Just a few months shy of Monsters Inc’s 20th anniversary, Pixar has dived back into the city of Monstropolis to bring audiences a television sequel to the hit 2001 film. The new series, Monsters at Work , picks up after the original film, as lovable and quirky protagonists Mike Wazowski (Billy Crystal) and James P “Sulley” Sullivan (John Goodman) tackle their new roles running Monsters Incorporated. After discovering children’s laughter is a better power source than childre

Melbourne’s once vibrant creative and event industries could be going backwards without government support, experts say. Victorian College of the Arts lecturer and art curator Sophia Cai said risk-averse event organisers, entertainers and others were producing less experimental and untested work for financial reasons. “I worry about our more established institutions reverting back to more conservative aesthetics because the industry is at such a critical juncture,” she said.

Byron Bay-based festival Splendour XR will ditch mosh-pits for lounge rooms with a completely online festival on July 24 and 25. With major headline acts including The Killers , Khalid , CHVRCHES , Tash Sultana and Vance Joy , the festival will run for two days and, for the first time, will be an all-ages event. Festival-goers can create a digital persona to roam the virtual grounds of the iconic Byron Bay setting, with multiple camera angles to choose from. Organisers have

A Boroondara council program aimed at promoting community growth in the wake of Covid-19, entitled Bare to Beautiful, will see empty storefronts covered with large botanical decals. The decals, designed by local artists, will recreate flowers unique to the region to provide a homegrown touch that creates a consistent botanical theme across various shopfronts in the district. The program launched last week as part of the council’s efforts to revitalise local shopping strips an

Why is reading so hard, and why have I only made it through half a book in two years? These are the questions I ask myself at least once or twice a month. As an avid reader throughout my childhood, I was convinced reading would always be a passion … but now, as a 20-year-old university student, that passion has faded away. I took to the internet to ask, “does anyone still read?” and found a 2017 Macquarie University study that showed just 65.5 per cent of Australians read a

Good characters make for great family viewing, and Sony Pictures Animation’s new film for Netflix, The Mitchells vs. the Machines , delivers. Produced by Christopher Miller and Phil Lord, the same duo who directed 2009’s Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs , it’s hard not to draw comparisons between the two family films. These projects don’t seem too similar at first, aside from the production company, composer (Mark Mothersbaugh) and contributions of Miller and Lord. However,

For a film set solely in one location with a talented cast and exciting writer/director at the helm, Stowaway should’ve been a gripping survival tale. Instead it’s a decent Friday night flick not likely to be remembered. Director Joe Penna hit the ground running with his thrilling and nuanced feature debut Arctic in 2018 and has followed it up with yet another survival thriller, this time set in space. The film is well directed and performed, with production and sound desi

A teenager developing superpowers is a story we’ve seen time and time again on both the big and small screen. It has become a trope of the superhero genre, but Invincible proves that with a unique twist on the idea, it can become fresh once more.  The Walking Dead comic book creator and producer of the TV adaptation Robert Kirkman now brings us Invincible , an adult animated superhero show based on his comic book series of the same name. Invincible ultimately follows the li

As Victoria plunges into a seven day circuit breaker lockdown the team at The Standard have compiled a list of tunes to get you through. From feel good classics to dance in your room songs, lockdown will fly by with this playlist. 1. t r a n s p a r e n t s o u l (Transparent Soul) – Willow Despite being a new release, this song’s crashing wave of drums and guitar will take you on a nostalgia trip to a simpler time. Forget the lockdown by dancing around your room and preten

Planned new capacity rules for Melbourne’s small and medium-sized live music venues – originally due to come into effect on Friday – have been delayed by this week’s Covid-19 outbreak. After about three months without a local Covid case, the outbreak has brought new restrictions across Melbourne, including a requirement for masks indoors and limits to visits at home. The government today announced that that planned new rules for audiences at bars and music venues – originall

2021’s Eurovision Song Contest was confusing – instead of the sparkle and sense of the ridiculous that we’ve come to expect from the competition, we got good music. And while I appreciate the wealth of songs and artists to add to my Spotify playlists, it wasn’t quite the dose of camp I’ve been looking for after a whole two years without my favourite event of the year.  But there were still some highlights. Here’s what to catch in case you weren’t able to see it this weekend. 

Genevieve Nardella embraces the purist vibes and fashionable accuracy of 2020's Emma reboot.