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Byron Shire
March 29, 2024

Cinema Review – Inferno

Latest News

Blue skies for Bluesfest day 1

If yesterday at Bluesfest was anything to go by, it's going to be an incredible event and with the weather holding, (so far) the Easter weekend's future is looking bright.

Other News

Casuarina cricketers too strong for Mullumbimby Brunswick in grand final

Mullumbimby Brunswick Cricket Club (MBCC) had a very successful season finishing second on the ladder at the end of the home and away season with 13 wins and 4 losses, but fell short of winning the grand final against the Casuarina Crocs.

Richmond MP again called on for immediate Gaza ceasefire 

On Saturday, March 16 Northern Rivers Friends of Palestine unfurled a 20m scroll with the names of murdered children and host a ‘die-in’ action at the office of the federal Member for Richmond, Justine Elliot (Labor).

What the duck!

Most days I ask myself ‘what the duck’ is happening here? How could Trump be president again if he...

Seize the Decade report outlines benefits of renewables

The Climate Council says many more Australian families can directly benefit from rooftop solar and batteries under a new plan that spells out how we can electrify the nation and cut climate pollution this decade.

Mullum pods

They look so uninviting and dismal. It would not cost a lot to change the name to ‘tiny homes’...

Laid-back but lively

Ooz is an acoustic roots reggae artist with a large, eclectic repertoire of crowd favourites. His unique, laid-back but lively style creates a relaxed atmosphere and his song choices have you remembering many of those forgotten classics.

Did you know that our word quarantine derives from the Italian ‘forty days’, the period that trading vessels had to wait before entering Venice during the Black Death?

It’s part of the (sometimes factual) esoterica that engulfs this ridiculous but diverting mystery. Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks) is back, once more dealing with dark and secret stuff from the Renaissance, but this time around the intrigue is unreasonably convoluted. Usually an ‘honest’ and conservative storyteller, Ron Howard, who has directed all three of the Dan Brown potboilers that have been adapted for the screen, has gone perilously close to betraying his audience’s trust.

Twists and turns in any plot need to surprise to be effective, but when they come entirely out of the blue, with the flimsiest of belated flashback explanations, you can be justified in thinking that you are being made a mug of. That Langdon is emerging from an unconscious state and has no idea of how he got to be in a hospital bed with an armed assassin gunning for him is not a good enough excuse for a deceitful narrative. Be that as it may, Florence and Venice look a treat – the aerial shots are splendid – and the final sequence, shot in a colonnaded watery vault below the streets of Istanbul, is fantastic. Getting the ball rolling is Bertrand Zobrist (Ben Foster), an American billionaire concerned with the calamity that our planet’s over-population is hurtling towards. (It is an issue more confronting even than climate change, but, crippled by myopic religious tenets and ‘personal freedoms’ zealots, nobody wants to do anything about it – and who wants to watch a movie dealing with such a pressing matter?) Zobrist has a solution – he has created a virus that when released will eliminate half of humanity in one fell swoop. A bit drastic perhaps, and why he didn’t just release it immediately is a secret only the scriptwriters know – but problem solved, yes? Langdon must prevent it from happening while bad guys want to get hold of that vial. Tedious.


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Retired local professor launches book on grief

A leading international thinker and researcher in the development of innovative sport coaching and physical education teaching has returned home to Byron Bay and is launching his first non-academic book, 'Grief and Growth', on April 4 at The Book Room in Byron. 

Resilient Lismore’s ‘Repair to Return’ funding

On the eve of the second anniversary of the second devastating flood in 2022, Resilient Lismore has welcomed the finalisation of its funding deed with the NSW Reconstruction Authority, which will enable the continuation of its ‘Repair to Return’ program.

Editorial – Joyous propaganda! 

The NSW Labor government marked its one year in office this week with a jubilant statement of achievements issued from Macquarie Street HQ.

Man charged over domestic violence and pursuit offences – Tweed Heads

A man has been charged following a pursuit near Tweed Heads on Monday.