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The South African
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The South African
6 movie and TV filming locations in SA you can visit in real life
South Africa has quietly become one of the world's go-to filming locations. With its breathtaking landscapes, modern infrastructure, and versatile terrain, it's no wonder major film and TV productions keep setting up camp here. But the best part? Many of the places you've seen on screen are open to the public. Here are six filming locations across South Africa that you can actually visit… Cape Town is South Africa's crown jewel when it comes to film production. The city and its surroundings have doubled for 18th-century Caribbean ports, modern African capitals, and even alien planets! The most iconic example is Black Sails , the pirate drama shot primarily at Cape Town Film Studios. The massive sets included full-size pirate ships and detailed colonial forts. While the sets aren't always open to the public, you can visit nearby filming locations like Hout Bay, Simon's Town, and Table Mountain, which have featured in everything from Blood Diamond to Safe House . The Drakensberg range is as dramatic as it gets – jagged cliffs, green valleys, and misty peaks. These ancient mountains stood in for the jungles of the Congo in The Legend of Tarzan (2016) and have appeared in period action series like Warrior . The sweeping shots of wilderness are no CGI trick. That raw, untamed beauty is real – and it's waiting for you to hike, climb, or simply stare up in awe. Neill Blomkamp's District 9 didn't shy away from showing Johannesburg's gritty urban sprawl. The film used real neighbourhoods, scrapyards, and townships to build its sci-fi refugee zones. The visual impact was unforgettable, but so was the social commentary – rooted in real South African history. You won't find alien spacecraft hovering over the city, but you can explore the culture-rich neighbourhoods that gave the film its pulse. While you're there, be sure to visit Maboneng Precinct for local art, food, and design, and stop by the Apartheid Museum for essential context. The lush, forested landscapes of The Giver (2014) were filmed in Tsitsikamma, a jewel along South Africa's Garden Route. The film's dreamlike setting was no fantasy – this coastal forest is real and teeming with life. With towering trees, dramatic river gorges, and suspension bridges over crashing waves, it's one of the most cinematic spots you can experience with your own eyes. Roland Emmerich's prehistoric epic 10,000 BC used the Cederberg Mountains to portray a wild and ancient world. Though the movie's accuracy is questionable, the scenery is spot-on. The Cederberg's orange rock formations, open desert spaces, and ancient San rock art sites give it an otherworldly feel that's perfect for explorers. You don't need a time machine to walk through this prehistoric landscape. Port Edward and its surrounding coastline on the Wild Coast have hosted multiple seasons of Survivor South Africa . With its rough seas, remote beaches, and thick vegetation, it's the perfect backdrop for survival challenges – and an unforgettable travel destination. You can walk the same beaches and forests where contestants battled it out, minus the stress of tribal council. Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1 Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
Fox News
29-03-2025
- Climate
- Fox News
Tornado Alley shifts to the Southeast, storm shelters become more popular
More tornadoes in the Southeast put more population centers in the bullseye of what some researchers are calling a new Tornado Alley. A study posted on the American Meteorological Society's website found that tornadic activity in the Great Plains decreased by 25% in the last 35 years compared to the 35 years prior. In the same timeframe, tornadic activity jumped 12% in the Southeast. Parts of Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee and Kentucky were among the states that have experienced more tornadoes, according to the study. Mark Brasfield, Nashville Safe House Owner, said he's sold thousands of storm shelters in his 33 years of selling them. He said he'd never seen intense demand in the Southeast until recently. Brasfield estimated his phone rings at least 20 times a day with people looking to buy storm shelters. "It's like insurance. You don't think you're ever going to have to use it, but if you need it, you got it," Brasfield said. Brasfield said his shelters are compliant with the standards set in place by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. A quarter inch of steel, reinforced walls and a dozen six-inch bolts help make Brasfield's shelters withstand the 200-mph winds of an EF-5 tornado. "You get someone that moves here from a state that's never had tornadoes. They are scared to death," Brasfield said. Lawrence Behrs moved from California to Tennessee 10 years ago. He said he and his wife traded earthquakes and wildfires for tornadoes. "We looked at maps and said, 'okay, well, where could we move? Where would we be completely safe?' And I just don't think that exists anywhere," Behrs said. In December, Berhs finally decided to buy one of Brasfield's family-sized storm shelters. He said it was installed in January, just in time for what he described as an already active tornado season in his area. "With the increase in the occurrence of tornadoes and seemingly moving, you know, eastward from Tornado Alley, we decided that it would be a good investment for peace of mind," Berhs said. The National Weather Service in Nashville has already issued 14 tornado warnings this year in their jurisdiction. When his weather radio tells him that he and his wife are under a tornado warning, Berhs said they scramble to the storm shelter with a "go bag." The shelter is bolted to his garage floor, steps away from his home. "Heaven forbid that there's a really serious tornado, but I have had visions of, you know, being in here, coming out of, you know, out of the shelter after a storm, and it's the only thing standing, but hopefully that'll never be a reality," Berhs said. The United States gets an average of 1,425 tornadoes per year, according to numbers provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center. Nearly half of those tornadoes hit from April to June.
Yahoo
21-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
This quirky British detective drama just arrived on BritBox — and it's got 93% on Rotten Tomatoes
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. If you're craving a cleverly written mystery with a generous dose of quirky humor, BritBox's newest original should cement itself on your watchlist. Premiering this week (March 20), "Ludwig," starring British comedian David Mitchell ("Peep Show"), has quickly captured the attention of audiences, already becoming one of the most talked-about streaming debuts of the month. Created by Mark Brotherhood ("Safe House"), this series follows reclusive crossword-setter John 'Ludwig' Taylor (Mitchell), whose quiet life is upended when his twin brother disappears. Forced to step into his brother's shoes, Ludwig must try and get to the bottom of the mystery among others, armed only with his puzzle-solving abilities. For anyone drawn to smart mysteries with quirky characters or good, old-fashioned BBC dramas with plenty of questions to chew on, "Ludwig" is an essential pick. Here's everything you need to know about BritBox's latest original before you dive in. John "Ludwig" Taylor (David Mitchell) is a socially awkward crossword setter who has his quiet life unexpectedly disrupted by the sudden disappearance of his identical twin brother, Detective James Taylor (Mitchell) Ludwig finds himself forced into the world of police investigations when he decides to secretly assume his brother's identity to find out what happened to him. Armed only with his talent for puzzle-solving and without any real-world investigative experience, Ludwig finds himself dealing with a whole lot of other cases than just his brother's. Ludwig gradually realizes there's something far more sinister beneath the surface of his sibling's disappearance. With each clue he finds, he has to consider the possibility that his twin brother held many secrets, perhaps dangerous ones, that might just put him and his quiet life in danger. 'Ludwig' has amassed a 93% score on Rotten Tomatoes from 15 reviews, with audiences giving it a 94% rating (as of this writing). That's an impressive achievement for a British series on a niche service like BritBox — and it looks like it'll gather even more fans as it continues to air with additional episodes beyond its first two. The New York Times' Margaret Lyons called it a "fun British version of 'Monk'": The procedural aspects here are clever and twisty, and the serialized mystery of James's disappearance is an ample engine." Meanwhile, The Guardian's Lucy Mangan said: "David Mitchell is as brilliantly awkward as ever as a puzzle setter who poses as his twin in order to find out why his brother has disappeared. It's enjoyably gentle case-of-the-week TV." Collider's Maggie Boccella wrote: "There's something to be said for the underdogs, the ones we put on after the 'Severances' and the 'Yellowjackets' when we need something fresh that hasn't been analyzed to death — and if nothing else, 'Ludwig' has freshness." Do you love "Sherlock"? Are you addicted to British dramas? Do you love a dash of weirdness in your amateur sleuth shows? Then yes, you need to watch "Ludwig". Just like the modern vision of Holmes himself, Ludwig Taylor has a remarkable intellect and a unique way of seeing the world, though his method involves solving cryptic crosswords and intricate puzzles rather than using traditional deduction. His transition from puzzle creator to reluctant detective is a lot like the eccentric brilliance and quirks found in Benedict Cumberbatch's Sherlock as well. And it's perfect for anyone who loves a good bit of detective work and a laugh. "Ludwig" not only serves up fun, thrilling mysteries but there's plenty to giggle at. Like similar shows "Jonathan Creek'" or "Death in Paradise," there's plenty of interplay between smart, high-level puzzles and clues and the kind of witty banter you'd expect to hear from a BBC hit. You can stream the first two episodes of "Ludwig" on Britbox, with additional episodes to debut weekly. And if you like what you see, there's plenty more on the platform that might strike your fancy, too. 5 must-see mystery movies on Prime Video you (probably) missed Netflix's latest mystery thriller show just got its first trailer — and it looks like the perfect binge-watch Hulu's new dark thriller is now streaming — and it's one of the most gripping movies of 2025 so far
New York Times
21-02-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
‘Safe House' Review: Singing a Song of Loneliness
Wearing a meadow-green T-shirt that proclaims her an Irish Princess, Grace dances with a white stuffed bunny that is her confidant. The music is Tchaikovsky's 'Sleeping Beauty' waltz, and it's a clue to how Grace's life plays out — not the ballet's storybook ending, just the tragic parts. In this snippet of a scene near the top of Enda Walsh's new play 'Safe House,' which opened on Thursday at St. Ann's Warehouse in Brooklyn, the music gets speedier, more intense, all sense of comfort vanishing. Control, too, but that's hardly a constant for Grace, a homeless young woman with a mind blurred by alcohol. Like Sleeping Beauty after the curse kicks in, she is exiled from a life that looked secure enough from the outside but was treacherous from the start. Fair warning, though: Woven through with songs by Anna Mullarkey that are sung by Kate Gilmore as Grace, Walsh's Abbey Theater production feels more like a live performance of a concept album than a play. In his plumbing of trauma and abuse — think 'The Walworth Farce' or 'Medicine,' his most recent play at St. Ann's — he can have a way of reaching right into your viscera. Not here, unfortunately. In 'Safe House,' it is 1996 in rural Galway, and Grace is scrabbling together an existence on the margins. Guzzling box wine, trading her body for money, she plays grim bits of her sepia past on repeat in her head; for us, these are projections upstage or scraps of audio. Long gone though she is from the home she grew up in, which for her was a place of harm, she has not severed every family tie. On the other end of a phone, we hear her father pick up. 'I can hear you breathing,' he says, in Irish. 'Where are you, Grace?' Telling her story in loops of bruised memories and shards of implication, the show is precisely framed and layered, pleasing to the eye and ear: video and voice-over, confetti and fog. The music sounds like loneliness and hope. There's a hint of '90s indie pop, too, with shades of Dolores O'Riordan — or maybe it's just defiance — in Gilmore's voice. (Set and costume design are by Katie Davenport, lighting by Adam Silverman, video by Jack Phelan, sound by Helen Atkinson.) But the whole of 'Safe House' feels distant, and that isn't Gilmore's doing. There's no losing ourselves in the play, no entering Grace's story, because she isn't even a symbol, really, but rather an abstraction: a girl who grew up on princess myths and notions of female grace, who dreamed of a kinder, more love-filled life, who still seeks a place of safety. We're in her head, sort of, but minus all the context she has for these daggers of recollection. In video, we see young Grace in a Cinderella dress and tiara, and we hear her aunt call her 'the princess.' We gather that Grace's mother beat her — a cruelty akin to the witch's in the 'Snow White' clip we glimpse on little box TVs. We watch grown-up Grace enact a deathlike Sleeping Beauty tableau that probably should make us shiver, yet is pleasing aesthetically. Walsh, a prolifically, experimentally form-shifting creator, writes in a program note of the play's deliberate obliqueness. Certainly that can be a vital element in a work of art, accommodating even opposing interpretations. But there is such a thing as being too oblique. This isn't the customary disorientation of a Walsh play, where you're thrust into a strange universe that asks you to puzzle it out. 'Medicine' was like that: chaotic and messy, loquacious and unhinged, but with a pulsing sense of the lost human being at its center. 'Safe House,' which would seem in form and subject matter a natural successor, is far neater, but so verbally pared back that it gives the audience too little to hold onto. It's frustrating, because so many ingredients of a deeper experience are in place, yet sans the alchemy. The penultimate stage image, which I won't spoil, is breathtakingly theatrical. It would leave us shattered if 'Safe House' worked as I think it means to. I was unscathed. I did wonder if the world's current turmoil had colored my receptiveness. But I wanted this play to consume me. I wanted the shattering. Maybe next time.
Yahoo
29-01-2025
- General
- Yahoo
2025 Point in Time count continues, volunteers offer help to unhoused locals
COLUMBUS, Ga. () — The 2025 Point in Time count to determine Columbus' homeless population continued today. Each year, United Way of the Chattahoochee Valley's Home for Good program pairs up with volunteers from SafeHouse Ministries for the count. It is an effort to record the local unhoused population in shelters and on the street. For one SafeHouse Ministries employee who volunteered to assist with this year's count, it was a chance to give back to a community she knows personally. 'I used to be out here on the street. I used to do drugs. I used to hang out with these people and party with them,' Cassandra Whitney said. 'God restored my life and took my drug addiction and made me whole again, so I'm just giving back to the community as they gave to me.' Teen author donates copies of book to local children's hospital Whitney has been off the streets for two years now, becoming a SafeHouse employee about a year ago, but she spent five years homeless. She spent the morning of Jan. 29 talking to local unhoused individuals with her group to find out their needs and offer blankets, socks, coats, food items and hygiene products. They also shared information about resources individuals could contact for help getting back on their feet. Those include organizations like SafeHouse and United Way, or reaching out to individuals like Sam Lewis, a case manager with SafeHouse and local thrift shop owner. 'We try to get them on to 2-1-1 where they can get some shelter if they want, you know. But in the meantime, I do help them and use them down here at my thrift shop,' Lewis, who owns Thrifty Giving and More, said. Two Columbus State ROTC cadets rank among nation's top 10 individually Lewis, a reverend who also preaches at Mount Pilgrim Baptist Church, offers individuals food, clothing and supplies from his store. He also gives them the opportunity to help out around the store as they work to better their situations. 'I try to supply what I can,' said Lewis. One individual who was waiting outside to help at the thrift shop said he had been homeless for seven years. He added the work opportunity and assistance from organizations like SafeHouse has been a blessing. 'It helps me, you know, be clean once I get access to water to clean myself up, you know,' said Bobby White, who received a drawstring bag filled with supplies from Point in Time counters. 'New socks and underwear, you know, make me feel better.' The 2025 Point in Time count ends Jan. 30, but unhoused individuals can receive help from organizations like United Way and SafeHouse year-round. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
