If you could only choose one word to sum up Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, 'intense' would fit. It's also a term that describes Mike Ehrmantraut, the ex-Philadelphia cop who became a fixer for Gus Fring (Giancarlo Esposito, The Boys) and Saul Goodman (Bob Odenkirk, Lucky Hank) in their criminal endeavours. As played by Jonathon Banks for over a decade between the two shows, the private investigator, hitman and security head was one of the Breaking Bad realm's formidable forces. In a franchise where no one characterisation ever fit anyone — it all started with a high-school chemistry teacher who became a methamphetamine cook, after all — Mike could also be one of the deservedly acclaimed saga's most vulnerable figures. Ask Banks what it's been like to move on from Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul after such a lengthy stint — and after featuring so prominently in two of the best shows of the 21st century — and he first brings up another stretch that's worlds away from award-winning crime dramas. "It wasn't quite a decade that I spent in Melbourne and Sydney, and in Auckland in New Zealand at one time, with Hair and Jesus Christ Superstar — and a failed production that I directed of Grease, way before you were born," he tells Concrete Playground as we start to discuss his latest project, darkly thrilling new Apple TV+ sci-fi series Constellation. Banks is best-known of late for his time as Ehrmantraut; with five Emmy nominations and a 2023 Screen Actors Guild Award nod for his efforts, rightly so. But as bringing up his theatre background makes plain, there's so much more to Banks than his now-iconic recent part. Emmy love came his way back in the 80s, too, for his breakthrough role in crime procedural series Wiseguy. Before that, he has everything from spoof movie Airplane! and Gremlins to the Eddie Murphy (Candy Cane Lane)-starring 48 Hrs. and Beverly Hills Cop on his resume. Since then, there's barely a TV show that hasn't benefited from his presence, including beloved comedies Community and Parks and Recreation, while his movie appearances are as varied as Horrible Bosses 2, Mudbound and The Commuter. Constellation sees Banks star alongside Noomi Rapace, who is no stranger to famous characters herself thanks to Lisbeth Salander in the original Swedish The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo films. Here, the show's two biggest names trade illicit dealings for astronauts, plus the fact that venturing into the heavens, then trying to come back, might have consequences. Rapace plays Jo Ericsson, who is at the International Space Station when the series begins, returning to earth after a tragedy. As Henry Caldera, Banks is a former space traveller who has been there, done that, also weathered a disaster above our pale blue dot and now has ISS residents oversee his quantum physics experiments. Doing double duty as Bud Caldera as well, Banks similarly steps into Henry's fellow ex-astronaut twin's shoes. At the heart of Constellation is the search for truth, with the series joining Apple TV+'s many mysteries, a genre that the streaming platform keeps gravitating towards (Criminal Record, The Changeling, The Crowded Room, Hijack and Monarch: Legacy of Monsters are just some of its efforts of late that also fit the bill). As its narrative twists, turns and plunges into conspiracies, it's also a series about grappling with the full reality of being alive, facing mortality and confronting the enormity of the universe. And, as well as being stellar all-round, it's home to Banks' latest great performance — or, to be accurate, performances. Constellation premieres on Wednesday, February 21 — and in the leadup, we explored the series with Banks, including its place in his filmography and, to get here, the process of farewelling Mike Ehrmantraut. "Mike was a great character, but you've got to leave Mike behind. Mike's got to go away," he notes, as Breaking Bad viewers knew going into prequel series Better Call Saul. What that means for Banks, what appeals to him after playing Mike and his take on Constellation also featured in our chat. [caption id="attachment_757254" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Better Call Saul[/caption] On What Banks Was Looking for After Over a Decade in the Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul World "I'm pretty open. You know, I wouldn't mind playing a fop in a restoration comedy, as far as that goes. But I think with Constellation, Michelle MacLaren [who was one of Breaking Bad's executive producers and directors, and also a director on Better Call Saul] sent me the script, which I totally was bewildered by when I read it the first time. Then, because I wanted to work with Michelle and definitely Noomi — I very much respect Noomi's work — so then I'm all in. And then I get to meet Peter Harness [Constellation's creator] and I get to meet the other actors, and it's been a joy. It's been really good." On Taking on Dual Roles in Constellation — and Preparing to Step Into an Astronaut's Shoes "Well, one's bad and the other one's worse. Henry is driven by the power, and the need and the ego to succeed. The other one wallows in self-pity, and is arguably more talented and more intelligent than his brother, who has been successful. It's fun. I approach it with the respect. When I was very young, I thought these people, their intelligence — which is indeed, they are so intelligent. They're also motor geniuses physically, in what they go through and what they're faced with. So, my first take on it is, I try to do it with respect, and respect to who they are — and I hope I pull that off in some small way." [caption id="attachment_941930" align="alignnone" width="1920"] El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie, Ben Rothstein/Netflix[/caption] On Banks' Knack for Playing Both Formidable and Vulnerable "It's in all of us. It's in you. It's in me. But if I can call on those emotions and bring them forth a little bit easier than some people, how lucky I am to be able to do that? And how lucky I am to have the chance to be able to do that? I love being an actor. It's the only thing I ever wanted to do — ever, ever — as long as I can remember." On What Banks Makes of His Five-Decade Career "Pretty nice, huh? Pretty lucky. Beyond lucky. I'll tell you what happens: I am 77 years old, and it becomes a huge reflection on a lifetime. I can out-poor most people when I was very young, raised by a single mum back when there wasn't that a lot of that around — or at least to my knowledge. And I am stunned at my good fortune in my life, about how well I'm treated. And I try, and I do remind myself, that all of us have moments when we feel down or whatever. I think Noomi — who fights about where and what, and where she comes and where she ends up — is trying to be a good person, which makes it such a pleasure to be around her. And you watch Michelle, with her daughter. Michelle is a force of nature that's coming at you. She is so involved in trying to do a good job. And what's fun is with her young daughter, when her young daughter goes 'mummy can giraffes dance?' and it just stops her, and there she is dealing with the child, and all that energy goes, turns and becomes the loving and the nurturing of a child. Now I'm telling you that because that's what I'm surrounded by all through this project. How many people get to experience such a thing in their life? You've got to pay attention to it. Because most of us would recall bad things that have happened, times we've been hurt, times our heart was broken, times we were broke, times we were hungry. But for me, the reality is — god, I sound like a maudlin asshole — I've been gifted. What can I tell you?" [caption id="attachment_941937" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Breaking Bad, Ursula Coyote/AMC[/caption] On Revisiting Mike Ehrmantraut Again If the Possibility Came Up — and Making More Constellation "I love Mike. But you know what, we were left with the mystery of Mike. We have been left with that taste. For me, it's like reading that good book that you never want to end. I remember reading Les Miserables and getting about 40 pages from the end, and going 'no, no, I can't, this can't end' and starting it all over again. And now I'm going 'no, you can't do that'. I think it's time to let Mike go. As far as Constellation, I'm all in. Let's do it. Let's just keep doing it." Constellation streams via Apple TV+ from Wednesday, February 21. Read our review.
Pastry fans of Sydney, it's time to get excited — because Lune Croissanterie looks set to launch its first-ever Sydney shopfront sometime in 2023. It's been a big decade for the brand, after starting a tiny store in the Melbourne suburb of Elwood in 2012. Since then, Lune has grown into a converted warehouse space in Fitzroy (with perpetual lines out the front), opened a second store in the CBD, then launched in Brisbane in 2021. And, amid all that, it was even dubbed "the finest you will find anywhere in the world" by The New York Times. If this sounds familiar, that's because Founder Kate Reid — who co-owns Lune with her brother Cameron and restaurateur Nathan Toleman (Dessous, Hazel, Common Ground Project) — confirmed that the Lune crew was looking for a space to expand their empire to in Sydney back in early 2020. And yes, that venue is set to be home to a permanent store. The Reid siblings also posted a cryptic photo on Instagram, showing what could quite possibly be the future home of Lune Sydney. Obviously, a lot has happened in the world since February 2020; however, Lune is now advertising for a Front of House Manager for its upcoming Sydney spot. The job ad notes that the shop will open in 2023, and that the candidate will hone their skills at either a Melbourne store or the Brisbane outpost until then. (Side note: if this sounds like your dream job and you fit the prerequisites, go forth, apply and get ready to live a croissant-filled life.) Why is this such a huge deal? If you're asking that, you clearly haven't tried a Lune pastry. An ex-Formula 1 aerodynamicist, Reid brings scientific precision to her craft, including the climate-controlled glass cube that Lune croissants are made and baked in, and the time-consuming process used to perfect each flaky pastry. Lune's first-ever New South Wales store will become the chain's Sydney flagship — obviously with a menu of Lune Croissanterie favourites. If it's like the brand's other locations, coffee will be on offer as well, and Sydneysiders can look forward to a range of specials that'll rotate monthly. Our mouths and stomachs are ready for twice-baked croissant aux amandes (stuffed with almond frangipane and generously topped with flaked almonds) and the Ferrero cruffin: a muffin-croissant hybrid filled with hazelnut and chocolate custard, dipped in chocolate ganache and sprinkled with roasted hazelnuts. Oh, and Lune's perfectly flaky traditional croissant, of course. Lune Croissanterie's flagship Sydney store looks set to open its doors sometime in 2023. We'll let you know when an exact date and location is announced. Images: Marcie Raw.
The great Granny Smith is one of Australia's favourite apples. But do you know where the popular fruit gets its name? Fun fact: it comes from Ryde local, Maria Ann 'Granny' Smith, who accidentally grew the first known crop, way back in 1868. Since then, Eastwood has celebrated with a free annual festival of market stalls, food trucks, rides, live entertainment and a pop-up bar. Plus, there's also a 2,000-strong community parade through the streets. It all goes down on Saturday, October 19 this year. So, expect the neighbourhood to transform into an apple extravaganza. Begin your adventures by checking out out the market stalls along Rowe Street and Progress Avenue, peddling designer jewellery, clothing and, of course, creations inspired by apples. Be sure to drop into the Green Hub, too, to get yourself a native plant and learn all about making your home more sustainable — without spending any more money. Or, play a game of mini golf or jump on the ferris wheel. Then, head to Granny's Cider Bar on West Parade, near Eastwood Oval. Bilpin Cider will be serving up cider and other chilled offerings, soundtracked by beats from the DJ Boombox Truck. Come lunchtime, take a wander through food stalls and trucks, feast on raclette, fried chicken, Dutch poffertjes (tiny pancakes) and more. Plus, you can catch some live tunes from local musicians at the closing concert, which kicks off at 6pm. Granny Smith Festival will run on Saturday, October 19, from 9am–8.30pm. Check out the rest of the Granny Smith Festival program over here.
Take a typical tapas bar in Barcelona then polish slightly, adding cut crystal glasses and a pinch of Almodóvar references. Add one chef with a talent for experimentation, a selection of well-sourced, top notch ingredients and a crowd willing to stay all night, then mix well. Serve up atop a plate in the shape of a leaf, and you have Jah Bar: one of the best of Manly's new breed. Turn up just after 5pm and you can expect a peaceful dining experience. While the interior is tempting, in summer we recommend the courtyard to make the most of the fading sun and the cool evening breeze. Spanish tapas is the speciality, though there's a few sections of the menu to choose from. The tapas dishes are supplemented by options from the boqueria and the oven, as well as the chef's specials, so it's worth taking your time to choose. While you're browsing, try one of the signature cocktails ($15). There's more than enough on offer to sustain you throughout the night, from Mint Juleps to rum and sherry-based concoctions. Now, the food. Vegetarians and pescatarians will be well looked after, while chorizo and jamon serrano will keep meat-eaters satisfied. We opted for the Croquetas ($9.50), a selection of Spanish croquettes that change depending on the night, and the Empanadas (3 for $12), with beef, chicken, pumpkin and ricotta available. From there, we moved to the Jamon Serrano ($11.50), incredibly tender cured ham, and Aged Queso Manchego ($10.50), with the cheese a nice end to the meal alongside drinks. We did, however, manage to squeeze in a serve of Churros ($10) with hot chocolate sauce at the last post. While I'd find it hard to go past these simple yet delicious options, particularly the Jamon Serrano, it's tempting to revisit and try more of the tapas proper. Particularly the Chorizo ($10.50) and the talked about Sweet Potato and Fennel Seed Salad ($10.50). On the other hand, we hear great things about the chef's penchant for experimentation. We sadly passed up a special of Braised Beef Cheeks ($19) with Manzanilla olives and creme cauliflower, instead staring greedily at tables nearby. Best to use these inevitable regrets as motivation for return visits. By the time you've finished your meal, Jah Bar is likely to be filling up. The later crowd, firmly focused on the bar inside, is starting to arrive. And, let's face it, by this time you've had a few cocktails yourself. The lesson is that it's okay to turn up after dinner time and, if you do make dinner, it's best to stay late and enjoy the changed atmosphere. As the chefs swap out behind the bar, replaced by additional barmen, go with the flow. You are in Barcelona, after all. [nggallery id=122]
Marcus Papadopoulo of Whole Beast Butchery won't just cut a steak for you. He'll tell you where the animal came from, what it ate, how long it lived and how to cook it. Everything but what the animal's name was. Papadopoulo's philosophy is simple: treat the meat with respect, know the animal and its origin, and only use produce of the highest quality. Bucking tradition, there are no meat cabinets to be found in the butchery; instead, its open plan encourages guests to interact and ask questions. Whole Beast focuses on just that, using every element of the beast including Papadopoulo's favourite cut: tongue. If you're looking for a specific cut, Papadopoulo will retrieve the body of the beast and cut the meat in front of your eyes, instead of merely picking a pre-cut slice from a cabinet. He also dry ages his meat, which allows the enzymes to break down the muscle fibre and for an increase in naturally occurring bacteria. These both influence the flavour of the meat, bringing the cut to what Papadopoulo refers to as its "highest potential". Whole Beast also makes and sells terrines, black pudding, pickles and, arguably, the best handmade pâté in Sydney. Images: Kimberley Low
A new, family-run distillery in Byron Bay is committed to two important missions. The first is to bring you an outstanding gin, made with native rainforest botanicals under the watchful eye of master distiller Jim McEwan. The second is to regenerate the rainforest that provides these very ingredients. For you, this is a win-win situation. You get to sit back and linger over a world-class drop, while doing your bit for the environment. And, even more exciting is that the distillery's first release was made possible thanks to crowdfunding dollars raised via Pozible. Cape Byron Distillery's home is a family property in Byron Bay's hinterland. It's where co-founder Eddie Brook grew up and where his parents, Pam and Martin, have been regenerating rainforest for years. "[The land] used to be part of a giant rainforest that stretched from Lismore in the south, past Byron Bay, up to the Nightcap Ranges. Today there is less than one percent of that rainforest left," Martin says. A few years ago, Eddie, who's worked in alcohol and hospitality all his life, ran a sold-out Australian whisky tour starring Jim McEwan. The two got chatting about the Brook's passion for rainforest and came up with the idea of creating a rainforest-infused gin. "I'd idolised Jim McEwan. I learned about whisky, watching his YouTube videos," Eddie says. "It was amazing to develop a friendship with him." Fast forward to 2016. McEwan and Eddie have a built a distillery and – after numerous trials and tastings – put their first bottle on the market. It's a signature gin called Brookie's Byron Dry Gin. "We're passionate about creating products that really represent our area," Eddie says. "We used 18 native botanicals, including Davidson plum, aniseed myrtle and cinnamon myrtle. They're not just native to Australia, but to the Northern Rivers region." A percentage of profits from every sale goes to rainforest regeneration efforts, as well as to Big Scrub Landcare. Eddie describes it as a "great foundation", which is "protecting remnants of rainforest ... bringing corridors back to life". Brookie's Byron Dry Gin is currently available in and around Byron Bay. For online orders, go mybottleshop.com. UPDATE 25 JULY 2017: Cape Byron Distillery has just opened up its doors for public tours every Friday and Saturday. It includes a gin tasting of Brookie's two gins, a G&T and a tour of the surrounding rainforest. Tours cost $35 and can be booked here.
Sydney-based hospitality collective The Point Group is set to expand its hospitality portfolio with a new multi-storey venue inside the historic CBD venue The Shell House. The hospitality group, which currently operates The Dolphin, Bondi Beach Public Bar and Harry's, has signed 15-year lease with Brookfield Place Sydney for use of the Carrington Street building. The Point Group's vision for its latest Sydney spot is a landmark hospitality venue across three levels of Shell House. Included in the plan is The Menzies Bar, a ground floor bar and bistro set to open in July that takes its name from the building's previous tenants, The Menzies Hotel. Come October, a dining room and terrace on level nine of the building and the Shell House Sky Bar on level ten are set to join the fold. The Shell House rooftop will also be activated, with rooftop diners being treated to views of the building's iconic clocktower. Point Group CEO Brett Robinson called the venue a "once in a generation opportunity" saying, "we want to create an oasis in the heart of the city, that tells a new and interesting story as you travel through the three levels of hospitality. We will create a new centre of gravity for good times in the city". The 65.5-meter-tall building has recently undergone an expansive refurbishment and redevelopment as part of the $2 billion Brookfield Place development. The renovations have seen the 1970s interior transformed into a contemporary office and hospitality space which will play host to NAB's CBD office. Built by Shell Oil Co and completed in the late 30s, the Shell House operated as The Menzies Hotel from the 1970s up until the Brookfield Place redevelopment begun. While the hotel interior has been updated as part of the redevelopment, the building's heritage facade and 1930s clocktower have both been maintained. [caption id="attachment_811900" align="alignnone" width="1920"] The Menzies Hotel[/caption] The multibillion-dollar Brookfield Place Sydney development attached to the Shell House and situated above Wynyard Station will house a Romeo's fresh food market and retail precinct, as well as commercial tenancies from Allianz and Moelis Australia alongside NAB. The huge CBD development has reached practical completion as of Wednesday, April 21, with its first retail tenants to commence trading from July. The Shell House is located at 2 Carrington Street, Sydney. The Menzies Bar, the first of The Point Group's multiple Shell House venues, is set to open from July 2021.
Running events in the arts and hospitality industries is hard enough at the best of times, let alone when your city is drifting in and out of restrictions and lockdowns. Despite this, 2021 had plenty of shining lights. The lockout laws were finally rolled back in Kings Cross, there was an avalanche of exciting new restaurant and bar openings, and some adventurous, thought-provoking and all-round joyous events took place over the year. From stunning plays to citywide festivals, 2021 still managed to deliver — and we've compiled a list of eight of the year's most memorable events. While many fantastic gigs, festivals and shows were cancelled due to the pandemic, these are the ones that, thanks to hard work and a whole lot of luck, managed to go ahead and fill our year with good food, music, art and culture.
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. SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME In Spider-Man: No Way Home, everyone's favourite friendly neighbourhood web-slinger still does whatever a spider can. (Don't expect the catchy cartoon theme song, though.) To be precise, Spidey's latest outing — starring Tom Holland (Chaos Walking), as every live-action film in the ever-sprawling Marvel Cinematic Universe that's featured the superhero has — sees him do whatever spider-men have for decades. The masked crusader shoots webs, flings them about New York and swings around the city. He helps people, battles crime, literally hangs out with his girlfriend MJ (Zendaya, Dune) and saves the world, too. As the movie's trailers revealed, Spider-Man also fights whoever his on-screen predecessors fought. The twist that isn't a twist because it's part of the flick's marketing: that villains from Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield's stints as Spidey show up here. Those familiar faces, including Willem Dafoe (The Card Counter) as the Green Goblin, Alfred Molina (Promising Young Woman) as Doctor Octopus and Jamie Foxx (Soul) as Electro, aren't Peter Parker's initial problem, as viewers of 2017's Spider-Man: Homecoming and 2019's Spider-Man: Far From Home will already know. No Way Home picks up immediately after the latter, after Spidey's secret identity has been blasted across the internet by online conspiracist J Jonah Jameson (JK Simmons, Ride the Eagle). The media swiftly make Peter "the most famous person in the world", the public get hostile and his college prospects — and MJ and Ned's (Jacob Batalon, Let It Snow) as well — take a hit. The only solution he can see: asking Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch, The Power of the Dog) to cast a spell to make everyone forget who he is. With drastic magic comes drastic consequences, hence those recognisable nefarious folks who know Spidey — and definitely know that he's Peter Parker — yet don't recognise the MCU's version. Marvel's next flick after this one is Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, so the franchise is about to go big on alternate worlds, but No Way Home still doesn't actually jump into that domain first. It's a curious choice on the whole huge saga's part to take cues from the animated delight that is Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, which relished having multiple spider-realms, got inventive with both its concept and visuals, won an Oscar and is easily the best spider-flick to-date, all without sitting within the MCU itself. Indeed, the live-action franchise's third stand-alone Spider-Man movie can't shake the feeling that it's playing catch-up. Directed by Jon Watts, as all three recent web-slinging films have been, No Way Home does more than give flesh, blood and spandex to an ace idea already brought to the screen a mere three years back. It also delivers the heftiest helping of fan service that the Marvel Cinematic Universe has ever dished up. The franchise has long enjoyed hitting all the obvious crowd-pleasing notes, but Martin Scorsese's 2019 comment that compared MCU fare to theme parks rings particularly true here — unsurprisingly given this Spider-Man outing wants to elicit the loudest of screams and shouts from its audience. Buy the ticket, take the cinematic ride, ooh and aah over every clear spin and foreseeable twirl: amid the stock-standard CGI-packed action scenes and triple-layered Spidey nods to iterations past, not all that long ago and present, that's what No Way Home seeks from its viewers. And, it takes the rollercoaster approach to evoking that reaction, rolling its story down the most glaring of tracks. Read our full review. THE LOST DAUGHTER Watching Olivia Colman play a complicated woman is like staring at the ocean: it's never the same twice, even just for a second; it couldn't be more unpredictable, no matter how comfortable it appears; and all that surface texture bobs, floats, swells, gleams and glides atop leagues of unseen complexity. That's always been true of the British actor's absolute best performances, which could fill any body of water with their power and resonance. It's there in her acidic work in The Favourite, which won her an Oscar, and also in The Crown's more reserved turn as a different English monarch. It flowed through the devastating Tyrannosaur, which perhaps first truly showed the world exactly what Colman could do — and has marked her Academy Award-nominated supporting part in The Father, plus TV standouts Peep Show, Broadchurch, The Night Manager and Fleabag. It's fitting, then, that The Lost Daughter tasks Colman with glaring at the sea, and doing so both intently and often. A necessity of the narrative, as penned on the page by My Brilliant Friend's Elena Ferrante and adapted for the screen by actor-turned-filmmaker Maggie Gyllenhaal, it's a touch that washes through the movie with extra force due to its star. Colman plays comparative literature professor Leda, who fills much of her time peering at the ocean as she summers on a Greek island — and also people-watching thanks to the loud, entitled Queens family that keep invading her chosen patch of sand. While both gazing at the waves and taking in the onshore domestic dramas, Leda sees her own ebbs, flows, thorns and flaws reflected back. Vacationing alone, Leda isn't on a getaway as much as she's escaping — not actively, but because that's her default mode. She's never willing to stray far from her work, shuffling through papers as she sunbathes and flirtatious young resort manager Will (Paul Mescal, Normal People) moves her lounger to keep her in the shade; however, as flashbacks show, the urge to flee all markers of apparent normalcy has long gushed in her veins. Leda tells anyone who asks that she has two daughters (Bianca is 25 and Martha is 23, she frequently offers), but they're heard via phone calls rather than seen as adults. She's prickly when mum-to-be Callie (Dagmara Domińczyk, Succession), of those noisy interlopers, asks if her extended group can take over Leda's beach umbrella. But in Nina (Dakota Johnson, The Nowhere Inn), the raven-haired mother of frequently screaming toddler Elena (debutant Athena Martin Anderson), she spies more of herself than she's been willing to confront for decades. The Lost Daughter's title references an incident one sunny day when Elena disappears as Callie, Nina and company — the latter's shady husband Toni (Oliver Jackson-Cohen, The Invisible Man) as well — idle by the water's edge. The Americans react with distress, but Leda calmly strides forth amid the chaos, all while battling memories of being a young mum (Jessie Buckley, I'm Thinking of Ending Things) searching for her own absent child. Indeed, loss and escape are serpentine concepts here, winding through Leda's past, her affinity for the clearly unhappy Nina and the second wave of mayhem that erupts when Elena's beloved doll also goes missing. The concept of trouble in paradise proves just as layered, infecting idylls scenic and, in pondering the supposed bliss that we're all told motherhood brings, societally enforced. Read our full review. THE SCARY OF SIXTY-FIRST When Succession roves over New York's skyline — in its opening credits, as set to that bewitching theme tune, or just during its episodes — it gleams with wealth and privilege. Depiction doesn't equal endorsement, however, with the stellar HBO satire sharply cutting into its chosen world at every chance it gets. As one of the show's supporting cast members, Dasha Nekrasova slides into that realm, too, but that's not her only dalliance with the city's architecture, power brokers and all that both represent. The Scary of Sixty-First, the Red Scare podcast host's feature directorial debut, also savages the rich and seemingly consequence-free. It clasps onto a real-life story that's made that case inherently, abhorrently and monstrously. There's no gentle way to put it, but the fact that Nekrasova plays a woman investigating if a bargain Upper East Side duplex was one of Jeffrey Epstein's "orgy flophouses" says much about this purposefully provocative conspiracy thriller horror-comedy. College pals Addie (Betsey Brown, Assholes) and Noelle (the film's co-screenwriter Madeline Quinn) can't believe their luck when they find the cheap property, even if it does visibly need a clean — and have mirrored ceilings, as well as some questionable lock choices — and even if they don't appear completely comfortable with committing to live together. But from night one, the literal nightmares begin. Soon they're spying blood stains, scratched walls and eerie tarot cards, and feeling unsettled in a variety of ways. Enter Nekrasova's stranger, who comes sporting a dark-web rabbit hole's worth of paranoia and bearing the Epstein news. Addie and Noelle take the revelation in vastly different fashions, with the former seeming possessed by one of Epstein's child victims, and the latter diving deep into potential theories with her unnamed new friend. Letting a headline-monopolising sex offender loom large over the plot is an instant attention-grabber — and, while The Scary of Sixty-First doesn't lunge straight down that path, it feels like Nekrasova and Quinn's starting point. Their movie smacks of conjuring up a controversial premise, then fitting parts around it; thankfully, they have more than one target in their sights, plenty to ponder, and Nekrasova's bold vision bringing it all together. From the outset, there's much to mine about the hellishness of finding somewhere to live in your twenties, and in NY especially. The things you'll settle for in that situation clearly also earns the feature's focus. The same rings true of post-college life and its intrinsic awkwardness in general — and being expected to act like a fully functioning adult, and make pivotal decisions, without yet amassing the experiences to match. By contemplating the hostile real-estate market and the ordeal that is trying to find your place in the world (emotionally, intellectually and physically), The Scary of Sixty-First immediately unpacks power, money and privilege. If Addie and Noelle could afford somewhere else or had other support at their disposal, there wouldn't even be a story. When Nekrasova appears and drops Epstein's name, that excavation digs down several levels. Again, there's no shortage of ideas, directions or tangents to explore, and the script explodes as many as possible. This is a movie about a dead billionaire paedophile, the wealth of theories that've sprung up around him and the 24-hour news cycle that's made his tale inescapable. It's also about how doomscrolling has become routine, the grim routes incessant web searches can take you down, the normalisation of true-crime obsession, the proliferation of conspiracy-driven rhetoric and relentless chaos as the natural state of the world. Read our full review. UNDINE For the second time in as many films, German writer/director Christian Petzold teams up with Paula Beer and Franz Rogowski, but you could never accuse the trio of doing the same thing twice. Back in 2018, they turned Transit into a war-torn romance that mused on conflict's lingering scars. With Undine, they reinvent a German myth about a water spirit who can only turn human via love, but has to kill her paramour if he's unfaithful. A familiar chemistry lingers, though, as it's meant to. Whenever directors and actors keep collaborating — especially when directors retain multiple actors across different movies — that's built into the fabric of the film. As viewers, we can't help recalling our knowledge of their shared history, as that's just how we respond to art, people and connections. A movie not only about romance, longing, obsession and their consequences, but about the impact of the past on the present, Undine provokes and rewards this reaction. In her 2020 Berlinale Silver Bear-winning role — taking home the prize for for Best Actress — Beer (Never Look Away) plays the film's titular character. Before the influence of folklore kicks in, this Undine is a historian who guides museum tours about Berlin's origins. When her boyfriend Johannes (Jacob Matschenz, Babylon Berlin) breaks up with her suddenly before work one day, however, she warns that she'll have to kill him. It sounds like a heat-of-the-moment threat, a plea to get him to change his mind and the kind of exaggeration that arises when romance ends in tears, but there's more to her words than mere histrionics. Indeed, even as a new love blossoms with industrial diver Christoph (Rogowski, Great Freedom), who she meets that very day at the same cafe where her relationship with Johannes ends — in a spectacular meet-cute involving an aquarium, fittingly — Undine's past isn't easily overcome. Petzold is no stranger to pondering the tides of history that just keep ebbing, flowing and swelling. His filmography is filled with contemplations of the subject, including in the Nina Hoss-starring Barbara and Phoenix, and also with Beer and Rogowski in Transit. In Undine, he's at his most haunting, with recognising the fluidity of life — and that it keeps repeating, alongside humanity's most inherent instincts — a key point of interest. While the movie never drops its shroud of mystery, Petzold is also at his most overt with another of his familiar fascinations: the way that love provides the trusty banks that both ordinary and seismic woes keep rushing across. That's literally Undine's tale, as drawn from fable. Without romance, she loses her place on dry land; as she notes in a lecture about the Berlin Palace, and about the evolution of the city over its lifespan, it's as if "progress were impossible". When he's enraptured with an actor or several, no one should want Petzold to move too far forward. Bathing in Beer and Rogowski's rich chemistry is an experience to linger in, and linger Undine does. Always a meticulous filmmaker, Petzold soaks in every second his two stars spend in each other's company, with the pair's magnetism so potent that it almost drips through the movie. He luxuriates in Beer's presence in general, too, letting her cast her spell over the audience as Undine does with Christoph — and once did with Johannes. She's one of cinematographer Hans Fromm's favourite points of focus, unsurprisingly. A Petzold regular, he gifts the film not just an enchanting and beguiling look to suit its mood, but the chance for viewers of this giddy fantasy to fall head over heels for its blend of the surreal, sweet, supernatural and soul-stirring. Undine is screening in Sydney and Melbourne. ONE SECOND Any new film by Zhang Yimou deserves eyeballs the world over, but One Second, the Raise the Red Lantern, Hero and House of Flying Daggers director's latest, hasn't charted the smoothest route to screens. Pre-dating the filmmaker's Cliff Walkers, which reached Australian cinemas earlier in 2021, it was originally scheduled to show at the 2019 Berlinale. But after the festival began, it was removed from the lineup — and while a "technical problem" was cited as the official reason, Chinese censorship was floated as the real cause. One Second eventually surfaced on home soil late in 2020, and elsewhere around the globe in the last few months of 2021. It's now an immensely timely movie, although purely by coincidence. Every great feature by a great director inherently pays tribute to the medium of film, so that's hardly new for Zhang — but celebrating the silver screen, and the pandemic-relevant yearning to bask in its glory when life conspires to get in the way, isn't just a side effect here. It's 1975 when One Second begins, and crowds are flocking to makeshift small-town picture palaces to see propaganda films. The specific movie drawing in the masses: 1964's Heroic Sons and Daughters, which prison-camp escapee Zhang Jiusheng (Zhang Yi, Cliff Walkers) is desperate to catch. Alas, after finding his way into one village through mountains of sand that wouldn't look out of place in Dune, the fugitive discovers that he's already missed the showing that the night. Worse still, the film's canisters are being packed onto a motorbike to be driven to their next destination. And, he isn't the only one keen to make the movie's acquaintance, with the orphaned Liu (Liu Haocun, another Cliff Walkers alum) swiftly stealing its sixth reel before it departs town. An unlikely pair seeking the same thing for different reasons — he's heard that his estranged daughter appears in newsreel footage in the feature, while she wants the celluloid to make a lamp for her younger brother — Zhang and Liu are soon following the rest of the film through the desert to its next stop. That's where Mr Movie (Fan Wei, Railway Heroes) awaits, courting profit and glory compared to Zhang's desperation to glimpse his family and Liu's resourcefulness (that said, sporting a mug calling himself the 'World's Greatest Projectionist', the man behind the travelling cinema that's screening Mao-approved fare to entertainment-starved locales does still love his a clear fondness for his job). But the reels don't return intact, sparking a homemade restoration campaign that needs the entire town's help. Yes, loving film is also a tactile experience here. Zhang has always been able to make any kind of movie he's put his mind to, and has the four-decade-long resume to prove it. With 2009's A Woman, a Gun and a Noodle Shop, he even remade the Coen brothers' Blood Simple. One Second sees him masterfully blend film-adoring melodrama with a Cultural Revolution-era portrait that's laced with just the amount of commentary that managed to escape the censors. He revels in sight gags and chases that could've been lifted out of silent comedy greats from a century back as well, giving cinema yet another ode. The end result mightn't be Zhang's absolute best — his resume isn't short on highlights — but it easily ranks among his most endearing. One Second makes exceptional use of its dust-swept setting, too, and its trio of chalk-and-cheese main players; plus, in celebrating an artform that's both tangible and an illusion, Zhang still makes a clear statement. One Second is currently screening in Melbourne, and will release in Sydney and Brisbane on January 20, 2022. 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 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; November 4, November 11, November 18 and November 25; and December 2 and December 9. 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 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, The Rescue, Titane, Venom: Let There Be Carnage, Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn, Dune, Encanto, The Card Counter, The Lost Leonardo, The French Dispatch, Don't Look Up and Dear Evan Hansen.
They say revenge is a dish best served cold, but not at Johnny Fontane's it ain't. Starting on Wednesday, July 12 the Darlinghurst bar is serving up hot deep-dish pizza and jazz as part of its all-new monthly Mafioso Night. It doesn't matter if you're a Bugsy, Knuckles, or Guttermouth, for $30, honoured guests will get two slices of Johnny's authentic Chicago deep-dish pizza along with a couple of entrees just like Mama used to make — think arancini, meatballs and polenta chips. There's even a free cocktail up for grabs to whoever finds the rat they've hidden in the bar. Keep in mind, these kids like a theme, so channel your inner Godfather and don your best mob-inspired ensemble. They're only opening up 50 seats for the Mafioso Night, so you'll need to book in advance to nab a spot (and maybe a blessing if you're lucky) by emailing the head honcho himself at thedon@johnnyfontanesbar.com.
There are many reasons to thank Mike White, creator and writer of The White Lotus, for bringing the hit HBO series to our screens. He's responsible for one of the best TV shows of both 2021 and 2022 — a program that has weaponised luxurious settings, helped set travel itineraries, thoroughly eaten the rich, spun twisty murder-mysteries, and kept viewers guessing throughout each and every episode of both season one and season two. He's also helped shower affection and attention upon the one and only Jennifer Coolidge, a screen icon who always deserves such love. Indeed, if it wasn't for White and The White Lotus, the world wouldn't have had the joy that is Coolidge's various awards speeches for playing Tanya McQuoid. For folks in Sydney on Saturday, June 10, worshipping the White-and-Coolidge pairing — hearing Coolidge talk about her time on The White Lotus, too — won't just involve checking out Emmy and Golden Globe clips. In huge news in general, and for the Vivid Sydney lineup, the duo is coming to the Harbour City for what's set to be the biggest in-conversation session of the 23-day, 300-plus-event festival. While Vivid dropped its program back in March, it has been making additions since, including literally underground light and laser show Dark Spectrum and now this. Unsurprisingly, the Vivid team has dubbed its latest addition one of the biggest announcements in the festival's 13-year history — which is no small feat for an event that's seen everyone from The Cure to Robert Pattinson and Spike Lee grace its bill in past years. Coolidge and White won't just chat about The White Lotus, McQuoid's utter lack of luck in love and a certain fateful boat ride — and, on White's part, likely skirt around answering where the third season will be set (the word so far: Thailand). They'll also discuss their full careers, and both have plenty to dive into. Coolidge has been a screen presence for years, thanks to parts in everything from American Pie, Best in Show and the Legally Blonde franchise through to Party Down's original run, Joey and Promising Young Woman. As for White, he's written the screenplay for School of Rock, and acted in it — and given the TV-watching world the Laura Dern-starring Enlightened, which he also appeared on. He has Year of the Dog and Brad's Status on his directing resume as well, and penned and produced episodes of Dawson's Creek and Freaks and Geeks. Also, he was famously an Amazing Race and Survivor contestant. Benjamin Law will be asking the questions at this in-conversation event, which takes place at Aware Super Theatre, ICC Sydney. Tickets are on sale now — and they'll get snapped up quicker than McQuoid falls in love. Top image: HBO.
A snowy camp, crosses, bad dreams, creepy houses, lurking shadows, ringing phones and an immensely unsettling mask: welcome to the world of Black Phone 2. Four years after writer/director Scott Derrickson (The Gorge) adapted a short story by Joe Hill — an author with a hefty horror pedigree as the son of Stephen King — into The Black Phone to box-office success, he's now helming his first sequel to his own work. Derrickson began his feature career on follow-up flicks courtesy of 2000's Urban Legends: Final Cut (which he co-penned) and Hellraiser: Inferno (which he directed), but was absent from the hot seat when his Sinister and Doctor Strange continued their stories. A second Black Phone film wasn't originally the plan, though. For fans of the first feature, 2025's return to the movie's world also raises a question within its narrative. In the just-dropped first trailer for Black Phone 2, however, Ethan Hawke's (Leave the World Behind) villainous The Grabber utters a pivotal line to Mason Thames' (Monster Summer) Finney Blake, who survived his clutches the first time around: "you of all people know that dead is just a word". How important is that sentiment to Black Phone 2? "Very essential and fundamental is my answer to that," Derrickson tells Concrete Playground. Audiences will find out how and why for themselves in the best horror-movie month on every annual calendar, with the film set to reach cinemas Down Under on Thursday, October 16, 2025. For now, though, the picture's initial trailer teases snowball fights, a stint at the Alpine Lake Youth Camp, photos of other kids and blood. Also featured: The Grabber asking "did you think our story was over?" before stating "vengeance is mine". In The Black Phone, The Grabber did what his name suggests: he snatched up children. Circa 1978, Finney, his sister Gwen (Madeleine McGraw, The Curse of the Necklace) and their friends were already scared of his insidious presence, too, before Finney became his next target. Back to things living up to their monikers: yes, there was a black phone, disconnected yet still ringing, offering a link to The Grabber's prior victims. It wasn't just Hawke getting nefarious that made the movie a hit and piqued viewer interest for more, but also its full impressive cast, immersive tale, and the expert sense of tension cultivated by The Exorcism of Emily Rose and Deliver Us From Evil alum Derrickson. With Black Phone 2, a few years have passed on-screen as well — which meant that Derrickson could find his ideal way into a Black Phone sequel. He wasn't interested in the kind of next effort that just repeats the first, so the fact that Thames and McGraw are now older was pivotal. Black Phone 2 is "a high-school coming-of-age movie instead of a middle-school coming-of-age movie", then, he explains. Now that he's focusing on teenage characters, that does indeed enable him to heighten some of the horror elements, including gore. "Absolutely. All true. That's very perceptive. And yeah, I think a high-school horror film requires a certain degree of intensity and violence that a middle-school horror film really doesn't want or need," Derrickson told us. Alongside Hawke, Thames and McGraw, Jeremy Davies (Adventures of the Naked Umbrella) and Miguel Mora (So Help Me Todd) are also back. Getting Hawke onboard in the beginning, even after Derrickson had directed him in Sinister, wasn't assured, but The Black Phone was all the better for his efforts. For Thames, Black Phone 2 arrives in what's already a huge year, given that he plays Hiccup in the live-action How to Train Your Dragon. We also chatted with Derrickson about the franchise's core casting, how the second movie came about, his essentials for the sequel, the approach when you're stepping back into a film's world and that oh-so-key skill of dripping unease through a horror flick. On Whether Making Sequel to The Black Phone Was Initially the Plan "After the first movie, I didn't feel obliged to make a sequel. The studio, as soon as the movie was a hit, was asking me 'will you please make a sequel?'. And I didn't feel necessarily that I wanted to do that. I didn't have any ideas at that point. And it started, the idea for Black Phone 2 started, with an email from Joe Hill — with my friend Joe, he sent me an email and he said 'hey, I have an idea for a sequel', and he wrote out this pitch. I didn't respond to all of it, but there was an idea, a central idea in it, that I thought was fantastic that I'd never thought of. So I began to sort of noodle on that idea — and then, as I was toying with the idea, I started to realise that if I went and made another movie first, then by the time I finished that film these kids that I've had loved so much, and did such a good job in the in the first movie, would be in high school. And so I thought 'I'm going to go do that'. So I told the studio I would do the sequel, but I'm going to go make another movie first — because I wanted to make a high-school coming-of-age movie instead of a middle-school coming-of-age movie. And so it's been a little bit of a wait, but that was intentional, because I wanted these kids to be older. Mason, when we shot this, was 17 — and Maddie was 15. And both are in high school, and that's a very different kind of film and a very different genre to work in." [caption id="attachment_861837" align="alignnone" width="1920"] The Black Phone[/caption] On Casting Ethan Hawke as The Grabber — and Getting Him to Agree to Play a Villain "I wrote the first movie without him even knowing anything about it. And I sent him the script, and he told me before he read it, he said 'look, I don't really do villains. I don't play villains. I probably won't do this'. And then that night, he left me a voicemail saying one of the lines of The Grabber in The Grabber's voice. And I thought 'oh, that's all it was'. I knew that that was his way of saying he was going to do it. And I think he really loved the movie. So when it came to doing a sequel, I did the same thing. I sent him the script, and he told me he was very nervous to read it because he had never done a sequel. And I said 'what about the Before Sunrise movies? You made three of those'. He goes 'yeah, but I wrote those. That doesn't count'. But he read the script and was so excited afterwards. And it was just a very similar story — he read it, and called me immediately after and said 'I love this. I think it's great'. And we scheduled the movie right away." On the Importance of This Being a Sequel That Continues the Story with the Same Characters, Not One That Basically Remakes the First Film "I didn't want to make the same movie again. And I think that sequels that disappoint are sequels that try to do the same thing, only bigger — or the same thing, only more. I knew that I would want to make a very different kind of movie, but I also probably wouldn't have considered doing a sequel of any kind if it didn't involve those characters. Because I love those characters. I love those kids. They're all really good actors, and the idea of being able to make a movie with characters who are in a different stage of life and played by actors who were in a different stage of life — Mason was 17 when we shot this and Maddie McGraw was 15. And Miguel Mora comes back as well in this movie. And it was really a delight to be able to, again, tell a different kind of story about a different stage of life. And I wouldn't have done it if it wasn't with all those same characters." On How Mason Thames' Career Has Blossomed Since The Black Phone, Including Black Phone 2 and Playing Hiccup in the Live-Action How to Train Your Dragon "It's so wonderful to watch. And part of the reason that it's so wonderful is because Mason is a kid who really has his head on his shoulders. He's not seduced by the fame. He's not interested in celebrity. He told me, he said 'if I could get rid of all my social media, I would'. He said 'the only reason I keep it is because it's important to studios for the marketing of their movies'. He's just got such a solid perspective and grounded point of view for such a young man — for somebody who's, I think he's 18 now. It couldn't happen to a better kid is what I'm saying. So it's wonderful to know that I gave him, I just sort of discovered his raw talents and gave him the shot that I did. He did such a good job and he does an amazing job in this movie as well." On What Goes Into Cultivating Unease, Dread and Disquiet in a Horror Film for Derrickson "I think that's the essential thing about the horror genre. It's not gore. It's not acts of violence. Ultimately, what makes a horror film a horror film is tone. There are some horror films that are very, very scary without any violence. And there are some very violent movies that aren't very scary. And the difference is that dreadful tone. I think that I'm interested in that aspect of horror more than jump scares, more than gore. The horror films that I love are films that crawl under my skin and have a captivating tone. And the best ones stay with me after the movie. I remember when I saw The Witch — it took me three days to shake the feeling of that movie from me." [caption id="attachment_861838" align="alignnone" width="1920"] The Black Phone[/caption] On the Approach When You're Stepping Back Into an Existing World with a Horror Sequel "I think that, including those early things that I did, the goal is to try to bring something fresh and original while maintaining the elements that our audience wants to see return. And that's always a tough thing to do as a director, but you have to be in tune with your audience and understand 'well, these are the things they definitely want to see. They want to see this. They want to see that. They want this to happen. They want these elements from the original film within their franchise picture'. [caption id="attachment_873778" align="alignnone" width="1920"] The Black Phone[/caption] But at the same time, what they can't tell you is that they want most of it to be fresh. They want to be surprised. They don't want to watch the same movie again. And so as a director, it's about threading that balance. And in this movie, I think it was the characters that they wanted to see returning. And the fact that the movie has a kind of tonal shift, I think is something they're going to find satisfying." Black Phone 2 opens in cinemas Down Under on Thursday, October 16, 2025.
Forget the host's monologue, when there is one. Jimmy Kimmel was on MC duties for the 2023 Academy Awards, and he did indeed start the show by making jokes about a heap of nominees — and about Batgirl being the first superhero taken down by studio accountants, and what'll happen if someone tried to follow in Will Smith's 2022 footsteps this year. But each Oscars ceremony truly begins when winners start being announced and those recipients give barnstorming speeches. With that in mind, the 2023 festivities began with a bang. If you didn't have tears in your eyes watching Guillermo del Toro, Jamie Lee Curtis and Ke Huy Quan, then you weren't watching. As predicted, the latter's speech about never giving up on your dream — and how he almost did, but his wife told him his time would come — was an all-timer. He even gave a shoutout to Jeff Cohen, his co-star from The Goonies and his entertainment lawyer now. Of course, the excited words kept flowing from there. The An Irish Goodbye team singing happy birthday to star James Martin was another early highlight. So was the arrival of Jenny the donkey from The Banshees of Inisherin, and the thrilled look on Colin Farrell's face when it happened. When Everything Everywhere All At Once kept adding to its awards, you could see the joy among the film's team. And when records were made — the first Best Actress winner who identifies as Asian (Michelle Yeoh for Everything Everywhere All At Once), the first song from India to win Best Song (for 'Naatu Naatu' from explosive action-musical RRR), and the first Black woman to win two Oscars (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever's Ruth Carter) — it was tremendous. Among the many deserving winners, there were missed opportunities as well. Kimmel's opening joke about James Cameron not getting a Best Director nomination just as plenty of women didn't called out a glaring ongoing struggle with the Oscars. Also, the awards couldn't find a way to make Elvis' Mandy Walker the first woman to win Best Cinematographer in its 95-year run. Great work is great work — and great films are great films — no matter whether they earn shiny trophies. Some movies and talents end up with statuettes to their names, some come close and miss out, others don't even get nominated. All are worthy of attention. Here's the latest round of winners batch to join the Oscars' ranks — and who they were up against as well. You can also check out our rundown of the ten winners you should watch right now as well, plus our full lists of where most of this year's contenders are screening or streaming in both Australia and New Zealand. OSCAR WINNERS AND NOMINEES 2023: BEST MOTION PICTURE All Quiet on the Western Front Avatar: The Way of Water The Banshees of Inisherin Elvis Everything Everywhere All At Once — WINNER The Fabelmans Tár Top Gun: Maverick Triangle of Sadness Women Talking BEST DIRECTOR Martin McDonagh, The Banshees of Inisherin Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, Everything Everywhere All At Once — WINNER Steven Spielberg, The Fabelmans Todd Field, Tár Ruben Östlund, Triangle of Sadness PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE Cate Blanchett, Tár Ana de Armas, Blonde Andrea Riseborough, To Leslie Michelle Williams, The Fabelmans Michelle Yeoh, Everything Everywhere All At Once — WINNER PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE Austin Butler, Elvis Colin Farrell, The Banshees of Inisherin Brendan Fraser, The Whale — WINNER Paul Mescal, Aftersun Bill Nighy, Living PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE Angela Bassett, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever Hong Chau, The Whale Kerry Condon, The Banshees of Inisherin Jamie Lee Curtis, Everything Everywhere All At Once — WINNER Stephanie Hsu, Everything Everywhere All At Once PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE Brendan Gleeson, The Banshees of Inisherin Brian Tyree Henry, Causeway Judd Hirsch, The Fabelmans Barry Keoghan, The Banshees of Inisherin Ke Huy Quan, Everything Everywhere All At Once — WINNER BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY The Banshees of Inisherin, Martin McDonagh Everything Everywhere All At Once, Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert — WINNER The Fabelmans, Steven Spielberg and Tony Kushner Tár, Todd Field Triangle of Sadness, Ruben Östlund BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY All Quiet on the Western Front, Edward Berger, Lesley Paterson and Ian Stokell Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, Rian Johnson Living, Kazuo Ishiguro Top Gun: Maverick, screenplay by Ehren Kruger and Eric Warren Singer and Christopher McQuarrie; story by Peter Craig and Justin Marks Women Talking, Sarah Polley — WINNER BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILM All Quiet on the Western Front — WINNER Argentina, 1985 Close EO The Quiet Girl BEST ANIMATED FEATURE Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio — WINNER Marcel the Shell With Shoes On Puss in Boots: The Last Wish The Sea Beast Turning Red BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE All That Breathes All the Beauty and the Bloodshed Fire of Love A House Made of Splinters Navalny — WINNER BEST ORIGINAL SCORE All Quiet on the Western Front, Volker Bertelmann — WINNER Babylon, Justin Hurwitz The Banshees of Inisherin, Carter Burwell Everything Everywhere All At Once, Son Lux The Fabelmans, John Williams BEST ORIGINAL SONG 'Applause', Tell It Like a Woman (Diane Warren) 'Hold My Hand', Top Gun: Maverick (Lady Gaga and BloodPop) 'Lift Me Up', Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (music by Tems, Rihanna, Ryan Coogler and Ludwig Goransson; lyrics by Tems and Ryan Coogler) 'Naatu Naatu', RRR (music by MM Keeravaani, lyrics by Chandrabose) — WINNER 'This Is a Life', Everything Everywhere All At Once (music by Ryan Lott, David Byrne and Mitski, lyrics by Ryan Lott and David Byrne) BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY All Quiet on the Western Front, James Friend — WINNER Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths, Darius Khondji Elvis, Mandy Walker Empire of Light, Roger Deakins Tár, Florian Hoffmeister BEST FILM EDITING The Banshees of Inisherin, Mikkel EG Nielsen Elvis, Matt Villa and Jonathan Redmond Everything Everywhere All At Once, Paul Rogers — WINNER Tár, Monika Willi Top Gun: Maverick, Eddie Hamilton BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN All Quiet on the Western Front, Christian M Goldbeck and Ernestine Hipper — WINNER Avatar: The Way of Water, Dylan Cole, Ben Procter and Vanessa Cole Babylon, Florencia Martin and Anthony Carlino Elvis, Catherine Martin, Karen Murphy and Bev Dunn The Fabelmans, Rick Carter and Karen O'Hara BEST VISUAL EFFECTS All Quiet on the Western Front, Frank Petzold, Viktor Müller, Markus Frank and Kamil Jafar Avatar: The Way of Water, Joe Letteri, Richard Baneham, Eric Saindon and Daniel Barrett — WINNER The Batman, Dan Lemmon, Russell Earl, Anders Langlands and Dominic Tuohy Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Geoffrey Baumann, Craig Hammack, R Christopher White and Dan Sudick Top Gun: Maverick, Ryan Tudhope, Seth Hill, Bryan Litson and Scott R Fisher BEST COSTUME DESIGN Babylon, Mary Zophres Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Ruth Carter — WINNER Elvis, Catherine Martin Everything Everywhere All At Once, Shirley Kurata Mrs Harris Goes to Paris, Jenny Beavan BEST MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING All Quiet on the Western Front, Heike Merker and Linda Eisenhamerová The Batman, Naomi Donne, Mike Marino and Mike Fontaine Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Camille Friend and Joel Harlow Elvis, Mark Coulier, Jason Baird and Aldo Signoretti The Whale, Adrien Morot, Judy Chin and Anne Marie Bradley — WINNER BEST SOUND All Quiet on the Western Front, Viktor Prásil, Frank Kruse, Markus Stemler, Lars Ginzel and Stefan Korte Avatar: The Way of Water, Julian Howarth, Gwendolyn Yates Whittle, Dick Bernstein, Christopher Boyes, Gary Summers and Michael Hedges The Batman, Stuart Wilson, William Files, Douglas Murray and Andy Nelson Elvis, David Lee, Wayne Pashley, Andy Nelson and Michael Keller Top Gun: Maverick, Mark Weingarten, James H. Mather, Al Nelson, Chris Burdon and Mark Taylor — WINNER BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT The Elephant Whisperers — WINNER Haulout How Do You Measure a Year? The Martha Mitchell Effect Stranger at the Gate BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse — WINNER The Flying Sailor Ice Merchants My Year of Dicks An Ostrich Told Me the World Is Fake and I Think I Believe It BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM An Irish Goodbye — WINNER Ivalu Le Pupille Night Ride The Red Suitcase
No one just throws together a film festival program. For 18 years now, Sydney Underground Film Festival has carefully curated annual lineup after annual lineup, giving Harbour City cinephiles a feast of movies at their most surreal and sublime again and again. But if Sydney has ever boasted a film fest that's as much about rocking up and seeing where the mood takes you as it is about making a date with specific flicks, it's this one. Here, a conversation waiting in line for one movie might lead you to your next. To mark its latest milestone — turning 18 is no small feat for any film festival, let alone an independent fest that called Marrickville's Factory Theatre home for years, and now takes place at Dendy Newtown — SUFF has another astutely picked program on offer. Across a four-day run between Thursday, September 12–Sunday, September 15, everything from classic John Waters to Kristen Stewart's latest awaits. If past fests are any guide, it'll also sport one of the best vibes in both Sydney's and Australia's festival scenes, where feeling like you're about to discover something wild and wonderful is always in the air. Trust SUFF to open its 18th fest with Waters' Female Trouble, which also has an occasion to commemorate: its 50th anniversary. The Divine-led film is screening with scratch 'n' sniff cards for the full sensory experience. The one and only Waters is an interviewee in closing night's Scala!!!, too, about the London cinema in the same name. The rest of the documentary's title is Or, The Incredibly Strange Rise and Fall of the World's Wildest Cinema and How It Influenced a Mixed-up Generation of Weirdos and Misfits, which gives viewers an idea of the kind of tale it's telling. Stewart fans should have Sacramento on their must-see list, with the Love Lies Bleeding, Crimes of the Future and Spencer actor co-starring in the road-trip film with Michael Cera (Dream Scenario), Maya Erskine (Mr & Mrs Smith) and Michael Angarano (Oppenheimer), the latter of whom also writes and directs. SUFF's roster of pictures with big-name ties also covers documentary Michel Gondry: Do It Yourself, about the Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind filmmaker; Daaaaaali!, which sees Rubber and Deerskin's Quentin Dupieux explore iconic artist Salvador Dalí in the director's usual offbeat way; and The Visitor from Bruce La Bruce (Saint-Narcisse), which pays tribute to Pier Paolo Pasolini's Teorema. Or, there's the Village People in Can't Stop the Music — and yes, dressing up to attend the screening is encouraged. Other highlights span black comedy Mother Father Sister Brother Frank, page-to-screen horror-thriller Saint Clare, more road trips with RATS!, and We Are Zombies from the team behind Turbo Kid and Summer of 84. If you caught stunning 2018 animation The Wolf House on the festival circuit — including at SUFF 2019 — Chilean filmmakers Cristóbal León and Joaquín Cociña are back with The Hyperboreans. "At SUFF, we're all about celebrating the wild, the weird and the wonderfully unexpected. This year's festival will take you on a journey through cinema's most daring corners — where anything can happen and usually does," explains Festival Director Nathan Senn. "Our lineup of films is a testament to the fearless creativity of filmmakers who dare to challenge, provoke and entertain, and we can't wait for our audience to join us for the ride." Sydney Underground Film Festival 2024 screens at Dendy Newtown, King Street, Newtown, from Thursday, September 12–Sunday, September 15. For further information, or to buy tickets, head to SUFF's website.
Need some respite from the CBD hustle and bustle? Spend some time exploring the historic terrace-lined streets of Glebe. This endearing 'burb perched on the glistening harbour foreshore presents a tight-knit community charm you might not expect from such an inner city neighbourhood. You'll likely be met by shopkeepers who have been serving the village for decades, so have your best banter ready to rumble and learn about the colourful human histories of the area with each encounter. In partnership with American Express, we've found a joint that'll sort you out whatever occasion brings you to Glebe — from a gift-hunting expedition to a night out with old friends.
No one might've thought of Joel and Ethan Coen as yin and yang if they hadn't started making movies separately. Since 2018's The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, their latest feature together as sibling filmmakers, the elder of the Coen brothers went with Shakespearean intensity by directing 2021's The Tragedy of Macbeth on his lonesome — while Ethan now opts for goofy, loose and hilariously sidesplitting silliness with Drive-Away Dolls. The pair aren't done collaborating, with a horror flick reportedly in the works next. But their break from being an Oscar-winning team has gifted audiences two treats in completely different fashions. For the younger brother, he's swapped in his wife Tricia Cooke, editor of The Big Lebowski, O Brother, Where Art Thou? and The Man Who Wasn't There, on a picture that couldn't slide more smoothly onto his resume alongside the madcap antics that the Coens combined are known for. Indeed, spying shades of the first of those two features that Cooke spliced in Drive-Away Dolls, plus Raising Arizona, Fargo and Burn After Reading as well, is both easy and delightful. As a duo, the Coen brothers haven't ever followed two women through lesbian bars, makeout parties and plenty of horniness between the sheets, though, amid wall dildos and other nods to intimate appendages, even if plenty about the Ethan-directed, Cooke-edited Drive-Away Dolls — which both Ethan and Cooke co-wrote — is classic Coens. There's the road-trip angle, conspiracy mayhem, blundering criminals in hot pursuit of Jamie (Margaret Qualley, Poor Things) and Marian (Geraldine Viswanathan, Cat Person), dumb men (those crooks again) in cars and just quirky characters all round. There's the anarchic chases, witty yet philosophical banter and highly sought-after briefcase at the centre of the plot, too. And, there's the fact that this is a comedic caper, its love of slapstick and that a wealth of well-known faces pop up as the zany antics snowball. The Joel-and-Ethan team hasn't made a film as sapphic as this, either, however, or one that's a 90s-set nod to, riff on, and parody of 60s- and 70s-era sexploitation raucousness. Cooke, who identifies as queer, helps Drive-Away Dolls draw upon what she knows in its watering holes and three-decades-back timing; the movie was also originally conceived pre-Y2K, when it would've been a contemporary piece if it had made it to fruition. Centring on its paired queer ladies, there's a lived-in vibe among its gleeful chaos, then. Giving the film authenticity and having a freewheeling blast by going in any which way that it can — and swinging from sweet to eagerly cheesy at times (including in its editing) — aren't mutually exclusive for a moment. One of the best surprises of Drive-Away Dolls is how constantly surprising it is and entertainingly spontaneous it feels, no matter how many familiar Coenesque beats and bits viewers can pick out as the romp rolls on for 84 engaging minutes. Among the elbows in past Coen fare's direction is Sanctuary and Stars at Noon's Qualley as the self-assured and keenly talkative Jamie, who could be a relative of George Clooney (Ticket to Paradise) as O Brother, Where Art Thou?'s Ulysses Everett McGill (off-screen, of course, Qualley is her Maid co-star Andie MacDowell's daughter). But she's rarely in tight spot even when she is; letting anything pierce her good time isn't her vibe. Marian and then Jamie's police-officer girlfriend Sukie (Beanie Feldstein, American Crime Story) calling while she's in the throes of lust with someone else doesn't pierce her bubble. The subsequent end of that relationship barely does, in fact, other than sparking her desire for a new backdrop. Contrastingly, Marian always feels like everything is wrong — almost to Inside Llewyn Davis levels — whether she's being asked out by a colleague, annoyed by the word "anyhoo", keeping resolutely single years after her last breakup or deciding that ditching Philadelphia to visit an aunt in Tallahassee is her only option for change. Jamie doesn't just declare that she's tagging along when Marian hits the highway to Florida; she's the reason that the picture has the title it does (which was originally Drive-Away Dykes). If a car requires transporting from one place to the next, customers can put their hands up for discounted — or even free — vehicle hire to get it from A to B via a drive-away deal, which is handy for Jamie and Marian's finances. But after a visit to Curlie (Bill Camp, The Burial) for their temporary automobile, goons Arliss (Joey Slotnick, Plane) and Flint (CJ Wilson, The Blacklist) become their two-steps-behind shadows, working for an insistent fellow crim (Colman Domingo, The Color Purple). They're after a briefcase that's introduced in the movie's opening scene, where it's in the hands of a collector (Pedro Pascal, The Last of Us). Simply attempting to hightail it out of town, Jamie and Marian have no idea what they've inadvertently gotten mixed up in. This is Ethan's debut solo fictional feature without his sibling co-helming. That said, it's his and Cooke's second successive project where Ethan is credited as the director, Cooke edits, but it's clearly a joint effort (the first: 2022 documentary Jerry Lee Lewis: Trouble in Mind). This Coen brother knows how to make all kinds of double acts work, then — and, in this one, Drive-Away Dolls' guiding forces weave no shortage of hookups into the journey. A chihuahua named Alice B Toklas, Henry James novels, cameos by Matt Damon (Oppenheimer) and Miley Cyrus (Black Mirror), a game cast in lead and supporting parts, a wild goose chase, general giddiness, a heap of spice, bars and hotel rooms after bars and hotel rooms, artist Cynthia Plaster Caster: they're all along for this ride. There's ample daffy detours in the narrative, but zero stalling in this riotous affair. With chemistry to burn between them, Qualley and Viswanathan are as pivotal to Drive-Away Dolls as its main behind-the-scenes talents. The film was always going to need a duo who made viewers crave every second in their company regardless of what the script throws their way, including whether Jamie is splashing around her exhibitionist sex-positivity or Marian is yearning for a life less ordinary — and it found them. There's a particular depth to Australian Miracle Workers, The Broken Hearts Gallery and Blockers star Viswanathan's portrayal, despite plunging too deep never being one of Coen and Cooke's aims. Marian wants something beyond the rut that she's long been stuck in. She can't stop being herself, aka the movie's straight man, to get it. She's hardly welcoming of the mania that she's thrust into. Relatable also isn't what Drive-Away Dolls is chiefly going for, but it finds it as well and drives away with it.
Next time you pour yourself a gin and tonic or start sipping a martini, you can say cheers to one of Australia's best-known architectural wonders in the process. With its latest release, Archie Rose Distilling Co is paying tribute to a building that's become an international symbol not only for its city, but for the whole country: the Sydney Opera House. There's plenty to celebrate when it comes to the Jørn Utzon-designed structure, so Archie Rose has whipped up two gins — or, in terms that suit its inspiration, two acts. Outside Gin nods to the Sydney Opera House's design, coastal location and the contrast of its man-made elements with nature, while Inside Gin is an ode to the acts and all-round creativity that've graced the venue's stages since 1973. Launching this month to mark the building's 46th birthday, the two tipples hero distinctive flavours. If you're keen on a heavy juniper taste with a mix of salty, sweet and citrus notes (aided by lemon-scented gum, South Australian yuzu, finger limes, white grapefruit, seablite and native seaweed), then you'll find it in the Outside Gin. For those who like their drinks fruity and summery — and with botanicals such as native thyme, Australian apricot, raspberry and strawberry gum — Inside Gin has you covered. Both are on sale now, individually for $99 each or as a gift-boxed pair for $179. And while their names don't mention the Sydney Opera House, their labels certainly do, with a stylised representation of the structure featuring on each 700ml bottle — against a sea-toned background for the Outside Gin, and contrasting against a dark mix of purple, red and black with the Inside Gin. Naturally, you'll also be able to sip the two spirits at the Sydney Opera House, with the venue's Opera Kitchen, Portside Sydney and theatre bars all slinging curated seasonal cocktails using both gins. Bennelong Restaurant is also stocking the duo, as are a selection of other bars and restaurants around Circular Quay. Archie Rose x Sydney Opera House Outside and Inside Gins are currently on sale.
Brisbane is a foodie city. It has that perfect mix of vibrant new restaurants (it seems like there's another popping up every weekend) and the tried and true favourites of long-time locals. There's never been a more exciting time to dive headfirst into the Brisbane hospo scene. Not sure where to start? We've got eight must-try dishes that'll change the way you think about Brisbane as a food destination. Here, chefs are slinging some wild flavour combos, pulling no punches and adding signature flourishes that make it utterly Queensland — and delicious. Wear your stretchy pants. We're going on a gourmet adventure.
Like most major cities, there are some well-known must-dos when you visit Canberra for the first time. The Australian War Memorial? Check. The National Gallery of Australia? Obviously. A paddleboat on Lake Burley Griffin? Of course. But once all those major attractions are ticked off the list, what's next? Well, there is more to Canberra than meets the eye. The capital is teeming with hidden gems — think social enterprise cafes, farmers markets and teeny tiny galleries — that locals love to frequent on their days off. And now you can, too. Make the most of your next Canberra adventure with this list of lesser-known spots. Please stay up to date with the latest ACT Government health advice regarding COVID-19.
Silly season is right around the corner and to celebrate Ivy is throwing the four-day summer bender you've been dreaming of all year. So, buckle up for eight parties across four days at the George Street institution. The Ivy Weekender will kick off on Thursday, December 2 and run through until Sunday, December 5 at the Ivy Precinct in Sydney's CBD. Start your weekend early with Ivy's weekly Thursday night party where DJs will be spinning big dance tracks and crowd pleasers until the early hours. Back it up on Friday with the grand opening of the WAO Superclub, a new initiative from the CBD club. WAO takes advantage of Ivy's multiple levels, offering up several dance floors serving up RnB, EDM and Trance tunes. On Saturday, you can start your day off waterside at the Pool Club with Drag Brunch and its iconic drag hosts, pop DJs and 1.5-hours of bottomless mimosas. Or, catch international acclaimed party-starters Carl Cox and Eric Powell as they bring their Mobile Disco to Ivy for an eight-hour journey through funk, soul, disco and house music from midday until 8pm. Come nighttime, two more parties are taking over. Poof Doof is bringing its mix of forward-thinking house and timeless pop hits to the main dance floor and Snap Crackle and Pop room of the Ivy, with a Rainbow Hour drinks package available from 10pm. And, Boogie will pop up in the Pool Club for anyone looking for an open-air dance. Closing out the weekend is Ivy's two Sunday regulars, the poolside Marco Polo and Lost Paradise Festival's cutting-edge dance and electronic club session Lost Sundays.
Another beloved Sydney venue has closed its doors as a result of the gruelling last few years for the arts. Surry Hills comedy and theatre venue Giant Dwarf has shut its doors, announcing online that it would not be reopening after it was forced to shut down during Sydney's last lockdown. "It is with the heaviest of hearts that we share the news that our doors will not be reopening. The second lockdown really hit us hard and we have been unable to find a way to continue." the statement posted on Giant Dwarf's Facebook page reads. The Giant Dwarf has served as a hub for local comedians, oddball theatre shows and inclusive art for the past eight years. It was first opened in the former space of the Cleveland Street Theatre in 2014 by the team behind The Chaser and has fostered diverse and up-and-coming artists of all kinds ever since. "The main aim for the theatre has always been to extend the vision of the production company — to create an inspiring environment for new talent to develop skills and produce original and engaging content," inaugural Giant Dwarf program director Nikita Agzarian said back in 2014. [caption id="attachment_813870" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Flowertruck at Giant Dwarf, Bronte Goddensmith[/caption] The statement posted on Thursday, January 28 cited lockdowns, uncertainty around the future and a lack of funding as reasons the venue was unable to reopen, while also thanking those that helped keep the theatre running throughout the years including staff, the City of Sydney, the Thyne Reid Foundation, independent donors and audience members. The news comes the same week that the future of iconic live music venue The Lansdowne has been thrown into uncertainty after long-time custodians Mary's announced they'd be stepping away from the venue in response to the planned conversion of the gig room into hostel rooms by the landlords. "We are forever grateful for the experience and will always remember nights we all shared," concludes the Giant Dwarf statement which you can read below. Giant Dwarf was located at 280 Cleveland Street, Surry Hills. Top image: Bronte Goddensmith
When a band is just starting out, with just one album to its name, you're treated to most — if not all — of it live in the early days. To get the full-record experience again, though, you normally have to wait for big anniversaries. Bloc Party are celebrating two on their just-announced 2025 tour of Australia and New Zealand: two decades of the group and the same since their debut album Silent Alarm. Hitting up Sydney's Hordern Pavilion, John Cain Arena in Melbourne, Adelaide's AEC Theatre, Perth HPC, Riverstage in Brisbane, Christchurch Town Hall and Auckland's Spark Arena between Friday, August 1–Tuesday, August 12, Bloc Party will play Silent Alarm from start to finish. 'Banquet', 'Helicopter', 'This Modern Love', 'Like Eating Glass': yes, they'll all be on the setlist on this seven-city trip. Bloc Party aren't leaving their other tunes out, though, with the tour featuring not just Silent Alarm's tracks but the band's greatest hits. They do have five other albums to their name, after all: 2007's A Weekend in the City, 2008's Intimacy, 2012's Four, 2016's Hymns and 2022's Alpha Games. If you're a fan, you'll know that it has been more than 20 years since the group first formed, and since the British band scored some hefty approval in 2003 via Franz Ferdinand's lead singer Alex Kapranos — but 20 is a nice round number to commemorate. This makes two Aussie tours in a row now with a point of difference for Bloc Party, after 2023 trip with Interpol. Before that, they last rocked Aussie stages in 2018. Supporting Kele Okereke and company this time are Young The Giant, who'll be playing Australia for the first time in 14 years. Bloc Party 2025 Australia and New Zealand Tour Friday, August 1 — Hordern Pavilion, Sydney Sunday, August 3 — John Cain Arena, Melbourne Monday, August 4 — AEC Theatre, Adelaide Wednesday, August 6 — Perth HPC, Perth Friday, August 8 — Riverstage, Brisbane Sunday, August 10 — Christchurch Town Hall, Christchurch Tuesday, August 12 — Spark Arena, Auckland Bloc Party are touring Australia and New Zealand in August 2025, with presales from 9am local time on Wednesday, March 19 and general sales from 9am local time on Friday, March 21. Hit up the tour website for further details. Images: Bruce Baker via Flickr / James Kellegher.
He's going to Newport: Johnny Cash, that is. Twice in A Complete Unknown, the iconic singer-songwriter graces the lineup at the famous folk festival in Rhode Island in the 60s. Twice in the Bob Dylan biopic, he crosses paths with the film's subject at the event. The details depicted are in the service of Dylan's story — while James Mangold is in the director's chair, he's not remaking Walk the Line — but these wouldn't be the moments that they are, and nor would A Complete Unknown be the movie that it is, without Boyd Holbrook (The Bikeriders) as Cash opposite Timothée Chalamet's (Dune: Part Two) Dylan. The term "goes electric" will always be synonymous with Dylan at 1965's Newport Folk Festival, where he dared to play an electric guitar in one of his sets — and the response as much as the act ensured that it went down in history. Cash helped him get there, not only by picking up the same type of instrument at the same place the year before, but through his pen-pal friendship with and encouragement of Dylan. The eight-time Oscar-nominated picture makes clear how much that Cash's words, and the effort of him taking time to commit them to paper, meant to Dylan. It goes electric, too, when Chalamet and Holbrook share scenes. A Complete Unknown is a movie with Chalamet as Dylan, Monica Barbaro (Fubar) as Joan Baez, Edward Norton (Asteroid City) as Pete Seeger and Scoot McNairy (Speak No Evil) as Woody Guthrie. So, it's a flick filled with impressive actors portraying music greats. Given that this a film by Walk the Line director Mangold, however, it's also a picture that gives Holbrook a completely different job to his co-stars, since he's portraying Cash. What happens when the filmmaker behind an Academy Award-winning Man in Black biopic asks you to be the next actor to slip into the legend's shoes? Holbrook had been keen on a different role in the feature, he tells Concrete Playground, at a time when Cash wasn't even in the script — then found himself with a "daunting task". Still, for anyone who has charted Holbrook's career since his 2008 big-screen debut in Milk — a span that's taken him through Behind the Candelabra, The Skeleton Twins, Gone Girl, Jane Got a Gun, The Predator, Narcos and The Sandman, just to name a few projects — it should come as no surprise that he feels like he's been preparing for this part for more than a decade. It helped that he'd made two previous films with Mangold, Logan (which uses a Cash song over its closing credits and in its trailer) and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. In fact, he sees his relationship with the filmmaker as similar to Dylan and Cash's, but with Mangold as the mentor and Holbrook the protégé. And, it equally assists that he'd also perfected swagger on-screen, which can be an elusive trait, including in his two prior roles in The Bikeriders and Justified: City Primeval. Yes, his A Complete Unknown performance meant facing "the Joaquin element", Holbrook explains — with Joaquin Phoenix (Joker: Folie á Deux) Oscar- and BAFTA-nominated, and the winner of a Golden Globe, for playing Cash two decades back for Mangold. But he also knew that the filmmaker, who worked with fellow screenwriter Jay Cocks (Silence) to adapt Elijah Wald's 2015 book Dylan Goes Electric! Newport, Seeger, Dylan, and the Night That Split the Sixties, had a fresh angle into Cash here. As Mangold himself also told us about the pair's relationship as pen pals, "this correspondence suddenly became central to me, because as I was trying to assemble — as much as I was trying to tell Dylan's story, he is a bit inscrutable, and I felt like you could learn more by also telling the story of those that surrounded Dylan, and the way his genius affected each of them differently". "And what was so necessary about bringing Johnny into the story was that he's the devil on that shoulder. If you have Pete and Lomax and Joan Baez all on this shoulder saying 'stick with the team; don't cross over to that dangerous, suspicious popular music', you had Johnny Cash on the other shoulder who was saying 'track mud on someone's carpet'," Mangold continued. "Which was literally one of Johnny's lines in his letters to Bob. And that he made it his business to encourage Dylan to stay bold and to stay on the leading edge, was so wonderful to me." For Holbrook, taking on the part meant exaggerating his music skills to Mangold to begin with; however, the quest to make good on that promise became a key part of his preparation process. We also chatted with Holbrook about his repeat collaborations with Mangold, perfecting swagger on-screen, drunk acting as Cash in one of the movie's standout scenes, and what excites him about working on a new movie or TV show — next he'll pop up in season four of The Morning Show — at this stage of his filmography. On Having a Cash-and-Dylan Relationship with Director James Mangold After Logan, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny and Now A Complete Unknown "I don't think I would have gone anywhere near the Johnny Cash character unless it was Jim making the movie. And it was odd, because I'd read the script before we did Indiana Jones together, and I was angling at a part that I was probably too young for, but the Johnny Cash role wasn't even in there yet at the time. And so we went off and did Indiana Jones, and then I got a call, like maybe six months before we made it. And he said 'hey, I want you to play Johnny Cash'. And I said 'how's that possible? He's not in the script'. And so he had added him because he didn't know that when he made Walk the Line that him and Bob Dylan were these pen pals. And so by his research into Bob, he found out this because Bob had kept the letters and Johnny hadn't kept the letters. So he really just let me go off and do what I had to do, which is conjure up a character and an impression in the daunting task of playing Johnny Cash. Jim really gives you a lot of space. And the great thing about when you get to work with Jim, on the day, if you come in prepared, he enhances your performance in a very cinematic way." On Exaggerating His Music Skills Going Into the Film — and How Learning to Make Good on That Promise Helped Holbrook Step Into Cash's Shoes "I knew at the end of the day that they could shoot from here up [Holbrook motions to his mid-chest] and we could get by. But it feels like I've been preparing for the last 15 or ten years to play this part. Because I played guitar. I couldn't count music. I couldn't hold a tune. I couldn't play and sing at the same time. But there is this awesome opportunity where if I just eat, breathe and sleep this character, I can pull it off. And I think there's something really exciting about that amount of pressure, being a performer — I want to have a performance and I want to build this thing. So it almost bottlenecks down into the day of this, like 'well, you're going to sink, or you're going to swim'. And I think that's pretty exciting. So yeah, I think the week of it all started like 'okay, I can do it at the tempo' — and it wasn't just hanging on. I was able to control the song and control the voice, control the pacing." On Bringing Swagger to the Screen — as Johnny Cash, and Across Holbrook's Career "Film acting is really different from theatre acting, and there's also the practical of being relaxed enough that, you know, there's this 800-pound gorilla being the camera staring at me at all times. Like, how do I just relax and embody this? And really it's from a bunch of stuff of the art of not giving a fuck — being really adamant that 'this is who I am, take it or leave it'. And having a sense of humour about yourself. And doing all this so many times that it's just become existence. I'm not even thinking about it anymore. I'm sort of lost in what I'm doing. It comes down to that. It comes down to a lot of rehearsals, a lot of preparation. I almost prefer the preparation to making a movie than making the movie." On What Went Into Capturing Not Just the Essence of Cash, But the Essence of Drunk Cash "It was from one line in particular, 'I saw the ocean', that I just knew how. I just knew where he was in a daydream. You catch yourself doing laundry or whatever around the house and you are just in a dream, and you kind of see the performance, or I do — and you just understand it. So now it's a real idea. Then it just takes the physicalisation of staying on a word and just finding it, or whatever it is. The super subtlety of that is difficult to verbalise, but comes down to playing around with it. I definitely wouldn't recommend going method on a long work day like that." On Whether the Unique Task of Playing an IRL Figure for a Filmmaker Who Has Already Made a Separate Movie About Him Helped Holbrook Prepare "I was concerned that I had to portray someone who was an iconic person and so people, so many people, have strong memories of him and who he is. Then there's the Joaquin element, facing his great performance and following that up. But I think that Jim and I made the film, and he really understood the importance of Johnny's role in Bob's life at that time, because Johnny had been so — he's doing 200 shows a year on the road. I mean, you are a road dog. You have so much experience in this. And when you're becoming the most-famous person in the world within a year's time, Johnny was able to meet him at that fork in a road where 'hey, it's going to get weird if you don't keep your voice' or 'it's going to be okay if you just stay true to who you are'. And I think in commerce and industries and stuff like that, when a lot of money is on the table, your voice can be compromised — and I think it's really all about that moment in the film where Bob is choosing what his voice is telling him, what he wants to say, how he wants to express himself. And that's going electric in that particular time, because he's just skyrocketing with creativity. And so I think Johnny was able to nudge him in the right direction, remind him who he is." On What Excites Holbrook About a New Project, Including A Complete Unknown, at This Stage in His Career "The performance element. I never really have never sang in front of a bunch of people before. There is a sensation that goes along with that that's exciting. I just did The Morning Show and I found out that the guy was a stand-up comic. I don't know how funny I am, but I like to be funny. I like to practice being funny. But I'd never been onstage and done a set in of people. So that's exciting. That's like 'wow', that's slightly — not terrifying at all, but I want to know what that feels like and to do that. And I think there's all an art and a craft to how the instrument of our humanness can be used. So I just love seeing which way I can bend and which way I can go — and how different I can sound, how different I can look? 'What is this character? What is this character going to go through? At what level? Is it kind of like he's going through like a number-two heartbreak?' But no, I want a number ten on everything. And so I really look for that highest value of expression." A Complete Unknown released in cinemas Down Under on Thursday, January 23, 2025. Images: courtesy of Searchlight Pictures. © 2024 Searchlight Pictures All Rights Reserved.
North Sydney's culinary star has been on the rise for a while, thanks to an influx of excellent venues such as up-market steakhouse Poetica, pretty-in-pink Italian diner Bar Lettera and leafy rooftop retreat Rafi. But if there was any question as to the virtues of heading north of the Bridge in search of a fine feed, the arrival of Walker Street precinct is sure to silence any doubts. Four slick new venues created by Etymon Projects and located on Walker Street — just a few minutes walk from the upcoming Victoria Cross metro station — are set to make North Sydney a must-visit for any self-respecting foodie, with all four venues opening their doors from Tuesday, July 9. [caption id="attachment_964036" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Sol Bread + Wine[/caption] You can start the day at Sol Bread + Wine, a bakery and cafe by day and intimate wine bar by night that channels a Mediterranean spirit with design cues from Italy and Spain. A palette of earth tones is accented with geometric tiles and warm timber furniture, creating a space that effortlessly transitions from breakfast bakery to a laidback cicchetteria serving top drops and sophisticated snacks. [caption id="attachment_964037" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Soluna[/caption] A striking presence in Sol Bread + Wine, a bold red spiral staircase delivers diners to the first-floor sister venue, Soluna. Open from lunch through to dinner, this 110-seat restaurant — as well as the attached 60-seat bar and 30-seat, armchair-filled lounge — is another flexible concept that is as much a place for intimate catch-ups with friends over a glass of wine as it is a go-to for larger parties celebrating a major occasion. The room is dominated by a green terrazzo bar, mirroring the verdant planting dotted throughout the space. [caption id="attachment_964038" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Genzo[/caption] At first glance, contemporary Japanese diner and sake bar Genzo is a playful space complete with vivid overhead LED lighting, anime influences and an eye-popping colour scheme. But don't let that fool you — this restaurant takes its offering very seriously. A temperature-controlled sake room, a selection of expertly balanced, Japanese-inspired cocktails and a menu focused on raw dishes and kushiyaki prepared over a traditional robata grill combine for a contemporary izakaya experience that will rival Sydney's best. [caption id="attachment_964039" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Una[/caption] Finally, new priovidore Una, will stock gourmet produce, artisanal goods and pantry essentials as well as house-made pastas and other take-home meals. A considered edit of local and imported ingredients, from cheeses and charcuterie to boutique wines and spirits, will make this luxury grocer a boon for any North Sydney gastronomes hoping to wow at their next dinner party. Executive Chef Rhys Connell, formerly of The Grantry and Sepia, will oversee all four venues of the new Walker Street precinct. "I realise [this is] an opportunity I've been working towards my whole career," Connell said. "The past couple of months have been a creative blur of menus, scribbling ideas down in the middle of the night and tastings for each venue, and we're now in such a great place with it all I just can't wait to open the doors." [caption id="attachment_964041" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Rhys Connell[/caption] Find the Walker Street Precinct at 168 Walker Street, North Sydney, open from Tuesday, July 9. Sol Bread + Wine will open daily, 7am–10pm. Head to the venue's website for details. Soluna will open daily, 11.30am–late. Head to the venue's website for details. Genzo will open Tuesday – Sunday, 12–3pm and 5–10pm. Head to the venue's website for more details. Una will open Sunday–Wednesday, 10am–6pm, and Thursday–Saturday, 10am–10pm. Head to the venue's website for details. Images: Steven Woodburn
Memories of family holidays up and down Australia's coastlines are treasured by most of us. Stopping at roadside lookouts, lemonades in country pubs, wallabies hopping around campsites and kookaburras laughing us awake. The brief: classic charm meets no-frills fun. A staple in these trips is a classic motel. A clean and comfortable spot to rest your head, a warm welcome, a folder stuffed full of brochures from local businesses and a minibar complete with snacks and libations. You might have noticed a resurgence in these often family-owned establishments, but with one new element sticking out like a sore thumb: standout styling. Fresh paint, linen bedding, social-driven marketing and artful umbrellas offering shade by figure-eight shaped pools — it's a formulaic trend, and it works. What better way to add that dreamy nostalgic charm to your holidays this year than a night or two in a revamped motel? Together with The Bottle-O, the store slinging your favourite boozy sips all over Australia, we've curated a list of our favourites. Book in, grab your drinks and soak up the serenity of days gone by.
Ladies, prepare to spend 5 glorious kilometres running through mud, being shot at by foam cannons, getting coated in colour and conquering obstacles at Miss Muddy. Since launching in March 2014, the female-only event has happened ten times. And on Saturday, September 26, its 11th incarnation is heading for Penrith Regatta Centre. Six thousand or so participants are expected. Miss Muddy's goal is to bring you a fun, fun, fun, judgement-free day out, while raising money for charity. To enter, you simply need to register online and then turn up on the day, ready to run, crawl, slip and slide your way to the finish line. The event is not about winning or proving your physical prowess, but about doing something different, getting active and catching up with friends, without giving a damn what anyone else thinks. While you're at it, you're encouraged to use the opportunity to raise money for a charity of your own choosing. "The Miss Muddy obstacle event attracts a wide variety of women from a wide range of fitness levels. We even have participants who are wheelchair bound and blind participating in the event, which is great to see," said Miss Muddy owner Adam McDonald.
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 eight that you can watch right now at home. FOE Pondering the end of the earth also means pondering the end of people. When the planet that we live on withers to the point of becoming uninhabitable, humanity doesn't just suffer big-picture consequences as a species — existentially, the basic facets of being human are upended as well. So explores and interrogates Foe, the haunting third feature from Australian director Garth Davis (Lion, Mary Magdalene), as well as the latest adaptation of Canadian author Iain Reid's books after 2020 movie I'm Thinking of Ending Things. The pair teamed up to pen the script to a dystopian thriller that looks every inch the stark sci-fi part, using Victoria's Winton Wetlands as its shooting location to double for America's midwest circa 2065, and yet is always one thing above all else: like Killers of the Flower Moon, too, this is a relationship drama. This time, in his second film in a row made Down Under alongside Carmen, Paul Mescal (All of Us Strangers) plays half of Foe's key couple, opposite his Irish compatriot (plus Atonement, Brooklyn, Lady Bird and Little Women Academy Award-nominee) Saoirse Ronan. The pair trade their natural lilts for American accents as Junior and Hen, holdout farmers in a world and at a time where there's little hope in the field, their actual fields or for the future. As a title card explains, days on the third rock from the sun are numbered. Also noted in that opening text is the setup moving forward, relocating the population to space stations. And, as Blade Runner did decades ago, simulated humans are also entwined in this new status quo. Junior and Hen's marriage is one of lived-in routine, concise exchanges and loaded looks, then — of resignation and malaise, with life's realities tampering down the high-school sweethearts' spirits mere years into their wedded bliss. He works at a poultry factory, she waits tables at a diner, and the bleak expanse surrounding their farmhouse sports rows of symbolism; Foe's central couple cling to the wish that the inherited land and their love alike hasn't turned fallow, no matter the signs otherwise. With such barrenness lingering, car lights outside their home one night and then a sharp knock at the door were always going to feel like more than just an ordinary visitor. The cause is anything but an average passerby: government consultant Terrance (Aaron Pierre, Old) has come with conscription orders for the OuterMore project, which is building the off-world installation that earth's residents will soon need to live on. Foe streams via Prime Video. Read our full review, and our interview with Garth Davis. THE MARVELS More Marvels, less Marvel: that could've, would've, should've been the path to making The Marvels more marvellous as it teams up Carol Danvers aka Captain Marvel (Brie Larson, Lessons in Chemistry), Ms Marvel's Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani in her big-screen debut) and WandaVision's Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris, They Cloned Tyrone). Unsurprisingly for a Marvel Cinematic Universe movie that goes heavy on the first word in the ever-sprawling franchise's moniker, this 33rd cinematic instalment in the series has a glaring Marvel problem. Thankfully, as it proves fun enough, likeable enough and sweet, but also overly saddled with the routine and familiar, it never has any Captain Marvel, Ms Marvel or Monica Rambeau issues. When there's too much Marvel-ness — too much been-there-done-that formula, too hefty a focus on smashing pixels together over spending time with people and too strong a sense that this is merely another chapter in the saga's assembly line, and also dutifully setting up what's next — The Marvels struggles, even as the shortest MCU feature yet. When the main trio get the luxury of being together, just seeing them revel in and react to each other's company is a delight. When there's also singing, dancing, a hearty sense of humour and/or Flerkens involved, the film soars. Perhaps befitting a movie with three lead characters, this is a Goldilocks attempt at a picture that tries as overtly as a fairy-tale figure to get its balance just right. Filmmaker Nia DaCosta (Candyman) and her co-scribes Megan McDonnell (also WandaVision) and Elissa Karasik (Loki) can't quite find and keep their midpoint, however, due to all of the weight and demands that come after 15 years of the MCU, those 32 prior flicks, plus nine seasons of eight Disney+ TV shows since 2021 — and the many nods and references required in those directions. Marvel has cottoned on to how clunky this can be, and how exhausting to watch; the company has marketing streaming series Echo under the banner 'Marvel Spotlight' to signal that viewers can enjoy the story as a standalone experience without needing to have done copious amounts of MCU homework. If only The Marvels had been allowed to spin its tale the same way, even with Carol, Kamala and Monica's established histories across the franchise, and permitted to lean further into what makes it stand out from the rest of the Marvel crowd. The Marvels streams via YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. NAPOLEON When is a Ridley Scott-directed, Joaquin Phoenix-starring trip to the past more than just a historical drama? Always, at least so far. Twice now, the filmmaker and actor have teamed up to explore Europe centuries ago, initially with Gladiator and now 23 years later with Napoleon — and where the Rome-set first was an action film as well, the second fancies its chances as a sometimes comedy. This biopic of the eponymous French military star-turned-emperor can be funny. In the lead, Phoenix (Beau Is Afraid) repeatedly boasts the line delivery, facial expressions and physical presence of someone actively courting laughs. When he declares "destiny has brought me this lamb chop!", all three coalesce. Scott (House of Gucci) not only lets the humour land, but fashions this muskets-and-cannons epic as a satire of men with authority and dominance, their egos, and the fact that ruling a country and defeating other nations doesn't cancel out their pettiness and insecurities. As it's off with Marie Antoinette's (Catherine Walker, My Sailor, My Love) head, it's in with Napoleon's revolutionary stirrings in Scott and screenwriter David Scarpa's take (with the scribe returning to cut the powerful down to size after the director's All the Money in the World, just as Walker apes another famous figure after playing Anna Wintour in House of Gucci). Also in: Napoleon's tinkering with facts, which'll later see its namesake and his troops fire at the pyramids. Devotion to historical accuracy isn't the movie's aim. Like The Castle of blasts from the French past, it's more interested in the vibe of the thing — said 'thing' being how Napoleon Bonaparte, later Napoleon I, follows his yearning for glory and adoration above all else. Scott stitches together a selection of his own recurrent obsessions, too, such as Phoenix sulking, savaging the quest for command and influence, Gallic days of yore as seen in his debut The Duellists and the unrelated The Last Duel, and unfettered ambition's consequences as per The Martian and Prometheus, then tops it with the requisite bicorn hat. Napoleon streams via YouTube Movies and Prime Video. Read our full review. CAT PERSON "Margot met Robert on a Wednesday night toward the end of her fall semester." So starts the only thing that everyone was reading, and also talking about, in December 2017. Published by The New Yorker, Kristen Roupenian's Cat Person is a short story unparalleled in its viral fame. A piercingly matter-of-fact account of a dating nightmare, the piece of fiction became a literary and online phenomenon. Cat Person didn't just spark discourse about modern romance, relationship power dynamics, 21st-century communication, age gaps and more; it monopolised them, as fuelled by the internet, of course, and arriving as the #MeToo movement was at its early heights. Releasing it as a book, still as a 7000-word piece, came next. Now there's the film that was always bound to happen. As a movie lead by CODA's Emilia Jones, Cat Person can count the Twitter-to-cinema Zola as a peer in springboarding from digital phenomenon to picture palaces, and it too aims for a specific vibe: the feeling that the world experienced while first roving their eyes over the details on their phone, tablet or computer screen. Cat Person and Zola have another glaring similarity: enlisting Succession's Nicholas Braun to infuse his Cousin Greg awkwardness into a wild tale. Here, he's the Robert that Margot encounters while "working behind the concession stand at the artsy movie theatre downtown when he came in and bought a large popcorn and a box of Red Vines", as Roupenian's story explains in its second sentence — and as filmmaker Susanna Fogel, the director of The Spy Who Dumped Me and one of Booksmart's writers, shows on-screen. Actors' performances don't exist in a vacuum for audiences. Unless you somehow missed the four-season Roy family shenanigans, plus all the rightly deserved attention around it, going into Cat Person unaware of Braun's best-known role is impossible. Self-consciousness, haplessness and discomfort are expected twice over of the man that Margot sells snacks to, then. Much follows. Cat Person streams via YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review, and our interview with Susanna Fogel. DICKS: THE MUSICAL When it starred Lindsay Lohan (Falling for Christmas) making her film debut in dual roles in the late 90s, and when Hayley Mills (The Wheel of Time) was doing double duty back in the 60s as well, The Parent Trap told of identical twins who were separated at birth when their mother and father divorced. Each parent gained custody of a baby, then raised the child separately. Never did the sisters cross paths until a summer camp years later, where they realised their connection, then hatched a plan to reunite their family by posing as each other back home. The tale springs from the page, with German novel Lisa and Lottie also inspiring adaptations in its homeland, Japan, the UK, India and Iran. The Olsen twins' It Takes Two owes it a debt, too. But there's never been a version of this story like Josh Sharp (Search Party) and Aaron Jackson's (Broad City) iteration, as first seen onstage in Fucking Identical Twins and now in cinemas as Dicks: The Musical. So absurdly its own ridiculous, raucous, irreverent and raunchy thing, calling Dicks: The Musical exuberantly unhinged — or anything, really — doesn't do it justice. Before this A24 release brought its sibling antics to the big screen with singing, dancing, Megan Mullally (Party Down) and Nathan Lane (Beau Is Afraid) as its long-split parents, Borat and Brüno director Larry Charles behind the camera, Brisbane-born Saturday Night Live star Bowen Yang as drama-loving gay God and Megan Thee Stallion busting out a mid-movie tune, Fucking Identical Twins was a two-man production that premiered in 2014 to must-see success. Created at Upright Citizens Brigade, which was co-founded by Amy Poehler (Moxie), the then half-an-hour affair first filled a basement and now rises to share its delirium with the film-watching world. Leading the way in every guise: Sharp and Jackson, who definitely aren't twins let alone brothers, don't look a thing alike, yet know how to take audiences on a helluva wild ride. Dicks: The Musical streams via YouTube Movies and iTunes. Read our full review. SILENT NIGHT There's no swapping faces in John Woo's latest English-language action-thriller. Instead, the iconic Hong Kong filmmaker brings guns, chases and a quest for revenge to the festive genre. As anyone who rightly considers Die Hard among the pinnacle of Christmas movies already knows, seasonal cinema offerings don't need to drip in schmaltz, holiday humour, or Santas and reindeers to be an end-of-year present. Still, in making his first Hollywood effort since 2003's Paycheck, the director behind Hard Target, Broken Arrow and Face/Off in the 90s — plus Mission: Impossible II in 2000 — keeps the ties of family gleaming in Silent Night. That said, from the moment that the picture opens with a man in a Rudolph-adorned jumper, fuzzy red pom-pom and all, in a battle on Texan back streets with gang members who've just torn his brood apart on Christmas Eve, Woo also goes the brutal route. Silent Night's name echoes in several ways. Recalling a tune that's all about the jolliest time of the year is just one. Setting scenes in a period when halls are decked with boughs of holly is merely another. If protagonist Brian Godlock (Joel Kinnaman, The Suicide Squad) gets his wish, there'll be no more noise — let alone violence and bloodshed — from the criminals responsible for killing his young son (Alex Briseño, A Million Miles Away) with a stray bullet from drive-by crossfire as the boy rode his new bike in the front yard. Woo's main stylistic conceit comes to fruition instantly, however, because Silent Night largely avoids dialogue. Aided by meticulous sound design, that choice isn't a gimmick purely for the sake of it. Rather, Robert Archer Lynn's (Already Dead) script has Brian lose the ability to speak in the introductory sequence's fallout. Silent Night streams via YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. NYAD When most sports films bring real-life exploits to the screen, they piece together the steps it took for a person or a team to achieve the ultimate in their field, or come as close as possible while trying their hardest. Nyad is no different, but it's also a deeply absorbing character study of two people: its namesake Diana Nyad and her best friend Bonnie Stoll. The first is the long-distance swimmer whose feats the movie tracks, especially her quest to swim from Cuba to Florida in the 2010s. The second is the former professional racquetball player who became Nyad's coach when she set her sights on making history as a sexagenarian — and reattempting a gruelling leg she'd tried and failed when she was in her late 20s. It helps that Annette Bening (Death on the Nile) plays the swimmer and Jodie Foster (The Mauritanian) her offsider, with both giving exceptional performances that unpack not only the demands of chasing such a dream, but of complicated friendships. Also assisting: that Nyad is helmed by Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, directors making their feature debut beyond documentaries after The Rescue, Meru and winning an Oscar for charting Alex Honnold's El Capitan climb in Free Solo. Extraordinary efforts are this filmmaking pair's wheelhouse, clearly. Nyad and Stoll fit that description easily, as do Bening and Foster. With the latter, who brings shades of Michael J Fox (Still: A Michael J Fox Movie) to her portrayal, Nyad also provides a reminder of how phenomenal the Taxi Driver, The Silence of the Lambs and Panic Room star is on-screen, how charismatic as well, and how missed she's been while featuring in just four films in the past decade (the just-arrived fourth season of True Detective thankfully places Foster at its centre). Understandably, the movie's main actors have been earning awards attention. The picture around them never stops plunging into what makes both Nyad and Stoll tick — and keep shooting for such an immense goal, even as setback after setback comes their way — with Chin and Vasarhelyi experts in conveying minutiae. Whether or not you know the outcome, Nyad is rousing and compelling viewing, floating on excellent work by its four key creative talents. Nyad streams via Netflix. THE EXORCIST: BELIEVER When they were making All the Real Girls, Pineapple Express and Your Highness together, plus Eastbound & Down, Vice Principals and The Righteous Gemstones as well, did filmmaker David Gordon Green and actor Danny McBride chat about creating their own versions of all-time horror masterpieces, in flicks that act as direct sequels to the OG films and ignore all of the past sequels, and also work as reboots sparking a new trilogy? Thanks to the recent Halloween films, this natter seems likely. In fact, now that Green and McBride have also given The Exorcist a spin, this kind of talk appears a certainty. So, writer/director Green was possessed with a new demonic screen story with McBride and Halloween Kills' Scott Teems, then penned a devil-made-me-do-it script with Camp X-Ray's Peter Sattler. The result is The Exorcist: Believer, a 50-years-later return to head-twisting dances with evil — this time with a prologue in Haiti rather than Iraq, the bulk of the action set in Georgia instead of Washington, DC's Georgetown, and two girls not one in need of faith's help to cast out malevolent fiends. Green and McBride's swap from Michael Myers to Pazuzu also already has its own trinity in the works. As it apes the original movie's structure, there's a touch of trickery in starting The Exorcist: Believer in Port-au-Prince: the city's 2010 earthquake is used to get the plot in motion, a move that lands queasily, clunkily and exploitatively. Perhaps Green and company thought that slipping into a real-life tragedy's skin then wreaking havoc was a fitting piece of mirroring; instead, that choice should've been exorcised. Photographer Victor Fielding (Leslie Odom Jr, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery) is holidaying with his heavily pregnant wife Sorenne (Tracey Graves, On Ten) when the earth rumbles, leading to him becoming a single father — but not before the baby is blessed in utero by a local healer. Cut to 13 years later, where teenager Angela (Lidya Jewett, Ivy + Bean) is introduced rifling through her mother's belongings, then convincing her grief-stricken dad to let her have an after-school date with her classmate Katherine (debutant Olivia O'Neill). She doesn't tell him that they'll be trying to contact Sorenne via a seance in the woods, though, an event that ends with a disappearance, something unholy afoot and needing help from Chris MacNeil (Ellen Burstyn, Law & Order: Organised Crime). The Exorcist: Believer streams via YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. Looking for more 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, July, August, September, October, November and December 2023, too. We kept a running list of must-stream TV from across 2023 as well, complete with full reviews. And, we've also rounded up 2023's 15 best films, 15 best straight-to-streaming movies, 15 top flicks hardly anyone saw, 30 other films to catch up with, 15 best new TV series of 2023, another 15 excellent new TV shows that you might've missed and 15 best returning shows.
The City of Sydney is opening up a historic structure for small-scale community events right by one of the city's most sprawling parklands. The interior of one of the towering brick kilns that sit on the Saint Peters side of Sydney Park is set to undergo a series of restorations so that the local community can utilise it for arts events and other gatherings. Located just off Sydney Park Road, the brick kiln known as Down Draught Kiln 2 will be subject to major work including increased parking, waterproofing, accessibility improvements, stabilisation of the structure and aesthetic changes that will ensure it's a welcoming space. Plus, there will also be a raised lawn and plaza area introduced for outdoor gatherings. Construction is set to begin in the next 12 months, with the tender process to appoint a contractor for the project currently underway. Once these restorations and improvements are complete, you can expect to see intimate indoor and outdoor gatherings being to pop up at that corner of Sydney Park. [caption id="attachment_731570" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Alexandria Velovotee; Flickr[/caption] "This is the largest intact precinct of brick kilns in the state and opening up a small part of it for art exhibitions and other community events is a fantastic result for our communities," says Lord Mayor of Sydney Clover Moore. "I can't wait to see what our team and communities have in store for this vitally important part of our industrial heritage, which is now part of our cultural future." The decision by the council comes during a big push for increased community and arts spaces in the Harbour City. Several areas across the state have been marked as Special Entertainment Precincts, providing them with privileges that assist in fostering a thriving nightlife and live music culture, following the successful Enmore Road trial. The Inner West Council is also pushing to use eight Town Halls as arts hubs across the area. All very positive stuff for the city's cultural footprint and arts communities. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Clover Moore AO (@clovermoore) The Sydney bark brick kilns are located just off Sydney Park Road at the meeting of Alexandria and Saint Peters. You can find more info on the restoration project via the City of Sydney website.
Our city is constantly changing and evolving, with taller skyscrapers being erected, new 'Opera Houses' being built and construction on the light rail seemingly never ending. And amongst all these big infrastructure changes, small, carefully designed spaces popping up. The backstreets of Zetland has a shiny new six-storey library — complete with underground garden and piano room; Paddington is now home to Australia's first fish butchery; and in the CBD, a laneway filled with top eateries and stores has arrived. These are the spaces that are really catching our attention, the ones that are quietly evolving the community — through innovation and sustainability — and are accessible to you. At Concrete Playground we encourage exploration and showcase innovation in our city every day, so we thought it fitting to reward those most talented whippersnappers pushing Sydney to be a better, braver city. And so, these six new spaces were nominated for Best New Space in Concrete Playground's Best of 2018 Awards.
Remember when the Beast won Belle's heart with his impossibly beautiful personal library in Beauty and the Beast? How easy it is seduce a nerd. Now that animated library has a real-life rival in the spectacular Waanders in de Broeren, a converted 15th-century Dominican church in Zwolle, the Netherlands, that houses what must be one of the world's most gorgeous bookstores. Designed by architectural firm BK. Architecten, the development was carried out in exactly the right way. It was mandated that all the building's original features be preserved. This meant keeping the 547-year-old colossal pipe organ and huge stained glass windows just as they were. The firm took to the challenge with gusto: only three hues of building material were used, to reflect the pre-existing look of the church, and the three-level, 700-square metre retail space which frames its central nave is built so as to be easily removable in future, maintaining the church's essential structure beneath. The result is a distinctly light and airy bookstore, with shelves lining the walls and unobtrusive, contemporary stairways leading up to the upper reaches of the arches. If only all shopping venues could be so elegant. Sometimes opulent buildings are given over to unlikely retail tenants — for example New York's Chelsea has one of the most ridiculously fancy pharmacies ever, a CVS inside a grand old bank building on 8th Avenue. This makes buying condoms at 3am seem slightly more classy for locals. But books seem an extra worthy ware: picture yourself browsing in Waanders in de Broeren, imagination set aflame as soon as you enter the space with its lofty and ornately painted ceiling. There's also a wine bar and other shopping available, making this one of the loveliest spaces and best design ventures we've seen in ages — an attractive and respectful fusion of old and new. Via Colossal.
Lightning Ridge's arid outback climate makes it the perfect spot for Bevan's Cactus Nursery, one of the largest of its kind in the southern hemisphere. Founded in 1966, the nursery is home to approximately 2500 cacti varieties of all shapes and sizes, with the oldest plant nearly 150 years old. Head along to view the incredible species on display — just watch where you put your hands. Bevan's Cactus Nursery is also home to a supremely rare collection of opals, including speckled black, crystal and white gems that are bound to catch your attention. Head to the website to plan your trip. Image: Andy Peyton, Flickr
Walking down Fitzroy Street in Surry Hills, any passerby with their face in their phone could miss the unassuming exterior of Dad and the Frog, save for a colourful chalk design that marks the charm and character of this inner-city gem. Owners Daniel Ng and Baptiste Viard are certainly doing something right — the cafe won Toby's Estate Local Legends competition for 2023, beating out every other Toby's Estate-pouring cafe in the state. The team prides their position in the legendary Surry Hills hospitality scene, curating a menu that combines locally produced ingredients with a range of sauces, relishes, jams and pickled delights made in-house. Tuck into french toast with brie cheese, berry compote, crumbled pistachio and caramelised apple or swiss brown mushrooms with pancetta, two poached eggs, sour cream and black truffle oil on toasted rye. The fun doesn't stop at breakfast either. The lunch menu is packed with toasted sandwiches, hearty burgers and nourishing bowls, while alcoholic drinks are available from 11am to close.
For one day only, Sydney art lenders Artbank are transforming their Rosebery headquarters, which are normally closed to the public, into Artbank Social Club - sort of a one-off art exhibition with astroturf, a pop-up bar and live music from DJ Matt Vaughan. If you're feeling peckish, there'll also be a couple of food trucks around. You can wander into their showroom and take a look at their impressive collection (over 10,000 Australian artworks collected over the past 30 years), then hang with the artists themselves in their carpark-turned-outdoor-lounge area. Artbank is a support program created by the government to promote Australian artists by buying, curating and leasing artworks. Their headquarters are a bit tricky to find if you haven't been there before, so they've very kindly provided a shuttle bus running every 45 minutes from Chalmers St at Central Station, making stops at Flinders and Oxford Streets along the way. Otherwise, it's about a 15-minute walk from Green Square Station. Artbank's Social Club runs from 1-5pm.
Performance Space is having a birthday party, but don't worry about bringing a gift. They're actually giving you the presents: wrapped-up pieces of performance, visual art, dance, music and more, celebrating their big 3-0. Like anyone planning a party, Performance Space co-director Jeff Khan says he's a bit nervous that no one will to show. "There's a sense of vulnerability, you're putting what feels like yourself on the line and its very much up to the audience whether they take it or leave it," he says ahead of 'You're History', the three-week program of events opening on Wednesday, November 20. That is such a Performance Space thing to say, that last part. Since the experimental collective began, back in a dingy Cleveland Street terrace in 1983, they've been all about the audience and its response. The main stage rules did not apply; the active performer-passive audience idea was left to the main stage companies. Like that time an audience gathered for a show in the terrace, and all the lights went off. It was too dark to see much at all, and least of all the line between performer and punter. "It was a while until they realised that the performers were gone and they were locked in," Jeff says, laughing. "People were furious, debate raged for months and months." Founder Mike Mullins and the artists around him had new ideas and politics to explore, and so made a new space to do it in. Three decades later and its time to celebrate all the artists nurtured, performances developed and bewildered audiences locked in dark terraces. For an organisation normally so focused on the artistic future they're doing a knock-out job with the past. The Directors' Cuts will see the archive come alive, as yesterday's directors, stretching right back to Mullins, take over today's stage. 30 Ways with Time and Space is another stand-out, shut-UP piece of programming: the Carriageworks public foyer, sliced into new spaces by visual artist Agatha Gothe-Snape, will overflow with 30 performances over the festival's 12 days, and it's all free. It just won't all fit in this article. But to give you an idea: Jon Rose is set to play a pane of glass with his face while his mate Lucas Abela is on the deconstructed violin, a family and their seven-year-old daughter will perform inside a translucent plastic bubble and Mike Parr — yes, The Mike Parr — will be doing as The Mike Parr does. If you get a spare second, look up: Box of Birds will see dancers vaulted up into the cavernous Carriageworks scaffolding. I don't think Jeff Khan has to worry; people will definitely come to his party, and I think they'll love their presents. I ask him what he thinks makes a good 30th, and he nails the analogy: "I think probably the right balance of planning and spontaneity," he says. "You know, you want to plan for a great party and you want to plan for enough things to be there for everyone to have a great time, but in the end its just the chemistry between the people and the party that make it."
From the street, A Man and His Monkey looks like any other suburban cafe. But venture inside and you'll find a cosy cafe that's serving up hearty brekkies, salads and sandwiches with an Israeli flair. We're talking a haloumi and eggplant-stuffed pita pocket, malabi — a popular Middle Eastern-style rose-scented milk pudding topped with pistachios, coconut and strawberries — and a mean shakshuka. The latter will rival those from any of the popular shakshuka joints across Sydney — and you can opt to have it with sujuk, slow-cooked lamb, hummus or labne. Come lunchtime, order the hummus plate, which comes with pita and your choice of sides, including poached eggs or eggplant salad. There are also a range of toasties and sandwiches available, including the reuben with double-stacked house-made pastrami. Wash it down with a coffee or one of the turmeric, purple taro or chai lattes. Images: Cassandra Hannagan
Whether you're sipping a flat white in a sun-drenched cafe or working from a stylish, art-filled office, great design has a way of elevating everyday moments. That's exactly what the Australian Interior Design Awards sets out to celebrate — and the 2025 shortlist, which has just dropped, is here to inspire some serious interior envy. For its 22nd year, the awards have nominated 195 standout projects that showcase the best of Australian interior design across residential, hospitality, retail and public spaces. Presented by the Design Institute of Australia and Architecture Media's InteriorsAu, the awards continue to spotlight spaces around the country that don't just look good — they feel good, too. [caption id="attachment_973588" align="alignnone" width="1920"] National Communication Museum, Casey Horsfield[/caption] So, where can you find the year's most boundary-pushing interiors? If you're in Victoria, you can head to sleek Fitzroy hotel The StandardX, Exhibition Street spot Juni, as well as luxe boutique hotel Melbourne Place and its subterranean bar Mr Mills. Other south-of-the-Murray venues that made the shortlist include Hawthorn's National Communication Museum (pictured above) and the revamp of 120 Collins Street, while Victoria's retail nominations run the gamut from Melbourne Airport's new-look Terminal 1 dining and retail precinct to hole-in-the-wall smoothie, yoghurt and açai bar Bitterjoy. A number of new Sydney restaurants and dining precincts headline the NSW contingent, including Wunderlich Lane's contemporary Greek spot Olympus (pictured below), Sofitel Sydney Wentworth's Bar Tilda, Neil Perry's Cantonese diner Song Bird and multi-venue Japanese dining destination Prefecture 48. Sydney nominees for public design include the revamped City Recital Hall, as well as Bondi Junction adaptive reuse project The Boot Factory. The Sunshine State is also well represented on AIDA's shortlist. Leading the charge are Queen Street diners Supernormal and Central, while moody West End hangout +81 Aizome Bar has also been recognised. Elsewhere, luxe wellness space The Bathhouse Albion and the pared-back, brick-and-mortar Newstead home of Brisbane jeweller BrownHaus are among the hospitality and retail nominees, respectively. This year's winners across all categories will be revealed at a gala dinner at the Sofitel Melbourne on Collins on Friday, June 6. [caption id="attachment_966315" align="alignnone" width="1917"] Supernormal Brisbane, Earl Carter[/caption] [caption id="attachment_962736" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Melbourne Place, supplied[/caption] [caption id="attachment_973981" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Prefecture 48, supplied[/caption] [caption id="attachment_984056" align="alignnone" width="1920"] +81 Aizome Bar, supplied[/caption] For the full Australian Interior Design Awards 2025 shortlist, head to the AIDA website. Top image: The StandardX.
Located directly across from the beach in Collaroy, Stay Grounded Café and Diner is the ideal place to stop by after a surf or if you're catching up with friends for brunch. There's tasty food, great coffee by Single O and a relaxed and welcoming vibe. For brekkie, try the poached eggs with roasted field mushrooms, caramelised onion and chilli, or the oats and chia bircher muesli with fresh berries and coconut yoghurt. For lunch, the grounded bowl with falafel, beetroot hummus, cauliflower, pumpkin, avocado and green goddess dressing will keep you going all day. Stay Grounded is now also open after dark. So, you can head in for a cocktail, a local beer and dishes such as barramundi tacos, chorizo and halloumi skewers and chicken wings with buttermilk dressing. Images: Mel Koutchavlis
There is plenty to see and do in Canberra at any time of year, but a strong case can be made for visiting between September and November. The city really blossoms in spring (see what we did there?) — so there's no wonder why it's home to one of Australia's biggest and best annual flower festivals. Can't make it to Floriade this year? Never fear, there are still plenty of epic experiences to have in the nation's capital during spring. Whether you're planning a trip with mates, a significant other or solo, this list of activities will help you emerge from your winter hibernation with a spring in your step. Please stay up to date with the latest ACT Government health advice regarding COVID-19.
Jetsetting overseas may not have been on the cards for you this year, but if you're still craving the excitement of new cuisines and experiences, you don't have to fly across the world for a scenic Mediterranean feast or authentic Indian street food. With its huge variety of restaurants and bars, it's no wonder that Parramatta is rapidly becoming one of the most popular dining destinations in Sydney. From morning to night; from casual eats to luxe dining; from a pre-show dinner to sky-high cocktails — Parramatta has got you covered. In this guide, we've done the legwork for you of picking out a few spots for every occasion, so that your next date night, family celebration or girls' brunch in the River City is an absolute breeze.
A longstanding south coast NSW brewery has made the move to Sydney, opening a sibling location to its Jervis Bay home. Flamin Galah Brewing Co has built a cult following since opening back in 2018 thanks to its award-winning XPAs, pale ales and sours, cementing its sunny regional brewery as a must-visit stop on a trip south of Sydney. Now, you'll find its range of craft beers on Broadway at its welcoming taproom. Flamin Galah Brewing Co Chippendale is located in the old Hotel Broadway building between Broadway and Shepherd Street. Inside, the space has been transformed with plenty of millennial (or alternatively, galah) pink furniture, retro light fittings and a neon sign proclaiming "Flamin Good Beer". Most importantly, you'll find a line of taps pouring the full range of Flamin Galah brews, including a Chippo Lager dedicated to the digs. While the beers are the stars of this show, there are plenty of supporting characters. Wine, cider, ginger beer, seltzers and cocktails round out the drinks offerings. If you're not a fan of the hops, opt for the Blushing Galah, which combines Flamin Galah vodka, watermelon liqueur, triple sec, lime and fresh watermelon — or the Yuzu Gin Gimlet for something a little more citrus-forward. The theme running through the food is crowd-pleasers. There are sets of cheeseburger sliders and Chippo Lager-battered fish tacos, crispy chicken bao, pulled beef nachos, fried chicken tenders, tangy barbecue wings and dumplings (pork and chive, prawn or vegetarian). And, there are also plenty of enticing deals hoping to lure you in to sample some of the brewery's offerings. Check the Flamin Galah website for this week's discounted meals, happy hour drinks and trivia nights.
Now that our favourite venues are finally open again, there is nothing ruder than saying no to a rooftop cocktail or harbourside lunch. To help customers manage their social budget, hospitality group Australian Venue Co (AVC) has partnered with Afterpay for an initiative that enables more people to get out and about, with the ability to pay over time. On Monday, November 1, the group launched Dine Now, Pay Later, giving all of us social animals the opportunity to enjoy great food and drinks at over 160 venues Australia-wide and pay the tab in fortnightly, interest-free payments. Here are seven of the venues where you can indulge responsibly with Afterpay — available via mobile ordering, paying at the bar and the AVC app.
We're all for bringing lunch to work. You save money, eat leftovers (reduce food waste) and can show off your cooking prowess to your coworkers. But we also know sometimes you can't bear to eat that same soup for the 14th time. Sometimes that sandwich you constructed with one eye open at 6am isn't quite going to cut it. Sometimes, god forbid, someone stole your food from the fridge. And sometimes you just deserve to treat yourself. So, here's where you can go to grab something tasty for lunch in the CBD — that'll also be relatively fast — from next-level vegan burgers to chicken ramen, gyoza and $10 bowls of pasta (and even giant Aperol spritzes).
When Vivid Sydney took place in 2016, wearing pyjamas was acceptable. As Max Richter performed Sleep at the Sydney Opera House, the composer did so while attendees slumbered, which is what the eight-hour performance is specifically designed for. Did anyone taking a kip to the music dream up a future idea for a Vivid event? Audiences might find out when the festival returns in 2025 for its 15th year across Friday, May 23–Saturday, June 14. It's save-the-date time, with Vivid locking in its next winter return, aka when it'll next take over the Harbour City with its showcase of tunes, luminous sights, culinary events and conversation. Also revealed: 2025's theme, which is where dreaming comes in again. "Dreaming is something we all do. It's as old as time and as universal as life itself. Dreams don't discriminate — they are borderless, ageless and endless. They can be personal or public. When shared, our dreams can become a movement. They can inspire, motivate, spark excitement and connection," explains Vivid Sydney Festival Director Gill Minervini about the event's next focus. "The whole world dreams, it is something we have in common, something that unites us. Our human story is embedded in dreams, they help explain our existence and our past," Minervini continued, also opening the call for expressions of interest to take part in 2025's Vivid. "We want the very best in homegrown talent to be part of our vibrant Vivid Sydney event program, with a unique opportunity to foster community connection, spark imagination and showcase the multitude of ways creativity can enrich our lives." "Each year, Vivid Sydney aims to deliver unparalleled artistic brilliance, and we look forward to welcoming the inspirations within our community that will help shape Vivid Sydney 2025 into a show-stopping cultural phenomenon." Vivid's lineup won't be announced until 2025, but you can lock in one venue: Taronga Zoo. Whatever pops up at the iconic spot can link into light, music, ideas and food, the four pillars that Vivid has at its core. If you're excited about which events will follow in past years' footsteps — 2024's lineup included Amy Poehler, Air, Budjerah, Yasiin Bey, Tekno Train by Paul Mac, a fan of light from Sydney Tower, artwork by Archibald Prize winner Julia Gutman on the Sydney Opera House's sails and plenty more, all ruminating on the theme 'humanity' — then mark your diaries accordingly. If you have a dream-inspired idea that you'd love to see come to life at Vivid 2025, no matter whether you're an artist, musician, chef, speaker or something else, then head to the fest's website to go through the expression of interest process. Vivid Sydney will run from Friday, May 23–Saturday, June 14, 2025 at various locations around Sydney. We'll update you when the program is announced next year — head to the festival website for further details in the interim. Images: Destination NSW.
Cycling seems like it's never been more popular in Sydney, and though the city hasn't always been the friendliest place to ride a bike, local councils are working to change that with free bike tune-ups and skills and maintenance courses available across suburbs like Glebe, Erskineville and St Peters. Plus, the City of Sydney has introduced six new temporary cycling lanes to make it even easier to adopt two wheels for your commute, or to simply explore more of Sydney while avoiding public transport. When you're new to cycling, or looking to invest in a new helmet, tyres or cycle wear, you may want to chat to the experts to make sure you're on the right track — and best place to do that is in store. So, we've partnered with American Express to bring you a list of boutique bike shops that have the latest road bikes, mountain bikes and electric bikes, plus cycling equipment, so you can find the one that best suits your needs, and shop small with your Amex Card. Once you're saddled up, check out these Sydney bike rides for leisurely city rides and stunning bush cycles.
When we were kids, spending time with our favourite people — our mates — was a regular occurrence. Nowadays, with different schedules and responsibilities, catching up is trickier to coordinate. And organising a group trip? Even harder. Trust us when we say the slog — juggling competing preferences and calculating budgets — is worth it once you're all together. The sense of belonging you'll experience when surrounded by people with shared passions or history is simply unmatched. To minimise holiday admin and finally get your gang on the road, we've investigated destinations around New South Wales that are ideal for a getaway with friends. Whether you're part of an outdoorsy circle or you hang with folks who prefer to spend their leisure time at a constant recline, there's something here to satisfy every taste in vacay.
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 and plenty of people staying home in iso will do that — that's no longer always the case. Maybe you've had a close-contact run-in. Perhaps you haven't had time to make it to your local cinema lately. Given the hefty amount of films 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 20 that you can watch right now at home. THE NORTHMAN Satanic goats don't talk in The Northman. Heartthrobs don't masturbate while fondling mermaid figurines, either. Still, within ten minutes, pre-teen Viking prince Amleth (Oscar Novak, The Batman), his glory-seeking warrior father King Aurvandil War-Raven (Ethan Hawke, Moon Knight) and jester-meets-shaman Heimir (Willem Dafoe, Nightmare Alley) descend into a fire-lit cave to take hallucinogens, growl, grunt, bark like wolves and fart like it's a god-given superpower. If viewers didn't know who's behind this bold, brutal, brilliant, and blood- and guts-strewn Scandinavian opus before then, there's no doubt from this trippy scene onwards: after The Witch and The Lighthouse, writer/director Robert Eggers' touch, approach and style have become that distinctive just three remarkable features into his helming career. In Eggers' new untamed and laid-bare portrait of the past, something is rotten in the state of Iceland — as it was in Denmark via William Shakespeare, and in the Pride Lands of Africa in both versions of The Lion King. "I will avenge you, father. I will save you, mother. I will kill you, Fjölnir," says Amleth as a boy on a north Atlantic island in 895, when he witnesses the latter's (Claes Bang, Locked Down) treachery. He flees after hearing his uncle bay for his head, too, and seeing him carry off Queen Gudrún (Nicole Kidman, Being the Ricardos) as a spoil of his victory. Two decades later, Amleth (Alexander Skarsgård, Succession) is a hulking, wolfskin-clad Viking berserker, living life flinging whatever weaponry he can find while viciously pillaging through the lands of the Rus. But amid the bloodlust, gore and piling-up body count, the intense marauder is thrust back onto his vengeance-seeking path. A Slavic seeress (Björk, in her first film role since 2005) whispers stark truths about his current savagery and lapsed mission against Fjölnir, reigniting his yearning for that promised slaughter — and the single-minded behemoth learns that his uncle is now sheep-farming in Iceland, having lost the kingdom in another coup. The Northman is available to stream via Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. THE GRAY MAN It's been four years since Ryan Gosling last graced screens, rocketing to the moon in First Man. No, Barbie set photos pored over on every internet-connected device don't count. Since he played Neil Armstrong, much has happened. There's the obvious off-screen, of course — but then there's Chris Evans farewelling Captain America, and also appearing in Knives Out with the scene-stealing Ana de Armas. After co-starring in Blade Runner 2049 with Gosling back in 2017, she leapt from that Evans-featuring whodunnit to palling around with 007 in No Time to Die. Also during that time, Bridgerton pushed Regé-Jean Page to fame, and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood earmarked Julia Butters as a young talent to watch. This isn't just a history lesson on The Gray Man's cast — well, some of them, given that Billy Bob Thornton (Goliath), Jessica Henwick (The Matrix Resurrections), Dhanush (Maaran), Wagner Moura (Shining Girls) and Alfre Woodard (The Lion King) also pop up, plus Australia's own Callan Mulvey (Firebite) — for the hell of it, though. Back in 2018, before all of the above played out, it's unlikely that this exact film with this exact cast would've eventuated. Making an action-thriller about attempting to snuff out hyper-competent assassins isn't new — both John Wick and Atomic Blonde have already been there and done that, and the Bourne and Bond movies — but the combination of this collection of current actors and that familiar setup isn't without its charms. Gosling plays Court Gentry, aka Sierra Six; "007 was taken," he jokes. Before he's given his codename and paid to do the CIA's dirty work, he's in prison for murder, then recruited by Donald Fitzroy (Thornton). Fast-forward 18 years and Six is a huge hit at two things: being a ghost, because he no longer officially exists; and covertly wreaking whatever havoc the government tells him to, including knocking off whichever nefarious figure they need gone. But one stint of the latter leaves him in possession of a USB drive that his arrogant new direct superior Carmichael (Page) will ruthlessly kill to destroy. Actually, to be precise, he'll pay Lloyd Hansen (Evans) of Hansen Government Services to do just that, and to do the dirty work that's too dirty for the criminals-turned-government hitmen in the Sierra program, with Six the number-one target. The Gray Man is available to stream via Netflix. Read our full review. PETITE MAMAN Forget the "find someone who looks at you like…" meme. That's great advice in general, and absolutely mandatory if you've ever seen a Céline Sciamma film. No one peers at on-screen characters with as much affection, attention, emotion and empathy as the French director. Few filmmakers even come close, and most don't ever even try. That's been bewitchingly on display in her past features Water Lillies, Tomboy, Girlhood and Portrait of a Lady on Fire, any of which another helmer would kill to have on their resume. It's just as apparent in Petite Maman, her entrancing latest release, as well. Now 15 years into her directorial career, Sciamma's talent for truly seeing into hearts and minds is unshakeable, unparalleled and such a lovely wonder to watch — especially when it shines as sublimely and touchingly as it does here. In Sciamma's new delicate and exquisite masterpiece, the filmmaker follows eight-year-old Nelly (debutant Joséphine Sanz) on a trip to her mother's (Nina Meurisse, Camille) childhood home. The girl's maternal grandmother (Margot Abascal, The Sower) has died, the house needs packing up, and the trip is loaded with feelings on all sides. Her mum wades between sorrow and attending to the task. With melancholy, she pushes back against her daughter's attempts to help, too. Nelly's laidback father (Stéphane Varupenne, Monsieur Chocolat) assists as well, but with a sense of distance; going through the lifelong belongings of someone else's mother, even your spouse's, isn't the same as sifting through your own mum's items for the last time. While her parents work, the curious Nelly roves around the surrounding woods — picture-perfect and oh-so-enticing as they are — and discovers Marion (fellow newcomer Gabrielle Sanz), a girl who could be her twin. Petite Maman is available to stream via Google Play, YouTube Movies and iTunes. Read our full review. THIS MUCH I KNOW TO BE TRUE How do you make a concert film when no concerts can be held to film? Australian director Andrew Dominik (Chopper, Killing Them Softly) and his now two-time subjects Nick Cave and Warren Ellis have the answer. How do you create a personal documentary that cuts to the heart of these Aussie music icons when, whether stated or implied in their vibe, both are hardly enamoured with having their lives recorded? Again, see: Dominik's new Cave and Ellis-focused This Much I Know to Be True. Performances in cavernous empty British spaces fill the movie's frames but, via stunning lighting, staging and lensing, they're as dazzling as any IRL gig. The interludes between tunes are brief, and also intimate and revealing. The result: a phenomenal doco that's a portrait of expression, a musing on an exceptional collaboration and a rumination upon existence, as well as a piece of haunting cinematic heaven whether you're an existing Cave and Ellis devotee, a newcomer or something in-between. Dominik, Cave and Ellis initially teamed up when the latter duo scored the former's The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. Later this year, when upcoming Marilyn Monroe biopic Blonde hits screens, the same arrangement will provide its soundtrack. But in the middle sits 2016 doco One More Time with Feeling and now This Much I Know to Be True, as entrancing a pair as the music documentary genre has gifted viewers. The first factual flick found Cave and Ellis recording the Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds album Skeleton Tree, as Cave also grappled with the death of one of his sons. Here, its follow-up is shaped by the first performances of Cave and Ellis' latest albums — the Bad Seeds 2019 release Ghosteen, and Cave and Ellis' 2021 record Carnage — plus the pandemic and the lingering effects of grief. This Much I Know to Be True is available to stream via Mubi. Read our full review. DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS Somewhere in the multiverse, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is terrific. In a different realm, it's terrible. Here in our dimension, the 28th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe teeters and twirls in the middle. The second movie to focus on surgeon-turned-sorcerer Dr Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch, The Power of the Dog), it's at its best when it embraces everything its director is known for. That said, it's also at its worst when it seems that harnessing Sam Raimi's trademarks — his visual style, bombast, comic tone and Evil Dead background, for instance — is merely another Marvel ploy. Multiverse of Madness is trippy, dark, sports a bleak sense of humour and is as close as the MCU has gotten to horror, all immensely appreciated traits in this sprawling, box office-courting, never-ending franchise. But it stands out for the wrong reasons, too, especially how brazenly it tries to appear as if it's twisting and fracturing the typical MCU template when it definitely isn't. Welcomely weirder than the average superhero flick (although not by too much), but also bluntly calculating: that's Multiverse of Madness, and that's a messy combination. It's apt given its eponymous caped crusader has always hailed from Marvel's looser, goofier and, yes, stranger side since his MCU debut in 2016's plainly titled Doctor Strange; however, it's hard to believe that such formulaic chaos was truly the plan for this follow-up. The last time that audiences saw Stephen Strange, he reluctantly tinkered with things he shouldn't to help Peter Parker in Spider-Man: No Way Home. Those actions had consequences, and recalling Raimi's time with Spidey came with the territory. Strange's reality-bending trickery has repercussions here as well, because Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen, Sorry for Your Loss) isn't thrilled about her fellow super-powered pal's exploits. Yes, Multiverse of Madness assumes viewers have not only watched all 27 past MCU movies, but also its small-screen offshoots — or WandaVision at least, where the enchantress that's also Scarlet Witch broke rules herself and wasn't still deemed a hero. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is available to stream via Disney+, Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. MEN Since popping up over the last decade, the term 'elevated horror' has always been unnecessary. Used to describe The Babadook, It Follows, The Witch, Get Out, Hereditary, Us, Midsommar and more, it pointlessly claims that such unsettling flicks have risen above their genre. Each of these movies is excellent. They all boast weight and depth, trade in metaphors with smarts and savvy, and have style to go with their creeps and thrills. But thinking that's new in horror — that pairing unease with topical woes or societal fears is as well — is as misguided as dubbing Michael Myers a hero. With a name that makes its #MeToo-era point plain, Men has been badged 'elevated', too, yet it also does what horror has at its best and worst cases for decades. That the world can be a nightmare for women at the hands of men isn't a fresh observation, and it's long been a scary movie go-to. Still, Men stresses that fact in an inescapably blunt but also unforgettable manner. Hailing from Ex Machina, Annihilation and Devs' Alex Garland, Men's setting is an English manor, where Harper Marlowe (Jessie Buckley, The Lost Daughter) hopes for a solo stint of rest, relaxation and recuperation. Processing a tragedy, shattering memories of which haunt the movie as much as its protagonist, she's seeking an escape and a way to start anew. The initial hint that she won't find bliss comes swiftly and obviously, and with a sledgehammer's subtlety. Arriving at an idyllic-looking British countryside estate, Harper is greeted by an apple tree. She plucks one from the abundant branches, then takes a bite. Soon, she's told by her host Geoffrey (Rory Kinnear, Our Flag Means Death) that it's forbidden fruit. He also says he's joking — but in this garden, a woman will again shoulder a society's blame and burdens. Men is available to stream via Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. NUDE TUESDAY Relationships are all about communication. So much about life is, too. And, so is storytelling. With absurdist comedy Nude Tuesday, expressing emotions, connections and narrative details all boils down to two things, though: gibberish and bodies. This extremely amusing New Zealand film from writer/director Armagan Ballantyne (The Strength of Water) and writer/star Jackie van Beek (The Breaker Upperers) does indeed strip its performers bare, as its name makes plain — but it saddles them with conveying almost everything about their characters via body language long before that. The reason: every piece of dialogue spoken in the movie is uttered in gibberish, with completely made-up and wholly improvised words that take a few cues from The Muppets' Swedish Chef in cadence. While they're subtitled in English by British comedian and writer Julia Davis (Camping), that text was penned after shooting, in one of the film's other gleefully silly twists. The result is patently ridiculous, and marvellously so — and hilariously, too. It's such a clever touch, making a movie about marital disharmony and the communication breakdown baked within that's so reliant upon reading tone and posture, as couples on the prowl for the tiniest of micro-aggressions hone in on. Van Beek and Australian The Tourist actor Damon Herriman play that pair, Laura and Bruno. Living on the fictional pacific island of Zǿbftąņ, they're as stuck in a rut as any married, middle-class duo can be, and they're gifted a getaway to ẄØnÐĘULÄ to help. But this mountainside commune, run by the charismatic and lustful sex guru Bjorg Rassmussen (Jemaine Clement, I Used to Go Here), wants them to bare all in multiple ways. The film doesn't live up to its moniker until its last third, but its perceptive and side-splittingly funny from the get-go. Nude Tuesday is available to stream via Stan. Read our full review. THE DROVER'S WIFE THE LEGEND OF MOLLY JOHNSON Leah Purcell's resume isn't short on highlights — think: Black Comedy, Wentworth and Redfern Now, plus Lantana, Somersault and Last Cab to Darwin (to name just a few projects) — but the Goa-Gunggari-Wakka Wakka Murri actor, director and writer clearly has a passion project. In 2016, she adapted Henry Lawson's short story The Drover's Wife for the stage. In 2019, she moved it back to the page. Now, she brings it to the big screen via The Drover's Wife The Legend of Molly Johnson. Only minutes into her searing feature filmmaking debut, why Purcell keeps needing to tell this 19th century-set tale is patently apparent. In her hands, it's a story of anger, power, prejudice and revenge, and also a portrait of a history that's treated both women and Indigenous Australians abhorrently. Aussie cinema hasn't shied away from the nation's problematic past in recent times (see also: Sweet Country, The Nightingale, The Furnace and High Ground); however, this is an unforgettably potent and piercing movie. In a fiery performance that bristles with steeliness, Purcell plays the eponymous and heavily pregnant Molly. In the process, she gives flesh, blood and a name to a character who wasn't ever afforded the latter in Lawson's version: a 19th-century Indigenous Australian woman left alone with her children on a remote property for lengthy stretches while her husband works. During his latest absence, new sergeant Nate Clintoff (Sam Reid, The Newsreader) and Aboriginal fugitive Yadaka (Rob Collins, Firebite) separately venture Molly's way. From there, this sometimes-stagey but always blistering western digs sharply into issues of race, gender and identity — and eagerly, shrewdly and ferociously draws cinematic blood. The Drover's Wife The Legend of Molly Johnson is available to stream via Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. THE BOB'S BURGERS MOVIE Across its 12-season order to-date, the best episodes of Bob's Burgers have always resembled exactly what they should: a delicious serving of the meat-and-bread combination that shares the hit sitcom's name. There's a knack to a great burg — to a tastebud-thrilling, so-appetising-I-need-more-now example of this extremely accessible culinary art — and it's all about perfecting the absolute basics. No matter what else gets slotted in (and plenty of other ingredients can), every burger's staples should be the stars of the show. Indeed, a top-notch burg needn't be flashy. It definitely mustn't be overcomplicated, either. And, crucially, it should taste as comforting as wrapping your hands around its buns feels. On the small screen since 2011, Bob's Burgers has kept its version of that very recipe close to its animated, irreverent, gleefully offbeat heart. Unsurprisingly, the show's creators whip up the same kind of dish for The Bob's Burgers Movie, too. It's a winning formula, and creator Loren Bouchard knows not to mess with it while taking his beloved characters to the big screen. As always, the action centres on the film's namesake — the diner where patriarch Bob (H Jon Benjamin, Archer) sizzles up punningly named burgs to both make a living and live out his dream. And, as the show has covered frequently, financial woes mean that Bob and his wife Linda (John Roberts, Gravity Falls) have more to worry about than cooking, serving customers, and their kids Tina (Dan Mintz, Veep), Gene (Eugene Mirman, Flight of the Conchords) and Louise (Kristen Schaal, What We Do in the Shadows). Their solution: a burger, of course. But their bank manager isn't munching when they try to use food to grease their pleas for an extension on their loan. That mortgage also involves their restaurant equipment, leaving them out of business if they can't pay up. As their seven-day time limit to stump up the cash ticks by, Bob sweats over the grill and Linda oozes her usual optimism — only for a sinkhole to form literally at their door. The Bob's Burgers Movie is available to stream via Disney+, Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. HATCHING With a savvily sinister-meets-satirical blend, Hatching begins by unpacking a fallacy as fractured as Humpty Dumpty after the nursery-rhyme character's fall — and that still keeps being lapped up anyway. In suburban Finland, among homes so identical that the song 'Little Boxes' instantly pops into your head, 12-year-old gymnast Tinja (debutant Siiri Solalinna), her younger brother Matias (fellow first-timer Oiva Ollila), and their mother (Sophia Heikkilä, Dual) and father Jani Volanen, Dogs Don't Wear Pants) are living their best lives. More than that, as the soft lensing and music that helps open the movie establishes, they're also beaming that picture of pink, white and pastel-hued domestic perfection to the world. Tinja's unnamed mum is a vlogger, and these scenes are being captured for her cloyingly named blog Lovely Everyday Life. Naturally, showing that this family of four's daily existence is anything but enchanting is one of Bergholm's first aims. In Finnish writer/director Hanna Bergholm's bold and memorable body-horror, twisted fairy tale and dark coming-of-age thriller, the initial crack comes from outside, crashing through the window to ruin a posed shot alight with fake smiles and, of course, being filmed with a selfie stick. Soon, broken glass, vases and lamps are strewn throughout a lounge room so immaculately arranged that it looks straight out of a supermarket-shelf home-and-garden magazine — and the crowning glory, the chandelier, has descended from a luminous pièce de résistance to a shattered mess. A garden-variety crow is the culprit, which Tinja carefully captures. She hands it to her mother, thinking that they'll then release it outside. But her mum, placid but seething that anything could disrupt her manufactured picture of bliss, ignores that idea with a cruel snap and instructions to dispose of the animal in the organic waste. When Tinja disobeys that order, taking the egg into her care, nurturing it tenderly and placing it inside a teddy bear for safe keeping, she gains her own little universe to dote over. Then the egg keeps growing, and a human-sized chick emerges. Hatching is available to stream via Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. THE INNOCENTS Thanks to his Oscar-nominated work co-penning The Worst Person in the World's screenplay, Eskil Vogt has already helped give the world one devastatingly accurate slice-of-life portrait in the past year. That applauded film is so insightful and relatable about being in your twenties, and also about weathering quarter-life malaise, uncertainty and crisis, that it feels inescapably lifted from reality — and it's sublime. The Innocents, the Norwegian filmmaker's latest movie, couldn't be more different in tone and narrative; however, it too bears the fingerprints of achingly perceptive and deep-seated truth. Perhaps that should be mindprints, though. Making his second feature as a director after 2014's exceptional Blind, Vogt hones in on childhood, and on the way that kids behave with each other when adults are absent or oblivious — and on tykes and preteens who can wreak havoc solely using their mental faculties. Another riff on Firestarter, this thankfully isn't. The Innocents hasn't simply jumped on the Stranger Things bandwagon, either. Thanks to the latter, on-screen tales about young 'uns battling with the supernatural are one of Hollywood's current favourite trends — see also: the awful Ghostbusters: Afterlife — but all that this Nordic horror movie's group of kids are tussling with is themselves. Their fight starts when nine-year-old Ida (debutant Rakel Lenora Fløttum) and her 11-year-old sister Anna (fellow first-timer Alva Brynsmo Ramstad), who is on the autism spectrum, move to an apartment block in Romsås, Oslo with their mother (Blind's Ellen Dorrit Petersen) and father (Morten Svartveit, Ninjababy). It's summer, the days are long, and the two girls are largely left to their own devices outside in the complex's communal spaces. That's where Ida befriends Aisha (Mina Yasmin Bremseth Asheim) and Ben (Sam Ashraf), albeit not together, and starts to learn about their abilities. The Innocents to stream via Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. ITHAKA To look at John Shipton is to see the obvious, even if you've never laid eyes upon him before. The family resemblance is immediately clear, and the traits that've likely been passed down from father to son — determination and persistence, blatantly — become apparent within minutes. Shipton needs to be resolute for the battle that documentary Ithaka captures. It's a fight that's been waged for a decade now, publicly, and not just in embassies and courtrooms but across news headlines worldwide. He's visibly Julian Assange's dad, and he's been helping spearhead the campaign for the WikiLeaks founder's release. Assange fell afoul of US authorities in 2010, when his non-profit whistleblower organisation published documents about the American military's war crimes leaked by army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning. As Ithaka makes plain, The Guardian, The New York Times and Der Spiegel revealed the same information at the same time; however, only Assange now sits in London's Belmarsh prison. Plenty about the past 12 years since Manning's leaks were exposed to the world is filled with numbers. Plenty about the ten years this June since Assange first took refuge in the Embassy of Ecuador in London is as well. The Australian editor and publisher spent almost seven years in that diplomatic space, seeking political asylum from sexual misconduct allegations in Sweden that he contended would be used to extradite him to America. If the US succeeds in its efforts, and in its espionage charges against him, he faces up to 175 years in incarceration. The list of figures goes on, but filmmaker Ben Lawrence (Hearts and Bones) makes two pivotal choices. Firstly, he surveys Assange's current struggle not through the Aussie himself, but through both Shipton and Stella Moris, his South African-born lawyer and now wife. Secondly, although those aforementioned numbers are inescapable, the riveting and affecting Ithaka brings humanity to this well-publicised plight. Ithaka is available to stream via ABC iview. Read our full review. ABLAZE A documentary that's deeply personal for one of its directors, intensely powerful in surveying Australia's treatment of its First Peoples and crucial in celebrating perhaps the country's first-ever Aboriginal filmmaker, Ablaze makes for astonishing viewing. But while watching, two ideas jostle for attention. Both remain unspoken, yet each is unshakeable. Firstly, if the history of Australia had been different, Wiradjuri and Yorta Yorta man William 'Bill' Onus would be a household name. If that was the case, not only his work behind the camera, but his activism for Indigenous Aussies at a time when voting and even being included in the census wasn't permitted — plus his devotion to ensuring that white Australians were aware of the nation's colonial violence — would be as well-known as Captain Cook. That said, if history had been better still, Bill wouldn't have needed to fight so vehemently, or at all. Alas, neither of those possibilities came to a fruition. Ablaze can't change the past, but it can and does document it with a hope to influencing how the world sees and appreciates Bill's part in it. Indeed, shining the spotlight on its subject, everything his life stood for, and all that he battled for and against is firmly and proudly the feature's aim. First-time filmmaker Tiriki Onus looks back on his own grandfather, narrating his story as well — and, as aided by co-helmer Alec Morgan (Hunt Angels, Lousy Little Sixpence), the result is a movie brimming with feeling, meaning and importance. While Aussie cinema keeps reckoning with the nation's history regarding race relations, as it should and absolutely must, Ablaze is as potent and essential as everything from Sweet Country, The Nightingale and The Australian Dream to The Furnace, High Ground and The Drover's Wife The Legend of Molly Johnson. Ablaze is available to stream via ABC iview, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. DOWNTON ABBEY: A NEW ERA The movies have come to Downton Abbey and Violet Crawley, the acid-tongued Dowager Countess of Grantham so delightfully played by Maggie Smith (The Lady in the Van) since 2010, is none too fussed about it. "Hard same," all but the most devoted fans of the upstairs-downstairs TV drama may find themselves thinking as she expresses that sentiment — at least where Downton Abbey: A New Era, an exercise in extending the series/raking in more box-office cash, is concerned. Violet, as only she can, declares she'd "rather eat pebbles" than watch a film crew at work within the extravagant walls of her family's home. The rest of us mightn't be quite so venomous, but that's not the same as being entertained. The storyline involving said film crew is actually one of the most engaging parts of A New Era; however, the fact that much of it is clearly ripped off from cinematic classic Singin' in the Rain speaks volumes, and gratingly. A New Era begins with a wedding, picking up where its predecessor left off as former chauffeur Tom Branson (Allen Leech, Bohemian Rhapsody) marries Lucy Smith (Tuppence Middleton, Mank) with everyone expected — the well-to-do Crawleys and their relatives, plus their maids, butlers, cooks, footmen and other servants — in attendance. But the film really starts with two revelations that disrupt the Downton status quo. Firstly, Violet receives word that she's inherited a villa in the south of France from an ex-paramour, who has recently passed away. His surviving wife (Nathalie Baye, Call My Agent!) is displeased with the arrangement, threatening lawsuits, but his son (Jonathan Zaccaï, The White Crow) invites the Crawleys to visit to hash out the details. Secondly, a movie production wants to use Downton for a shoot, which the pragmatic Lady Mary Talbot (Michelle Dockery, Anatomy of a Scandal) talks the family into because — paralleling the powers-that-be behind A New Era itself — the aristocratic brood would like the money. Downton Abbey: A New Era is available to stream via Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. FIRESTARTER Would the latest big-screen adaptation of Stephen King's Firestarter have been better or worse if it had included The Prodigy's hit of the same name, aka the most obvious needle-drop that could've been chosen? Although we'll never know, it's hard to imagine a film with less personality than this page-to-screen remake. Using the 1996 dance-floor filler would've been a choice and a vibe — and a cliched one, whether gleefully or lazily — but it might've been preferable to the dull ashes of by-the-numbers genre filmmaking from director Keith Thomas (The Vigil) that's hit screens instead. Zac Efron looking so bored that blood drips from his eyes, dressing up King's 1980 story as a superhero tale (because of course) and having its pyrokinetic protagonist say "liar liar, pants on fire" when she's torching someone aren't a recipe for igniting movie magic, or for even occasionally just lighting a spark. As the first version of Firestarter in 1984 did, and King's book as well, Firestarter follows the McGee family, whose lives would blaze brighter if they didn't have abilities most folks don't. After volunteering for a clinical trial in college, Andy (Efron, Gold) and his wife Vicky (Sydney Lemmon, Fear the Walking Dead) have telepathic and telekinetic powers; being experimented on with mind-altering chemical compounds will do that. And, from birth, their now 11-year-old daughter Charlie (Ryan Kiera Armstrong, It: Chapter Two) has been able to start fires with her mind. Unsurprisingly, the McGees have spent years attempting to blend in, hiding their powers and fleeing the shady government department, The Shop, that's responsible for their situation — and now sports a keen interest in using Charlie as a weapon. Then she literally explodes at school, The Shop head honcho Captain Hollister (Gloria Reuben, City on a Hill) puts bounty hunter John Rainbird (Michael Greyeyes, Rutherford Falls) on their trail and the heat is on. (No, that track from Beverly Hills Cop, which reached cinemas the same year that the OG Firestarter did, doesn't feature here either.) Firestarter is available to stream via Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. HOW TO PLEASE A WOMAN When Magic Mike stripped its way into cinemas a decade ago, it didn't just turn Channing Tatum's IRL background into a movie and give his chiselled torso oh-so-much attention; it understood that women like sex, boast libidos and have desires, too. Its sequel, Magic Mike XXL, doubled down on that idea, and winningly so — even if the saga dances with a notion so blatant that it definitely shouldn't feel revelatory to see it thrust front and centre in a big-budget Hollywood film. There's no trace of Tatum in How to Please a Woman, and it has nothing to do with the saucy franchise that has a third flick on the way, but this Aussie comedy nonetheless follows in Magic Mike's footsteps. Here, women also like sex, boast libidos and have desires, and that's something that the stuck-in-a-rut Gina (Sally Phillips, Off the Rails) turns into a lucrative business. When first-time feature writer/director Renée Webster begins her sunnily shot, eagerly crowd-pleasing leap to the big screen — following helming gigs on TV's The Heights and Aftertaste — Gina's relationship with sex is non-existent. She has long been wed to lawyer Adrian (Cameron Daddo, Home and Away), but he still thinks that having a tumble on their last holiday years ago is enough bedroom action to keep their marriage going. Gina's resigned to that fact, too, until her ocean swimming club pals book her a stripping surprise for her birthday. Tom (Alexander England, Little Monsters) shows up at her door, starts gyrating and undressing, and says he'll do whatever she wants. Although her friends are later horrified, Gina asks him to clean her house instead — and its their eagerness to truly take Tom up on his offer that inspires a plan to turn a removalist company she thinks she can save into a male escort service, covering scrubbing and shagging alike. How to Please a Woman is available to stream via Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. HELMUT NEWTON: THE BAD AND THE BEAUTIFUL One of the great treats in Helmut Newton: The Bad and the Beautiful stems from perhaps the film's simplest move: letting viewers peer at the often-provocative photographer's works in such a large format. Being able to do just that is the reason why the Exhibition On Screen series of movies exists, surveying showcases dedicated to artists such as Vincent van Gogh, David Hockney and Frida Kahlo over the years — and this documentary isn't part of that, but it understands the same idea. There's nothing like staring at an artist's work to understand what makes them tick. Writer/director Gero von Boehm (Henry Miller: Prophet of Desire) fills The Bad and the Beautiful with plenty more, from archival footage to recent interviews, but it'd all ring empty without seeing the imagery captured by Newton's lens firsthand. Every word that's said about the German photographer, or by him, is deepened by roving your eyes across the frequently contentious snaps that he sent Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, Playboy and other magazines' ways. Those photos aren't run-of-the-mill fashion pics. Largely, the highly stylised images are of naked women — naked famous women, if not then then now, such as Isabella Rossellini, Charlotte Rampling, Grace Jones and Claudia Schiffer — and they're as fetishistic as the artform gets. They're the kinds of snaps that saw Susan Sontag call Newton out for being a misogynist to his face, as seen in a French TV clip featured in the film. The Bad and the Beautiful is an affectionate doco, but it also dives headfirst into the trains of thought that his work has sparked for decades. Anna Wintour explains that when someone books Newton, "you're not going to get a pretty girl on a beach". Women who posed for him, including the aforementioned stars, plus Marianne Faithfull, Arja Toyryla, Nadja Auermann and Hanna Schygulla, all talk through their differing experiences as well — and the portrait painted is varied. Helmut Newton: The Bad and the Beautiful is available to stream via Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. LAST SEEN ALIVE Perhaps the most positive thing that can be said about Last Seen Alive is this: it's definitely a Gerard Butler-starring kidnapping thriller. That isn't meant as praise, though; rather, the film simply manages to be exactly what viewers would expect given its star and premise. There's clearly far less cash behind it than the also-terrible trio of Olympus Has Fallen, London Has Fallen and Angel Has Fallen — or Geostorm, Den of Thieves, Hunter Killer and Greenland among the Scottish actor's career lowlights over the past decade, either. There's visibly less effort, too, and more of a phoning-it-in vibe. The second collaboration between actor-turned-filmmaker Brian Goodman (What Doesn't Kill You) and producer/writer Marc Frydman after 2017's Black Butterfly, it plays like something that a streaming platform's algorithm might spit out in an AI-driven future where new movies are swiftly spliced together from pieces of past flicks. Yes, among Butler's output and with its abduction storyline, it's that derivative. Butler plays Will Spann, a real estate developer who already isn't having a great day when the film begins — but it's about to get worse. He's driving his unhappy wife Lisa (Jaimie Alexander, Loki) to her parents' home, where she's keen to decamp to find herself and take a break from their marriage, and Will is desperate to convince her to change her plans en route. His charm offensive isn't working when they stop at a petrol station mere minutes away from their destination, and he has zero charisma for anyone when Lisa unexpectedly disappears while he's filling the tank. Fuming that local police detective Paterson (Russell Hornsby, Lost in Space) hasn't just dropped everything immediately, and that he also has questions about their relationship, Will decides to chase down any lead he can himself. Meanwhile, Lisa's unsurprisingly wary parents (Queen Bees' Cindy Hogan and Master's Bruce Altman) direct their suspicions his way. Last Seen Alive is available to stream via Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. INTERCEPTOR Four decades back, Interceptor would've happily sat on a crowded video-store shelf alongside a wealth of other mindless, machismo-fuelled action thrillers. It would've been the epitome of one of the genre's straight-to-VHS flicks, in fact. Don't just call it a throwback, though; instead of testosterone oozing from every actor within sight, except perhaps a token wife worrying at home, this nuclear attack movie from Australian author Matthew Reilly focuses on a woman making waves in a male-dominated world. That's firmly a 2022 move, reflecting today's gender politics. So too is the fact that said protagonist, US Army Captain JJ Collins (Elsa Pataky, Tidelands), has just been reassigned after putting in a sexual harassment complaint against one of her past superiors. Don't go thinking that Interceptor doesn't tick every other box its 80s counterparts did, however. It couldn't lean harder on all of the cliches that've ever been involved with world-in-peril, military-driven movies, and with action fare at its most inane in general. A global success for his airport novels, writer Reilly doesn't just turn screenwriter here — with assistance from Collateral, Tomorrow, When the War Began and Obi-Wan Kenobi's Stuart Beattie — but also jumps behind the lens for the first time. Alas, his directorial instincts prove as flat and by-the-numbers as Interceptor's wanly boilerplate plot, as well as its clunky-as-clunky dialogue. And, that storyline really couldn't be more formulaic. In her new post on a remote platform in the Pacific Ocean, Collins soon finds herself under attack by terrorists led by the grating Alexander Kessel (Luke Bracey, Danger Close: The Battle of Long Tan). Her sea-surrounded station is one of two sites, alongside Alaska's Fort Greely, that can intercept a nuclear warhead launch on the US. Naturally, Kessel and his men have already taken out the other one, and have also pilfered nukes from the Russians in their possession. Interceptor is available to stream via Netflix. Read our full review. FATHER STU The last time that Mark Wahlberg played a real-life boxer, The Fighter was the end result. The last time that Mel Gibson played the burger-chain owner's father, the world was forced to suffer through Daddy's Home 2. Combine this mismatched pair and you don't quite get Father Stu, the former Marky Mark's first step into faith-based films — but even watching the latter, the second instalment in his woeful comedy franchise with Will Ferrell, is preferable to this mawkish true tale. Drawn from the IRL Stuart Long's life, it's meant to be an inspirational affair, covering the familiar religious-favourite beats about sinners being redeemed, wayward souls seizing second chances and learning to accept physical suffering as a chance to get closer to the divine. First-time feature writer/director Rosalind Ross is earnest about those messages, and her film visibly looks more competent than most sermon-delivering recent cinema releases, but what preaching-to-the-choir sentiments they are. How ableist they are as well. When Wahlberg (Uncharted) first graces the screen as Long, he could've stepped in from plenty of his other movies. In his younger days, the titular future priest is a foul-mouthed amateur boxer from Montana, but he has big dreams — and when he hits Los Angeles with acting stars in his eyes, viewers can be forgiven for thinking of Boogie Nights. Porn isn't Long's calling, of course, although salacious propositions do come his way in the City of Angels, in one of the film's hardly subtle efforts to equate the secular and the sordid. It's actually lust that pushes the feature's protagonist on the path to the priesthood, however, after he spies volunteer Sunday school teacher Carmen (Teresa Ruiz, The Marksman) while he's working in a grocery store. To have a chance with her, he even gets baptised. Then, a drink-driving accident brings a vision of the Virgin Mary, sparking Long's determination to make Catholicism his calling. Next, a shock health diagnosis both tests and cements his faith. Father Stu 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 our best new TV shows, returning TV shows and straight-to-streaming movies from the first half of 2022. Or, check out the movies that were fast-tracked to digital in January, February, March, April, May and June.
Another beloved Sydney venue is shutting its doors — and you've only got until this weekend to dine in for a final meal. Joining the likes of Tetsuya's, Raja, Bistrot 916 and Lucky Kwong, affordable Castlereigh Street spot Hey Chú is the latest Harbour City restaurant to announce a 2024 closing date. Cuong Nguyen, the culinary great behind the joint, has decided to close Hey Chú due to increasing operational costs within the hospitality space. Instead, he will be turning his full attention to his other ventures, Penelope's and Hello Auntie. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Hey Chú (@heychu.castlereagh) Hey Chú will offer its final service on Saturday, June 15 before officially closing. The Hey Chú team took to Instagram this morning to announce its closure in a short and sweet post. "Thank you to all those who supported us! Goodbye for now, but not for good," said the crew behind the joint. The southeast Asian eatery is known for its affordable and fusion-forward food and drink offering, with the spot undertaking exclusive collaborations with the likes of the Lana and Porkfat teams, and launching affordable deals like its cash-only 'Happy Endings' hour. Its concept blends cues from family-orientated Asian cultures and the casual street diners of the southeast Asian region, putting a playful spin on unpretentious dining with a "pay your uncle a visit" ethos at its forefront. If you're looking to indulge in Hey Chú's finest flavour-packed offerings ahead of its upcoming closure, you'll want to ensure that the dry-aged beef cheeseburger, crispy pork cannoli, lobster agnolotti with smoked kimchi butter and the thit kho lamb pappardelle are among the dishes in your farewell feast. Find Hey Chú at Level 1 of Hotel Downing, 249 Castlereigh Street, Sydney, open from 5pm–12am Monday–Saturday until Saturday, June 15 — head to the venue's website for further details. Images: Chad Konik.
