See & Do
Half-yearly report card: the best pop culture of 2023 (so far)
What you should have watched, listened to, read and clicked on in the first half of the year.
- by Robert Moran and Melanie Kembrey
Latest
Latest reviews
Arts
A grim truth is spun into a compelling and scathing new story
This wrap of shows around Melbourne includes Jason Donovan in The Rocky Horror Show, Samuel Beckett’s Worstward Ho, Vidya Rajan’s Crocodiles and more.
- by Cher Tan, Karl Quinn, Sonia Nair, Tyson Wray, Cameron Woodhead, Tony Way and Jessica Nicholas
Meet Laufey, TikTok’s hottest jazz ambassador
Blending bossa nova and Taylor Swift, the 24-year-old Icelander’s debut Australian tour sold out in minutes.
- by Michael Dwyer
AI can do any many things, but can it replicate these drawings?
Drawing will always be present because it captures the vital creative impulse that links the eye, the mind and the hand.
- by John McDonald
★★★
Review
The new Spider-Man is utterly bewildering – but it’s all part of the plan
If you’re excited to hear that the 1970s Japanese TV version of Spider-Man has a cameo, this is definitely the movie for you.
- by Jake Wilson
‘In bed by 10pm’: Why Rose Byrne and Seth Rogen make the perfect pair
In Platonic, the actors try to recapture their characters’ wild youthful friendship - just don’t ask them to do it in real life.
- by Louise Rugendyke
Naked, ‘wild’ and elusive: Pierre Bonnard’s muse keeps us guessing
Was Marthe Bonnard a jealous, obsessive wife, or an artist in her own right? On the eve of the NGV’s winter blockbuster, we uncover the woman behind the canvas.
- by Stephanie Bunbury
This would be a truly bold move for the Fast and Furious franchise
Whenever a car chase scene begins, I let out a bored sigh so strong it blows my dogs across the room.
- by Deirdre Fidge
How a director’s life-changing trip around the Pilbara became a movie
As a teen, Nyul Nyul and Yawuru director Jub Clerc went on a trip with other at-risk kids. It’s the basis of her debut feature.
- by Stephanie Bunbury
These are the best Sydney gigs to catch in June
This month you can catch K-pop behemoths Blackpink, booming beats, beautiful Blood and a man bigger than Bach.
- by James Jennings
Mystery Road star’s ghosts: ‘sometimes I can feel them nearby’
In-demand actor Mark Coles Smith has returned to his home in WA, where he says his relationship to time and space changes.
- by John Bailey