It's Bond, Quality Bond

I feel rather ill qualified to write this as I have only ever seen Daniel Craig as James Bond. Well I have seen one other James Bond film and it was a Pierce Brosnan Bond film and I am not a fan of that guy and it was awful. So, as is obvious, I am not a die hard fan but I am going to write this anyway.

The latest Bond film, Skyfall, blows the rest out of the water.

Bond is injured whilst trying to retrieve a lost hard drive containing the names and locations of MI6 field agents (seriously, why would you put all that on a hard drive if there was the slightest possibility that it could be stolen?).  Meanwhile, MI6 headquarters get some pretty personal attacks

Craig is a great Bond. He pulls off very suave and very confident very well. He seems much more at home in the role after the first two films. Judy Dench is a Dame for a reason, because she is awesome. She plays M with a perfect amount of cold heart and repressed emotion. Ralph Fiennes does well with his relatively small part and he is a welcome face. And the Bond girls, or should we say women now?

But the show is stolen by Javier Bardem. He revels in this part. He is the perfect amount of crazy to make a really great, really memorable villain. The whole time he has this creepy calm demeanor and every facial expression and every action had me twisting in my seat because you could just tell that this character was off the rails but he is smart and that is scary. You never really know what this guy is going to do. He just messes with you 100% of the time. 

Sam Mendes, the man behind it all, deserves a lot of praise. This is not an action for the sake of action, there is an entertaining and engaging plot behind it. This is not only a great film plot and acting wise but it's great looking. The cinematography is pretty brilliant. There are many scenes that are just really pretty to look at. Well actually, most of the scenes are really pretty to look at and this is a welcome change. The shots of Istanbul that have been in other movies like Argo and Taken 2 don't even compare to the ones in Bond. And it's really nice to be able to have a pretty looking fight scene or motorbike chase. But the scenes in China and Scotland, I could look at them all day.

There are a few things that weren't quite great. Length wise, I think it was a little long so there are some points where things slow down a lot and even though this is so much more than an action movie, I still wanted it to move a little quicker at times. But all in all it was entertaining and pretty to look at.

For all the Bond fans out there I think this will be a great addition to the franchise and fans will appreciate the nods to previous Bonds and previous movies. Those who are new to the whole thing, like me, will be able to appreciate this as a quality movie with a bit for everyone that looks pretty incredible.

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Romney is (should never be) president

This article is great. Plain and simple.

Romney is president by Maureen Dowd is an opinion piece about the recent elections in the US and is definitely worth the few minutes of your time that it takes to read it. She brings up some good points and brings up a lot of reasons why everyone would should be thankful that Romney was not voted in. There are a lot of eye openers.

Romney is president

Click the link and have a read. If this type of stuff interests you then you will not regret it.

Managing Carmen

Do you ever get the urge to dress up as the opposite sex and go out into public ? Yes ? No ?

Either way, it doesn't matter. Queensland Theatre Company's newest play, Managing Carmen, is a play for everyone; cross dresser, footballer, manager, psychic knot undo-er, journalist or any other profession, occupation or way of being.

From Australian playwright David Williamson (The Removalists and The Club), this play is about Brent Lyall (Tim Dashwood), one of the greatest young talents on the AFL Field. He is only 24 and has already won two Brownlow Medals and is the captain of his Collingwood team. He has the life, the apartment, the girlfriend and the success. After a terrible add shoot Brent's manager, Rohan (John Bachelor), enlists the help of Jessica (Claire Lovering) to unlock some of Brent's "psychic knots" in an attempt to get him to relax and improve his acting skills. But Jessica soon finds out that Brent has a secret. He likes to dress up in women's clothing.

To prevent the secret from getting out, Rohan swings into action and damage control as the truth would mean the end of Brent's career and the loss of a great fortune for them both. The media is already on Brent's tail and smelling something fishy but that doesn't stop Brent's irrepressible urge to take his alter ego out on the town.What ensues is a heartwarming and hilarious story about tolerance and ultimately, love.

Managing Carmen is a great story and has great characters and most of all, it's funny. And that's an understatement. It's hilarious. The scene changes are fast and the comic timing is even faster. It's such a high energy play and the actors never seem to tire but seem to get even more energetic as the play continues.

This play is so good because you lose yourself in the story world. First you are taking your seats and the lights are going down. Before you know it, the interval has come and then it is time for the second half. Then it is been and gone and you are applauding (giving a standing ovation to) the actors and stage crew for the amazing job they have done and the even more amazing journey they have taken you on.

Tim Dashwood, as Brent/Carmen, seems to relish in the opportunity to dress up and act like a woman. You can tell he is having fun. He looks right at home, from the first moment we see him in a dress in front of the mirror and that one leg pops out, you are just blown away.







Claire Lovering has a lovely presence on stage and is highly believable as Jessica. Lovering and Dashwood had good chemistry and work very well together.

John Bachelor just goes to town on his uptight and stressed out character. You can almost see that beneath this character, the real John Bachelor is having the time of his life, especially in a few dance scenes (Lady Gaga may or may not be involved).







Anna McGahan plays Clara, Brent's girlfriend. Clara is so annoying and her accent is so grating that you hate the her but you have to respect McGahan. She does it so well.


Greg McNeill hits the nail on the head as the sleazy, slime ball journalist Max Upfield.









Wesley Enoch's direction is deft and sure and the play runs smoothly through the fast changes and quick dialogue. The design of the set is elaborate with many different locations but at the same time it's minimal. The use of a revolver to change scenes works so well and fits perfectly with the fast pace of the play. Also the use of media (iPhones, iPads, TVs and TV shows) that is integrated into the play is quite fantastic and a great capitalisation of the technology that we have access to in this modern era.


It's a great play and a great production. 

On one of the practice nights I was able to have a brief chat to David Williamson. I asked him if the play turned out how he expected and he said that it was a great production. The line of people behind me wanting to congratulate him on the play spoke for itself. The audience loved it.

Whedon on Romney

Could this man get any better?
I mean he created some of the best TV shows that exist today. Firefly. Buffy the Vampire Slayer.  Do I really need to say anymore?
He wrote and directed one of the most successful movies of the year. The Avengers.
He is a feminist (although apparently some women have problems with this).

He is so awesome and just when you thought that he couldn't get any better, he comes out with this video.

Joss Whedon. You are my hero. 

The Kiss that Divided a Nation (and was an inspiration to others)

These girls are my heroes.

They should be an inspiration for everyone.

Read the article here : A gesture of solidarity: The French kiss that divided a nation

I cannot believe that the slogan for these people (if I can even call them people) is "one mother, one father, we don’t lie to children". This is outrageous. They are lying to their children. They are lying to their children because they are telling them who they can and cannot fall in love with. In my opinion, their behaviour is the most shocking. Does anyone see any violence in this kiss?

I think some people need to change their outlook on life. Loving someone from the same sex is a natural thing, otherwise, people wouldn't fall in love with them.

Wuthering Heights

I just went and saw a movie on my own, for the first time in my life. Not too bad. When I arrived at the cinema I thought that I was going to be the only one in there, so I would really be alone but there turned out to be 3 others and they were all on their own too.

The film I saw was Andrea Arnold's adaptation of Wuthering Heights. With any adaptation, you always have your reservations. "Are they going to do the story justice? Will they get the characters right? Will they be true to the book?" These questions and ones like it are always going to swirl around in peoples' heads if they have read the book before seeing the movie version. Someone who wants to make a movie out of a book is always going to have trouble pleasing everyone. They are doomed to have haters from the start. That is just fact. They will probably want to reinvent the story or add this or add that which will annoy the purists or they won't do it different enough for those that don't want to see an exact reconstruction of the book. It is always bound to be a hard gig but people seem to want to do it anyway.

I went to this picture with an open mind and at the beginning I was really loving it. It was an interesting way to adapt the book and it worked really well. For such a haunting and emotional story, the lengthy wilderness scenes, the focus on the weather to portray the emotions that the characters are feeling and the minimal dialogue that meant heavy reliance on such scenes was really working for me. Also casting Heathcliff as a black man was really fitting. He really captured the mood of the story in his shots.

I was really getting into it when the last half of the movie came. Well I should say the last third because the part where Heathcliff and Cathrine are kids took up most of the movie. It was then I realised that the beginning was far too long and the ending seemed really rushed. And I don't think that this is the kind of story where you can rush the ending. The ending is very important. It's when you realise just how connected these two characters are and how much they hurt each other by continuing to be a part.

I don't remember specific lines or actions from the book, I mean I barely remembered the narrative, but the one thing that has stayed with me over the years is the mood and the feeling of that book. I really thought that this film was killing it but then, they actually did kill it.

I realised that the older characters where miscast. Older Heathcliff (James Howson), for me, was not able to portray the wildness and deep seated anger that he holds so close to his heart that the Heathcliff in the book had. Howson seemed to try to play this character with a lot of Jane-Austin-Mr-Darcy-like brooding and then violence. These things don't fit together all that well. I feel that Heathcliff needs to be constantly struggling to keep himself together and keep from lashing out at people, not just every now and then. Arnold chose to cast non-actors or at least actors with minimal experience and for the older characters, this was something that was off putting for me. I didn't really get a sense of the emotion but got distracted at times by thoughts running through my head of soap opera actors and over-the-top acting. That being said, I don't think that Kaya Scodelario had much of a chance to show her potential and I was mostly happy with her scenes. But I am not saying the actors were awful, far from it. Their performances for the most part were really good but when the time came for these really emotional parts, I was already a little out of sorts with the rushed ending and the increase in dialogue from first half to second half, and didn't quite buy them.


And the younger Cathrine and Heathcliff actors were brilliant. I really enjoyed their performances and was pretty thoroughly convinced with their portrayal of the characters and emotions. Solomon Grave (the younger Heathcliff) was brilliant and really nailed the pain and anger that his character has and Shannon Beer (as young Cathrine) was fairly solid in her part as well.

I mean look at that face.

Oh and Arnold chucks a random Mumford & Sons song right at the end. And this is not a song that plays during the last shot and then cue credits. No. This is song plays over a scene that we have previously seen in the earlier part of the movie and then plays during credits. For a movie that has no underscore and the only music you hear plays for about two bars before it cuts as they change to a new scene, putting a song by Mumford & Sons seems like an odd choice. True it might not be one of their most famous songs, nor does it feature on either of their albums but Marcus Mumford has a very distinct voice and you could recognise it no matter what movie it is being played in.

Maybe I am just being picky.

I think that Andrea Arnold began this project beautifully but I feel like she didn't quite commit 100% to it because parts didn't quite sit right. I think the ending was rushed and that meant that she lost that mood and the feeling of haunted love and connection that the Heathcliff and Cathrine have. I mean these two love each other so much that they have to hurt each other and cause the other as much pain as possible AND they haunt each other from beyond the grave just to really prove their love.

It was probably the best adaptation of this story that I have seen but for me, it was still missing something. If you love the Brönte sisters and their weird, twisted love stories then this is a very interesting way to see Emily's novel. It's good, I just wanted it to be better.

BUT the cinematography by Robbie Ryan is AMAZING. It is so pretty and beautifully shot (maybe at times there were a few too many racking focus shots). Really I could have watched shots of those beautiful moors all day. What lovely countryside and so well captured.

And if you wanted to check out the Mumford & Sons song (because it is a good song I just didn't fit with the film) then here it is;

One Billion Rising

One Billion Rising.

ONE IN THREE WOMEN ON THE PLANET WILL BE RAPED OR BEATEN IN HER LIFETIME.
ONE BILLION WOMEN VIOLATED IS AN ATROCITY
ONE BILLION WOMEN DANCING IS A REVOLUTION

This February join one billion women and those who love them and me to WALK OUT, DANCE, RISE UP and DEMAND. If one is confronted by an awful situation, then one must dance. Dance out the emotion, dance out the memories and dance to freedom.

V-Day is one of the most well respected and highest rated organisations and was created with the seemingly simple goal of ending violence against women. This coming Valentine's day and every Valentine's day until the violence ends, men, women, children (and other) should come and join together and dance. Dance because that is the best way to rise, the best way for a revolution. This is a global strike and a chance for everyone to stand up against rape and rape culture, stand up against violence and violence against the world's women. This is power in numbers, a new time for acceptance and new way of living and being. This is not a one off thing, this is a foundation of people that will continue to rise until the end of rape and violence.

In the words of Emma Goldman; "A REVOLUTION WITHOUT DANCING IS A REVOLUTION NOT WORTH HAVING."

So head to the website, find out the details and find a rising near you. Rally the people around you and stand up for a cause worth dancing for, that's worth a revolution. Head to this website for more information and to join  >> One Billion Rising.

What a great revolution. To dance. Who doesn't love to dance? Sure it can be embarrassing. Sure it can be awkward. But it makes you feel so good. If you say you can't dance then I beg to differ with you there. Everyone can dance. According to Wicked (the best musical on this earth - I haven't seen Matilda yet),  you should dance through life. You should also defy gravity but let's take it one step at a time. We don't all have a flying broom. Get out there and join your fellow man. Change the world through movement.

I mean do you really have anything better to do on one of the most annoying days of the year? Even if you think you have something better to do, you really don't. What could be more important than standing up for what is right? If you still aren't convinced to join this more than worthy cause, then do it to rebel against that awful, atrocious, abomination of a movie that they call Valentine's Day.

Do it because you can.

Clare Bowditch

If you want to read some inspiring words then you need look no further than this article on Mamamia's blog which is an interview with Clare Bowditch.

Mamamia's interview with Clare Bowditch

If you don't know who Clare Bowditch then you are missing out because she is an amazing woman. She is an Australian singer/song writer and also actress nowadays. She has a beautiful voice and her music has won her an ARIA (an Australian music award). She is an inspiring woman and I get to see her in concert! Really soon!

She has started something called The Winter Happiness Summit in which she talks to other amazing people, Missy Higgins and Gotye included. If you want to check these interviews out then head to this website; Winter Happiness Summit. The password for the site is youmakemehappy. Enjoy!

Marieke Hardy - A quiet word just between us dames

I thought I loved Marieke Hardy but then I read her latest post on her blog and I found out that I love her even more. If you were a little unsure of your love for her, or thought you couldn't love her more then I think that you will find that this blog will tip you over the edge and you will worship the ground she walks on. That is probably a little over the top but you know what I am getting at.

If you are a man or woman, boy or girl. or other, that believes in equality, free speech, gay rights, the arts, or you are just a decent human being, in other words, if you are not a Tony Abbott fan then, good citizen, I think this blog will be most amusing for you.
  

A Quiet Word Just Between Us Dames

Margie Abbott, you have an interesting view of things...

Hard Candy

No I am not actually going to write about lollies (sweets/candy). I mean lollies are awesome, don't get me wrong I love lollies but why would you talk about hard ones when gummy lollies are a million times better. I'm just saying.

Hard Candy is unlike anything you have ever seen. Unless you have seen it...cause then it would be exactly like the first time you saw it...

This film begins with a 14 year old girl, Hayley talking to a man on the internet, Jeff, who is 18 years her senior and a photographer. They meet up at a cafe where Hayley suggests that they should go back to Jeff's house. It's scary. You worry for this poor young girl and you hate her stupidity. Everyone has heard the stories and I bet you think you could guess where the story goes from here. But that would be falling into the trap that this movie wants you to fall in. Do not jump to conclusions.

Once at the house, Hayley spikes Jeff's drink. From there you no longer worry for her as she can take care of herself. Just watch her go.

It inverts everything. Well maybe not everything but messes with you. The movie is one step ahead of you the whole time and it really takes pleasure in that fact. It just laughs at you the entire time and doesn't let you in on the joke which is pretty brilliant. This is one clever film.

I was glued to the screen, at the edge of my seat. Well actually I wasn't. I was sitting on the couch with my knees pulled into my chest because it was all too much for me to handle. I had to revert to the fetal position. I couldn't cope. But then I would find something really exciting and spring up only to slowly pull my legs in again. 

This is also an Ellen Paige that you probably have never seen before. Forget Juno. You have been warned.

The set is so small and closed in and almost claustrophobic and it's perfect for the cat and mouse game that is played out. Really the whole movie gives you this claustrophobic feel. It's really off putting but at the same time works so well. There are only two real characters (Sandra Oh makes a 5 second appearance but that doesn't really count) and there are only about three locations where the film is shot but two of the locations are only used for a few minutes each. And the main location is in a house. Confined to rooms. And it's hectic. It's disconcerting. It's not gruesome, it doesn't need to be. It's all in the complexity. It leaves you with questions and if you are like me, then you will need a little time to digest.

If you haven't seen this and you are into films that can completely mess with your mind then watch this. I guarantee that this one will blow you away. If it doesn't then I don't know what to do. My guarantee is worth nothing. But my word. I like to think that my word has value. (Please be blown away by it)

It's a Wonderful Life

If you haven't seen this movie, then I suggest you get off your ass and do it. Now. Don't even read this blog (yes I will forgive you), get the DVD, get comfortable and don't move until it's over. It's worth it. You will thank me afterwards.
 

 
I should warn you that the first few minutes is a little weird and you will probably think I am crazy for telling you to go and watch this movie but stick with it. The way it starts, it can only get better and wow! does it get better.

I don't know if this movie could get any cuter. It's just so filled with happiness that it would probably explode if they tried to add anything else to it. Whilst filming it, the cameras would have given up working, just to soak up the happiness that this movie emits. The crew would have been unable to work again because they would be drunk on the cuteness. If they were able to release the film, the audience would never be able to leave the cinema. If they were ever able to release a DVD then the DVD players would never play another disc.

 

So luckily for you, this movie is ridiculously cute but not so cute that everyone and everything is immobilised, so it's a good thing. You wouldn't be able to appreciate it if you became a zombie on the cuteness so it's better this way.

According to my brother and backed up by Wikipedia (which I know isn't the most trustworthy site but in this case I believe it), when the film first came out, it was a flop. People were very underwhelmed and with it's high production costs, it lost over $500 000 at the box office. Ouch. So how does this film go from flop to classic? Well, someone forgot to renew the copyright, TV channels still had to pay royalties but that cheaper than having to pay copyright in full every time you want to play it. And so this film was played a lot. And then when everyone realised how great it was, it got played even more. And then when they noticed that it had Christmas attached to it, they played it every Christmas holidays and then twice on the Christmas holidays with one screening even on Christmas Eve.

Frank Capra, the director, said; "It's the damnedest thing I've ever seen, the film has a life of its own now, and I can look at it like I had nothing to do with it. I'm like a parent whose kid grows up to be president. I'm proud... but it's the kid who did the work."

Monsieur Lazhar

A truly touching film dealing with grief, loss and reconciliation, French-Canadian film, Monsieur Lazhar, is one that hits the heart strings with all the right notes.


Set in Montreal, the teacher of a class of young students has committed suicide. After hearing about the tragedy that has befallen the class, Bachir Lazhar (Mohamed Fellag), an Algerian immigrant, decides to help the school by offering to be the class’s substitute teacher and the offer is readily accepted. As the class struggles to heal their emotional wounds, Lazhar’s own painful past becomes apparent and the students end up inadvertently helping Lazhar through his pain as much as he helps them through theirs. Adapted from the award winning play by Evelyne de la Cheneliere, it’s a touching story that is handled with great skill by director Philippe Falardeau who sews together moments of insight, empathy and emotion with great sensitivity.


The cinematography by Ronald Plante is simple but beautiful. The shots are unobtrusive and compliment the highly emotional content and without trying anything flashy that would detract from the narrative. There is one particular scene at the start where the classroom at the school is being painted. It’s such a simple scene but it holds a lot of beauty just through the cinematography balanced with the soft music of the underscore.

Lazhar’s relationship with these kids is truly heart-warming. The teachers, especially Lazhar, are forced to tiptoe around the grief that has struck the students as the school decides that it is best not to directly approach the subject of suicide but skirt around it and due to the stern rules about contact with students. Lazhar manages to really help the kids through this hard time in their lives and Fellag plays the role of the teacher with the perfect mixture of meekness and power. 

The bereaved students manage to retain their childish innocence as well offering great emotional depth to their characters. Sophie Nélisse as Alice and Émilien Néron as Simon, create some really beautiful and honest scenes and moments of raw emotion that are very moving, so much so that they steal the show from the adults. All the children show great maturity in the approach to their roles that I found similar to the performances of the children in Céline Sciamma’s Tomboy (2010) another French film that relies heavily on the young actors. 

One thing that does let the film down is the soundtrack. It seemed to scream, “I am a French film and I am quirky and cute!” More often than not it worked against the film because the choice of underscore didn’t always fit the film, making it distracting at times. Also there were a few loose ends and unanswered questions mainly to do with Lazhar and his background but overall Monsieur Lazhar is a beautiful film.

 

If you are a fan of French cinema then this is one not to miss.
 

HISHE for she and he.

Have you ever wanted a movie to end differently to the way that it did? Ever wanted to have Superman and Batman chilling in a coffee house chatting about life and being bosses? Well if this is true of you then you need to watch the videos made by HISHE.

They are cartoon realisations of how the creators of this video series thought certain movies should have played out. It's worth checking out and they have something for everybody. (It's true, they don't really cover romantic comedies but then why would you, they all end the same anyway so there isn't any point.)

Ever thought that there were a few problems in the new Batman film that didn't quite sit right with you? Thought that some things in the film were not quite believable and that the ending should have played out a little differently?

Not only are the alternative endings funny and entertaining, but they also look good with the cartoon style that they have gone with and, for people really interested in the creation side of things, there are little videos showing the creation of the cartoon characters like that of  Catwoman. These people are brilliant.

And even if you don't care how these movies ended or if you thought that the movie was very well done, it's still worth checking them out. Even just the superhero ones to see Batman and Superman chatting. It's well worth it just for the scenes with these two in it.

Check them out.

Griff the Invisible

Griff the Invisible is an unusual but uplifting Australian film about the validation of difference that has a big heart and a big imagination. 

This is the story of Griff (Ryan Kwanten), a shy, introverted guy who is bullied in his workplace. By night, however, he becomes a superhero protecting the streets of his neighbourhood. When Griff decides to enact his revenge on his work tormenter through the use of invisibility suits, his world is turned upside down when he is introduced to Melody (Maeve Dermody), an experimentalist (she tests things, theories and stuff) who shares Griff’s passion for the impossible. Essentially the film is a romance between the two in a world that doesn't quite accept them but then doesn't completely reject them either.

Writer and director Leon Ford presents his plot in a subtle, quirky way that at times parallels that of Jean-Pierre Jeunet's Amelie (Le fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain, 2001). Sometimes Australian cinema can fall into the trap of trying too hard to be American and we haven’t been able to pull it off. Leon steers clear of the Hollywood Blockbuster genre other superhero movies embrace and turns it on its head, giving this genre an unconventional angle and it’s really refreshing to see. This is not Kick-Ass (Matthew Vaughn 2010) or Spider-Man (Sam Raimi 2002) and it doesn’t try to be. It works so well because it doesn't try to be anything it’s not.

The actors give authentic performances and really bring these awkward but loveable characters to life. The two leads have a genuine honesty in their roles and you get completely pulled into their strange world to the point where you don't know what's real and what's not. Also, they are really well supported, particularly by Patrick Brammall who plays Griff’s brother, Tim. He has a goofy confidence that is a perfect contrast to the sociophobic Griff.

The editing in this film works really well and accentuates the awkward but also the fantasy elements of the film that Kwanten and Dermody choose to immerse themselves in. The film also uses colour to great effect. The three primary colours, blue, yellow and red, are prominent throughout and help to emphasise the binary opposition that the film presents between fantasy and reality. One drawback to this film is that at times you feel alienated from the fantasy elements of the film. You are invited to watch but not invited to join. It also follows a predictable and familiar plotline but it is the concept that makes this film so unique and the original way it is presented.

This is one Australian film that should not go unnoticed. It is such a rare film and a surprisingly beautiful one.

Drink.ing.

Why do people drink alcohol?

Yes, it can be awesome fun. You talk, dance, sing, make friends and don't even care what other people think. You get to be the most extroverted extrovert with out even trying. When you are drunk, no matter what you do, it's awesome. You have never danced so well. Your should have a record deal because, who else can sing as well as you? You are the next Beyonce or Beiber or whoever makes the most money. There are no strangers when you are drunk, everyone is your best friend. Everyone loves you and you love everyone no matter who they are. Let's face it, life is pretty awesome for those few hours that you are drunk. And the drunker you get, the more alcohol you want. No amount of alcohol is too much. You can never have too many shots and there is no one that can beat you in a drinking contest and if they do, you just demand a rematch until you win.

But then you get tired. Then you think, "Oh, I have work tomorrow." The high that the alcohol had you on starts to wear off. Instead of showing everyone your interpretive dance moves to Someone Like You, you decicde to sit down. Before you realise it, you are lying down. Then you realise how thirsty you are and how much you want water and now that you think about it, you haven't had any water the entire night but you are too tired and you just got comfortable on the hard tiled floor. So you let yourself slump down and then the  world starts spinning. You brain seems to have got up and left you. I'ts so annoyed at you that it has abandoned you to let you face the alcohol on your own.

Then your stomach starts to churn and you have another realisation that you haven't had much to eat during the night. All that is in your stomach is liquid. Then you realise that you don't feel so good and another thing hits you, that the world should not be spinning (it takes you longer than normal because your brain left you, remember). Then another realisation, your body wants all the alcohol to come out of your stomach. And fastest way is the way it came in. You attempt to get up. You half manage but it's an awkward sight to look at. You make a bet with yourself over whether you can make it to the toilet. When you don't make it to the toilet you are overjoyed that you won the bet. It's a short lived victory because along comes another realisation, when you make a bet with yourself and you bet against yourself, you still lose.

So having not made it to the toilet, you look for anything else you can find that isn't the floor, you manage to find a pot plant, or something that you think is a pot plant. Then it's over and you feel sort of okay and you attempt to look for somewhere to rest your head a bit while you wait for yourself to feel a little better, but at this point, the floor is looking so attractive that you just have to lie on it. It would be a crime not to lie on that ridiculously good looking floor. You decide that the floor is your best friend and you whisper sweet nothings to it as you slowly fall into what you think will be the best sleep you have ever had. Before too long, the dream you are having starts to swim and then your stomach feels funny again and you are running faster than you think Usain Bolt has ever run in his life to get to the toilet. You don't make it. Now that you think about it, you didn't actually make it to your feet. You got as far as your knees, shuffled forward a bit and then fell sprawling on that ridiculously good looking floor... But at least there was something that resembled an old pizza box. When you are able to sit up again, you have a good think and realise that this isn't you house, you don't really know where you are and you actually have no idea where the toilet in this place is. You crawl a few more metres and pass out from this overly strenuous exercise.

Your world is still spinning a lot. Your dreams are quite disturbed. Your mouth is really dry and your brain wants to come back but it is torn between its loyalty to you and its desire not to be around while you are suffering from alcohol absorption. Your stomach also considering leaving you but it was too ill to move. 

You wake up. It's light outside. You look around the bedroom you expected that you were in and realise that it is just a hallway, You wonder who spilt all that liquid on the ground behind you. You breathe through your nose. It's definitely not just any liquid. You feel your head and your stomach and a little bit of the night before comes back to you, the part where you couldn't find a toilet fast enough to have something to empty your stomach into. Crap. You try to get up but your head is killing you and the slightest movement makes it feel like your head is going to fall off and that your already empty stomach wants to be emptied further. Too late, you smell the other residents of the house cooking toast.

You wonder what in the hell happened last night. Whose party was it? Whose house are you in? Do you even know the people? Did you come with anyone or did you go on your own? What were you even drinking? Were you really that awesome at dancing or was that in your dream? You don't remember it, but your brain left you so none of these questions get answered. Then your muscles give up on you. You can't move any further, for the whole day. You decide that this is the most comfortable floor you have ever encountered and you don't need to move. For anyone or for anything. Why would you move? This floor is so ridiculously good looking. And your head slumps slowly downward.

Then someone shakes you. "Aren't you supposed to be at work?"

I don't quite understand how people enjoy the feeling after a big night. I would prefer never to drink again rather than have to feel that hungover that I couldn't do anything. I don't know if the fun of the night would ever outweigh having to feel that awful in the morning. I just do not think it is justified. I do not understand. My above situation may be over the top but then again it may not be. All I have to say is WHY? Why do it to yourselves people?

Step Up 4: Revolution of Crap

This is all I have to say about the new Step Up film, Step Up Revolution; 

It is a bad movie.

Movies don't get much worse than this one.

The only thing that this movie has going for it, is the dancing. The dancing is very cool and if it was real, then it would be even cooler. If you took away all the acting and all the story line that this film attempts to put into it and just had the dancing, then it wouldn't be too bad. It wouldn't be as painful as it was to sit through it. I would probably have lost less brain cells.

That is all.

Free Pussy Riot

The members of Pussy Riot have each been sentenced to two years jail.

Three women from the Russian feminist punk collective Pussy Riot were convicted Friday of "hooliganism motivated by religious hatred." Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, 22, Marina Alyokhina, 24, and Yekaterina Samutsevich, 30, were arrested in February following an uninvited "punk prayer" of protest against the iron fist and faux democracy of Russian president Vladimir Putin and calling to account the theological rubber-stamping of Putin's repressive regime by the Russian Orthodox Church. (www.huffingtonpost.com/rose-marie-berger/pussy-riot-sentencing-cant-jail-female-fury_b_1798849.html)

Get on board and help Amnesty International help these women. Go to this link Take Action and send your message to those that wish to inhibit freedom and suppress equality.

Batman is a Rising

IS HE RISING OR JUST BEGINNING? OR IS HE FOREVER? WAIT, IT COULD BE THAT HE IS RETURNING?

It's not just one aspect of this film that makes it good. It's every aspect. Everything about the film just reeks of awesomeness. The film looks great, the cinematography is brilliant, the editing is sharp, quick when it needs to be and controlled well when that needs to happen and the action sequences are breath taking. The choreography of the fight scenes is especially great because the moves, although fast, are not like crazy ninja moves or people from The Matrix and fights that other superhero movies might have but the fighting seems very realistic and you can see the characters struggle with the effort as they get tired and, for me, this really worked cause Batman is human. He is the only human in the most famous of the superheroes (they are called superheroes because they are super human), and so this was attention to detail that really appealed to me. 

And the music. This is almost what impressed me the most. In the previous Batman films I barely noticed the music but in this film for some reason it just really struck a chord with me and I was in awe of it. Hanz Zimmer really goes all out on this soundtrack. The music builds up right when it needs to and the most powerful thing about it is that it drops to almost silence after some of its biggest swells. The music will be all around you, drowning you in its almighty sound and right when you think that it is going to repeat the main theme and get even more intense, it will drop away into nothing as if it was never there in the first place (kind of like Batman disappears if you look away) It's epic and it works so well that you are in the edge of your seat.


Christain Bale reprises his role as Bruce Wayne without batting an eyelid, as if it was almost as natural as breathing. Before this movie I wasn't very sold on Christian Bale as an actor (some of you may scream out in protest, but I haven't seen The Fighter and so my knowledge of Christain Bale in movies is pretty limited to basically just The Prestige and Little Women...) but do not worry, I am sold now. He is pretty great. And of course, we can't forget about the Batman voice (which he still does even when he knows that no one is around...surely that must get tiring on the vocal chords).

Anne Hathaway is fantastic, she really is. She nails her role as Catwoman. She is also hilarious. Her transition from bad ass to the pretend victim or vice virsa to a pleasure to watch. She has a lot of sass and the fact that her cat ears are incorporated into her costume and that they are multifunctional was a really good idea. I was pretty worried that she was playing Catwoman and wished they had chosen an unknown for this part but Hathaway rocked it.

Tom Hardy. What can I say? He is one scary man in a mask. Even though he has limited expression, you always seem to be able to see the emotions that he is trying to portray. He goes from the scariest person, ever, just by laying his hand on someone's shoulder to being so vulnerable near the end of the film that you just want to give the guy a hug and take away all his pain even though he is a diabolical madman. I mean the Joker was insane (and Heath Ledger played that character so well) but he is just not as scary as this guy.

Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine and Gary Oldman are brilliant as always but a real stand out is Joseph Gordon-Levitt. He steals the show off these older guys. I mean, he is just so awesome. He walks around as if he owns this film.


*Spoiler Alert!*

There were a few things, looking back, that were a little odd. For example, how do the people of that prison that attempt to jump to freedom not break their backs? How does the rope not split them into two and cause so much death it's ridiculous? Don't know? I don't know either. But I shall forgive it.
Also, Bane cracks Batman's back when he drops him from above his head onto his knee. Ouch! But then he fixes it by a random prisoner pushing the vertebrae back into place. I am obviously no doctor but that doesn't sound right to me...again, I will forgive it.

Bane's voice. You can just tell that they had to record that again. But if you look at it like my sister pointed out that you could look at it/hear it then it is dealable. If you think about it, it is almost as if Bane is in your head, giving him an almost supernatural quality which makes him pretty scary.
And, although Gary Oldman is a brilliant actor, there were a few times that I could not understand what he was saying. It was a real struggle and I don't normally like to have to struggle to know what people are saying, especially if they are speaking english.

Oh and one more thing that annoyed me from the first time I saw it, the death of Miranda Tate. Really she should have stuck out her tongue and started twitching or something. I have never seen anyone die in real life so I cannot say for sure whether her death could have been real, but it seemed really fake to me.

*End of Spoilers*

I liked this movie better than the first two but then maybe I should watch them again because everyone seems to be disagreeing with me. But I thought that it brought together everything that the others were missing. I would not be able to tell you what they are missing but they were missing something in my opinion. Batman was never a movie that I would say; "Yes, I really feel like watching that right now." That would be something like Easy A or Stardust or Cars. (Childish? Maybe, but I am okay with that.) But I went and saw this new Batman three timesso that's saying something.

Upcoming Australian Films

There are so many Australian films coming out and I think that they all need to be seen.

The Sapphires
Director: Wayne Blair
Stars Chris O'Dowd, Debora Mailman and Jessica Mauboy

 And can I say that it is just soooo good. Why can't Australia make more films like this? It's such a feel good movie and it just made me want to dance. The people sitting next to me were not all that impressed about my dancing whilst they were trying to enjoy their movie. But if it doesn't have you at least tapping your feet, then there must be something wrong. The film has so much to offer (except their CGI which was, in this day and age, laughable but for a small budget film it was forgivable). Debora Mailman is a fantastic actress and she shines on the screen, Jessica Mauboy has an amazing voice and although I don't listen to any of her music, I loved her in Bran Nue Dae and she is equally as great in this and Chris O'Dowd is hilarious. All he has to do is open his mouth, no matter what he says, it makes you laugh because of his whole demeanor and of course his great Irish accent. Oh and did I mention that Judith Lucy has a part in this movie. Although you might not like her character because she is ridiculously racist, Lucy does a good job.
Although a very light, happy movie, it does confront a lot of big topics. Racism for one and not just the treatment of the Aboriginal people in Australia but also the African Americans but other white Americans and the pointlessness of the Vietnam war for another. It has something for everyone so I think that you should all get out there and support Australian film and see it.

To see the trailer click here

The Sapphires has been released and should be in a cinema near you.


Not Suitable for Children
Director: Peter Templeman
Stars Ryan Kwanten, Bojana Novakovic and Laura Brent

 
It's a comedy about a guy, who lives the life he wants without a worry, until he is told by a (maybe) girlfriend that he has a lump where no man wants to have a lump. He gets it checked out and is told that he has testicular cancer and has to get the testicle removed. Sexaul function will return but he will be infertile. So what would any guy do when faced with never being able to reproduce themselves, he tries to find someone that will have his baby before he is schedueled to have the surgery.
Now I have not seen this one but the trailer looked pretty good. This could be a biassed view because I am a fan of Australian film but you can check it out for yourself.

To see the trailer for this one, click here

Not Suitable for Children was released in limited release around the country so I think you will have to look for a DVD to see this one.


Mental
Director: P.J. Hogan
Stars Toni Collette, Liev Schreiber, Rebecca Gibney, Anthony LaPaglia and Debora Mailman (again! But I am fine with that cause she is awesome!)

Now all I can say about this one is that it looks absolutely mental. There is so much going on and well, it looks entertaining. A rather crazy looking, unconventional looking and acting Toni Collette, becomes the nanny of a family of five girls whose mother has been admitted to an asylum and their father hardly knows which girl is which. I may not make it sound that good but check it out for yourself.

Click here to view the Mental trailer

This film is due to be released in early October around the country.