Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another is a bold, sprawling film that dares to blend satire, action and emotional drama in a way few mainstream blockbusters attempt. Drawing from Thomas Pynchon’s Vineland, Anderson brings to screen a modern-day fable of resistance, identity and generational legacy. At its core, the plot follows Bob Ferguson (Leonardo DiCaprio), a washed-up former revolutionary living off the grid with his teenage daughter Willa (Chase Infiniti). For 16 years he has kept a low profile. But when Colonel Steven Lockjaw (Sean Penn) resurfaces and Willa is kidnapped, Bob is forced back into a dangerous world he once abandoned.…
Author: Caroline Duncan
Gideon D. Wilonja’s I Met An Angel Named Jacques is a striking, poetic play that blurs the line between theatre and confession. Presented at Footscray Community Arts it offers a raw and dreamlike study of fame, validation and vulnerability – a reminder of how powerful and unpredictable Melbourne’s independent theatre can be. Set in a world that feels both real and imagined, the story centres on L’or (played by Wilonja), a celebrated artist trapped in his own myth. His public image is flawless, but the weight of perfection leaves him restless and isolated. Enter Jacques (played by Ras-Samuel), a sharp-witted critic whose…
After touring across Australia playing regional gigs, Kate Ceberano’s Australian Made Tour came to Hamer Hall on 19 September 2025 – a fitting venue for the Melbourne native. The show was a powerful celebration of her four-decade plus career and Australia’s broader musical heritage. Ceberano delivered more than nostalgia -it was a vibrant, dynamic live performance illuminated by Ceberano’s unmistakable voice, personal storytelling and her sense of connection with the audience. The tour’s title is a nod to Ceberano’s early days, when, at just 20 years old, she performed with I’m Talking on the original Australian Made tour of 1986/87 alongside INXS, Jimmy Barnes,…
There are concerts, and then there are musical moments that unfold like cinematic revelations. The Whitlams with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra at Hamer Hall on 6 September 2025 was one of those rare evenings where everything aligned: light, sound, emotion, place. In Melbourne’s most sonically sumptuous room, frontman Tim Freedman and his band found themselves embraced by an 80-piece MSO storm, yet not overshadowed by its orchestral swells. This was their first seated Melbourne show since 2017, trading sweaty standing rooms for high-backed seats and a more muted, yet reverential audience. And it suited them. Freedman in a suit held…
Are You There? is a new play by Irene Koresten currently running at the Explosives Factory in St Kilda – a dark comedy that hits with both laughter and heartache. Walking into Explosives Factory feels like slipping into a tucked-away world in St Kilda. A narrow laneway entrance up flight of stairs takes you inside where you’re suddenly in the foyer of Autumn Dale Village: a small, intimate space where three women carry the weight of lives lived. And you’re a fly on the wall. Melanie Madrigali commands the stage as Pia, the ‘Director of First Impressions’. It’s Friday, and she’s…
Bringing back the slapsticky glory of Police Squad! and The Naked Gun trilogy, the 2025 reboot, The Naked Gun, has landed in cinemas like a comedic grenade of pure absurdity. Directed by Akiva Schaffer and produced by Ted and Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane, the film passes the torch to Lt. Frank Drebin Jr. (Liam Neeson), who steps into his late father’s shoes with surprising comedic finesse. The plot is improbably enjoyable: a chaotic bank robbery, a murder mystery, a tech billionaire’s planet-reshaping P.L.O.T. device, and a wild romance with true-crime writer Beth Davenport (Pamela Anderson). It’s as ridiculous as it sounds – and intentionally so. What…
If you’re still recovering from Nobody (2021), Nobody 2 is a bruising encore that doubles down on the absurd. Bob Odenkirk (Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul) returns as Hutch Mansell, the unassuming suburban dad with a lethal past, now hauling his family off on a long-overdue vacation. But, of course, it swiftly unravels into chaos. What he thought would be a peaceful getaway morphs into full-on mayhem when their trip hits a corrupt tourist trap run by a crooked sheriff and crime boss Lendina (Sharon Stone). Director Timo Tjahjanto delivers tightly choreographed carnage – chaos in a water park, a trap-laden finale and savage…
Lin Manuel Miranda’s breakout musical In the Heights is lighting up the Comedy Theatre with a burst of rhythm, colour and utter joy while also offering a sizzling hot antidote to Melbourne’s winter. Set in New York’s underprivileged Washington Heights, the story follows Usnavi, a charismatic bodega owner torn between chasing his dreams and staying loyal to his tight-knit community. Romance, gentrification, rent stress, and a stifling heatwave ripple through the storyline, but at its core, In the Heights is a love letter to place, culture and those little dreams that define us all. Ryan González wears the heart of Usnavi like second…
Vogue is one of two new productions currently on offer at North Melbourne cabaret venue Viva, This cabaret meets cirque performance blends high fashion, fierce choreography, and jaw-dropping acrobatics in a show that’s as glamorous as it is bold, and also just a bit cheeky. Viva has rapidly become North Melbourne’s nightlife standout, drawing comparisons to Berlin’s underground clubs and New York’s avant-garde scene. At its heart, Vogue is a stylish explosion of faux couture, wit and energy. The performers glide across the stage with effortless swagger, shifting from sleek dancers to gravity-defying cirque acts in a heartbeat. And while it ventures…
This body-horror romance from Michael Shanks stars real-life couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Tim and Millie, a long-term couple relocating to the country in hopes of reviving their relationship. But when a freak incident in a cave messes with their bodies—and by extension, their minds—the move is the beginning of the couple’s nightmare. The movie was filmed locally in the Dandenong Ranges and at Melbourne’s Docklands Studios, which becomes distracting when you know what you’re looking at (V-Line train cameo; the school Millie is teaching at is clearly an Aussie primary school and looks nothing like an elementary…
Bloomshed’s production of Pride and Prejudice has landed at the Darebin Arts Centre with an ingenious and irreverent take on the Jane Austen classic. Set through the lens of today’s housing crisis, this revival swaps Regency ballrooms for biting satire and a potted monstera as Mr. Bennet, delivering a highly entertaining romp from start to finish. Austen’s Pride and Prejudice is a witty romantic novel set in rural England during the early 1800s. It centres on Elizabeth Bennet, the intelligent and independent second eldest of five daughters, as she navigates love, social expectations, and family pressures. When the proud and wealthy Mr Darcy arrives…
Here You Come Again is livening up the Comedy Theatre with a joyous, glittering celebration of Dolly Parton’s music and legend, for a strictly limited run. The story centres on Kevin who has moved from Melbourne back home to the Bendigo attic of his parents’ home during COVID-19 lockdowns. Here he revisits the devotion to Dolly Parton from his youth, which transports him into a whimsical dream world where Dolly offers counsel through song, humour and sage advice. What might sound like a basic premise blooms into something touching and hilarious, as Kevin confronts personal heartbreak and self-doubt with Dolly…