Spectrum
What to read: A tale of heaven and hell, and the end of a giant shark
Our reviewers cast their eyes over recent fiction and non-fiction.
- by Cameron Woodhead and Fiona Capp
Latest
Wes Anderson is famous for his all-star casts. How does he do it?
Tom Hanks, Scarlett Johansson, Bryan Cranston – Asteroid City is another star-studded outing in which Wes Anderson left nothing to chance.
- by Stephanie Bunbury
What does a TV showrunner do? Basically everything, says Gretel Vella
Australian Gretel Vella, 29, is a showrunner of her own drama series Totally Completely Fine. She’s also its creator, writer and executive producer.
- by John Bailey
Book of the day
Review
Enjoyed White Lotus? Here’s a novel that has fun skewering privilege
Emily Perkins’ new novel Lioness delivers a courageous if unsettling message.
- by Gretchen Shirm
Above and beyond: the dance company that operates like a sports team
Choreographer Antony Hamilton says the latest Chunky Move work is the hardest many of the company’s dancers have ever experienced.
- by John Bailey
Has history ‘defanged’ Martin Luther King’? This biography says yes
Jonathan Eig’s new look at the life of the African-American activist argues he was no saint, but a man of courage with a moral vision.
- by Shane White
Fashion’s new fakes: How AI will change what you wear
Six people at the forefront of a revolutionary creative frontier reveal (some of) their secrets.
- by Janice Breen Burns
Must-see films at the Melbourne International Film Festival
Our film critics choose their top films from this year’s festival.
- by Stephanie Bunbury and Jake Wilson
Helen Morse is playing a 70-something tea drinker, but don’t be fooled
The petite, polite acting veteran unleashes hellish visions in her MTC double bill with Alison Bell.
- by Sonia Harford
Another quietly riveting, emotionally potent novel from Mark Brandi
The young protagonist in Brandi’s fourth novel Southern Aurora grabs an unusual chance of improving his fortunes.
- by Daniel Herborn
The real story of how Australian media companies amassed their huge power
In Sally Young’s second volume of her history of Australian media, she focuses on newspapers and the coming of television.
- by Matthew Ricketson