. Named after Ross Sinclair, the custodian of The Log Cabin from 1983 to 2021, over a year later the space remains one of the best-kept secrets in Penrith. But we're not about to gatekeep. The atmosphere is one of relaxed luxury, with a vaulted interior dining room shaped by wood-cladding walls, a central fireplace in walnut hues, brushed brass fixtures and fittings, and soft, neutral plush furnishings. The walls are adorned with artwork by Bermudan artist Meg Walters depicting the landscapes of the Nepean River and surrounding mountains — landscapes that can be taken in by diners on the adjacent panoramic river deck. That love for the Nepean and surrounding region extends off the walls and into the kitchen. Head Chef Scott Mills and Laundy Hotels Group Executive Chef Jamie Gannon have built the menu on a simple ethos: source local. A vast majority of the produce used in the kitchen is sourced from suppliers within a 50-kilometre radius of the restaurant. Examples of that ethos include zucchini flowers sourced from fourth-generation farmers in the Hawkesbury and paired with buffalo mozzarella, garlic chives and local honey; or the cow's milk stracciatella (sourced from Marrickville's Vannella Cheese) with heirloom tomatoes from Golden Fields Growers in Wallacia and 'zero-waste pesto' made in-house out of surplus herbs and greens. The summer menu also includes signature Hawkesbury steak tartare with hen yolk, pecorino and crisps; line-caught snapper with Schofield Orchard citrus, capers and almond; hefty cuts of wagyu, scotch fillet and tomahawk cooked over hot coals and ironbark; signature beef fat-cooked potatoes and more. On the drinks front, an impressive wine list is backed by a series of signature cocktails, each (you guessed it) doing a part to champion local suppliers. Said signatures include a riverside strawberry sour (gin, strawberry, local citrus, and sugar) and Sinclair's margarita (Blanco tequila, agave, local citrus, activated charcoal). If you aren't already a convert of this terrific restaurant, go experience it and you'll more than likely become one yourself. Sinclair's is open for lunch every Friday to Sunday from 12–3pm and open for dinner every Wednesday to Saturday from 5–10.30pm. Visit the website for booking details.
When you're looking for a change of pace, Queensland's outback reaches might just be the perfect place to take some time out and get into the wild. But where should you start exploring the seemingly endless expanse of red dirt and rolling hills? Located about 800 kilometres west of Brisbane, the charming community of Cunnamulla fits the bill. Boundless opportunities await for you and your travelling buddies to embrace this rural heartbeat of Australia, thanks to its enchanting river systems, soaring sand dunes and historic outback stations. Meanwhile, Cunnamulla also has just enough creature comforts to ensure a relaxing stay. In partnership with Wild Turkey, we've picked out seven ways to experience this fascinating rural region. [caption id="attachment_841312" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Tourism and Events Queensland[/caption] VISIT A TRADITIONAL OUTBACK STATION AND EXPERIENCE LIFE ON THE LAND Whether you're a city slicker or certified survivalist, enjoying life on an outback station is an unforgettable experience. Fortunately, the areas surrounding Cunnamulla are home to a number of historic farmlands that welcome visitors for outdoor adventures and backcountry camping. One such example is Franc Villers Station, which features serene unpowered camping sites alongside a picturesque dam. Here, you're welcome to fish, swim or just relax in the country air. Meanwhile, Nulla Station offers camping along the Warrego River right beside a wildlife reserve, with a network of tributaries and rocky outcrops offering self-guided explorations. [caption id="attachment_841313" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Tourism and Events Queensland[/caption] KAYAK, FISH OR SWIM IN THE MIGHTY WARREGO RIVER The Warrego River gives life to this dusty part of the country, stretching for more than 1000 kilometres and supporting the region's remarkable flora and fauna. Running through central northern New South Wales and southwest Queensland, this alluring intermittent river system is best experienced up close — and Cunnamulla is one of the best spots from which to do just that. Bringing along a kayak or canoe ensures you catch a glimpse of the shifting landscape, which traverses through wide-open plains and dense timber forests. The Warrego is also great for fishing, with freshwater species like silver perch and Murray cod known to inhabit the biodiverse waterways. [caption id="attachment_844554" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Elliott Kramer[/caption] GO SANDBOARDING ON NATURAL RED SANDHILLS Cunnamulla might be 850 kilometres from the nearest beach, but that doesn't mean you can't enjoy some of the country's best sandboarding adventures in the heart of the outback. While the climb to the top of these natural lofty dunes is a little tough, your efforts will be well rewarded with a thrilling ride down the slopes. A selection of local tour companies transport travellers to and from the nearby sand dunes, and also provide all the gear you need to surf these granular waves. Plus, the dunes offer awesome views of the surrounding landscape, ensuring you can fully appreciate the scale of the outback. TEE OFF AT THE CUNNAMULLA GOLF CLUB If you're planning to head to Cunnamulla, you don't have to leave your favourite set of clubs behind. The Cunnamulla Golf Club offers 18 challenging holes that ensure you practice your game overlooking the great outback expanse. However, don't expect the Augusta National when you arrive. This remote golf course is landscaped using dirt fairways and sandy 'greens', meaning you might have to give your swing some extra oomph. Sections of the course are lined with river gums and coolabah trees, so keep an eye out for local wildlife using the course as a thoroughfare from the nearby Warrego River. [caption id="attachment_844043" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Mark Gillow (Flickr)[/caption] TAKE A STROLL AND GO WILDLIFE SPOTTING AT THE CUNNAMULLA BUSHLANDS The Cunnamulla Bushlands are perfect for a relaxed wander that puts you amongst the region's incredible natural beauty. This site is divided into ten ecological sections, with a charming one-kilometre walk that ensures you experience each one. Right at the end, you're rewarded with a peaceful place to sit in the wetlands. Here, striking native animals also run wild. You won't have any problem finding kangaroos with Cunnamulla recognised as having one of the largest populations in Queensland. Plus, the area is also known as a great place to see emus taking a stroll. [caption id="attachment_841311" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Tourism and Events Queensland[/caption] TAKE IN HISTORY AND CULTURE ON THE CUNNAMULLA HERITAGE TRAIL Cunnamulla and the surrounding Shire of Paroo are steeped in history with the land occupied by the Gunya people long before the township's foundation. Nowadays, you can explore this history through the Cunnamulla Heritage Trail, which documents tales about the characters and buildings that forged this captivating outback community. There's great insight into the town's folklore throughout the trail. For instance, the Robber's Tree was climbed by wannabe bandit Joseph Wells as he tried to escape the police after he attempted to pillage the Queensland National Bank in 1880. Meanwhile, the towering bronze figure of the Cunnamulla Fella captures the spirit of 1950s bush characters recounted in Slim Dusty's namesake tune. [caption id="attachment_841310" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Tourism and Events Queensland[/caption] CAMP OUT AT CHARLOTTE PLAINS STATION AND COOL OFF IN ITS ARTESIAN SPRINGS Cunnamulla offers visitors a range of comfortable accommodation options. But if you're looking for a unique outback stay, resting up at Charlotte Plains Station will deliver something special. Spanning a mind-boggling 70,000 acres, this massive property offers endless ways to reconnect with nature. While hundreds of working sheep and cattle are dotted across the farm, parts of the property have been transformed into idyllic countryside retreats, with powered camping sites, bungalows and more. With guests invited to shear sheep, search for stunning wildlife and bathe overlooking an ancient bore, this outback experience is like no other. Top image: Tourism and Events Queensland
Try as they might, it seems like far too many boyfriends simply can't figure out the angles, lighting and poses needed to make their partner's IG profile sing. If you've felt this kind of frustration, just know your feelings are supported by the research, with 87 percent of young Australians agreeing that their partner is 'useless' at taking photos of them. Fortunately, FUJIFILM is here to help, hosting what it's calling the Picture Perfect Partners Workshop from 10am–3pm at Fujifilm House of Photography on Saturday, October 25. Coached by professional photographer and creative director Ben Savage, each one-hour session offers couples hands-on practice, posing tips and expert guidance with a camera in hand. Meanwhile, a dedicated glam station gives couples the opportunity to elevate their look before stepping in front of the camera. "We've all been in that situation where you ask a loved one — whether it's your friend, family member, or a partner — to take a photo and it's a total fail. And now our research proves that it's a widespread problem that's bugging young Aussies," says Leanne Hughes, Head of Marketing, Electronic Imaging & Optical Devices at FUJIFILM. As for the struggles couples report most when snapping pics together, 60 percent say the image is a no-go due to unflattering angles or the fact they're snapped mid-blink. Says Savage: "This workshop is all about empowering people to become their loved one's ultimate 'Picture Perfect Partner' and I'll be sharing all my best-kept secrets on everything from framing and composition to intentionality." Images: Ben Savage.
Australia's annual week-long celebration of the history, achievements and diverse culture of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples is back this July. Running from July 8–15, this year's festivities are centred around the theme of 'Because of her, we can!', recognising the pivotal role Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women play in our community. During the week, the city will be filled with fairs, art shows, parties and performances showcasing Indigenous Australian culture and highlighting the strength, power and importance of women. And many of them are free — from lunchtime screenings to installations inside bars — so it's a great chance to enjoy our country's diverse culture without spending a cent. The conversation around and celebration of Indigenous Australian and Torres Strait Islander culture isn't just restricted to this week, either. To continue learning about, and celebrating one of the oldest cultures on the planet, you can watch shows and documentaries on SBS's National Indigenous Television, join the conversation at Aboriginal-led website Common Ground and visit local Indigenous art centres.
Word Travel's literary laboratory Story-Fest is set to return to Sydney this month. Between October 19–21, the Sydney Opera House, The Rocks and other venues around the harbour will host wordsmiths from across the globe as they take the stage to share their vocal art. The annual festival celebrates eclectic creatives with three jam-packed days of provocative poetry slams, talks, live literature and monologues. Artists expected to make the journey include celebrated Canadian poet and novelist Kaie Kellough, who will host both a discussion and an experimental language workshop, and Singapore's Deborah Emmanuel. Emmanuel will take to the stage at Customs House to perform her new solo work Alien Flower in Fundamentalist Fields for the first time. She will also join ABC Radio National audio documentary maker Belinda Lopez and Laurie May for the multilingual performance, Leaving Home, Coming Home, which explores the concept of what is, well, home. Those wanting to stretch their creative muscles can take part in poetry zine making and haiku workshops, the latter of which ends in a precariously named 'Death Match' — don't worry, it's just a battle of the spoken word. This expansive line-up culminates in the festival's main event: the Australia Poetry Slam National Final, taking place at the Sydney Opera House on Sunday evening. Kellough will start the night with a unique vocal performance, then the comp will kick off. During the slam, members of the crowd will be randomly chosen to play the role of judge. Last year's winners Solli Raphael and Jesse Oliver will also perform before handing over their (figurative) crowns. The winner will get a golden ticket to literary festivals around the globe, from Singapore to Montreal. Whether you're a hidden poet, like to experiment with a haiku or two, or just want to sit back and watch some damn emotive speech, this event will be sure to unleash some real feels from within. Tickets vary from show to show and range between $10–58. Or, if you get in quick, you can snap up a Festival Pass for just $35 (there's only 35 of these available — so poetic). If you're strapped for cash, the event is also running a free Performing Writers Forum, where you can still experience the best of this dynamic community.
A 90s-style thriller that'd sit comfortably alongside Single White Female, Greta boasts one major attraction. It's never a chore to watch the great Isabelle Huppert on screen, and it's hardly unusual to see the 2017 Oscar nominee dive into unsettling territory, but this stalker tale adds more than just another title to her resume. For anyone who's ever wanted to witness the French acting icon being wheeled out of an upmarket New York restaurant in a straightjacket, spit gum menacingly at Chloë Grace Moretz or dance gleefully in stockinged feet while waving a gun around, this is the film for you. And while Greta never lives up to its star's efforts, or to its twisty, pulpy, trashy potential, it's just unhinged enough to mostly entertain — as long as you're willing to go along with it. As co-written by director Neil Jordan (Byzantium) and screenwriter Ray Wright (The Crazies), Greta's story is simple, involving a new NYC resident, a green handbag and a good deed gone wrong. When Frances McCullen (Moretz) spots an abandoned purse on a subway seat, she does the right thing and tracks down its owner. "Where I come from, that's what we do," the Boston native tells her incredulous roommate Erica (Maika Monroe), who suggests pocketing the contents instead. Serving up a fresh pot of coffee as a thank you, the eponymous Greta Hideg (Huppert) is immensely grateful for Frances' efforts, and a surrogate mother-daughter relationship springs between the two women. All's fine and well when they're rescuing a stray dog from the pound, catching up in the park and eating dinner together. But when Frances starts to doubt Greta's motives, the situation gets creepy very quickly. The loneliness of 21st-century city living is a fascinating and endlessly relevant topic — we've never been more crowded physically and more connected virtually, yet feeling isolated has hardly been relegated to the past. A thematically slight film, that's not Greta's main concern, even as it follows two characters who are well acquainted with the aforementioned sensation. Greta and Frances' general emotional wellbeing barely troubles the movie, and nor do their backstories, other than giving the duo absent family members that they're clearly trying to replace with each other. Here, what's happening is more important than the reasons behind it. Indeed, why the titular character behaves the way she does is given much less attention than her crazy actions and reactions — and let's just say that she doesn't respond nicely to discovering that her new friendship is under threat. As a result, Greta favours the mechanics of its cat-and-mouse narrative over any potential meaning. Really, the latter is straightforward: don't trust strangers. No really, don't. Not every film needs to overflow with depth, and there's a valuable truth in the movie's refusal to justify its craziness — sometimes horrible things happen without a satisfactory or extraordinary explanation, and sometimes seemingly ordinary, benign people are anything but. Still, the effect can be distancing. Although Huppert and Moretz both put in committed performances, there's very little reason to get invested in Greta's characters, their fight or their fates. Seasoned horror fans know this predicament well, with plenty of routine scary movies simply fine to journey from point A to point B without worrying about much of substance. To go through the motions, in other words. What makes Greta engaging isn't the film's story, which is sparse overall while also proving off-kilter and even preposterous at times. Rather, it's the fact that Jordan knows exactly what he's doing. A standard handbag that's made well still catches the eye, after all, as Frances learns and Greta uses to her advantage. With genre flicks such as The Company of Wolves and Interview with the Vampire to his name, the Irish filmmaker is happy to make the most of genre conventions, executing the expected twists and slick, moody style with a confidence that occasionally veers into winking at the audience. He's taking his cues from his antagonist: leaving something average yet alluring enough in plain view and tempting audiences to try their luck. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IK5pUVT-Sy4
When winter blows her icy breath on our pale, dressing-gown-clad bodies, it can be all too tempting to stay indoors on the couch with a cup of tea and some mindless TV. Put down your Earl Grey because getaway experts Mr & Mrs Smith want you to embrace the chill and explore your own extended backyard with these ten deals and one killer competition celebrating Victoria's hidden charms. Whether you're keen to wander the countryside or draw near to the beating heart of the city, Mr & Mrs Smith will get you out of your Ugg boots and knee-deep into Victoria. As the frost sets in, Melbourne comes into its own, enchanting you with an abundance of cosy cafes and busy bars nestled in cool hidden laneways. Get your warm winter wardrobe at the unique boutiques and fashion strips on Chapel Street or get a healthy dose of culture at the many art, music and theatre shows on offer. Venture just an hour or two out of the city and you'll be swept away in the beauty of the Victorian countryside. Sip a batch of the freshest cider from the Yarra Valley and go on a tasting trail on your bike of locally grown wine and produce. Explore the natural beauty as you hike through the Grampians. Get your wetsuit on and forget about your goosebumps as you surf some world-famous beaches along the Great Ocean Road or be treated like royalty in the luxurious hotels of Daylesford. Mr & Mrs Smith have selected only the most standout boutique hotels and smart self-catering stays to tempt you off your couch and get you ensconced in a Victorian winter getaway. Win the Ultimate Victorian Adventure Mr & Mrs Smith are offering a chance to win the ultimate Victorian winter wonderland holiday for two. You'll be spoiled in the city with two nights at the Prince in St Kilda, where you can treat yourself to dinner at the top-rated Circa restaurant. Then head to Daylesford, spending two nights in the luxurious spa at the Lake House. Finish your trip off with two nights at the Mornington Pensinula’s beachside Big Blue Backyard and get the blood pumping with a dip in the ocean. You'll feel like a rockstar with a BMW X Series car ride to get up close and personal with the sights of Victoria. Return Qantas flights for two will get you to Melbourne from your closest Australian capital city. Enter the competition via their website. Exclusive Offers from Mr & Mrs Smith Can't wait? Check out all of Mr & Mrs Smith’s exclusive offers for Concrete Playground readers. 1. Big Blue Backyard, St. Andrews Beach Exclusive to Mr & Mrs Smith and Visit Victoria travellers; Stay three nights but only pay for two on the beautiful Mornington Peninsula. 2. The Cullen, Melbourne Exclusive to Mr & Mrs Smith and Visit Victoria travellers; save 20 per cent on Studio Suites and experience all the sights of trendy Prahran and Chapel Street. 3. Lake House, Daylesford Exclusive to Mr & Mrs Smith and Visit Victoria travellers; stay three nights but only pay for two and soak up Daylesford and the spectacular spa country. 4. Lyall Hotel and Spa, Melbourne Exclusive to Mr & Mrs Smith and Visit Victoria travellers; discover the secrets of South Yarra and the sights and delights of Chapel Street and save 20% off the usual rates. 5. Mansion Hotel & Spa, Melbourne Exclusive to Mr & Mrs Smith and Visit Victoria travellers; savour the historic surrounds, wine delights and zoo experience all within reach of this iconic hotel and save 20% off the usual rate. 6. Mollisons, Kyneton Exclusive to Mr & Mrs Smith and Visit Victoria travellers; stay three nights but only pay for two and experience historic Kyneton and surrounds. 7. Mt Sturgeon, The Grampians Exclusive to Mr & Mrs Smith and Visit Victoria travellers; stay three nights but only pay for two in the beautiful Grampians. 8. Ovolo Hotel Melbourne Exclusive to Mr & Mrs Smith and Visit Victoria travellers; visit Melbourne during winter and save 20% off rates. 9. The Prince, Melbourne Exclusive to Mr & Mrs Smith and Visit Victoria travellers; trendy St Kilda is yours to explore on this special winter offer and save 20% off the usual rates. 10. Royal Mail Hotel, The Grampians Exclusive to Mr & Mrs Smith and Visit Victoria travellers; stay three nights but only pay for two in the beautiful Grampians. To take advantage of these exclusive offers, book through the Mr & Mrs Smith website. Top image courtesty of Mr and Mrs Smith. Other images courtesy of Tourism Victoria.
As all at CP know — and passionately dedicate our work lives to — this city is much more than the iconic landmarks that first spring to mind when you hear 'Sydney'. Of course, the Opera House, Harbour Bridge and Bondi Beach are breathtaking, but there are places hidden in plain sight that visitors (and locals) tend to overlook when getting out and about. And more than a few that, unexpectedly, could see you flexing those creative muscles. Together with Archie Rose, the much-loved Rosebery-based distillery, we've uncovered life drawing nights in CBD pubs, watercolour classes in distilleries and jewellery-making workshops in art galleries that'll help you discover Sydney a little differently as you unleash (or hone) your artistic side. TAKE A CREATIVE CLASS IN A ROSEBERY DISTILLERY First up, why not head to Rosebery and lean into the right side of your brain with Archie Rose. The distillery — which boasts the likes of Lemon Scented Gum Gin and Eau de Bee Honey Spirit as well as its stand-out signature range — also hosts a variety of classes that bring out your inner artist in a deliciously different environment. There's the Dynamic Ceramics with Klaypots class, which tasks you with shaping your own ceramic pieces while drinking in your surrounds (and bespoke Archie Rose cocktails) over two hours. You'll be guided by ceramicist Karina Goudie and leave with three glazed pieces heading off to get fired. If painting is more your thing, Harvest Inspired Watercolour Painting will see you making a start on your portfolio. You'll also take home your paintbrush and watercolour pan, so you're sure to achieve master status in no time. And for those looking to add a festive touch to their home, the Spirited Christmas Wreath Making Workshop invites Peony Story's founder and chief designer Nikki Zeng to the distillery to guide you through the construction of a European-style Christmas wreath. Expect preserved foliage and everlasting blooms aplenty — the perfect serve alongside your welcome G&T. Once you're in the space, don't be surprised if the creativity firing in your brain ask you to take it another step further — and Archie Rose's Tailored Spirits offering allows you to do just that. Choose the botanicals for your own customised bottle of gin, or play creative director and design the label for your own bottled cocktail. And if you've ever wanted to create your own spirit, you can even have your own cask of whiskey made. Pick your base malt, spirit style, cask type and even the strength, before the resident experts carry out your orders and have your bottles on their way to you in two to three months. [caption id="attachment_877756" align="alignnone" width="1920"] @september___studio[/caption] THROW CLAY IN A DARLINGHURST FLORIST Just as we have actor-slash-musicians and editor-slash-writers, there are venue versions of the slashie. Head to Darlinghurst to find September Studio, a delightful florist-slash-ceramics-studio. Spend Sunday afternoon — or your after-work hours on a Tuesday, Thursday or Friday — in the Boundary Street corner spot for an introductory ceramics class. In just under 90 minutes, you'll have been shown the ropes of wheel-throwing and hand-building by ceramicist and September Studio owner Bryce Heyworth. By home time, you'll have two hand-crafted pieces — and for an extra $15 on top of the $75 class, those pieces can be trimmed and taken to the kiln. If one session isn't enough, $50 will get returning students an hour in the floral-filled space. You'll have access to the wheels, clay and Heyworth's expertise, all while surrounded by clay vessels carrying leftover stems. Darlo is a hot spot for some of the best bars in town, so make a night of it and nab yourself an after-class sip at Love, Tilly Devine, or catch up with your mates over Italian snacks at Fortuna. [caption id="attachment_877560" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Simi Eliott[/caption] TAKE UP GLASSBLOWING AMIDST THE MARRICKVILLE BREWERY PRECINCT It's time to branch out and familiarise yourself with a fascinating new skill: glassblowing. Nestled in the heart of Marrickville's brewery precinct, creative studio Among the Trees hosts contemporary glass artist Mark Eliott as he conducts classes that showcase the wonders of glassblowing. If you just want to dip a toe in, head to Class Bento and book a spot in the taster class. Over 2.5 hours, you'll get to try your hand at sculpting glass in the flame (after Eliott demonstrates and takes you through safety demos, of course) using a rainbow of borosilicate rods, before you take home two glass objects to show off at your next gathering. There's also a full-day masterclass that will give you more time to get creative and refine your stretching, blowing and creative techniques. And since you're in Marrickville, go grab a brewskie at one of the nearby breweries — The Bob Hawke Beer & Leisure Centre, Batch and Stockade are all within walking distance. SPEND A NIGHT NUDE LIFE DRAWING AT A CBD PUB Always wanted to have your own Rose and Jack moment and draw someone like one of your French girls? Head to The Attic — inside CBD fave ArtHouse Hotel — on a Monday night for a nude life-drawing session. Each week, models of all shapes and sizes get their kit off in the name of you getting artsy. The casual classes, ideally situated in close proximity to the bar, allow you to go with your creative flow or request guidance from the night's approachable host. You're free to use provided supplies or experiment with colour, textures and mediums by bringing along your own supplies. Entry is $7, vibes are high and the bar's fully stocked — the recipe for a cracking start to your work week. [caption id="attachment_877589" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Ash Durden[/caption] MAKE A PIECE OF JEWELLERY IN A NORTHERN BEACHES ART GALLERY If there's a class to truly induce a feeling of accomplishment, it's one where you can hand-crafted your own jewellery. One set in an art gallery near the ocean surely only adds to the allure. HAKE House of Art is the recently opened gallery in Dee Why that celebrates and supports artists while creating a place "where art comes to life and is breathed into our community". As well as regular exhibits — with local artists like Lucinda Jones and Neil Tomkins — the creative space hosts jewellery house The Fifth Lane's silversmithing masterclasses (which are accompanied by beer, wine and nibbles). Tommy Lane, the head maker and owner of the jewellery biz, fronts the $175 sessions and guides you as you make a piece of your choice — fine stacking rings, a chunky ring or silver bangle (you can even upgrade to 9ct gold, you fancy thing). You'll heat your metal, bend it into your desired shape, try your hand at soldering and then file and sand to achieve a lustre of your liking. There's no experience needed, just a desire to learn and willingness to get hands-on. In 2.5 hours, you'll have created your new wearable piece in a space dedicated to creative expression. FYI: The Fifth Lane runs classes on the Central Coast and North Coast and in other Sydney spots, too. RECORD THE NEXT HIT PODCAST JUST MOMENTS FROM PARRAMATTA ROAD Whether you've got the bones of a tip-top investigative piece in your back pocket or you rate your group chat's chat 10/10, timing's everything in the release of a podcast — so you should book this cosily furnished Camperdown recording studio, stat. Just far enough away from the bustle of Parra Road, this space is equipped with two kitchens, bathrooms, chill-out areas and space enough for 30 people. Recording equipment is provided, as is a whole host of instruments — vintage guitars, drum kits and a grand piano, specifically. At $150 per hour, and with a four-hour minimum, you'd best get your script drafted, your guests (or co-hosts) locked down and begin planning the release of what's sure to be the next hit poddy. If you're looking to get creative in Sydney, an arty masterclass at Archie Rose is an ideal spot to start. Head to the website to book your spot. Top images: Ash Durden (second); Simi Eliott (third, student is Ali Vandeness)
Not all that long ago, the idea of getting cosy on your couch, clicking a few buttons, and having thousands of films and television shows at your fingertips seemed like something out of science fiction. Now, it's just an ordinary night — whether you're virtually gathering the gang to text along, cuddling up to your significant other or shutting the world out for some much needed me-time. Of course, given the wealth of options to choose from, there's nothing ordinary about making a date with your chosen streaming platform. The question isn't "should I watch something?" — it's "what on earth should I choose?". Hundreds of titles are added to Australia's online viewing services each and every month, all vying for a spot on your must-see list. And, so you don't spend 45 minutes scrolling and then being too tired to actually commit to anything, we're here to help. We've spent plenty of couch time watching our way through this month's latest batch — and, from the latest and greatest through to old and recent favourites, here are our picks for your streaming queue from May's haul. BRAND NEW STUFF YOU CAN WATCH IN FULL NOW THE GREAT Television perfection is watching Elle Fanning (The Girl From Plainville) and Nicholas Hoult (Renfield) trying to run 18th-century Russia while scheming, fighting and heatedly reuniting in ahistorical period comedy The Great. Since 2020, they've each been in career-best form — her as the series' ambitious namesake, him as the emperor who loses his throne to his wife — while turning in two of the best performances on streaming in one of the medium's most hilarious shows. Both former child actors now enjoying excellent careers as adults, they make such a marvellous pair that it's easy to imagine this series being built around them. It wasn't and, now three seasons, The Great has never thrived on their casting alone. Still, shouting "huzzah!" at the duo's bickering, burning passion and bloodshed-sparking feuding flows as freely as all the vodka downed in the Emmy-winner's frames under Australian creator Tony McNamara's watch (and after he initially unleashed its winning havoc upon Sydney Theatre Company in 2008, then adapted it for television following a BAFTA and an Oscar nomination for co-penning The Favourite). In this latest batch of instalments, all either written or co-written by McNamara, Catherine (Fanning) and Peter (Hoult) begin the third season sure about their love for each other, but just as flummoxed as ever about making their nuptials work. She's attempting to reform the nation, he's the primary caregiver to their infant son Paul, her efforts are meeting resistance, he's doting but also bored playing stay-out-of-politics dad, and couples counselling is called for. There's also the matter of the royal court's most prominent members, many of whom were rounded up and arrested under Catherine's orders at the end of season two. From Sweden, exiled King Hugo (Freddie Fox, House of the Dragon) and Queen Agnes (Grace Molony, Mary, Queen of Scots) are hanging around after being run out of their own country due to democracy's arrival. And, Peter's lookalike Pugachev (also Hoult) is agitating for a serf-powered revolution. The Great streams via Stan. Read our full review. PREHISTORIC PLANET When it initially arrived in 2022, becoming one of the year's best new shows and giving nature doco fans the five-episode series they didn't know they'd always wanted — and simultaneously couldn't believe hadn't been made until now — Prehistoric Planet followed the David Attenborough nature documentary formula perfectly. And it is a formula. In a genre that's frequently spying the wealth of patterns at the heart of the animal realm, docos such as The Living Planet, State of the Planet, Frozen Planet, Our Planet, Seven Worlds, One Planet, A Perfect Planet, Green Planet and the like all build from the same basic elements. Jumping back 66 million years, capitalising upon advancements in special effects but committing to making a program just like anything that peers at the earth today was never going to feel like the easy product of a template, though. Indeed, Prehistoric Planet's first season was stunning, and its second is just as staggering. The catch, in both season one and this return trip backwards: while breathtaking landscape footage brings the planet's terrain to the Prehistoric Planet series, the critters stalking, swimming, flying and tumbling across it are purely pixels. Filmmaker Jon Favreau remains among the show's executive producers, and the technology that brought his photorealistic versions of The Jungle Book and The Lion King to cinemas couldn't be more pivotal. Seeing needs to be believing while watching, because the big-screen gloss of the Jurassic Park and Jurassic World sagas, the puppets of 90s sitcom Dinosaurs, and the animatronics of Walking with Dinosaurs — or anything in-between — were never going to suit a program with Attenborough as a guide. Accordingly, to sit down to Prehistoric Planet is to experience cognitive dissonance: viewers are well-aware that what they're spying isn't real because the animals seen no longer exist, but it truly looks that authentic. Prehistoric Planet season streams via Apple TV+. Read our full review. I THINK YOU SHOULD LEAVE WITH TIM ROBINSON Eat-the-rich stories are delicious, and also everywhere; however, Succession, Triangle of Sadness and the like aren't the only on-screen sources of terrible but terribly entertaining people. I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson has been filling streaming queues with assholes since 2019, as usually played by the eponymous Detroiters star, and long may it continue. In season three, the show takes its premise literally in the most ridiculous and unexpected way, so much so that no one could ever dream of predicting what happens. That's still the sketch comedy's not-so-secret power. Each of its skits is about someone being the worst in some way, doubling down on being the worst and refusing to admit that they're the worst (or that they're wrong) — and while everyone around them might wish they'd leave, they're never going to, and nothing ever ends smoothly. In a show that's previously worked in hot dog costumes and reality TV series about bodies dropping out of coffins to hilarious effect, anything can genuinely happen to its gallery of the insufferable. In fact, the more absurd and chaotic I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson gets, the better. No description can do I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson's sketches justice, and almost every one is a comedic marvel, as again delivered in six 15-minute episodes in the series' third run. The usual complaint applies: for a show about people overstaying their welcome, the program itself flies by too quickly, always leaving viewers wanting more. Everything from dog doors and designated drivers to HR training and street parking is in Robinson's sights this time, and people who won't stop talking about their kids, wedding photos and group-think party behaviour as well. Game shows get parodied again and again, an I Think You Should Leave staple, and gloriously. More often than in past seasons, Robinson lets his guest stars play the asshole, too, including the returning Will Forte (Weird: The Al Yankovic Story), regular Sam Richardson (The Afterparty), and perennial pop-ups Fred Armisen (Barry) and Tim Meadows (Poker Face). And when Jason Schwartzman (I Love That for You) and Ayo Edebiri (The Bear) drop in, they're also on the pitch-perfect wavelength. I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson streams via Netflix. Read our full review. IN LIMBO Not to be confused with the just-released Australian film Limbo, new 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. CONFESS, FLETCH Since Mad Men had Don Draper want to buy the world a Coke to end its seven-season run back in 2015, comedy has been Jon Hamm's friend. He's the ultimate TV guest star, building upon stints in 30 Rock and Parks and Recreation while Mad Men was still airing with Toast of London, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt and Curb Your Enthusiasm, on a resume that also includes The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret, Childrens Hospital, Medical Police, Angie Tribeca, The Last Man on Earth and Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp as well. So, casting him as the new Irwin Maurice 'Fletch' Fletcher couldn't be an easier move. Having fellow Mad Men standout John Slattery (The Good Fight) also appear in the latest flick about the investigative reporter, and the first since the Chevy Chase-led movies in the 80s, is another winning touch. Even if that reunion wasn't part of the film, Hamm is so entertaining that he makes a killer case for a whole new Fletch franchise — on whatever screen the powers-that-be like — with him at its centre. Hamm clearly understands how well he suits this type of character, and the genre; he's a comic delight, and he's also one of Confess, Fletch's producers. Superbad and Adventureland's Greg Mottola directs and co-writes, scripting with Outer Range's Zev Borow — and ensuring that Hamm and Slattery aren't the only acting highlights. Working through a plot that sees Fletch chasing a stolen artwork, discovering a dead body, and both looking into the crime and considered a suspect himself, the film also features engaging turns by always-welcome Twin Peaks great Kyle MacLachlan and Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar gem Annie Mumolo. There have been several attempts to revive Fletch over the past three decades, including separate projects with Ted Lasso duo Bill Lawrence and Jason Sudeikis — on the page, the character spans nine novels — but viewers should be thankful that this is the action-comedy that came to fruition, even if it skipped cinemas everywhere but the US. Confess, Fletch streams via Paramount+ and Binge. 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. VENGEANCE When Vengeance begins with a New Yorker journalist who's desperate to start his own podcast, Soho House hangouts and relationship advice from John Mayer as himself, it begins with rich and savvy character details. Writing, starring and making his feature directorial debut after helming episodes of The Office and The Mindy Project, BJ Novak instantly establishes the kind of person that Ben Manalowitz is. He shows the East Coast world that his protagonist inhabits, too — and, by focusing on the only guy in NYC without their own audio outlet, or so it seems, plus that romantic guidance, it splashes around its sense of humour. This is a sharply amusing mystery-comedy, and a highlight on Novak's resume in all three of his guises. It's also about subverting expectations, and lampooning the first impressions and broad stereotypes that are too often — and too easily — clung to. Indeed, Vengeance bakes in that idea as many ways as it can as Ben (Novak) does the most obvious thing he can to convince his producer (Issa Rae, Insecure) that his voice is worth hearing: bursts his Big Apple bubble. The Mayer bit isn't just a gag; it helps set up Ben as the kind of person who is dating so many women that he doesn't know which one has died after he gets a bereaved phone call from Texas in the middle of the night. On the other end is Ty Shaw (Boyd Holbrook, The Sandman), brother to Abilene (Lio Tipton, Why Women Kill), who insists that Ben head southwest immediately to attend her funeral — she claimed that they were serious enough that she's his girlfriend, after all. Upon arrival, the out-of-towner initially regards his hosts as jokes, and their lives and Abilene's death as content. Ty thinks she was murdered, and Ben couldn't be giddier about getting it all on tape and calling the series Dead White Girl. The journo's self-interest is up there with his obliviousness about anything that doesn't fit into his NYC orbit; however, this isn't a culture-clash comedy — thankfully — but a clever, self-aware and ambitious satire. It's also strikingly shot and features a standout performance by Ashton Kutcher (That '90s Show) as a suave record producer. Vengeance streams via Netflix and Binge. NEW AND RETURNING SHOWS TO CHECK OUT WEEK BY WEEK SILO Rebecca Ferguson will never be mistaken for Daveed Diggs, but the Dune, Mission: Impossible franchise and Doctor Sleep star now follows in the Hamilton Tony-winner's footsteps. While he has spent multiple seasons navigating dystopian class clashes on a globe-circling train in the TV version of Snowpiercer, battling his way up and down the titular locomotive, she just started ascending and descending the stairs in the underground chamber that gives Silo its moniker. Ferguson's character is also among humanity's last remnants. Attempting to endure in post-apocalyptic times, she hails from her abode's lowliest depths as well. And, when there's a murder in this instantly engrossing new ten-part series — which leaps to the screen from Hugh Howey's novels, and shares a few basic parts with Metropolis, Blade Runner and The Platform, as well as corrupt world orders at the core of The Hunger Games and The Maze Runner flicks — she's soon playing detective. Silo captivates from the outset, when its focus is the structure's sheriff Holston (David Oyelowo, See How They Run) and his wife Allison (Rashida Jones, On the Rocks). Both know the cardinal rule of the buried tower, as does deputy Marnes (Will Patton, Outer Range), mayor Ruth (Geraldine James, Benediction), security head Sims (Common, The Hate U Give), IT top brass Bernard (Tim Robbins, Dark Waters) and the other 10,000 souls they live with: if you make the request to go outside, it's irrevocable and you'll be sent there as punishment. No matter who you are, and from which level, anyone posing such a plea becomes a public spectacle. Their ask is framed as "cleaning", referring to wiping down the camera that beams the desolate planet around them onto window-sized screens in their cafeterias. No one has ever come back, or survived for more than minutes. Why? Add that to the questions piling up not just for Silo's viewers, but for the silo's residents. For more than 140 years, the latter have dwelled across their 144 floors in safety from the bleak wasteland that earth has become — but what caused that destruction and who built their cavernous home are among the other queries. Silo streams via Apple TV+. Read our full review. THE OTHER TWO Swapping Saturday Night Live for an entertainment-parodying sitcom worked swimmingly for Tina Fey. Since 2019, it's also been going hilariously for Chris Kelly and Sarah Schneider. Not just former SNL writers but the veteran sketch comedy's ex-head writers, Kelly and Schneider have been giving the world their own 30 Rock with the sharp, smart and sidesplitting The Other Two. Their angle: focusing on the adult siblings of a Justin Bieber-style teen popstar who've always had their own showbiz aspirations — he's an actor, she was a ballerina — who then find themselves the overlooked children of a momager-turned-daytime television host as well. Cary (Drew Tarver, History of the World: Part II) and Brooke (Heléne York, Katy Keene) Dubek are happy for Chase (Case Walker, Monster High: The Movie). And when their mother Pat (Molly Shannon, I Love That for You) gets her own time in the spotlight, becoming Oprah-level famous, they're equally thrilled for her. But ChaseDreams, their little brother's stage name, has always been a constant reminder that their own ambitions keep being outshone. In a first season that proved one of the best new shows of 2019, a second season in 2021 that was just as much of a delight and now a stellar third go-around, Cary and Brooke have never been above getting petty and messy about being the titular pair. In season three, however, they aren't just hanging around with stars in their eyes and resentment in their hearts. How do they cope? They've spent the past few years constantly comparing themselves to Chase, then to Pat, but now they're successful on their own — and still chaotic, and completely unable to change their engrained thinking. Forget the whole "the grass is always greener" adage. No matter if they're faking it or making it, nothing is ever perfectly verdant for this pair or anyone in their orbit. Still, as Brooke wonders whether her dream manager gig is trivial after living through a pandemic, she starts contemplating if she should be doing more meaningful work like her fashion designer-turned-nurse boyfriend Lance (Josh Segarra, The Big Door Prize). And with Cary's big breaks never quite panning out as planned, he gets envious of his fellow-actor BFF Curtis (Brandon Scott Jones, Ghosts). The Other Two streams via Binge. Read our full review. PLATONIC Sometime in the near future, Rose Byrne, Seth Rogen and filmmaker Nicholas Stoller could easily join forces on a new rom-com. In fact, they should. Until then, buddy comedy Platonic makes a hilarious, engagingly written and directed, and perfectly cast addition to each's respective resumes. Reuniting the trio after 2014's Bad Neighbours and its 2016 sequel Bad Neighbours 2, this new series pairs Australia's comedy queen and America's go-to stoner as longterm pals who are never anything but mates — and haven't been in touch at all for years — but navigate a friendship that's as chaotic and complicated as any movie romance. That's an easy setup; however, watching the show's stars bicker, banter and face the fact that life doesn't always turn out as planned together proves as charming as it was always going to. Also, Platonic smartly doesn't try to be a romantic comedy, or to follow in When Harry Met Sally's footsteps. Instead, Platonic explores what happens when two former besties have gone their own ways, then come back together. The show knows that reconnecting with old pals is always tinged with nostalgia for the person you were when they were initially in your life. And, it's well-aware that reckoning with where you've ended up since is an immediate side effect. Enter Sylvia (Byrne, Seriously Red), who reaches out to Will (Rogen, The Super Mario Bros Movie) after hearing that he's no longer with the wife (Alisha Wainwright, Raising Dion) she didn't like. She's also a suburban-dwelling former lawyer who put work on hold to become a mother of three, and can't help feeling envious of her husband Charlie's (Luke Macfarlane, Bros) flourishing legal career. Her old BFF co-owns and runs an LA brewpub, is obsessive about his beer and hipster/slacker image, and hasn't been taking his breakup well. They couldn't be in more different places in their lives. When they meet up again, they couldn't appear more dissimilar, too. "You look like you live at Ann Taylor Loft," is Will's assessment. Sylvia calls him "a '90s grunge clown." Neither is wrong. Platonic streams via Apple TV+. Read our full review. THE CLEARING They're called The Kindred, not The Family. Adrienne Beaufort is their leader, not Anne Hamilton-Byrne. But there's no mistaking the inspiration for JP Pomare's book In the Clearing and its new eight-part adaptation The Clearing. Exploring the inner workings of an Australian cult based in rural Victoria, spouting New Age sentiments mixed with doomsday thinking, fixated upon blonde-haired children and led by a charismatic woman — a rare female cult leader — this tale fictionalises the real-life details documented in countless newspaper headlines since the 80s, and also in Rosie Jones' 2016 documentary The Family and 2019 series The Cult of the Family. Amid their so-wild-they-can-only-be-true stories, both of those projects showed viewers the eerie image of children with platinum locks in severe bobs and dressed in matching blue attire. That distinctive look is similarly at the heart of Disney+'s first original scripted Aussie drama. In the earlier of its two timelines, Amy (Julia Savage, Blaze) dons the tresses and uniform as one of the older children at Adrienne's (Miranda Otto, Wellmania) Blackmarsh bush compound — one being prepared to be her heir, and made an accomplice in the group's quest to add more kids to its ranks. Initially dutiful, the teenager is soon questioning the only existence she's ever known, with its harsh rules, strict aunties keeping everyone in line between Adrienne's sporadic visits, weekend services attended by well-to-do acolytes and, sharing the show's title, its LSD-fuelled confessional sessions. When The Clearing dwells in the now, still in Victoria at its leafiest, the smear of heartbreak and damage is ever-present. Indeed, when single mother Freya Heywood (Teresa Palmer, Ride Like a Girl) hears about a girl being abducted, she can't shake the feeling that history is repeating. She dotes over her primary school-aged son Billy (debutant Flynn Wandin), but she's also visibly nervous and anxious. When she keeps spotting a white van, she's a portrait of panic. The Clearing streams via Disney+. 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 begins, 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. Need a few more streaming recommendations? Check out our picks from January, February, March and April this year. You can also check out our list of standout must-stream 2022 shows as well — and our best 15 new shows of last year, top 15 returning shows over the same period, 15 shows you might've missed and best 15 straight-to-streaming movies of 2022.
Thinking of downsizing? Are you aware that you could be part of a movement? The tiny house movement, to be exact. Unenthused by mortgages, mopping and mountains of stuff, more and more people are shifting into Snugglepot-sized spaces. We're about to take a journey through some of the teeniest-tiniest houses in the whole world. Not only do they make you wish you could climb into a J.R.R. Tolkien novel, they're also the environment's new best friend. OTIS (Optimal Travelling Independent Space) Move over, Winnebago. This pod-on-wheels is the creation of a bunch of American REED (Renewable Energy and Ecological Design) students from Green Mountain College, Vermont. Not only is it mobile and ridiculously cute, it's also self-sufficient. A 300-watt solar powered system delivers electricity, a rain collection facility supplies water and the toilet is of the composting variety. Nearly all the construction materials are recycled. At just 2.4 x 3.6m, the OTIS can be easily towed via trailer. The Tiny Project American web designer Alek Lisefski and his partner Anjali were tired of paying through-the-roof rent. At the same time, though, they wanted a place to call home. So Lisefski took matters into his own hands by designing and building a portable miniature house. It's known as The Tiny Project and its motto is "Less House. More Life". Built-in, foldable furniture maximises the 2.4 x 6m of interior floor space. An elevated loft serves as a bedroom and there's even a 2.2 square metre outdoor verandah. "While living in such a small house, my space, and in turn each area of my life, will be simpler, less chaotic, and free from all but what is essential," Lisefski told Gizmag. APH80 Rome might not have been built in a day, but the APH80 can be. Created by Spanish design studio ABATON, it's an impeccably designed, portable micro-home. A double bedroom, lounge-kitchen and bedroom make up its 27 square metres, with a 3.5m gabled roof providing an airy, spacious feel. Sustainably sourced timber is used throughout. If there's no water between your place and Spain, have your very own APH80 delivered for US$42,000. Chico Tiny House A husband and wife team based in Chico, California, designed this 11.1 square metre home. On their Facebook page, Palm to Palm, they describe themselves as "dreamers ... who are holding the vision of bringing a community based sustainable into existence, one alternative dwelling at a time". They built the Chico Tiny House on a tight budget without any construction experience. Now, aspiring micro-dwelling owners are begging for a copy of the plans, soon to be made open source. The sustainable design includes south-facing windows, polyiso insulation, solar-powered hot water and a green house, where grey water can be recycled. The Hobbit Hutch No tiny house list would be complete without the mention of at least one gypsy caravan. This Texas-based, 5.2 square metre Hobbit Hutch features all the mod cons, including a faux wood stove, air-conditioning, coffee machine, chandelier, foldable dining table and bed. There's also a 1.8 square metre verandah. The owners — writers and artists by the names of James and Sidney Mangum — have plans to build an outdoor toilet and shower, to be stored inside a plywood cube and surrounded with curtains for privacy.
Which film can boast besting a Yorgos Lanthimos and Emma Stone collaboration, a Silver Bear-winner at Berlinale, and the 2023-defining duo of Barbie and Oppenheimer? Only one: Italy's There's Still Tomorrow. First, the melodrama defied the Barbenheimer phenomenon to top the box office in its homeland last year. Now, the hit flick has beaten Kinds of Kindness — aka Lanthimos and Stone getting weird again after The Favourite and Poor Things — and ten other movies for 2024's coveted Sydney Film Festival Prize. Actor Paola Cortellesi (Petra, Don't Stop Me Now) both stars and makes her directorial debut with SFF's cream of the crop for 2024, earning the event's $60,000 cash prize for her efforts. Set in post-Second World War Rome, There's Still Tomorrow follows a wife and mother who dreams of a different future, with the feature no stranger to accolades. At the David di Donatello Awards, Italy's equivalent of the Oscars, it took home six gongs in May. (And if you missed it during's SFF official dates, it's among the fest's encore screenings between Monday, June 17–Thursday, June 20.) Tasked with rewarding "audacious, cutting-edge and courageous" filmmaking, the 2024 jury comprised of Bosnian writer and director Danis Tanović (The Hollow), Indonesian director Kamila Andini (Before, Now and Then), US producer Jay Van Hoy (The Lighthouse), Australian producer Sheila Jayadev (Here Out West) and Aussie director Tony Krawitz (Significant Others) picked There's Still Tomorrow for welcoming "audiences into one of the historic cradles of cinema". "Set in post-war Italy, Paola Cortellesi's debut feature C'è ancora domani (There's Still Tomorrow) feels intensely relevant today. We relive every woman's struggle for equality through Cortellesi's Delia, we face the brutal cycles of domestic violence with an immense empathy that ultimately proclaims and affirms the virtues of democracy," they continued in a statement. "C'è ancora domani deftly weaves humour, style and pop music into a dazzling black-and-white cinematic event, then it delivers an ending that will take your breath away." There's Still Tomorrow joins an impressive list of past SFF Prize-winners, including Moroccan documentary The Mother of All Lies in 2023, Lukas Dhont's Close in 2022, Mohammad Rasoulof's There Is No Evil in 2021 and Bong Joon-ho's Parasite in 2019. Before that, The Heiresses (2018), On Body and Soul (2017), Aquarius (2016), Arabian Nights (2015), Two Days, One Night (2014), Only God Forgives (2013), Alps (2012), A Separation (2011), Heartbeats (2010), Bronson (2009) and Hunger (2008) have all taken out the accolade since its inception. 2024's recipient was announced at this year's closing event, where body-horror The Substance made its Australian premiere and the rest of the film festival's annual prizes were handed out. Another big winner: 11-minute short film First Horse. Hailing from New Zealand filmmaker Awanui Simich-Pene, it received SFF's first-ever $35,0000 First Nations Award. "Members of the jury were thrilled with the quality and variety of the works programmed for the inaugural First Nations Competition, noting the power and beauty in the collection of these storytellers' films which represent all types of cinematic art. The jurors also celebrate the launch of this meaningful prize and congratulate the Festival for making it a reality," said producer and programmer Jason Ryle (Amplify), Australian First Nations producer Erica Glynn (True Colours) and Aussie producer Kath Shelper (The New Boy). "In awarding the winning work, the jury recognises its originality, elegance, and cinematic achievement in story and form. In a few short minutes, the talented creative team has crafted a deeply impactful film with a resonant emotional punch." The fest's annual shower of love also covers films focused on sustainability, Australian documentaries and shorts. SFF's fourth-ever Sustainable Future Award, which now hands out $40,000, went to documentary Black Snow about the Siberian eco-activist who has earned the nickname the "Erin Brockovich of Russia". The Feast and Wilding received high commendations. Welcome to Babel, which puts Chinese Australian artist Jiawei Shen at its centre, took out the $20,000 Documentary Australia Foundation Award for Australian Documentary. In the Dendy Short Film Awards, Die Bully Die won Best Australian Live Action, while the Yoram Gross Animation Award for Best Australian Animation went to Darwin Story. Say picked up two prizes, the AFTRS Craft Award for Best Practitioner for screenwriter Chloe Kemp and the Event Cinemas Rising Talent Award for lead actor Bridget Morrison. And the Rouben Mamoulian Award for Best Director went to Pernell Marsden for The Meaningless Daydreams of Augie & Celeste. The 2024 Sydney Film Festival ran from Wednesday, June 5–Sunday, June 16, with the festival screening four days of encores until Thursday, June 20.
Take advantage of the Labour Day holiday and get out of town. Dance the night away and recover in style at Establishment Hotel, indulge in award-winning food at Lake House or sample the best wine the Margaret River has to offer at Empire Retreat and Spa. Whether you go bush at Arkaba Station, swim with the manta rays at Pinctada Cable Beach or pamper yourself at Lyall Hotel and Spa, it will be a weekend well spent. Establishment Hotel, Sydney The building that holds the decadent Establishment Hotel is an all-in-one affair, with a two-hatted restaurant, nightclub, speakeasy and exclusive cocktail bar at your fingertips. For the ultimate opulent experience, book the top-floor Loft Penthouse or huge two-level Duplex Penthouse. Either way, you’ll want a room on the higher levels; the all-inclusive set-up means noise from the revellers downstairs is unavoidable. Head to .est on level one for a fine dining experience like no other, and continue the party with drinks at Hemmesphere, the luxurious cocktail lounge on level four. When the music calls, venture downstairs to Establishment Main Bar to dance until the early hours. Step outside the door to be in the heart of the city — the Harbour Bridge and Opera House are literally a hop, skip and a jump away. Smith Extra: VIP access to Establishment’s lounge bar Hemmesphere, nightclub Ivy and Pool Club, and a bottle of sparkling wine. QT Port Douglas, Qld Soak up the spring sun at QT Port Douglas, the tropical getaway tucked away from the bustle of the main town. Lounge by the lagoon-shaped pool with a good book; the island deck will ensure you’re the centre of attention. Use the free guest bikes to explore the town or take the path down to Four Mile Beach for a leisurely ocean swim. Recover with a luxurious treatment at spaQ before spying on the shenanigans by the pool’s swim-up bar from the balcony of your One-Bedroom Pool View Villa. In winter and spring, QT also hosts Moonlight Cinema — enjoy a delicious snack while watching a classic or latest release on a state-of-the-art outdoor screen. Indulge with a meal at Bazaar, the resort’s main restaurant. The glass fridges hold fabulous produce that the chefs cook to order. Start with salad and seafood, before moving onto dishes from around the world (just make sure to leave room for dessert). Smith Extra: A bottle of bubbly plus late check-out (12 noon). Arkaba Station and Walk, Flinders Ranges Find your inner farmer at Arkaba Station and Walk, a 60,000-acre homestead and sheep station. Nature is king here; watch for kangaroos and emus or listen for the pink-hued galahs flocking the trees around the property. The exclusive homestead has five rooms, meaning you can bring friends along for an adventure. Each room brings a little of the outdoors inside, with cowhide rugs and wool-sack-wrapped bedside tables. Escape the spring heat with a dip in the outdoor pool, admiring the view of Arkaba Creek, hills and bush. The more adventurous can book a three-night guided walk, sleeping in comfy campsite swag beds for two nights before a night at the station. Eat food made over the fire, have an alfresco bush shower and fall asleep with a sheepskin hot-water bottle keeping you warm. Smith Extra: An assortment of Australian bush spices. Pinctada Cable Beach, Broome Perched between one of Australia’s most iconic beaches and the vast Kimberley, Pinctada Cable Beach delivers both beachside relaxation and rugged desert adventures. Rooms reference the town’s Asian heritage: the Honjin (meaning ‘most honoured guest’ in Japanese) Courtyard Suites share a serene courtyard and a plunge pool between four. Ocean adventurers can go swimming with manta rays on Cable Beach or take a camel ride along the white sand. Meanwhile, guests in search of rejuvenation can be pampered with an Aboriginal-influenced treatment at Pinctada Spa, which champions Li’Tya products and local plants and spices. Finish the day at Selene Brassiere, where the menu blends North African, Middle Eastern and Mediterranean flavours with a taste of the Kimberley. Pair your meal with an excellent selection of Australian wines. Smith Extra: A bottle of wine and canapes. Lake House, Daylesford The runner-up for Best Hotel Restaurant in the Smith Hotel Awards 2013, Lake House boasts an award-winning restaurant, rural lodge and a state-of-the-art spa just outside the rustic town of Daylesford. Indulge in a signature Salus Bliss treatment at the Salus Spa, or unwind in the hot mineral-water tubs looking over the lake. For a private experience, try the Spa Villa, which boasts a courtyard with a sunken hot tub and direct access to the lake. Sample the local produce at chef Alla Wolf-Tasker’s destination restaurant — almost everything on the menu is grown in the kitchen garden or in the region. Alla’s husband Allan is responsible for the paintings that adorn the interiors, adding a splash of exuberance to an otherwise tranquil space. Smith Extra: Elemis spa products presented in a satin travel pouch. Lyall Hotel and Spa, Melbourne For a stylish mini-break with designer shopping on your doorstep, look no further than Lyall Hotel and Spa. The spacious one-bedroom suites are a sleek affair, resembling deluxe city apartments. For extra room, try the Platinum Suite — it comes with a living room, ensuite bathroom, double spa bath and full kitchen. You’ll find the space filling up after an afternoon in the boutiques of South Yarra; the credit card — and your legs — will be given a proper workout. Comfort your weary pins with a signature treatment at the hotel’s destination day spa, a three-storey space perfumed with mandarin and ylang-ylang. Unwind in one of two steam rooms or just relax in the indoor-outdoor area. Wear your latest purchase to the sexy Lyall Champagne Bar, an intimate space with a soundtrack of easy listening tunes. Choose between an apple crumble martini and a selection of champagne by the glass. Smith Extra: A bottle of Chandon NV on arrival. Empire Retreat and Spa, Margaret River While the weekend away at the slick Empire Retreat and Spa, smack-bang in the centre of Margaret River wine country. Tour the onsite vineyard and sample the estate’s chardonnay and cabernet sauvignon, the region’s dominant varieties. Sip a glass in front of the open fireplace in a Luxury Villa or have a shower in your private courtyard. There’s no pool, but a secluded Jacuzzi should satisfy your watery whims. Achieve full relaxation with a treatment at Empire Spa — the three-hour Opulence session lives up to its name with an exfoliation, wrap, massage, bath and facial. There’s no restaurant, but the communal kitchen in the heart of the property is open to guests, meaning you can whip up a meal to match your wine. You can find excellent examples of the local offerings at Moss Wood, Cullen Wines and Leeuwin Estate. Smith Extra: A bottle of Empire Estate wine and a cheese plate. Saffire, Tas Just minutes from the azure water and white sand of Wineglass Bay, Saffire goes back to nature with a blend of stone and timber, beach views and locally sourced food and wine. For the ultimate in private comfort, book one of four Private Pavilions — they each have their own courtyard plunge pool, spacious living and bedroom areas, a front deck and a kitchen where a hotel chef can rustle something up for you. Room rates also include a treatment at Spa Saffire, so you’d be silly not to visit. The facials in the Jewel Collection are particularly special — all of the therapists have been trained by celebrity facialist Marionne De Candia. Other free activities include exploring the secret life of oysters at Freycinet Marine Farm, learning about the local produce with the hotel’s award-winning chef or quad biking around the wetlands. Smith Extra: A bottle of champagne. The Australasian Circa 1858, Fleurieu Peninsula With the facade of a heritage pub and graced with light, Asian-inspired interiors, The Australasian Circa 1858 offers the weariest of weekenders an intimate and stylish retreat from reality. The Parlour Room whispers extravagance with a huge tub in a step-up area of the bedroom, perfect for a spot of reading and relaxing. This adults-only sanctuary specialises in fine dining, with co-owner and head chef Juliet Mitchell preparing meals with an Asian theme. The restaurant is only open to guests (except Saturday night), but for extra privacy, dine in your room. The hotel is only open from Wednesday to Sunday each week, but its location makes it a perfect stopover before continuing onto Kangaroo Island — only a 45-minute ferry ride away. Smith Extra: A tasting selection of ales from the Steam Exchange Brewery at Goolwa Wharf Kingsford Homestead, Barossa Valley, SA Put your station-owner hat on at Kingsford Homestead, an historic estate with an impressive cellar in the Barossa Valley. The rooms are named after the former owners of the property — the Kerry Packer suite catches the afternoon sunshine and has a gorgeous claw-foot bath tub, and the Stephen King suite (named after the founder, not the famous author) is perfect for families as it connects to the John Angas Suite. There’s no pool, but the alfresco bush bath, located in a secluded corner of the grounds, is big enough for two. Follow up with an in-room massage or facial — but be sure to book in advance. Local produce dominates the menu here; chef Stuart Oldfield has developed strong relationships with local farmers. The menu changes by the season, but the wine will always be Barossa. Enjoy drinks and canapes on the veranda while watching the resident kangaroos have their dinner. Smith Extra: A picnic hamper. Browse other long weekend stays, or contact Smith’s expert Travel Team on 1300 896 627.
The Hollywood Quarter refers to the wedge of Surry Hills that's made up of just a few streets around the intersection of Campbell and Commonwealth, but those few contain some of the liveliest spots in Sydney. Taking its name from the Hollywood Hotel — a long-standing institution of the precinct where you've probably encountered many a schooner, the neighbouring venues include Ace Hotel Sydney, Paramount House, Alberto's Lounge and Tio's. They're all joining forces to take part in a special gig trail on Saturday, 23 March from 4pm. It's a one-night-only event that involves a curated walk through the neighbourhood for a journey of free live music at the various venues, starring Sydney artists like Tasman Kieth, Charlie Villas, Jono Ma and Kirin J Callinan (scroll down for the full gig list). Also on show will be some equally rocking deals from the area's many excellent dining establishments, so start scheming up your perfect dinner and a show lineup now. In-Venue Gigs Ace Hotel Sydney: Charlie Villas and Fried Pork Chop (6pm-12am) Alberto's Lounge: Fritto Disco Speciale starring Kirin J Callinan (lunch) Burdekin Hotel: Kingdom Calm ft Burkina Flats & Bakura (7-10pm) Butter: Cherryrype, Grebel, Izzybops, LXGCY (9pm-12am) Golden Age Cinema & Bar: Tasman Keith (10pm-1am) Harry's: Refuge Recording presents SilverStix (7pm-3am) Hollywood Hotel: The Zoe K Experience (New Orleans Edition) (7pm-1am) Paramount House Hotel: Jono Ma (5-8pm) Soda Factory: Soda's House of Fun ft DJ Nino Brown & Friends (7pm-4am) Food & Drink Specials Alberto's: Lunch special, 2 course and wine $45 from 12-5pm Beau: Happy hour from 4pm to 6pm at the bar or laneway Butter: 3 crispy chicken wings and a Tiger Beer for $20 Gilda's: Open from 5.30pm for a pre-show meal or a drink with snacks Kiln: Late night snack menu plus DJ tunes Nel Restaurant: Join Nelly Robinson for his native Australian degustation Pellegrino 2000: Dine al-fresco, be entertained by the troubadours, and be transported to Italy! Poly: "Apolytivo" delicious drinks and food at happy hour prices from 5-6pm The Rover: Happy Hour from 4-6pm with $2 oysters, $6 beers, $6 G&Ts, $10 wine and a $14 spritz Nomad: Feast al-fresco and be entertained by the troubadours. Book an outside table now. Tio's: Nachos, live tunes and $12 margarita specials (till sold out) Top image: Declan Blackall
The world of Public Bunnies begins and ends in a grim, black room furnished with old pianos and suspended garments. In this place outside of time, given form by the throaty dirge of unseen monks, twenty young performers collapse one after the other and are stripped down to their black underwear. Once unclothed, they are reborn into a dream state where bodies meld and flow into one another; they have become a true community, united in form as well as agenda.Community is the underlying theme of Public Bunnies, though this is a simple reading of the fascinating world created by the 2009 imPACT ensemble. Under the direction of stage visionary Michal Imielski, the ensemble succeeds in building a small village for its audience to explore - complete with a hospital, a water treatment plant and an underwear mine. Scattered throughout this pocket dimension are a host of quirky and haunting characters who spill across one another to develop a very organic, exciting space.This is a wonderful experiment in adventure theatre, giving audiences the chance to explore a well-realised world that does not fall into the danger of cringe-worthy "audience participation". Public Bunnies is also generous with its audience; as far as Imielski is concerned, there is no single interpretation to this production, so audiences are free to create their own story for the residents of this strange land.https://youtube.com/watch?v=fPcya4M7nfc
Something delightful has been happening in cinemas across the country. After months spent empty, with projectors silent, theatres bare and the smell of popcorn fading, Australian picture palaces are back in business — spanning both big chains and smaller independent sites in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. During COVID-19 lockdowns, no one was short on things to watch, of course. In fact, you probably feel like you've streamed every movie ever made, including new releases, comedies, music documentaries, Studio Ghibli's animated fare and Nicolas Cage-starring flicks. But, even if you've spent all your time of late glued to your small screen, we're betting you just can't wait to sit in a darkened room and soak up the splendour of the bigger version. Thankfully, plenty of new films are hitting cinemas so that you can do just that — and we've rounded up, watched and reviewed everything on offer this week. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1SEoi8r1Z4Y SUPERNOVA Stanley Tucci and Colin Firth aren't lazy, bad or bland actors. The former has an Oscar nomination for The Lovely Bones, the latter won for The King's Speech, and neither can be accused of merely playing the same character again and again. And yet, whenever either pops up on-screen, they bring a set of expectations with them — or, perhaps more accurately, they each instantly remind viewers of the traits that have served them so well over their respective four-decade careers. In features as diverse as The Devil Wears Prada and the Hunger Games films, Tucci has given a distinctive sense of flair and presence to his many parts, as well as his innate ability to appear bemused and sarcastic about life in general. Whether as Mr Darcy in Pride and Prejudice or as Mark Darcy in the Bridget Jones movies, Firth has enjoyed immense success playing reserved, introverted, dry-witted men who are more likely to ruminate stoically than to outwardly show much emotion. Teaming up in Supernova, both talents draw upon these characteristics once more, as writer/director Harry Macqueen (Hinterland) wants them to. But here's the thing about this pair of stars, who shine particularly bright in this affecting drama: far from ever settling into their own comfortable niches, they're frequently delving deeper, twisting in different directions and offering up untold surprises. A famed novelist less interested in putting pen to paper than in peering up at the stars, Tucci's Tusker knows how to defuse any scenario with his charm in Supernova, but it's apparent that he often uses that canny ability to avoid facing a number of difficulties. An acclaimed musician with an eagerly anticipated concert in the works, Firth's Sam often says little; however, the fact that he's grappling internally with feelings he can't quite do justice to in words always remains evident. Travelling around England's Lakes District, they're not just on an ordinary campervan holiday. Neither man has simply been whiling away their time before their long-awaited returns to performing and writing, either. With stops to see Sam's sister (Pippa Haywood, Four Kids and It) and her family, and to reunite with old friends, the couple are making the most of what time they have left together. Tusker is unwell, with early-onset dementia increasingly having an impact on not only his everyday life, but upon the shared existence they've treasured for decades. Read our full review. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ilNHPfOOeIs GUNDA Move over Babe, Piglet, Porky and Peppa. Thanks to monochrome-hued documentary Gunda, cinema has a brand new porcine star. Or several, to be exact; however, other than the eponymous sow, none of the attention-grabbing pigs in this movie are given names. If that feels jarring, that's because it breaks from film and television's usual treatment of animals. Typically on-screen, we see and understand the zoological beings we share this planet with as only humans can, filtering them through our own experience, perception and needs. We regard them as companions who become our trustiest and most reliable friends; as creatures who play important roles in our lives emotionally, physically and functionally; as anthropomorphised critters with feelings and traits so much like ours that it seems uncanny; and as worthy targets of deep observation or study. We almost never just let them be, though. Whether they're four-legged, furry, feathered or scaly, animals that grace screens big and small rarely allowed to exist free from our two-legged interference — or from our emotions, expectations or gaze. Gunda isn't like any other movie you've seen about all creatures great and small, but it can't ignore the shadow that humanity casts over its titular figure, her piglets, and the one-legged chicken and paired-off cows it also watches, either. It's shot on working farms, so it really doesn't have that luxury. Still, surveying these critters and their lives without narration or explanation, this quickly involving, supremely moving and deeply haunting feature is happy to let the minutiae of these creatures' existence say everything that it needs to. The delights and devastation alike are in the details, and the entire movie is filled with both. Filmmaker Victor Kossakovsky (Aquarela) looks on as Gunda's namesake gives birth, and as her offspring crawl hungrily towards her before they've even properly realised that they're now breathing. His film keeps peering their way as they squeal, explore and grow, and as they display their inquisitive, curious and sometimes mischievous personalities, too. Sometimes, this little family rolls around in the mud. At other times, they simply sleep, or Gunda takes the opportunity to enjoy some shut-eye while her piglets play. Whatever they're doing, and whenever and where, these pigs just going about their business, which the feature takes in frame by frame. In one of the documentary's interludes away from its porcine points of focus, the aforementioned chook hops about. Whether logs or twigs are involved, it too is just navigating its ordinary days. In the second of the movie's glimpses elsewhere, cattle trot and stand, and their routine couldn't seem more commonplace as well. Read our full review. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbn8-Tpa3no AALTO Sometimes, a documentary doesn't need words, as Gunda wholeheartedly demonstrates. Aalto features plenty, all spoken as voiceover and delving into the life of great Finnish modernist architects Alvar and Aino Aalto; however, the film's visuals would've still kept viewers glued to the screen if not even a single syllable was uttered. For the bulk of the doco's duration, savvy director Virpi Suutari (Entrepreneur) fills the screen with the couple's handiwork. Furniture from the 1930s onwards and buildings up until the 1970s are seen in loving detail, with the feature's imagery zooming in on the former and walking through and soaring above the latter. Some might be familiar, especially on the homewares side — IKEA has taken a few cues from some of their designs over the years — but viewers new and well-acquainted alike will find much to catch their eye. With its smooth bends and sculptural look, the bentwood Paimio Chair is a thing of unshakeable beauty. The unpredictable curves in the pair's various wavy vases are just as vivid to behold. Combining an undulating appearance with rough bricks that Alvar complimented as "the lousiest in the world", Baker House at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology is far more striking than any other college dormitory. And there's minimalistic grace in the buildings at the University of Jyväskylä, which are among the few sites seen in the feature with people in them. To see these pieces and places, and others like them, is to be submerged into the Aaltos' way of viewing the world. Aalto doesn't just stare at the marvellous items designed by its namesakes, though. Suutari also draws upon home videos to tell their story, uses multiple unseen narrators to unfurl and comment upon their tale, and gives voice to letters penned between the pair whenever one travelled away from the other. Indeed, this isn't just a professional portrait, but a personal one, too — and a film made with admiration but not devotion. While Alvar became a world-renowned star, he isn't the sole reason that Aalto remains a famous design name. He also wasn't without his flaws. Accordingly, Aalto doesn't blindly sing his praises, peddle stock-standard male genius tropes or solely peer his way. Yes, the documentary's title mirrors its focus. Aino was a pivotal part of his architectural practice; "regardless of how the drawings are signed, they clearly worked as a team," the film's narration offers. After Aino's death, Alvar's second wife Elissa, another architect, also proved just as crucial. It would've been easy to simply worship Alvar, but Suutari cannily broadens the story around his work — and makes a better, and more interesting and engaging doco as a result. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VzvwJiBFhSg CREATION STORIES Whenever someone gets 'Wonderwall' stuck in their head, they partly have Alan McGee to thank. The Scottish music industry executive and Creation Records co-founder happened to be at the same Glasgow bar as Oasis in 1993, and saw the band being turned away by management despite their claim that they were booked to play a gig. When the Manchester-based group was eventually allowed in, McGee checked out their set. He quickly offered them a recording contract and, yes, history was made. His impact upon the music world doesn't end there, either, with McGee managing The Jesus and Mary Chain, putting out records by Primal Scream and My Bloody Valentine, and getting involved in the acid house scene as well. That means that Creation Stories has much to cover. The lively biopic initially frames its episodic jumps through McGee's life via a chat between the exec (Ewen Bremner, T2: Trainspotting) and a journalist (Suki Waterhouse, The Broken Hearts Gallery), but that's just an excuse to leap back into his memories. From there, the film pinballs from his unhappy teenage years with his doting mother (Siobhan Redmond, Alice Through the Looking Glass) and stern father (Richard Jobson, Tube Tales), and his early attempts to soar to music stardom in London, to Creation's many financial ups and downs and his involvement in politics. Creation Stories is adapted from McGee's autobiography of the same name, with Trainspotting author Irvine Welsh and playwright Dean Cavanagh penning the script; however, it often feels as if McGee himself saw Rocketman and asked for his own version. That sensation comes through stylistically, thanks to the frenetic pace, vibrant splashes of colour and ample scenes of drug-fuelled partying. It's also evident in the impressionistic approach applied to McGee's life, telling a tale that mightn't always be 100-percent accurate in every minute detail but is wholly designed to capture the wild mood and vibe perfectly. Both movies boast Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrel stars as their directors, too, with Nick Moran (The Kid) jumping behind the lens here. And, the two films also benefit from standout lead performances, with Bremner as stellar as he's ever been on-screen. Indeed, the actor best known as hapless heroin addict Spud couldn't be more important in Creation Stories. So much of the film's chaotic ride through McGee's highlights and lowlights rests upon Bremner's larger-than-life portrayal, peppy presence, mile-a-minute gift of the gab and deceptive charisma, so its central talent was always going to make or break the film. There's no shaking its general adherence to the rock biopic genre, though, but there's also no doubting its alluring energy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLg86R4Ay-Y THE UNHOLY The Exorcist was not an easy movie to make, as exceptional documentary Leap of Faith: William Friedkin on The Exorcist made clear. But over the past four decades, the horror masterpiece has proven a very easy film to emulate again and again — or, to try to ape in anything that pairs religion and scares, at least. Copying it is nowhere near the same as matching it, of course. That's especially the case when most one-note flicks that attempt the feat simply think that crosses, creepy females and stilted, unnatural body movements are all that it takes. The Unholy is the latest example, to uninspired, unengaging, unoriginal, unconvincing and thoroughly unsurprising results. Adapted from the 1983 James Herbert novel Shrine by seasoned screenwriter turned first-time feature director Evan Spiliotopoulos (Charlie's Angels, Beauty and the Beast, The Huntsman: Winter's War), the movie's premise has promise: what if a site of a supposed vision of the Virgin Mary and subsequent claimed miracles, such as Lourdes in France and Fatima in Portugal, was targeted by a sinister spirit instead? But, despite also boasting the always-charismatic Jeffrey Dean Morgan (The Walking Dead) as its lead, all that eventuates here is a dull, derivative and not even remotely unsettling shocker of a horror flick. The fact that The Evil Dead and Drag Me to Hell's Sam Raimi is one of its producers delivers The Unholy's biggest scare. Looking constantly perplexed but still proving one of the best things about the film, Morgan plays disgraced journalist Gerry Fenn. After losing his fame and acclaim when he was caught fabricating stories, he now makes $150 per assignment chasing the slightest of flimsy supernatural leads. His current line of work brings him to the small Massachusetts town inhabited by Father Hagan (William Sadler, Bill & Ted Face the Music) and his niece Alice (Cricket Brown, Dukeland), the latter of whom is deaf. Thanks to a barren tree, a creepy doll, an eerie chapter of history and a strange run-in with Gerry, however, she can soon suddenly hear and speak. She says that can see the Virgin Mary, too. Swiftly, word about her story catches the church, media and public's attention. Even if Spiliotopoulos had kept the novel's title, it'd remain obvious that all isn't what it seems — the film starts nearly two centuries ago with a woman being burned alive at the aforementioned tree, so nothing here is subtle. But instead of pairing an exploration of the dangers of having faith without question with demonic bumps and jumps, The Unholy embraces cliches with the same passion that satan stereotypically has for fire. The cheap-looking visuals, Cary Elwes' (Black Christmas) wavering accent and the bored look on co-star Katie Aselton's (Synchronic) face hardly help, either. If you're wondering what else is currently screening in cinemas — or has been lately — check out our rundown of new films released in Australia on January 1, January 7, January 14, January 21 and January 28; February 4, February 11, February 18 and February 25; and March 4, March 11, March 18 and March 25; and April 1 and April 8. You can also read our full reviews of a heap of recent movies, such as Nomadland, Pieces of a Woman, The Dry, Promising Young Woman, Summerland, Ammonite, The Dig, The White Tiger, Only the Animals, Malcolm & Marie, News of the World, High Ground, Earwig and the Witch, The Nest, Assassins, Synchronic, Another Round, Minari, Firestarter — The Story of Bangarra, The Truffle Hunters, The Little Things, Chaos Walking, Raya and the Last Dragon, Max Richter's Sleep, Judas and the Black Messiah, Girls Can't Surf, French Exit, Saint Maud, Godzilla vs Kong, The Painter and the Thief, Nobody, The Father, Willy's Wonderland, Collective and Voyagers.
What happens when you get rare approval for extended, late-night trading hours? Well, if you're anything like 70s-inspired enoteca Alberto Lounge, you celebrate by throwing a big ol' party. That party's taking over the bar on Sunday, November 24, promising eats, beats and boozy treats right through until midnight. From 4pm, you'll catch DJs spinning a soundtrack of throwback Euro grooves, drink specials including a $10 negroni and complimentary serves of Alberto's signature mortadella sandwiches. There'll be 'Nature Morte' t-shirts by Sydney-based print-maker Allie Webb up for grabs, while the kitchen dishes up its full food menu all night long. Alberto Lounge is now open an extra hour until 1am Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, and an extra two hours until midnight on Sundays. To match, a refreshed DJ program is set to kick on until late every weekend. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday nights will remain the same, with the venue open until about midnight. The bar was opened late last year by the folks behind Restaurant Hubert, Frankie's and Shady Pines Saloon. Its new hours are another small win for Sydney's nightlife and live music scene, with tough lockout laws on track to be rolled back right across the CBD by the end of the year. Venue images: Kitti Gould.
Global culture, technology and entrepreneurship juggernaut Remix stopped in Sydney for two days from May 8-9. We went, we watched, we wrote things down. Here are some takeaways from the event. Three people to internet stalk after Remix Sydney 1. Anna Higgs (@AnnaEHiggs), head of digital at Film4. As well as being a totally inspiring powerhouse who, just lately, has commissioned stuff like Frank, 12 Years a Slave and 20,000 Days on Earth, she live tweeted the whole of Remix like a boss. 2. Peter Tullin (@PeterTullin and Simon Cronshaw, co-founders of CultureLabel.com (@CultureLabel) and this whole worldwide conference shebang known as Remix. They seem to know everything about what's going on in the culture/technology/entrepreneurship world, and they were genial hosts to boot. 3. Dr Hugh Bradlow (@hughbradlow) works for Telstra, not always the most inspiring company, as chief technology officer but he is so much more than that. A sweetly excitable geek who loved telling us about the system he's set up to measure energy use in his home, he also asked some of the week's biggest questions about the future. Intra-preneurship: Building a Culture of Innovation This ends up being hilarious. Because Leigh Carmichael, creative director at Dark MOFO, MONA's Winter Festival, has a simple and popular dictum: kill the committees. But that's not going to work for everyone on this panel who doesn't have the luxury of being bankrolled by a wealthy, art-loving gambler. Mark Goggin, director of Sydney Living Museums, is a good counterpoint, his talk entitled 'taking creative risks with public money'. That organisation (formerly the Historic Houses Trust) has definitely managed to bring in new audiences and stage a variety of interesting cultural events. But both Leigh and Mark basically agree: you have to empower creatives with as much decision making ability as possible. The organisation's leaders have to endorse creative risk-taking (even knowing they won't all be successes) and make sure that attitude rules the discourse. Mark points to the @sweden Twitter ("a new Swede every week") as an inspiringly risk-taking public program — even when the person in control has been sexist, racist, offensive or otherwise disappointing, the government has stuck it out. Mark Goggin from @sydlivmus speaking on taking creative risks with public money. That org is on a roll. #innovation #RemixSyd — Concrete Playground (@PLAYGROUNDnews) May 8, 2014 Three ideas that stuck at Remix Sydney 1. We're suckers for storytelling. No matter what you're doing, you will need to be able to tell your 'story' at every stage — from getting funded, to finding your audience to showing off at a big, intimidating conference like Remix. 2. Think of your project as a treasure map not a road atlas. Anna Higgs uses this as a guideline for making cross-platform work, but it ends up being applicable to just about everything (except road trips). 3. How do you build a world where people lead meaningful lives when this is happening? Seriously, Dr Hugh Bradlow, CTO of Telstra, wants us to figure this shit out. Uh oh. @hughbradlow #terrified #thefutureisnow #RemixSyd pic.twitter.com/QfdTEtTjET — Lisa Burns (@LisaKBurns) May 9, 2014 The Experience Economy: Creating Extraordinary Moments and Stories That Get People Talking Everyone on this panel is certain they haven't heard the phrase 'experience economy' before, but they instinctively get it. They've each been part of masterminding an event or place that has gone beyond the usual definitions and ways of doing things — and brought together a community of people in a shared moment. There's Andrew Valder of the Garage Sale Trail, Heather Whitely Robertson of the MCA and Kaj Lofgren of the School of Life. It seems what Remix is hinting at is that brands might be trying to leverage this need that people have to connect with each other in real life (while at the same time tweeting and Instagramming it). Quelle horreur. Someone, at some point posits that art at the moment isn't about the art so much as it is about bringing people together to view it. There may be truth to that, but as Heather tells it, art is essentially personal, and ultimately the experiences we remember will be the ones we connect to internally, rather than externally. Can culture orgs create both experiences at the same time? That looks like the challenge. So true "increasingly art doesn't exist for arts sake, it is a catalyst for bringing ppl together in meaningful ways" @PaulBarclay #RemixSyd — Kaj Lofgren (@kajlofgren) May 8, 2014 Three projects to read more on after Remix Sydney 1. The School of Life — At Melbourne's School of Life (founded by Alain de Botton), the cafe gives out philosophical conversation cards with each purchase, facilitating chats that are more open and probing than the norm. 2. Four Pillars Gin — Admittedly, this Australian gin was created by a publicist, so its branding is top notch. But it's backed up its December 2013 Pozible success with a March 2014 double gold medal at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition, and the team has real passion for both the pure spirit and building an Australian cocktail culture. 3. MoMa's Art Lab — Is this the coolest art app ever? The box says "for ages seven and up", but time has shown no one is too old for creative art education without the big words. Public Forum: Rethinking Cross-Platform Performance for Live and Broadcast Audiences Niche topic, but any lover of performance should feel the pull of it. It's not like as a society we're going to see theatre less, but now that we're consuming so much media, so constantly (several screens at a time, often), how can live performance works remain relevant to public debate? How can they find new audiences? This panel brought together some of Remix's key guests — Anna Higgs, commissioning executive for the UK's multiplatform Film4; Freya Murray, arts manager at SKY Arts, another multiplatform innovator; Allegra Burnette, creative director of digital media at MoMA; and Tom Uglow of Google's Creative Lab. These guys have all gone beyond the idea of merely recording a live show and broadcasting it into a box in the corner of a living room. Allegra was at MoMA during what's possibly art's most viral moment — Marina Abramovic's The Artist Is Present — and spoke of how unpredictable that was; they just put the pieces out there and facilitated the internet to do it's thing. Freya emphasised that when setting out on these kinds of projects, you need to be flexible and reactive to your audience. Go with the flow, even if that's the most scary thing of all. Working in this area is a treasure map journey rather than road map journey. Must experiment @AnnaEHiggs #Rethinkingcrossplatform #RemixSyd — Rima Sabina Aouf (@rimasabina) May 8, 2014
Could 2011 be the year of the infographic? They're all over the internet: eye-popping visuals which make sense of complex data sets through bright colours and great typography choices. In a world where information bombardment is enough to make your head spin, infographics are bringing order to the chaos of endless facts and figures. Perhaps the logic of the infographic could be applied to the design of nutrition labels, another daily dose of confusing percentages, milligrams, serving sizes and calorie counters. US magazine Good has teamed up with the University of California Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism's News21 project, inviting designers to rethink food labelling. Their instructions? "Redesign the food label. Incorporate the existing nutrition facts and calorie counts. Or reimagine a label entirely based on food quality, food justice, or lesser-known chemosensory characteristics. Consider a food's carbon footprint or its cultural significance. Above all, make the redesigned label informative, instructive, and memorable." Enter the competition before July 1 and use your design skills to inspire better food and nutrition literacy. [Via Good]
You know that feeling of unsurpassed joy you experience when you are eating at a restaurant and you see the waiter approaching your table with your dish? Good Food Month is that feeling. Spread out over a whole month. Spanning all October, Good Food Month celebrates the joy of food over many diverse platforms — ranging from markets to workshops, talks, tastings and completely unusual, unexpected, food-skewed events. It's also the time when restaurants that we probably couldn't afford open their doors with breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert specials. This year, Good Food month will feature Israeli food maestro Yotam Ottolenghi, who'll be doing an exclusive dinner, lunch and talk. The list of things to see (and, most importantly, eat) feels endless, so, as usual, we've handpicked the ten best events that you cannot miss if the thought of food makes you feel giddy with excitement. Night Noodle Markets You know it's Good Food Month when Hyde Park is transformed into a fairy-lit backyard, dotted with stalls featuring the best Asian food that Sydney has to offer. This year, there will be 50 stalls showcasing these goodies, including the likes of China Republic, Harajuku Gyoza and popular Melbourne eatery Wonderbao, alongside old favourites such as Mamak, Longrain and Din Tai Fung. For the first time in its 16-year operation, the Night Noodle Markets will be operating on Sunday evenings as well. If you're hankering for Asian street food but can't bear the Noodle Market crush, try China Town's Asia on Your Doorstep Festival, which will feature an authentic-as-can-be Little Eat Street on October 25. October 10 – 26, Hyde Park North. Hours: Mon – Tue 5pm – 9pm, Wed 5pm – 10pm, Thu - Fri 5pm – 11pm, Saturday 4pm - 10pm, Sunday 4pm – 9pm. Free entry. Momofuku Ssäm Bar 2007 By now, everyone should know what the big deal is with superstar chef David Chang. To those unfamiliar, only two words are necessary: pork buns. We in Sydney have had a chance to experience Chang's Momofuku empire thanks to Momofuku Seiobo opening a while back, but the rest of his restaurants overseas sadly still evade us. Now Momofuku Seiobo is stepping back in time to bring us a taste of New York's Momofuku Ssäm Bar's 2007 menu, some of which is now iconic — like Chang's signature pork belly buns with hoisin, cucumber and spring onions. Best of all, you won't have to fight for a reservation, just for a spot in the queue; no bookings are being taken for Ssäm Bar 2007. All dishes are $10-40, and you get a Tanqueray G&T on arrival. October 13-18, 6.30pm - 10pm, at Momofuku Seiobo, Level G, The Star, 80 Pyrmont Street. Journey to the Forbidden Kingdom What little we know about North Korea ranges from the surprising to the downright bizarre. Something that we know even less about is North Korean fare. The chefs at one of our faves, Kim Restaurant in Potts Point, will open those doors for us, giving us a peek into the cuisine styles of a land not many people get to visit. October 10, 5 - 10pm, at Kim Restaurant, 7/24-30 Springfield Avenue, via Llankelly Place, Potts Point. $80pp for a five-course banquet matched to Korean spirits. Reservations kimrestaurant7@gmail.com Foraged Feast at Hill Eatery Bondi Beach institution Hill Eatery is dedicated to creating the freshest meals from local produce. It is fitting that their contribution to Good Food Month encompasses this passion: guests are invited to forage for their food around Bondi's beach parks and backyards, before the chefs transform it into a delicious and hearty meal. Forage Feast is $98pp for a three-course meal including wine and beer. While you eat, the chefs will explain where ingredients were sourced and the inspiration behind each dish. October 30, 7pm – 11.30pm at Hill Eatery, 5/39 Campbell Parade North Bondi. Reservations info@thehilleatery.com.au. Foraged Feast is a part of the Down to Earth program of events. Asia Town street food festival The best (worst?) thing about Good Food Month is that we're almost too spoiled for choice when it comes to picking out the best experience for our tastebuds, making it all the harder. Asia Town fixes this dilemma for you, bringing some of Australia's best chefs to a giant one-off marketplace of tastings, drinks, music and demonstrations. Dishes will be prepared by chefs like founder of Sailers' Thai David Thompson; the man behind Ms G's, Dan Hong; founder of Red Lantern, Luke Nguyen; and Chui Lee Luk, who opened Surry Hills' Chow Bar and Eating House last year. Oh, and not to forget the talented folk from Sokyo, Golden Century, Moon Park, Cho Cho San, and Melburnian restaurants Kong and Chin Chin. That's, like, everyone. This is one of the rare times we recommend going to the Star. Sunday, October 19, from noon - 8pm, at Star Terrace, Pirrama Road, Pyrmont. $125pp, including tastings, drinks and demonstration sessions. Book at the Good Food Month website. Halloween Harajuku Pop Up Bar at Sake For the dressed-up characters walking the streets of Tokyo's famed district of Harajuku, practically every day is Halloween. Now, we can have our own little twist on Japanese style, with Sake Restaurant and Bar resurrecting their Harajuku-themed pop-up bar for Halloween — which means you get to dress up too. There will be themed cocktails and izakaya-style canapes, including skewers, grilled fish, sashimi salad, sushi rolls and — wait for it — deep-fried cheeseburger gyozas. Chill with some spooky tunes thanks to Sake's DJs and you've got a seriously good night sorted. October 31, 7pm – 12am, at Sake Restaurant and Bar, 12 Argyle Street, The Rocks. $45pp including three cocktails and matching canapes. Reservations reservations@sakerestaurant.com.au. The Growers' Market, Pyrmont Heading to the markets could possibly be one of the nicest ways to spend a day: wandering through mazes of stalls, consuming the sly tester and, in the case of the Growers' Market, enjoying a wonderful view. During its 16 years in operation, the Growers' Market Pyrmont has become one of Sydney's most loved morning markets. As the title suggests, the Growers' Market is all about fresh produce, with 70 stalls presenting freshly harvested food in the shape of cheese, meats, fruit and veggies. The Growers' Market runs on the first Saturday of each month; however, during Good Food Month it will also include cooking demonstrations from Australian food personalities and a fine-food sausage sizzle as a nod to the 'Barbecue Madness' segment of Good Food Month. October 4, 7am - noon, at Pyrmont Bay Park, Pirrama Road. Free. Omnivore The Omnivore world tour is a determined shift away from stuffy exclusive restaurants and close-minded chefs. Adopting the title 'la jeune cuisine' (young chefs, new ideas) the Omnivore movement is based in Paris and unites chefs from all over the world. The Australian four-day event will feature masterclasses, dinners and an 'Omnivorous Party' on October 4, the latter including bouchees pastries, music and drinks with a backdrop of the harbour. Hear, learn from, dine with and eat the food of chefs from eateries such as Nomad, Pinbone, The Bentley and Papi Chulo. October 2-5. Masterclasses $45 half day/$80 full day), Omnivorious party $45. Reservations via the Omnivore website. Sip & Savour: A Craft Beer Experience Beer and cider lovers, rejoice. As part of Sydney Craft Beer Week, festival-within-a-festival Sip & Savour are promising two full days of tastings, dining and entertainment, featuring over 250 brews and cider. Some of our most loved Australian microbreweries — including Young Henrys, Six String and Hawthorn Brewing Company — will be pouring throughout the weekend. For those looking for a bit of Beer 101, there's also going to be seminars and workshops teaching you how to start your own brewery and how to successfully match beer with food. But don't conk out too early. Live music acts including 2011 Triple J Unearthed winner Husky, local indie-rock five-piece Castlecomer, electronic indie-pop songstress Lupa J and young singer-songwriter Gordi will be providing tunes all Sunday night. October 25 from 11.30am - 1pm) and October 26 from noon - 6pm at Carriageworks, 245 Wilson Street, Eveleigh. Prices vary from $44 - $78. Book tickets at the Sip & Savour website. StreetFest Food Trucks United Food trucks tick all the right boxes — cheap, fulfilling, fast and guaranteed to be made fresh on the spot — so it's a wonder why they aren't more easily seen around town. One popular solution to that is Streetfest Food Trucks United, which is returning to fill the void now that long summer nights are on their way. Vendors like Cantina Mobil, Eat Art Truck and a crowd of others will fill the space of Belmore Park, along with stages for live art, music and some fun entertainment like rap-battles and street performances. October 10, 5pm - 10pm, at Pyrmont Bay Park, Pirrama Road. Pyrmont. Free entry. By the Concrete Playground team.
Vivid Sydney is here for 2022, brightening up as many places around the city as it can manage — and turning almost every walk around town into a glowing experience. Here's another way to soak up the luminous sights while making the most of the citywide fest: hitting up Carriageworks for free installation Contact. The work of light artist Sam Whiteside, this immersive piece includes a monolithic lightwork, complete with thick haze and an intense white and red beam of brightness. If it sounds a tad trippy and also a bit eerie, that's by design. Using algorithmically generated simulations, those shafts of light pulse through the space — distorting your sense of reality. On display from 5–11.30pm on Thursday, June 2–Friday, June 3 and Thursday, June 9–Saturday, June 11 — plus from 5–9.30pm on Sunday, June 5 — Contact also comes with a drone soundscape composed and produced by Patrick Liney. So, it finds another way to steep you in its confines. Another key factor: Carriageworks' architecture, and the shadows that Contact casts among its walls. Images: Jacquie Manning.
In celebration of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture held on the traditional lands of the Gadigal people in Sydney, Koori Radio 93.7FM presents the annual Yabun Festival. The largest one-day celebration of its kind, the festival seeks to showcase some of the best Indigenous music, speakers and creative talent in the country. Get cultured in traditional dance as performers kick up the dust; wander the market stalls of Corroboree Ground; or be enlightened by some of Australia's leading artists, authors and thinkers at the SpeakOut Tent.
Something delightful has been happening in cinemas in some parts of the country. After numerous periods spent empty during the pandemic, with projectors silent, theatres bare and the smell of popcorn fading, picture palaces in many Australian regions are back in business — including both big chains and smaller independent sites in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. During COVID-19 lockdowns, no one was short on things to watch, of course. In fact, you probably feel like you've streamed every movie ever made, including new releases, Studio Ghibli's animated fare and Nicolas Cage-starring flicks. But, even if you've spent all your time of late glued to your small screen, we're betting you just can't wait to sit in a darkened room and soak up the splendour of the bigger version. Thankfully, plenty of new films are hitting cinemas so that you can do just that — and we've rounded up, watched and reviewed everything on offer this week. ETERNALS It's the only Marvel movie by an Oscar-winning director. Focusing on a superhero squad isn't new, even if everyone here is a Marvel Cinematic Universe newcomer, but it's the lone instalment in the franchise that's about a team led by women of colour. It's home to the MCU's only caped crusader who is deaf, and its first openly gay superhero — and it doesn't just mention his sexuality, but also shows his relationship. It happens to be the first Marvel flick with a sex scene, too. Eternals is also the only film in the hefty saga with a title describing how long the series will probably continue. And, it's the sole MCU entry that features two ex-Game of Thrones stars — Kit Harington and Richard Madden, two of the show's Winterfell-dwelling brothers — and tasks them both with loving a woman called Sersi. (The name isn't spelled the same way, but it'll still recalls Westeros.) When you're 26 movies into a franchise, as the MCU now is, each new film is a case of spotting differences. All the above traits aid Eternals in standing out, especially the empathetic, naturalistic touch that Chloé Zhao brings to her first blockbuster (and first film since Nomadland and its historic Academy Award wins). There's a sense of beauty and weight rippling through almost every frame, as well as an appreciation for life's struggles. Its namesakes are immortal aliens sent to earth 7000 years ago to battle intergalactic beasts, and yet Eternals shows more affinity for everyday folks who don't don spandex or have superpowers than any Marvel flick yet. It's also largely gorgeous, due to its use of location shoots rather than constantly stacking CGI on CGI. But everything that sets the film apart from the rest of Marvel's saga remains perched atop a familiar formula. Perhaps that's fitting; thematically, Eternals spends much of its lengthy 157 minutes contemplating set roles and expectations, and whether anyone can ever truly break free of either. Spying an overt statement in these parallels — between the movie's general adherence to the MCU template and the ideas bubbling within it — might be a little generous, though. Of late, Marvel likes giving its new instalments their own packaging, while keeping many of the same gears whirring inside. That's part of the comic book company-turned-filmmaking behemoth's current pattern, in fact. Still, even after Thor: Ragnarok, Black Panther and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Eternals finds its own niche. It both intrigues and entertains, and it's ambitious — and it's often more than the sum of all those MCU firsts and onlys it's claimed. As opening text explains, Eternals' central group were dispatched by a Celestial — a space god, really — called Arishem. With the monstrous Deviants, another alien race, wreaking havoc, the Eternals were tasked with fighting the good fight — and were forbidden to interfere otherwise, which is why they've been absent in the last 25 movies. But now, a new Deviant attacks Sersi (Gemma Chan, Raya and the Last Dragon), her human boyfriend Dane Whitman (Harington) and fellow Eternal Sprite (Lia McHugh, The Lodge). That gets the gang back together swiftly, including the flying, laser-eyed Ikaris (Madden), the maternal Ajak (Salma Hayek, The Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard), Bollywood star Kingo (Kumail Nanjiani, The Lovebirds), the super-strong Gilgamesh (Don Lee, Ashfall), warrior Thena (Angelia Jolie, Those Who Wish Me Dead), the super-speedy Makkari (Lauren Ridloff, Sound of Metal), tech wiz Phastos (Brian Tyree Henry, Godzilla vs Kong) and the mind-manipulating Druig (Barry Keoghan, The Green Knight). Read our full review. THE MANY SAINTS OF NEWARK So much about The Many Saints of Newark is a matter of when, not if: when familiar characters will show up looking younger, when well-known New Jersey locations will be sighted and when someone will eat ziti. This all occurs because it must; it wouldn't be a prequel to The Sopranos otherwise. Servicing fans is a key reason the movie exists, and it's far more resonant if you've already spent 86 episodes with Tony Soprano and his mafia and blood families while watching one of the best TV shows ever made. This is a film with a potent air of inevitability, clearly. Thankfully, that feeling reaches beyond all the obligatory nods and winks. That some things are unavoidable — that giving people what they want doesn't always turn out as planned, and that constantly seeking more will never fix all of life's woes, too — pulsates through this origin story like a thumping bass line. And yes, on that topic, Alabama 3's 'Woke Up This Morning' obviously gets a spin. Penned by The Sopranos' creator David Chase and series alum Lawrence Konner, and helmed by veteran show director Alan Taylor, The Many Saints of Newark doesn't merely preach to existing devotees, even if they're the film's main audience. Marking the last of the big three 00s-era prestige US cable dramas to earn a movie spinoff — following El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie and Deadwood: The Movie — the feature is aware of its own genesis and of gangster genre staples in tandem. Casting Ray Liotta, who'll forever be associated with Martin Scorsese's Goodfellas, was always going to show that. Travelling back to the 70s, when The Godfather franchise electrified cinema, does also. Indeed, The Many Saints of Newark plays like a hybrid of pop culture's three most influential and essential mob stories. A bold move, it also explains what works and what falters in a film that's powerful and engaging but firmly baked in a well-used oven. The first detail that Sopranos fans should've picked up when this flick first got a title: in Italian, many saints translates as moltisanti. While The Many Saints of Newark spends time with young Tony as a pre-teen in the late 60s (played by feature first-timer William Ludwig) and a teen in the early 70s (when The Deuce's Michael Gandolfini, son of the late, great James Gandolfini, steps into the character's shoes), its protagonist is Dickie Moltisanti (Alessandro Nivola, The Art of Self-Defense). He's seen as an uncle and mentor by Tony, who'll eventually hold the same roles for Dickie's son. The Sopranos mainstay Christopher Moltisanti (Michael Imperioli, One Night in Miami) turns narrator here, in fact, offering knowing voiceover that occasionally channels the show's dark humour — calling out Christopher's death at Tony's hands, for instance. Dickie was recalled with reverence in the series, yet threw a shadow over Tony's middle-aged mob-boss malaise — as seen in his duck obsession, panic attacks and reluctant chats with a psychiatrist. Here, Dickie falls into a similar pattern with his dad 'Hollywood' Dick (Liotta, No Sudden Move), who returns from Italy to subject his new, much-younger bride Giuseppina (Michela De Rossi, The Rats) to domestic violence. One of The Many Saints of Newark's finest traits is its layering, honing in on cycles that keep echoing through generations as it examines Dickie's role in turning Tony into the man viewers watched from 1999–2007. Its greatest stroke of casting plays with the same notion as well, and the younger Gandolfini is a soulful yet primal revelation. To call his performance lived-in is the epitome of an understatement, and it's never a gimmick. Read our full review. JULIA Call it the SNL effect: in two of their past three films, Julie Cohen and Betsy West have celebrated pioneering women who've been parodied on Saturday Night Live. They've referenced those famous skits in RBG and now Julia, in fact, including their subjects' reactions; Ruth Bader Ginsburg was seen howling with laughter when she first saw Kate McKinnon slip into her robes, and Julia Child reportedly played Dan Aykroyd's blood-soaked 1978 impersonation to friends at parties. Cohen and West clearly aren't basing their documentaries on their own sketch-comedy viewing, though. Instead, they've been eagerly unpacking exactly why a US Supreme Court Justice and a French cuisine-loving TV chef made such a strong impact, and not only in their own fields. Julia makes an exceptional companion piece with the Oscar-nominated RBG, unsurprisingly; call it a great doco double helping. Julia arrives nearly two decades after its namesake's passing, and 12 years since Meryl Streep earned an Oscar nomination for mimicking Julia in Julie & Julia. If you've seen the latter but still wondered why Julie Powell (played by The Woman in the Window's Amy Adams) was so determined to work her way through Julia's most famous cookbook — first published in 1961, Mastering the Art of French Cooking completely changed America's perception of printed recipe collections — let this easy-to-consume doco fill in the gaps when it comes to the culinary wiz's mastery and achievements. Let it spark two instinctual, inescapable and overwhelming reactions, too: hunger, due to all the clips of Julia cooking and other lingering shots of food; and inspiration, because wanting to whip up the same dishes afterwards is equally understandable. In their second film of 2021 — after My Name Is Pauli Murray, another portrait of a woman thoroughly deserving the spotlight — Cohen and West take a chronological approach to Julia's life. The two filmmakers like borrowing cues from their subjects, so here they go with a classic recipe that's been given slight tweaks, but always appreciates that magic can be made if you pair a tried-and-tested formula with outstanding technique. Julia's entire cooking career, including her leap to television in her 50s, stirred up the same idea. Her take on French dining was all about making delectable meals by sticking to the right steps, even while using supermarket-variety ingredients, after all. Julia boasts a delightful serving of archival footage, as well as lingering new food porn-esque sequences that double as how-tos (as deliciously lensed by cinematographer and fellow RBG alum Claudia Raschke), but it still embodies the same ethos. Born to a well-off Pasadena family in 1912, Julia's early relationship with food is painted as functional: the household's cooks prepared the meals, and wanting to step into the kitchen herself was hardly a dream. In pre-World War II America, the expectation was that she'd simply marry and become a housewife, however, but a hunger for more out of life first took her to the Office of Strategic Services — the US organisation that gave way to the CIA — and overseas postings. While stationed in the Far East, she met State Department official Paul Child. After a berth in China, he was sent to France, where the acclaimed Cordon Bleu culinary school eventually beckoned for Julia. From there, she started her own cooking classes in Paris, co-penned the book that made her famous, turned a TV interview into a pitch for her own show and became an icon. Read our full review. RED NOTICE When Interpol hunts down the world's most wanted international criminals, it issues red notices — and for anyone who isn't already aware of that fact, Red Notice starts by spelling out the details. If the film world circulated the same kinds of warnings about bland, cliched, charmless and tedious movies, this Dwayne Johnson, Ryan Reynolds and Gal Gadot-starring supposed action-comedy would earn several. That it bears far too much in common at times with two of its stars' most recent features — Johnson's likeable-enough Jungle Cruise and Reynolds' excruciatingly terrible The Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard — says plenty about this by-the-numbers affair. If only they were the sole instances that it conjured up other movies; Reynolds does a Borat impression, whistles the Indiana Jones tune and verbally references Jurassic Park, and it's all as dated as it sounds. Also tired and trying: Reynolds' performance in general, which is permanently stuck on the same kind of schtick at the heart of both Deadpool and Free Guy. This time, however, he's playing the globe's second-best art thief — and his character, Nolan Booth, desperately wants the top spot. But a couple of people stand in his way, which is where Red Notice's other big names come in. Firstly, FBI profiler John Hartley (Johnson) interrupts Booth's latest heist, which involves tracking down three golden eggs that were once owned by Cleopatra (the third of which has never been found before). Secondly, the planet's number one art thief, The Bishop (Gadot, Wonder Woman 1984), is on the same hunt for the same $30 million payday. She's also constantly one step ahead of not just her professional competitor, but also the man pursuing both criminals. Red Notice plays like the result of watching 80s and 90s hits, its three leads' filmographies and the National Treasure flicks, then throwing their basic ideas into a blender and pouring the jumbled mess onto the screen. It's Netflix's most expensive movie yet, and it's also shiny-coated garbage. That its opening scene involves a decoy egg doused in Coca-Cola to reveal an empty shell inside is far more telling than it's meant to be. Also landing with a thud: a dance between Hartley and The Bishop at an Eyes Wide Shut-styled party that's supposed to herald this as the next True Lies, but just makes viewers wish they were watching that instead. That's the thing with shovelling in reference after reference instead of penning a decent and coherent script, even when around half of those winks are done with writer/director Rawson Marshall Thurber's (Central Intelligence, Skyscraper) tongue firmly in his cheek: constantly calling attention to better movies but failing to live up to them is like punching yourself the face. They're three of the highest-profile names in blockbuster cinema, but Johnson, Reynolds and Gadot all sleepwalk through their parts here — not that the screenplay asks much more. Not a single gag lands, either, and neither does any tension, chemistry, timing or reason to care about its lead trio, their characters' globe-hopping quest and all the chaos they leave in their wake. Of course Nazis are involved, even though it's now 2021 and not 1981 when Raiders of the Lost Ark did the exact same thing. Of course the whole film looks like the dullest kind of CGI onslaught, with green screens standing in for Rome, Russia, London, Egypt and more. Of course it also plays like something an algorithm would spit out — and one that thinks Ed Sheeran is the height of stunt cameo casting after Game of Thrones already proved that idea oh-so wrong four years ago. Red Notice screens in select Australian cinemas from Thursday, November 4, and streams via Netflix from Friday, November 12. If you're wondering what else is currently screening in Australian cinemas — or has been lately — check out our rundown of new films released in Australia on June 10, June 17 and June 24; July 1, July 8, July 15, July 22 and July 29; August 5, August 12, August 19 and August 26; September 2, September 9, September 16, September 23 and September 30; and October 7, October 14, October 21 and October 28. For Sydney specifically, you can take a look at out our rundown of new films that released in Sydney cinemas when they reopened on October 11, and what opened on October 14, October 21 and October 28 as well. And for Melbourne, you can check out our top picks from when outdoor cinemas reopened on October 22 — and from when indoor cinemas did the same on October 29. You can also read our full reviews of a heap of recent movies, such as Herself, Little Joe, Black Widow, The Sparks Brothers, Nine Days, Gunpowder Milkshake, Space Jam: A New Legacy, Old, Jungle Cruise, The Suicide Squad, Free Guy, Respect, The Night House, Candyman, Annette, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised), Streamline, Coming Home in the Dark, Pig, Big Deal, The Killing of Two Lovers, Nitram, Riders of Justice, The Alpinist, A Fire Inside, Lamb, The Last Duel, Malignant, The Harder They Fall, Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain, Halloween Kills and Passing. Top image: Photo courtesy of Marvel Studios. ©Marvel Studios 2021. All Rights Reserved.
Before the pandemic, when a new-release movie started playing in cinemas, audiences couldn't watch it on streaming, video on demand, DVD or blu-ray for a few months. But with the past few years forcing film industry to make quite a few changes — widespread movie theatre closures will do that, and so will plenty of people staying home because they aren't well — that's no longer always the case. Maybe you haven't had time to make it to your local cinema lately. Perhaps you've been under the weather. Given the hefty amount of titles now releasing each week, maybe you simply missed something. Film distributors have been fast-tracking some of their new releases from cinemas to streaming recently — movies that might still be playing in theatres in some parts of the country, too. In preparation for your next couch session, here are nine that you can watch right now at home. REALITY Sydney Sweeney is ready for her closeup. Playwright-turned-filmmaker Tina Satter obliges. A household name of late due to her exceptional work in both Euphoria and The White Lotus, Sweeney has earned the camera's attention for over a decade; however, she's never been peered at with the unflinching intensity of Satter's debut feature Reality. For much of this short, sharp and stunning docudrama, the film's star lingers within the frame. Plenty of the movie's 83-minute running time devotes its focus to her face, staring intimately and scrutinising what it sees. Within Reality's stranger-than-fiction narrative, that imagery spies a US Air Force veteran and National Security Agency translator in her mid-twenties, on what she thought was an ordinary Saturday. It's June 3, 2017, with the picture's protagonist returning from buying groceries to find FBI agents awaiting at her rented Augusta, Georgia home, then accusing her of "the possible mishandling of classified information". Reality spots a woman facing grave charges, a suspect under interrogation and a whistleblower whose fate is already known to the world. It provides a thriller of a procedural with agents, questions, allegations and arrests; an informer saga that cuts to the heart of 21st-century American politics, and its specific chaos since 2016; and an impossible-to-shake tragedy about how authority savagely responds to being held to account. Bringing her stage production Is This a Room: Reality Winner Verbatim Transcription to the screen after it wowed off-Broadway and then Broadway, Satter dedicates Reality's bulk to that one day and those anxious minutes, unfurling in close to real time — but, pivotally, it kicks off three weeks earlier with its namesake at work while Fox News plays around her office. Why would someone leak to the media a restricted NSA report about Russian interference in getting Donald Trump elected? Before it recreates the words genuinely spoken between its eponymous figure and law enforcement, Reality sees the answer as well. Reality is available to stream via YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE There's nothing small about Hollywood's superhero obsession, with its 30-movies-deep-and-counting cinematic universes, competing caped-crusader realms, ever-growing spread across screens big and small, and determination to enlist every actor ever (and some actors more than once). That decades have passed, many spandex-clad characters have cycled through a few faces now, and reuniting past and present versions of beloved crime-fighters is the current trend: none are minor matters, either. And yet, when 2018's Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse took pop culture's favourite web-slinger back to its animated roots, it made those flesh-and-blood flicks and shows, as well as the expensive special effects behind them, look positively trivial and cartoonish. Five years later, the first sequel to the deservedly Academy Award-winning masterpiece plasters around the same sensation like a Spidey shooting its silk. Give this latest take on Stan Lee and Steve Ditko's iconic character by directors Joaquim Dos Santos (The Legend of Korra), Kemp Powers (Soul) and Justin K Thompson (Into the Spider-Verse's production designer) 2024's Best Animated Feature Oscar immediately. All the money in the world can't make people in tights standing against green screens as visually spectacular and emotionally expressive as the Spider-Verse films. If it could, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and now Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse wouldn't be so astonishing and exhilarating, look so stunning and feel so authentic. Spider-Man's eight stints in theatres with either Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield or Tom Holland behind the mask — and all of the latter's pop-ups in other Marvel Cinematic Universe entries, too — have splattered around plenty of charm, but they'll now always swing far below their animated counterparts. Indeed, when Spider-Man: No Way Home tried to emulate the Spider-Verse by pointing its fingers into the multiverse, as Marvel's live-action world is now fixated upon, it paled in comparison. And, that isn't just because there was no Nicolas Cage-voiced 30s-era spider-vigilante Spider-Man Noir, or a spider-robot, spider-pig, spider-car or spider-saur; rather, it's because as the Spider-Verse movies tell of Miles Morales (Shameik Moore, Wu-Tang: An American Saga), Spider-Gwen (Hailee Steinfeld, Hawkeye), Peter B Parker (Jake Johnson, Minx), Miguel O'Hara/Spider-Man 2099 (Oscar Isaac, Moon Knight) and more, they truly do whatever a Spider-Man movie can. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is available to stream via Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. JOY RIDE Before it busts out licking lucky cats, K-pop-style Cardi B covers, cocaine enemas, threesome injuries and intimate tattoos, Joy Ride begins with a punch. For most of the movie, Audrey Sullivan (Ashley Park, Beef) and Lolo Chen (Sherry Cola, Good Trouble) are nearing 30, travelling in China and going on a wild journey in a gleefully raucous comedy. In the 1998-set prologue in White Falls, Washington, though, they're five-year-olds (debutants Lennon Yee and Milana Wan) first meeting, being taunted by a racist playground bully and responding with the outgoing Lolo's fist. Crazy Rich Asians and Raya and the Last Dragon screenwriter Adele Lim uses her directorial debut's opening scene not just to start a fast and firm friendship, but to establish the film's tone, sense of humour and, crucially, its willingness to fight. Joy Ride will ultimately get sentimental; however, this is a movie that beats up cultural prejudices and stereotypes by letting its four main female and non-binary Asian American characters grapple with them while being complicated and chaotic. Hollywood should be well past representation being such a noteworthy factor. That should've happened long before Bridesmaids and Bachelorette gave The Hangover's template a ladies-led spin more than a decade ago, and prior to Girls Trip spending time four Black women on a raucous weekend away six years back. Reality proves otherwise, sadly, so Joy Ride openly addresses the discrimination and pigeonholing slung Audrey, Lolo, and their pals Kat (Everything Everywhere All At Once Oscar-nominee Stephanie Hsu) and Deadeye's (comedian and movie first-timer Sabrina Wu) ways — and in Audrey's case, after being adopted as a baby by the white Sullivans (The Recruit's David Denman and Bridesmaids' co-writer Annie Mumolo), internalised. With its booze- and sex-fuelled antics, Lim's film could've simply been formulaically entertaining, just with Asian American characters in Asia. It certainly doesn't hold back with its raunchy setpieces. But it's a better and more thoughtful feature because it engages with the diasporic experience; "I'm just a garbage American who only speaks English," Audrey chides herself, which the picture she's in unpacks. Joy Ride is available to stream via Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. NO HARD FEELINGS Has Jennifer Lawrence entered her Jennifer Coolidge era? With the spirit of American Pie lingering over No Hard Feelings like unpaid property taxes — a pivotal part of the movie's plot — the Silver Linings Playbook Oscar-winner and Winter's Bone, Hunger Games, X-Men and mother! star is flirting with that direction and loving it. No one sticks their genitalia in a warm home-baked dessert or talks about band camp in Lawrence's latest film, but it is a sex comedy about an inexperienced teenager that includes parents giving clumsy advice. It also involves getting lucky with an older woman; while Lawrence is only 32 and plays it here, an age gap — as well as the chasms between millennials and zoomers, and with the generations prior — is essential to the narrative. The spirit of Coolidge, a game Lawrence, gags about Hall & Oates' 1982 earworm 'Maneater' — a storyline that somewhat riffs on its lyrics, in fact — and battles over class, generational differences and gentrification: that's No Hard Feelings. Based on a real-life Craigslist ad, it's also the next movie from filmmaker Gene Stupnitsky, who penned Bad Teacher and made his feature directorial debut with Good Boys. Where the latter took a Superbad-esque setup but swapped 17-year-olds out for sixth graders, his second flick as a helmer tells a coming-of-age tale on two levels. Percy Becker (Andrew Barth Feldman, White Noise) is the introverted brainiac whose helicopter parents (Daybreak's Matthew Broderick and Life & Beth's Laura Benanti) want to live a little before he hits Princeton University, while Maddie Barker (Lawrence, Causeway) is the bartender and Uber driver who's been in a state of arrested development ever since giving up her plans to surf California's beaches when her mother got sick. No Hard Feelings is available to stream via Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. ELEMENTAL When Pixar is at its best and brightest, the animation house's gorgeous and heartfelt films flow across the silver screen. They glow with colour, creativity, sincerity and emotion. In movies such as WALL-E, Inside Out, Soul, Toy Story 4, Up and Ratatouille, the Disney-owned company's work floats beyond the ordinary as it flickers — and yet, it's also grounded in genuine feelings and insights, even while embracing the now Pixar-standard "what if robots, playthings, rats and the like had feelings?" setup over and over. Accordingly, it makes sense that the studio's Elemental draws upon the sensations that its features usually inspire. It seems like something that was always destined to happen, in fact. And, it's hardly surprising that its latest picture anthropomorphises fire, water, air and earth, and ponders these aspects of nature having emotions. What's less expected is how routine this just-likeable and sweet-enough film is, with the Pixar template lukewarm instead of an inferno and hovering rather than soaring. Elemental also treads water, despite vivid animation, plus the noblest of aims to survey the immigrant experience, opposites attracting, breaking down cultural stereotypes and borders, and complicated parent-child relationships. The Captain Planet-meets-Romeo and Juliet vibe that glinted through the movie's trailers proves accurate, and also something that the feature is happy sticking with exactly as that formula sounds. Although filmmaker Pete Sohn (The Good Dinosaur) draws upon his own upbringing as the son of Korean expats growing up in New York City and its distinctive neighbourhoods — that his family ran a grocery store is worked in as well — and his own marriage, his second stint as a director is too by-the-numbers, easy and timid. Elemental looks like a Pixar film, albeit taking a few visual cues from Studio Ghibli in some character-design details (its bulbous grassy creatures noticeably resemble Totoro), but it largely comes across like a copy or a wannabe. Elemental is available to stream via Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. THE LITTLE MERMAID For anyone without a scaly tail, communing with the ocean can be a routine dip, a refreshing splash or a sail into choppy waters. In Disney's latest dance with merpeople and the humans that its main mythical sea creature yearns for (and desperately wants to learn more about), all three prove true. The next in the Mouse House's long line of live-action remakes — albeit with ample CGI helping to bring its sea-dwelling characters to life, but no hand-drawn animation — the new The Little Mermaid from director Rob Marshall (Mary Poppins Returns) is often content to wade where its beloved 1989 predecessor went before. That's the Disney do-over standard. Sometimes, though, this new effort is its own delightful paddle; when 'Under the Sea' echoes against a literal sea of colour, movement, creatures and energy, it's a dazzling Golden Age Hollywood-esque spectacular. There's no escaping the movie's bloat when it's not merrily floating, however, due in no small part to inflating the storyline from the original's 83 minutes to a hefty 135 minutes. This day at the cinematic beach — glowing highs and waterlogged lows included — keeps the same basic narrative that viewers loved 34 years ago, as loosely inspired by Hans Christian Andersen's 19th-century fairy tale of the same name. A quote from that text opens the film as Alan Menken's revisited Oscar-winning score starts to swell, advising "but a mermaid has no tears, and therefore she suffers so much more". The curious and adventurous Princess Ariel (Halle Bailey, Grown-ish) cries through her siren's song instead, lamenting the strict no-humans rule enforced by her father King Triton (Javier Bardem, Lyle, Lyle Crocodile). And, in rebellious teen-style, she acts out by sneaking off to scour the ocean floor's shipwrecks with her fish best friend Flounder (voiced by Jacob Tremblay, Luca), even when Sebastian the crab (Daveed Diggs, Snowpiercer) is tracking her every move, and stashing trinkets from the world on land in a secret cave. The Little Mermaid is available to stream via Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. JOHN FARNHAM: FINDING THE VOICE There's no need to try to understand it: John Farnham's 1986 anthem 'You're the Voice' is an instant barnstormer of a tune. An earworm then, now and for eternity, it was the Australian song of the 80s. With its layered beats, swelling force and rousing emotion, all recorded in a garage studio, it's as much of a delight when it's soundtracking comedy films like the Andy Samberg-starring Hot Rod and the Steve Coogan-led Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa as it is echoing out of every Aussie pub's jukebox. Making a noise and making it clear, 'You're the Voice' is also one of the reasons that Farnham's 1986 album Whispering Jack remains the best-selling homegrown release ever nearing four decades since it first dropped. But, as John Farnham: Finding the Voice tells, this iconic match of track and talent — this career-catapulting hit for a singer who'd initially tasted fame as a teen pop idol two decades prior — almost didn't happen. Whispering Jack also almost didn't come to fruition at all, a revelation so immense that imagining Australia without that album is like entering Back to the Future Part II's alternative 80s. Writer/director Poppy Stockwell (Scrum, Nepal Quake: Terror on Everest) and her co-scribe Paul Clarke (a co-creator of Spicks and Specks) know this, smartly dedicating a significant portion of Finding the Voice to that record and its first single. The titbits and behind-the-scenes anecdotes flow, giving context to a song almost every Aussie alive since it arrived knows in their bones. Gaynor Wheatley, the wife of Farnham's late best friend and manager Glenn, talks about how they mortgaged their house to fund the release when no label would touch the former 'Sadie (The Cleaning Lady)' crooner. Chris Thompson, the English-born, New Zealand-raised Manfred Mann's Earth Band musician who co-penned 'You're the Voice', chats about initially declining Farnham's request to turn the tune into a single after the latter fell for it via a demo. John Farnham: Finding the Voice is available to stream via 7plus, Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. INSIDIOUS: THE RED DOOR Horror franchises like their doors to stay open: years may pass, stars and filmmakers may come and go, but every popular series eventually waltzes back onto screens. That's been true of Halloween, Scream, Candyman, A Nightmare on Elm Street, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, Friday the 13th and more. It's also accurate of Insidious, which is up to five features in 12 years and returns after its longest gap to-date. For viewers, half a decade has elapsed since this supernatural saga last hit cinemas in 2018's underwhelming Insidious: The Last Key, one of two prequels alongside Insidious: Chapter 3 (because that was the only way to keep bringing back MVP Lin Shaye). For Insidious' characters, though, Insidious: The Red Door takes place nine years after the events of Insidious: Chapter 2. That flick was the last until now to focus on Josh (Patrick Wilson, Moonfall) and Renai Lambert (Rose Byrne, Platonic), plus their haunted son Dalton (Ty Simpkins, The Whale) — and it's their tale the franchise leaps back into. Not only starring but debuting as a director, Wilson makes Insidious: The Red Door an answer to the question that no one, not even the most dedicated horror fans, has likely asked: how are the Lamberts doing after their demonic dalliances? The portrait painted when the movie begins is far from rosy, with Josh and Renai divorced, Dalton resenting his dad, and something niggling at both father and son about their past. Neither the Lambert patriarch nor his now college-bound boy can remember their experiences with unpleasant entities in the astral plane, however, thanks to a penchant for handy hypnotism. So, Insidious: The Red Door poses and responds to another query: what happens when that memory-wiping mesmerism stops working? Insidious: The Red Door is available to stream via YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. TRANSFORMERS: RISE OF THE BEASTS In the breakout movie of 2022, Michelle Yeoh was everything and everywhere. Multiverses are like that. Now, the Oscar-winner voices a space-robot peregrine falcon in Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, and viewers should wish that this only existed in Everything Everywhere All At Once's kaleidoscope of realities. Alas, in this very realm, the newest Transformers film is indeed flickering through projectors. The toy-to-screen series it belongs to is now seven live-action entries in and — apart from 2018 spinoff-slash-prequel Bumblebee — largely still as dull as a smashed headlight. Set in 1994, the current instalment is a sequel to the last 1987-anchored franchise flick, which focused on the yellow-hued mechanised alien that can morph into a car, and also a prequel to 2007's saga-spawning Transformers. It draws upon the Transformers: Beast Wars animation, comics and video games, too, and feels in every frame like a picture that purely exists to service intellectual property that does big box-office business (2011's Transformers: Dark of the Moon and 2014's Transformers: Age of Extinction each made over a billion dollars). Michael Bay, Hollywood's go-to director for maximalist action carnage, might've been enthusiastic about Transformers when he started the silver-screen series nearly two decades back — the Ambulance filmmaker was definitely devoted to crashing together pixels replicating chrome in all five titles he helmed, including 2017's Transformers: The Last Knight — but these movies can't be anyone's passion projects. They show zero feeling, and seem to keep rolling out because the saga assembly line has already been established. New faces and a new guiding force behind the lens (director Steven Caple Jr, Creed II) can't dislodge that sensation with Transformers: Rise of the Beasts. The five-person team responsible for the script give no signal that they even wanted to. The feature's latest two leads (In the Heights' Anthony Ramos and Swarm's Dominique Fishback) do resemble people better than most flesh-and-blood characters in the Transformers world, welcomely, although one gets a sick-kid backstory and another a bad boss. Were the Transformers themselves asked to write the most cliched screenplay they could? Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is available to stream via Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. Looking for more at-home viewing options? Take a look at our monthly streaming recommendations across new straight-to-digital films and TV shows — and fast-tracked highlights from January, February, March, April, May, June and July, too. You can also peruse our best new films, new TV shows, returning TV shows and straight-to-streaming movies of 2023 so far
Bondi Festival is back bigger than ever for 2025, and it's set to heat up the beachside 'hood between Friday, July 4–Sunday, July 20. On the bill you'll find a jam-packed lineup of comedy, theatre, live music, art installations and interactive experiences, alongside beloved mainstays like the beachside ice-skating rink and the 25-metre-high Bondi Vista Ferris Wheel. Plus, a brand-new food market will showcase delicious local eats in Bondi Park every Saturday throughout the festival. On the music front, you'll be able to catch a powerful NAIDOC week performance starring soulful Sydney songstress Mi-Kaisha and 2024 triple j Unearthed winner RIAH, while four-time ARIA award-winner Meg Washington will bring her magnetic voice to Bondi Pavilion Theatre for a Friday night special on July 18. There's also an eclectic spread of stage acts, from the debut of the Bondi Festival Comedy Gala — which takes place across two nights at Bondi Pavilion Theatre — to the experimental three-night production POV by re:group, a mash-up of stage and screen in which a film is made on stage. Meanwhile, award-winning comedian and disability advocate Madeleine Stewart will make her debut at Bondi Festival this year as the host of Bondi From the Barber's Chair, an interview series spotlighting prominent neighbourhood personalities in barbershop Badlambs. Among the returning favourites is the Pavilion Paw Parade — an activity-packed, family-friendly day out for doggos and their humans — and Gladdy Drawing Club's inclusive life drawing sessions. Of course, no Bondi Festival is complete without the Bondi ice-skating rink and the 25-metre-high Bondi Vista Ferris Wheel, which will both be back this year. And over three massive Saturdays, the all-new Blue Sky Markets will fill Bondi Park with food stalls from some of the Eastern Suburbs' favourite restaurants.
If you're planning to spend 12 days in the Harbour City's cinemas this winter, Sydney Film Festival's full 2025 slate of movies is jam-packed across Wednesday, June 4–Sunday, June 15. A few highlights on the program are also part of Vivid Sydney 2025, falling within the citywide arts, light, music, food and ideas celebration as well. A celebration of Warren Ellis was always going to be huge news — and worthy of a spot on both festival's bills. There's two parts to it, both on Sunday, June 8: a screening of Justin Kurzel (The Narrow Road to the Deep North)-directed documentary Ellis Park, about the iconic musician establishing an animal sanctuary to protect endangered species in Sumatra, then An Evening with Warren Ellis at City Recital Hall. At the first, at the State Theatre, audiences will obviously see the film. Afterwards, its subject — a Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds collaborator and Dirty Three founder, as well as a pivotal force in movie scores, including on The Proposition, The Road, Far From Men, Mustang, Hell or High Water, The Velvet Queen, The New Boy, Back to Black, Kid Snow and newly minted Oscar-winner I'm Still Here — will chat about the doco, and also put on a short musical performance. You'll need separate tickets if you want to attend both the movie and the in-conversation session.
Nick Coyle has made a very ridiculous name for himself by writing, directing and performing a whole mess of shows based around the inert silliness we all generally hide. The 2012 FBi SMAC Award winner for Best on Stage has been behind such productions as Me Pregnant!, Double Tribute and Rommy. This time, however, Nick is bringing his antics to The Bondi Pavillion Theatre, and these antics are for kids. Uh Oh Tony! is one man’s quest to find his best friend. Who happens to be a robot. With his somewhat unwanted sidekick. Who is a puppet. Of course. That said, it’s exactly the kind of weirdness that Coyle is known for, so what else could we expect? As much as the interactive, all-singing, all-dancing extravaganza is written for little kids, there’s no reason why big kids (us) shouldn’t love it either. Get out of the way, shorties. Uh Oh Tony is on at 11am and 1pm daily.
The service industry has really been through some things lately. 'Shake up' doesn't even come close. Crowd-sourcing, app-ification, and hyper-localisation mean that the service industry we enjoy looks nothing like what our parents knew. And the latest offering from the team behind Paramount Coffee Project, Reuben Hills and Melbourne's Seven Seeds is a testament to this brave new world. When it was announced back in August, Paramount House Hotel promised it wouldn't be a hotel in the traditional sense of the word — a promise which it most certainly kept. It's not a glitzy chain where everything looks and feels the same no matter which country you're visiting. It's more of an immersive local experience which gives visitors a genuine slice of life in Surry Hills. The hotel is part of Paramount House, which currently houses Paramount Coffee, a co-working space and Golden Age Cinema. The downstairs cafe acts as the entrance to the new hotel lobby, and a two-storey extension houses the 29 suites. The hotel also contains a rooftop gym and outdoor cafe — dubbed Paramount Recreation Club — and a brand new restaurant from Ester named Poly. (Yes, it does room service.) "We hope to encapsulate the spirit of Surry Hills and offer the guest an immersive local community experience," said Ping Jin Ng, who co-owns the hotel along with Russell Beard and Mark Dundon. "We are considered but not staged, generous but not lavish and we will offer a memorable and inspiring stay — not just comfortable and slick." The vision for the hotel has been realised by Melbourne architecture firm, Breathe. You may know them for their work on Seven Seeds, Brother Baba Budan, Host, the Collingwood Arts Precinct, The Commons and Transformer. It's connected two buildings on Commonwealth Street, added a copper-clad extension to the roof and decked it out with little luxuries like private terraces and generous spots of greenery. All of this helps make Paramount House Hotel one of the very best hotels in Sydney. Rooms start at $225 a night, and have a mini bar stocked with snacks from LP's Quality Meats and Tom Shobbrook wines, and Aesop products in all the bathrooms — of course. Images: Tom Ross and Sharon Cairns.
So if you're lonely, Franz Ferdinand will be here waiting for you across Australia before 2025 is out. Fresh from releasing their sixth album in January, the Scottish band have announced a visit Down Under in November and December, with five gigs on the itinerary. Their stops: Perth, Brisbane, Melbourne, Thirroul and Sydney. It's been more than two decades since the Alex Kapranos-led group made a helluva splash with the catchy second single from their self-titled debuted album. Even just reading the name 'Take Me Out' is enough to get the number-one tune in Triple J's 2004 Hottest 100 stuck in your head. The song was also nominated for two Grammys, while the record that it springs from won the Mercury Prize. Franz Ferdinand's latest trip to Australia kicks off in Perth at Red Hill Auditorium on Wednesday, November 26, before heading across the country to Brisbane's Riverstage on Saturday, November 29. Next destination: Melbourne, playing Live at the Gardens at the Royal Botanic Gardens on Friday, November 28. Then comes a Tuesday, December 2 date with Anita's Theatre in Thirroul in New South Wales, before wrapping up on Wednesday, December 3 at On the Steps at the Sydney Opera House Forecourt. On every stop, Melbourne's Delivery will be in support — and everywhere except Thirroul, so will the Mornington Peninsula-born Teenage Dads. Since the huge success of 'Take Me Out' and their 2004 Franz Ferdinand album, the band have dropped records in 2005 (You Could Have It So Much Better), 2009 (Tonight: Franz Ferdinand), 2013 (Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action), 2018 (Always Ascending) and this year (The Human Fear). Touring-wise, their past Aussie trips have included sets at Big Day Out, Splendour in the Grass and Falls Festival. Franz Ferdinand's 2025 Aussie visit comes just a few months after Bloc Party, who benefited from Kapranos' approval when they were starting out, do the same in August. Franz Ferdinand Australian Tour 2025 Wednesday, November 26 — Red Hill Auditorium, Perth Saturday, November 29 — Riverstage, Brisbane Friday, November 28 — Live at the Gardens, Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne Tuesday, December 2 — Anita's Theatre, Thirroul Wednesday, December 3 — On the Steps, Sydney Opera House Forecourt, Sydney Franz Ferdinand are touring Australia in November and December 2025, with ticket presales from 10am local time on Monday, May 12 and general sales from the same time on Wednesday, May 14. Head to the tour website for more details. Select images: Raph PH via Flickr.
Ice cream and gelato are not the same. And sure, we could dive into the subtle ways they differ, but we know that all that really matters when the mercury soars and the summer sun beats down is that they both offer a deliciously chilled way to beat the heat. While a Golden Gaytime from 7-Eleven will always hold a place in our hearts (and rightfully so), the seemingly endless creativity of Sydney's ice cream and gelato slingers has raised expectations of the scoops we crave to new gastronomic heights. So, to help you make the difficult decision as to just what ice cream or gelato to enjoy today, we've put together a list of the best frozen dessert joints in town. Venture forth on this icy sojourn and work your way through this list throughout the sunny season. Recommended reads: The Best Waterside Brunch Spots in Sydney The Best Beaches in Sydney The Best Italian Restaurants in Sydney [caption id="attachment_716745" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Kitti Gould[/caption] Mapo, Newtown This Newtown ice cream joint is scooping quality gelato with a focus on sustainable ingredients. Italian-born owner Matteo Pochintesta is an architect-turned-gelato maker who trained under the owner of Milan's gelateria Ciacco — and returned to Sydney last year to put his skills to the test. Sure, there are plenty of gelato shops along King Street, but Mapo brings a purist's sensibility to the local ice cream game, focusing on the highest quality ingredients and all seasonal fruit. Signature flavours include the pistachio, made with certified premium Sicilian nuts, and the single-origin chocolate gianduja — both are vegan. Other traditional Italian flavours include the fior di latte and the stracciatella (chocolate chip). Flavours are limited to 12–14 at a time, with plenty of specials on offer, like its previous cold brew coffee gelato collab with Potts Point's Room Ten. Gelato Messina, Various Locations Sure, people were making gelato in Sydney before Gelato Messina — but it was Messina that made it cool. And, even though it's grown from a single shop in Darlinghurst to an ice cream empire that includes 19 gelato stores in NSW, it's still just as popular. The epic cabinet is always stocked with 40 flavours at a time — 35 regulars and five weekly specials — that are all made with Messina's own milk. Some flavour suggestions: the apple pie ice cream (it contains real home-baked cinnamon spiced apple pies), the tiramisu (a must try for any self-respecting coffee addict), salted coconut and mango (vegan and fresh) and the salted caramel and white chocolate (a crowd favourite). Also expect collabs, degustations and special cake options at its Sydney gelato stores. Gelato Messina's HQ is in Marrickville, and outposts can be found in Rosebery, Darlinghurst, Surry Hills, Brighton Le Sands, Martin Place, Harris Farm, Newtown, Tramsheds, Bondi, Circular Quay, Darling Square, Miranda, Manly, Norwest, Randwick, Parramatta, Surry Hills, Penrith and The Star. [caption id="attachment_652781" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Kitti Gould[/caption] Ciccone & Sons, Redfern While the bigger players dominate much of the attention in Sydney's gelato scene, the smaller businesses, like Redfern's Ciccone & Sons, are harbouring some of the city's most lickable delights. Ciccone's menu, displayed on an old-school red felt letter board, is limited to all seasonal flavours that are churned on-site daily using jersey milk. It is serious about quality ingredients elsewhere too, using fresh fruit, whole nuts and fine chocolate across the board. In summer, things lean a little more to the fresh and fruity side with coconut and watermelon granitas and sorbettos making an appearance. The gelataria is also licensed, and you can now grab a Ciccone negroni from the takeaway fridge — along with gelato-on-a-stick and tubs for two. Anytime of the year, the team here create some of the best gelato in Sydney. Cow & The Moon, Enmore This tiny shop on Enmore Road looks fairly inconspicuous from the outside, but it is a true local gem. Cow & the Moon make all of its gelato in-house using a recipes developed over the past 27 years. The traditional flavours are all winners here — including the gianduia, pistachio and tiramisu — as are the raspberry white chocolate and the strawberry balsamic pannacotta. In the lucrative field of sorbets, the chocolate is one of the best around. Cow & the Moon also turns out espresso tonics, affogatos and gelato cakes to boot. Grab a cone and a seat out front to enjoy your Sydney gelato while you watch the Enmore locals in action. Small Joys Gelato, Five Dock Here's the scoop — this gelateria in Five Dock is slinging artisan gelato with Asian-inspired flavours at the core. The innovative Sydney gelato spot strikes a balance between maintaining tradition and experimenting with new flavour combinations. Head inside and you'll be met with an Italian pozzetti-style display, with the cold treats housed in silver tin casings to ensure the texture and temperature of the scoops remain perfect. While this set-up screams traditional, the combinations of flavours may surprise you. Small Joys Gelato has 10–12 flavours available on its ever-changing rotation, which is tweaked and announced on the Small Joys Gelato Instagram page every three weeks. The flavours take inspiration from Asia, hence the appearance of some non-traditional and unexpected flavour pairings. This includes the likes of Hong Kong milk tea, pistachio sea salt, peanut butter jam toast and strawberry shizo. There's also a range of exciting sorbets on rotation, including a mango lemon myrtle flavour, umeshu (Japanese liquor) and coconut lime. Rivareno Gelato, Darlinghurst, Barangaroo, Potts Point, Bondi and Paramatta There aren't many foods that can bring a smile to a Sydneysider's face quite as quickly as gelato. Australian-born, Italian-influenced entrepreneur Kieran Tosolini knew this all too well when he brought his Bologna-based chain Rivareno back with him to Crown Street. All flavours are made in small batches daily at each of the five seperate Darlinghurst, Potts Point, Barangaroo, Bondi and Parramatta stores. The most popular varieties include the mascarpone — which comes with a splash of Sicilian dessert wine, Arabica coffee and dark chocolate slivers — and the Cremino Rivareno, which offers swirls of white chocolate and hazelnut ganache. If you're after something more refreshing, try a sorbet or granita, made using fresh fruit. Hakiki, Newtown Newtown's cult favourite Turkish ice creamery Hakiki has been impressing Sydneysiders since early 2015. It has earned quite the reputation for its traditional Maras-style ice cream — which is smooth and creamy, yet drip-free and melt-resistant, until the second it hits your mouth. The signature serve is so thick, it's best tackled with a knife and fork. The ingredient that gives the ice cream this unusual texture is an orchid root grown in southern Turkey. Alongside classic Anatolian treats like baklava, turkish delight and rich coffee (which are each gelato flavours as well), the team whips up a range of traditional and innovative ice cream varieties — from old favourites like pistachio and hazelnut to the ever-popular melon and feta and the moreish grape molasses and tahini. It's home to both the best gelato and ice cream in Sydney. Duo Duo, Strathfield Deep-fried ice cream is the kind of confection that delivers the best of two worlds: cold and creamy, warm and crunchy. This singular treat takes the starring role in the flagship Strathfield store from longtime Sydney food truck Duo Duo. When it comes to its deep-fried ice cream, the specialty is made with pandan and coconut, but you can fry just about every flavour available. Beyond this, there's a classic gelato bar out front scooping classics like vanilla bean and pistachio, alongside more inventive flavours like durian, macha, taro, Vietnamese iced coffee and Thai milk tea. Duo Duo is even slinging fresh doughnuts — filled with either Biscoff, crème brûlée, strawberry and custard. This Sydney ice cream joint has the lot. Top image: Gelato Messina
Central Station is currently undergoing some big changes. You may have already spotted the massive overhaul of the Grand Concourse which, among a heap of renovations and refurbishments, will feature the longest elevators in the southern hemisphere. There are also plans to transform Eddy Avenue into a dining and entertainment precinct. The latest element to the NSW Government's projections for the bustling inner-city train station is possibly its biggest — with the introduction of new public spaces, parklands, restaurants, shops, office buildings and affordable housing. This ambitious new addition to the plans will see a series of buildings constructed over the existing rail lines and significant makeovers to some of the station's current spaces in order to facilitate a range of new public and privately run facilities. New connectivity between Ultimo and Surry Hills will also be central to the plan which hopes to bring more people into the city. "We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reimagine this iconic part of our CBD and transform it into a world-class precinct of shops, restaurants, office spaces, parkland and additional housing," NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet says. 60,000 square metres of public parks, squares and plazas will be introduced into the area as part of the Central Precinct Renewal Program. Renders of the potential transformation show an expansive green space in place of Railway Colonnade Drive between the Grand Concourse and Railway Square, and rooftop parklands on top of the station alongside buildings reminiscent of those in the proposed Central Station tech hub. The plan also hopes to provide more connections between the suburbs surrounding Central via an over-rail pedestrian and bicycle bridge at Devonshire Street. "The masterplan celebrates the heritage of the precinct while also offering a grand new public square, three new parks, new community, social services hubs as well as at least 30 percent of affordable and diverse housing to better meet the needs of all sections of the community," said NSW Minister for Infrastructure, Cities and Active Transport Rob Stokes. "This proposal will heal parts of our city that have been torn apart since the railway divided Surry Hills from Ultimo back in 1874." Premier Perrottet also promises the new constructions will assist in easing some housing pressure within Sydney by introducing 850 new dwellings. 15 percent of these homes will be classified as affordable housing while 15 percent will include diverse use types including student housing. "If you believe, as we do, that Sydney's growth should be concentrated around public transport, then Central Station is one of the best places to go big," said Gabriel Metcalf, the CEO of the Committee for Sydney, who put together the plan to revive Kings Cross. "The real test is whether they can resolve the public realm issues of such a complicated site, with level changes and lots of passenger movements, to make it feel like a nice place to be. Over-station developments are notoriously tricky, and places like the Hudson Yards in New York have achieved only mixed success." For all of those reasons, this is going to be one of the most closely watched projects in Sydney: an incredible opportunity, but also quite the challenge. You can find out more about the Central Precinct Renewal Program and provide feedback until Monday, September 19 at the NSW Government website.
Forget humdrum Hallmark — this Valentine's Day, it's time to up the ante by whisking your other half to a boutique escape that would knock even Casanova's (lacy) socks off. Best for lavish loving: Blakes Hotel London, United Kingdom Having long seduced fabulous film stars and glamorous glitterati, Blakes Hotel delivers hedonistic pleasures with a hefty dose of decadence. Put simply, the sexy boudoirs will have you seriously considering extending your stay (no wonder Blakes won 'Sexiest Bedroom' at our recent Smith Hotel Awards). Inspired by far-flung lands, including Turkey, Russia and Indi, each room has its own unique style: think suites kitted out with mother-of-pearl-inlaid furnishings, four-poster beds draped in rich fabrics or hand-painted white floors. Jimmy Choo-clad ankles and Rolex-boasting wrists head to Blakes’ dimly lit restaurant to dine on dishes that are influenced by the East: try tempura oysters for an afternoon aphrodisiac. Best for rustic romantics: The Farm at Cape Kidnappers Hawke's Bay, New Zealand Neighboured by a 6,000-acre working farm and jaw-dropping Pacific Ocean views, The Farm at Cape Kidnappers comes complete with a glam golf course, soothing spa and seductive dining snug. Communal areas in this French-style country house have exposed wooden beams above rough grey-stone walls, natural wood panelling, stone floors scattered with cowhide rugs and oversized couches clustered around a fire — perfect for snuggling up with your favourite person and glass of New Zealand pinot. Following a day on the green, choose from a range of dining spaces — the snug is perfect for dinner a deux. Be sure to leave room for dessert; the hotel’s pastry chef makes all of the scrumptious cookies, breads, jams, ice-cream and pastries from scratch. Best for party pleasures: QT Sydney Sydney, Australia Dubbed the ‘Directors of Chaos’, the red-wigged belles manning the doors at QT Sydney are the first hint that this hotel is not your average boutique bolthole. A playground for adults (ankle-biters are best left with grandma), the hotel occupies the beautiful old bones of the revamped State Theatre and Gowings department store buildings. All the rooms are tricked out with vibrant hits of colour, prints and patterns across fur throws, rugs and cushions. DIY Martini kits cater to budding mixologists and hint at pre-dining-and-dancing tipples. For morning-after alleviation, slot in a session at stylish SpaQ, where an old-school barber is a nod to the history of the Gowings building. Best for quiet canoodling: Ca Maria Adele Venice, Italy With heavy damask fabrics, shimmering Murano chandeliers and ornate flock wallpaper, Ca Maria Adele is a romantic respite hidden away from camera-clutching tourists. Couples are welcomed by a private dock and then coaxed into the elegant reception, resplendent in gold marble and deep African teak. A soundtrack of lapping water and chattering locals can be heard from the windows of Ca Maria Adele’s magnificent rooms: the grand Sala del Doge has sumptuous furnishings and a sensuous red palette; Sala Noire is darkly seductive, with black glass and muted lighting. Best for balmy beach bliss: Qualia Great Barrier Reef, Australia In the heart of the world's largest marine park, the postcard-perfect and too-turquoise views from Qualia extend as far as the eye can see. Pavilions — made from natural wood, glass and stone — are enveloped by lush tropical forest and gardens or are perched on the resort’s aptly named Pebble Beach. Those seeking to stimulate the senses in the most serene of surroundings should head for the spa; oenophiles can get their kicks with a chardonnay massage and vinotherapie body scrub. Golf buggies replace cars and can be used to explore Hamilton Island's main street offerings of shops, cafes and restaurants. When a growling stomach bids you to return to the resort, the Long Pavilion is a fine-dining eatery serving modern Australian cuisine at candlelit tables with sunset vistas. Best for a private palace: La Residence Garden Route & Winelands, South Africa Peering over Franschhoek's valley of vines, La Residence is a mini, modern Versailles with more Persian rugs and exotic antiques than you could poke a pith helmet at. Life happens at a leisurely and luxurious pace here — days are spent moseying between the come-hither infinity pool and shaded sun loungers, cycling around the estate or indulging in a private cheese or wine tasting at one of the neighbouring vineyards. Dine beneath dazzling chandeliers in the hotel's grand dining room. The Persian Alley is perfect for cocktails and canapes by candlelight, while would-be master-chefs can book a cookery demonstration at the chef’s table. Best for enchanting escapism: Jade Mountain St Lucia, St Lucia Rising above the Caribbean sea, Jade Mountain is a cornucopia of zigzagging stone walkways, cascading koi pools and sculpture-topped stone pillars. The vision of conceptual architect Nick Troubetzkoy, each of the ‘sanctuaries’ (fancy talk for rooms) has its own ‘sky path’ — an individual bridge suspended from a network of columns and a removed fourth wall, allowing for totally uninterrupted ocean views. There’ll be no quickly checking emails or uploading a #nofilter shot to Instagram; this is a tech-free zone with no phones, sound systems, TVs or WiFi. Bliss. Expect to fill days with waterskiing, snorkelling, kayaking, cycling, paddling in your private infinity pool and feasting on the seafood-focussed menu at the Jade Mountain Club. Best for decadent dining: The Prince Melbourne, Australia Behind its art deco facade, The Prince is home to simply decorated communal spaces, an acclaimed restaurant and a spa sure to soothe every niggle. In edgy and bohemian St Kilda, the Prince is so cool it's sure to illicit a raised eyebrow from even the most blase of hipster — credentials include a sophisticated vodka bar, buzzing public saloon and an iconic live-music venue. Paying homage to Melbourne’s favoured sleek and minimal aesthetic, rooms are uncluttered and spacious with dark woods, chocolate-grey carpets and unfussy white bed linen. Dining at the Prince is an award-winning affair: helmed by Ashly Hicks, Lyndon Tyers and Stephen Burke, Circa’s menu focuses on seasonal and local produce — roasted duck with mandarin and blackened onion, smoked quail with parsnip curd and mulberries. Best for upscale country manor: The Lodge at Kauri Cliffs Bay of Islands, New Zealand Soak up panoramic Pacific Ocean vistas from The Lodge at Kauri Cliffs, which flaunts blissful beaches, a championship golf course and a cliff-top perch. Rooms at the lodge are the kind that you want to take back home in your carry-on so nothing gets broken: think neutral-toned comfy armchairs by the fire, walk-in wardrobes, indulgent bathrooms and private porches overlooking the sea. If golf isn’t your game, a private beach with soft pink sand is a mere 15-minute stroll from the seventh hole, or you can succumb to the spa, where treatment rooms have floor-to-ceiling windows and overlook a trickling stream. Best for Parisian perfection: L’Hôtel Paris, France In Paris, romance rules and L’Hôtel isn’t daunted by its setting; it will sweep you off your feet. In the hotel where Oscar Wilde penned his last, there are extravagant nods to this famed eccentric everywhere, from the glamorous underground swimming pool to the leopard-print carpet and original Jean Cocteau artwork in the lobby. From the cylindrical hotel atrium, a spiral staircase descends towards the basement hammam, where the pool is decked out with heavy velvet curtains, terracotta floors and rough-stone columns. Post-swim stomachs can splurge on Michelin-starred cuisine at Le Restaurant or, if liquid libations are more your speed, the adjacent Le Bar is a dark and seductive haunt, favoured by artists, film stars and discerning Parisians. Ready to swoon? See more romantic designer dens for Valentine’s Day or explore other collections at Mr & Mrs Smith.
It's that time of year again. Temperatures are rising and we're planning our summer getaways, but when you don't want to follow the crowds to the beach — and the idea of lounging around isn't your kind of holiday — perhaps it's time to rethink mountain adventures. Once the snow melts away, New South Wales' Snowy Mountains transform into an adventurer's haven. There are peaks for conquering, trails for cycling, rivers for kayaking, long plains for horse riding and swimming holes for cooling off after all that adrenaline-boosting action. Plus, you'll be surrounded by incredible views, fields of wildflowers and incredible wildlife. In partnership with Destination NSW, here are five reasons to make your great escape to the Snowy Mountains in the summer months. Please stay up to date with the latest NSW Government health advice regarding COVID-19. [caption id="attachment_742018" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Thredbo[/caption] GO MOUNTAIN BIKING Whether you're a newbie or veteran on two wheels, there are tracks and trails to suit your skills in the Snowies. A good place to start is Thredbo Mountain Bike Park, where there are 50 kilometres to explore — from skill parks to cross country routes. For a longer adventure, cycle to Lake Crackenback Resort & Spa along the Thredbo Valley Track — the 35-kilometre trail follows Thredbo River, taking in a few suspension bridges and plenty of pretty scenery. Note that it's closed until December 19 for track maintenance. Perisher's easier-going trails, which come with epic views, are also worth a spin. And, if you're looking for some local company, book a guided mountain biking tour. [caption id="attachment_745605" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Tourism Snowy Mountains[/caption] TREK INTO THE WILD Explore the legend that Banjo Paterson made famous on a pony of your own. At Thredbo Valley Horse Riding, you can choose from a range of trail rides, be it a one-hour taster, a 1.5-hour saunter or a two-hour adventure. All of them pass through magical, sub-alpine wilderness, and begin with a 15-minute lesson, so you learn the basics before jumping into the saddle. Ride at a level that suits you, whether you prefer a slow walk or a fast-paced gallop. Ready for something more epic? Plunge into a multi-day saga, with either Cochran Horse Treks or Reynella Rides. [caption id="attachment_742071" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Tourism Snowy Mountains[/caption] TAKE A HIKE You could spend months hiking in the Snowy Mountains without running out of terrain. The Mount Kosciuszko Summit Walk is the best-known trail in the area, but there are loads of other routes to try. If you're into waterfalls, take a stroll along the Waterfall Walking Track, which passes through six kilometres of wildflowers, forests and granite boulders. For panoramic views, go for Dead Horse Gap Walking Track, a five-kilometre hike that passes beneath the Ramshead Range, 600 metres above Thredbo Valley. Or, to combine a walk with a swim, add Illawong Walk to your itinerary. It's an easy, five-kilometre return trail that follows Thredbo River from Guthega Village. [caption id="attachment_745602" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Destination NSW[/caption] SWIM IN SCENIC POOLS AND ALPINE LAKES The water isn't exactly tropical in the Snowy Mountains, but it's definitely an adventure. At Thredbo, you'll find a couple of swimming holes that are popular with locals, including Merritts Pond and Friday Flat Pond. Another super-peaceful spot is Lake Jindabyne, where there are various bays suitable for dipping, one of the prettiest being Rushes Bay. Then there's Thredbo River, home to a bunch of swimming holes. But, if you really can't hack the chill, make tracks to Yarrangobilly Caves Pool, a thermal, spring-fed pool, right near Yarrangobilly Caves, which is 27 degrees all year round. [caption id="attachment_742081" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Thredbo[/caption] SCALE THE SNOWY MOUNTAINS Need to clear your head? There are stacks of places in the Snowies where you can climb your way to greater heights — whether you're a novice who's never left the ground before or a hard-corer who's summited Mount Everest. K7 Adventures offers a variety of tours, from half-day escapades in Charlotte Pass suitable for beginners to full-day experiences at Blue Lake designed for advanced climbers. Another popular operator is Snowy Mountains Climbing School, which runs trips among Thredbo's granite tours for climbers of all skill levels, including newbies. Once you've scaled great heights it's time to put your trust in the ropes and abseil back down again. To find more things to do in the Snowy Mountains or to start planning your trip, go to Visit NSW. Top image: Tourism Snowy Mountains
More than most games, Dungeons & Dragons thrives or dies based on the people rolling the dice, creating their own characters and casting spells. Whether Stranger Things' demogorgon-slaying teens are hunched over a table imagining up their fantasy dreams, or flesh-and-blood folks who aren't just part of a TV series find themselves pretending that they're fighters and clerics, an adventure or campaign is only as good as the party at its core. Writer/directors Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley understand this. The latter definitely should: the one-season TV great Freaks and Geeks, which gave him his start as an actor when he was just a kid, threw D&D some love, too. As filmmakers, Goldstein and Daley jump from Game Night to Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves with a clear mission: making the swords-and-sorcery flick's cast its biggest strength. This game-to-screen flick sports a stacked roster, starting with Chris Pine (Don't Worry Darling) as Edgin Darvis, a bard and former member of the Harpers who turned petty thief — complete with a Robin Hood-esque attitude — after his wife passed away. Since his daughter Kira (Chloe Coleman, Avatar: The Way of Water) was a baby, he's been co-parenting with his gruff best friend Holga Kilgore, a stoic exiled barbarian, who is played with exactly the stern look that Michelle Rodriguez (Fast & Furious 9) was always going to bring to the part. When Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves opens, however, Edgin and Holga have been in prison for almost two years thanks to a job gone wrong. Brought out of their dank dungeon to plead for their release, Edgin and Holga are determined to get free by any means necessary. And, once they're out, they're equally as committed to reuniting their makeshift family. Yes, a dungeon is indeed sighted within seconds of the film starting. Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves doesn't skimp on dragons when it's their turn to arrive, either. But there's more cast members to bring into the fray — and, handily, Edgin and Holga had a whole gang back in their escapade-heavy days. Rogue and con artist Forge Fitzwilliam (Hugh Grant, Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre) was one such party member. Simon Aumar (Justice Smith, Sharper), a sorcerer with hefty confidence issues, was another. These days, Forge has turned nefarious, seized guardianship of Kira, become Lord of Neverwinter, and gotten far too friendly with the fierce, fearsome and necromancy-loving Red Wizard of Thay Sofina (Daisy Head, Wrong Turn). Simon is still trying his magical luck, which is quickly needed, alongside help from tiefling druid Doric (Sophie Lillis, IT and IT: Chapter Two) and paladin Xenk Yendar (Regé-Jean Page, The Gray Man). As Dungeon Masters — co-scripting with Michael Gilio (Jolene), and working with a story by him and The Lego Batman Movie's Chris McKay — Goldstein and Daley thrust their various figures together, then shape a story around them. So, it's all classic D&D, just on-screen with copious amounts of special effects (some overdone in the usual CGI-dripping fantasy blockbuster fashion, some pleasingly looking more tangible, such as reanimated corpses voiced by Aunty Donna Down Under) rather than sitting around a board. Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves' tale couldn't be more straightforward, or fittingly episodic — with actions to complete, skills called upon and combat unleashed. There's no 20-sided die, but there is said bard and barbarian, and the sorcerer, druid and paladin with them, battling a rogue and wizard. And, straight out of the Monster Manual, owlbears, displacer beasts, red dragons and gelatinous cubes all make an appearance. Whether they first had everyone moving miniatures or mashing buttons, games are having a heap of big- and small-screen moments in 2023. The Last of Us is one of the year's very best new TV shows, a film about getting Tetris out of Russia and to the masses makes for a tense and entertaining streaming thriller, and The Super Mario Bros Movie gives the Nintendo favourite the animated treatment. A question lingers over all of them, though, and for fans and newcomers alike: would it be more engaging, and more fun, just to play? Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves answers by giving the act of watching the feel of playing regardless of whether you're a level zero or level 20 with its mythology — in its light, jovial and energetic tone, with the film taking itself earnestly but never grimly seriously; and in no small part thanks to its array of faces. Stranger Things has been helping broaden D&D's influence for nearing a decade now, but everything from E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Futurama and Community to Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The IT Crowd and Gravity Falls have nodded its way, too — and Goldstein and Daley also understand this. Their take on the game is welcomely accessible, while appropriately loving and still packed with nudges and references. That said, it's also padded and repetitive the more that it goes goes on. And Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves does go on, clocking in at 134 minutes. Some lengthy films make the time fly by — see: John Wick: Chapter 4, which could've lasted forever — but this one doesn't quite realise when a good time becomes an overly formulaic one. The fights and confrontations, the quips and character beats, the beasts and underground cells: after a while, a fantasy-101 feeling sinks in, especially in these days of ample worshipping thrown Game of Thrones, Lord of the Rings, The Witcher and company's ways. Mostly, Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves is enough of a romp — a romp with clear franchise-starting ambitions, even though there's already been three D&D movies dating back to 2000, but a romp nonetheless. Take out Pine and his on-screen pals, though, and it would've been all over the map. His charm is breezy, and his rapport with Rodriguez gives the film a likeable chalk-and-cheese duo. Page is as smooth as ever — yes, Bridgerton-level smooth — and Grant is visibly having a blast of a time getting villainous Paddington 2-style. Head, daughter of Buffy and Ted Lasso's Anthony Stewart Head, frequently shows up the pixel wizardry with just her glare and makeup. Yes, Dungeons & Dragons is all about the folks playing both on- and off-screen, and Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves' bunch makes viewers want to play along with them.
If 2020 has you thinking about the simple things in life — good food, good booze and nice threads, for example — then block out the weekend of Friday, November 6–Sunday, November 8 in your diary. That's when Sorry Thanks I Love You, P&V Wine + Liquor Merchants' Mike Bennie and Saint Peter's Josh Niland are all joining forces to celebrate all of the above at an event they've dubbed Rack Off. There'll be bites to eat, with Niland and his Fish Butchery team taking care of the menu. They'll be whipping up those famed sea urchin crumpets, too. And to wash all that tastiness down, there'll also be natural and biodynamic wines by the glass and bottle. [caption id="attachment_601490" align="aligncenter" width="1280"] Saint Peter, Nikki To[/caption] The main attraction, though, is the fundraising fashion sale. Across two mini warehouse spaces at 17 Oxford Street, Paddington, you'll be able to browse and buy — with items from Comme des Garçons, Issey Miyake, Veja, Rains, Rick Owens, Maison Margiela, Mykita, Hender Scheme, Sulvam, Lucy Folk and Bassike all on offer. Expect to nab a discount, feel like you're in a high-end boutique, but also hang out and drink and eat. A portion of the profits will be donated to integrated cancer hospital Chris O'Brien Lifehouse — and, at the checkout, you can play a game of paper, scissors, rock to either score 10 percent off your purchase or commit to donate 10 percent to the hospital. Rack Off runs daily from 10am–6pm. Top image: Joey Clark.
In Zola, the swooshes and whistles have it: when a character utters a line of dialogue taken directly from the movie's famous 148-tweet source material, filmmaker Janicza Bravo pairs it with the right noise. That's one way that the second-time filmmaker tackles the formidable task that is adapting a lengthy social media thread into a feature. And she wasn't working with any old tweetstorm; when Aziah 'Zola' King let her fingers do the talking back in October 2015, it trended under the hashtag #TheStory. Charting a gal-pal getaway to Florida that swerved from exotic dancing to sex trafficking, crime and violence, King's Twitter thread had social media users hanging on its every word. Six years later, it remains an iconic piece of internet history — King deleted it swiftly, but nothing ever truly disappears in the online world. The challenge for Bravo in turning those posts into Zola: remaining true not only to King's rollercoaster ride of a tale, but also to the entire reason that everyone knows about it. Cue those telltale sounds, which keep Zola's origins firmly in viewers' minds. Cue a big swerve away from text on-screen, too, because a story this wild deserves an in-the-moment approach that plastering a phone screen across the big screen just can't evoke. And, cue a brilliant urination scene that instantly tells the world everything it needs to about the titular Detroit waitress (played by Taylour Paige, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom) and the fellow dancer, named Stefani here (Riley Keough, The Lodge), who invites her on the road trip to end all road trips. When it debuted at Sundance in 2020, Zola became one of the buzziest premieres of the festival. Due to the pandemic, it has taken more than 18 months for the movie to make it to Australian cinemas, but its candy-hued, neon-lit, dreamy-meets-dazzling glow hasn't dimmed. With Zola now showing locally, we chatted to Bravo about those tweets, getting the gig over James Franco and, yes, that glorious pissing scene. "YOU WANNA HEAR A STORY? IT'S KIND OF LONG, BUT IT'S FULL OF SUSPENSE." One tweet, 22 words, one helluva impact: that's how King's Twitter thread started. Its first two sentences couldn't set the scene better: "You wanna hear a story about how me and this bitch fell out? It's kind of long, but it's full of suspense." Bravo didn't read those words as they were tweeted but, when she did, she knew that she had to turn them into a film. "At this point, I hadn't even made a first movie, but I've decided this will be my second movie — and I'm glad I was right," she explains. "I'm not Twitter and I wasn't on Twitter — lucky me. It's just not for me. I think it's super valuable and there's a lot of deliciousness that I've gotten from that space, but overall it's not a vibe for me," Bravo notes. "So I read it on Twitter at the end of that day. It was up for about 24 hours before she deleted it. I didn't get to participate in the live experience, meaning I didn't get to see her writing and responding and the sort of subtweet thing that happens inside of it or the reposts. I didn't get to see all that. But I got to sit with it right after, and it was radical. I knew right away that it was going to be my second movie." THE TWEETSTORM THAT HAD HOLLYWOOD TALKING When a Twitter thread gets this much attention, everyone wants in. Bravo wasn't originally the only filmmaker inspired to bring King's story to the screen — didn't originally get the job. "I go after it right then. I'm nodding when I'm reading it, and I'm sending it to both my agent and my manager and saying that I want this," she says. "I don't know how Twitter IP works, but I really want to make this. They get back to me three days later and say there is a Rolling Stone article, and then there's her life rights, and that's an entry point into being able to have access to the story." "And so I go 'yes, put me in!'. To which they reply that of the five people going after it, three of them are studios and two of them are independently wealthy. And I was like, 'well, I have no cash, so I'm not making the shortlist'. Clearly, that isn't the end of the story. "I find out a year later, though, that Killer Films — that I'd made Lemon [Bravo's first feature] and a short film with — were one of the producers were on it. And, James Franco was directing it," Bravo advises. "So I just wrote them and was like, 'hey' — because I understand how things work, and sometimes a director is no longer on a project. I was like 'if for some reason James is not directing this, remember me, think of me'. Then I found out in the spring of 2017 from an actress who was friendly with him that he was no longer directing it, so I reached out to my reps again and was like 'I want this'. And then I got it." THE BIG QUESTION: HOW TO ADAPT 148 TWEETS INTO A MOVIE? Peppered with emojis and all-caps, King's tweets don't simply describe a wild ride — they take readers on one. Bringing them to the screen put Bravo in uncharted territory but, writing Zola's script with playwright Jeremy O Harris, she didn't see it that way. "A lot of people did. My producers did. It was like, 'how do you adapt this?'," she explains. "But I'm a child of theatre, and I saw it as adapting a long poem. It was adapting a short story. It was adapting a sonnet and making a whole world out of it." "And this, for me, I felt it had so much more in some ways. I printed the tweets, cut them out, put them into a first act, a second act, a third act… and not only was there the outline, but the dialogue was in the outline," Bravo notes. "For me. it felt pretty seamless." "I think the thing that becomes curious, that allowed myself some room to explore, is okay, so there's a road trip to Detroit to Florida, from home to Florida, that is a 19–20-hour drive. That's only one tweet. Now does that become one scene, or three scenes, or five scenes, and how do you tell the story of that drive? Multiple tweets can be in a scene, or some can just be standalone, or one can be five — and figuring out the math on that, that's a part of writing, that's part of drafting." ADDING DETAIL — AND THAT KILLER BATHROOM SCENE As evocative as #TheStory is to read — as gripping and addictive, too — it didn't cover everything that Bravo envisaged for the film. Enter the bathroom scene. "I would happily talk about it forever. It's one of my favourites in the film," Bravo says. "When I was auditioning for the movie, I had come to the table with a handful of things I wanted to try that were not in the film. And then when it came to writing, once I get it and I'm writing with Jeremy, one of our first assignments is what are the five things you definitely want to make sure arrive in this script, and what are these three ideas outside of the world that you want to bring to this?" "And for me, one of those ideas, I just really want this piss scene. I've been thinking about wanting to put something like this in my work for a while. And this is a film about this love story between these two women — this seduction that happens between these two women — how they fall in love and out of love, and I couldn't recall being able to have a window into a character like this without there being a good deal of dialogue to tell me who they were. So I had this idea about a bathroom scene in which you got to see the interior of each of those characters," Bravo explains. "The audience can always go back to that as to who is reliable or not reliable — or who's hydrated or not hydrated, basically. It's meant to be so much about who they are. How they treat themselves in the bathroom is how they move through the world. And I know it seems kind of small, but I thought it did that." Zola is now screening in Australian cinemas. Read our full review. Images: A24 Films.
Between 2010–2017, Melbourne was ranked the most liveable city in the world. In 2023, it's the most liveable city in Australia — yet again. The Economist Intelligence Unit compiles an annual Global Liveability Index, with the Victorian capital coming in third in the latest list. In fourth place? Its usual homegrown rival Sydney. Cue battles across state lines about whether Melbourne or Sydney is the truly best place to live, plus international recognition for Australia's two biggest cities. And, for residing Down Under in general. Only Canada had more places in the top ten in 2023, with three, while Switzerland also scored two. When Melbourne was dethroned from top spot in 2018, Vienna in Austria emerged victorious, earning the honours from 2018–20, then again in 2022 and now once more in 2023. Getting the love in 2021? New Zealand's Auckland, which came equal tenth this year. The full top ten features Vienna at number one, Copenhagen in Denmark in second place, then Melbourne and Sydney in third and fourth, plus that big Canada and Switzerland block — Vancouver in fifth, Zurich in sixth, Calgary and Geneva sharing seventh, and Toronto in ninth place — then Auckland and Osaka, Japan both in tenth. Melbourne's placing sees it rise from tenth in 2022, while Sydney came in 13th last year. And if you're wondering about other Aussie cities, they all zoomed up the rankings, too. Perth and Adelaide now share 12th spot, up from 30th and 32nd respectively, while Brisbane sits 16th after coming in at 27th in 2022. Asia Pacific cities were big movers overall, which the report credits to "a shift towards normalcy after the pandemic". Also rising: Auckland, which went up by 25; fellow Aotearoa city Wellington, lifting 35 places to sit in 23rd; and Hanoi in Vietnam, which moved up 20 spots. Regarding Melbourne and Sydney's soaring fortunes again, which sees them take the spots that Frankfurt and Amsterdam enjoyed last year, the report notes that the Aussie cities "bounced up and down the rankings during the pandemic" but "have seen their scores in the healthcare category improve since last year, when they were still affected by COVID waves that stressed their healthcare systems". As for why Vienna came out on top once more, "the city continues to offer an unsurpassed combination of stability, good infrastructure, strong education and healthcare services, and plenty of culture and entertainment, with one of its few downsides being a relative lack of major sporting events," advised the report. "The same is true of Copenhagen, another frequent high performer that has kept its position in second place from last year." The annual index ranks cities on stability, healthcare, education, infrastructure, culture and environment, giving each city a rating out of 100. Vienna achieved a score of 98.4 overall, with Melbourne receiving 97.7 and Sydney 97.4. At the other end of the list, Damascus in Syria scored 30.7, ranking in 173rd spot. To read the full Global 2023 Liveability Index, head to the Economist Intelligence Unit's website.
What will start Together, then end with Splitsville? The annual midyear cinema celebration that is Sydney Film Festival in 2025. Title-wise, the event's opening and closing picks couldn't be more fitting for a fest that amasses movie lovers for 12 days to feast on as many flicks as they can, then gets everyone saying farewell until the next year. While Together was announced back in April, Splitsville has only just now joined the SFF program. Accordingly, when it comes time to say goodbye for 2025 on Sunday, June 15 — with the festival kicking off on Wednesday, June 4 — audiences will be catching the Australian premiere of a Dakota Johnson (Madame Web)-starring relationship comedy. Splitsville heads to the Harbour City direct from Cannes, where it debuted. Johnson plays Julie, who is in an open marriage with Paul (Michael Angelo Covino, Notice to Quit), news of which comes as a surprise to the film's protagonist Carey (Kyle Marvin, WeCrashed) when his own wife Ashley (Adria Arjona, Andor) asks for a divorce. Covino also directs, and co-wrote Splitsville with Marvin, reteaming after The Climb. Among its cast, Succession's Nicholas Braun and The Handmaid's Tale's O-T Fagbenle feature as well. The film's gala closing-night screening will span SFF's annual award ceremony, as is the case every year, anointing 2025's Sydney Film Prize winner, shorts award winners and other gongs. "We are delighted to close the 72nd Sydney Film Festival with the Australian Premiere of Splitsville. Michael Angelo Covino delivers a witty and well-crafted comedy with outstanding performances from a brilliant ensemble cast. We always want audiences to leave the cinema feeling like they've had a great time, so this is a joyous and fitting way to conclude this year's festival," said SFF Festival Director Nashen Moodley, announcing 2025's closing film. [caption id="attachment_938017" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Tim Levy[/caption] SFF's program for this year just keeps growing, after Vivid collaborations, including with music icon Warren Ellis, were revealed in March — and then a bunch of titles were announced at the beginning of April. After that came news of its Jafar Panahi retrospective, a prescient pick given that the Iranian filmmaker has since won the 2025 Palme D'or at Cannes, plus word of Together's opening-night slot. The bulk of the full program arrived to kick off May, followed by adding Free Solo filmmaker Jimmy Chin chatting about his work, DEATH STRANDING and Metal Gear Solid creator Hideo Kojima in-conversation with Mad Max and Furiosa director George Miller, and the Australian premiere of Ari Aster's Eddington. Sydney Film Festival 2025 takes place from Wednesday, June 4–Sunday, June 15 at various cinemas and venues around Sydney. For more information and tickets, head to the festival's website.
