Super Blog For Super Marcey

NEW BLOG, NEW ADDRESS

2010-02-08T17:09:00.001+10:30

THE BLOG HAS MOVED TO SUPERMARCEY.COM

CHANGE YOUR LINKS AND BOOKMARKS!

Exciting things coming soon

2010-02-05T14:51:00.001+10:30

Over the next few weeks I am planning on updating and upgrading Super Blog and combining the site with the Super Podcast. Hopefully I can actually pull this off and make it work! So keep an eye out, and there will be a new address as well.

In the meantime the blog will be updated as usual, just not for the next few days as I will not be home lol.

Where The Truth Lies

2010-02-03T16:26:00.003+10:30

3.5/5

Indeed, where does the truth lie? A great title for a really great little film. This film is all about lies and the truth, each character having their own truths and lies affecting their life. This is a film by Atom Egoyan, and I had thought I had seen one of his films before, but this was my first. He is certainly an interesting film maker and he does not hold back the sexuality which really worked for this film.

This tells the story of a pair of entertainers and what happened to split them up and what really happened with a girl who was found dead in their hotel room. A journalist who is known for profiling celebrities has the task of finding out what actually happened. All the lies and the truths come to the surface and a pretty picture is not one that is painted.

We have Kevin Bacon as Lanny and Colin Firth as Vince, the two entertainers who are best friends. They know everything about each other, they stick up for each other, they have this close relationship and it is hard to see what could have split them up. These two had the perfect chemistry together, without that I don't think I would have been pulled in as much as I was. They are both fantastic in the roles, I think Kevin Bacon is a very under rated actor. Colin Firth I love to see him away from the rom com, he is also fantastic and this was a different role for him. Alison Lohman as the reporter was also quite good, she is a capable actress and she held her own. These are the three components which hold this film together, they have a story to tell, through the lies they tell, the truth is buried.

They all put on very brave performances, the sexuality element is well in your face, and they handled it so well. It wasn't that it was difficult to watch, some of it was rather unexpected. I felt the script was done in such a smart way, as we slowly have the truth revealed over the situation. It feels as if everyone has secrets and everyone lies, but what will it take to reveal the truth? I was impressed with Mr. Egoyan and I would love to see more of his work after this. I actually can't easily recommend this film, it certainly is not for everyone. But if you like a bit of mystery, interesting and strange characters, great performances and well you don't mind sex and nudity, couldn't hurt to give this a try. The less you know, the better, I did not know much going in and it worked for the experience of this type of film.

Awesome Film Poster Of The Day #150

2010-02-03T16:23:00.001+10:30

Awesome Film Poster Of The Day #150

Dark Star

Awesome Film Poster Of The Day #149

2010-02-01T15:16:00.001+10:30

Awesome Film Poster Of The Day #149

Sleeping Beauty

Awesome Film Poster Of The Day #148

2010-01-31T20:20:00.000+10:30

Awesome Film Poster Of The Day #148

Mortal Kombat

Troll 2

2010-01-29T16:35:00.002+10:30

There is no way I can seriously review this film or give it a real rating. I mean if I look at it as a film, it gets 0/5 everything about it is a huge fail. The acting, the script, the direction, everything. But if I look at it as something that is just so terrible that it turns out all those bad things are extremely entertaining and hilarious then it gets a 5/5.

Troll 2 is one of those truly awful films that ends up being brilliant! It is so stupid and it makes no sense it is so hilarious. This is a film named Troll 2 and there is not a single troll to be found. It has nothing to do with Troll, and it in fact features Goblins.

The dialogue for this film is truly atrocious that it will have you in stitches, the acting is equally as bad and again you will laugh so hard. This is a special film, and there is not anything else like this out there. Sure there are a lot of so 'bad its good films 'but they aren't like Troll 2.

Folks I will leave you with this fantastic line delivery below ...

Dahmer

2010-01-29T16:18:00.002+10:30

3.5/5

It isn't a secret that I have an interest in true crime, and serial killers. Now that interest lies in that I am fascinated with the terrible acts people do, how terrifying these things are, it just boggles the mind how people can do the things they do. And what happens in real life is more frightening then anything you will find in fiction. Which leads me to this film, Dahmer. Obviously this is about the serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer who was as sick and sadistic as they come. Judging by the cover you'd expect this film to be some sick film exploiting the murders he did. However it is not like that at all, this is not the typical serial killer direct to DVD effort.

Dahmer does tell a story about Jeffrey Dahmer, but this film attempts to give a face to the man. This does not show the side of him which murders and eats his victims, this shows a man who clearly has been confused a lot of his life. He has urges different then everyone else and he cannot bring himself to satisfy those urges without doing the wrong thing. He is a man who is full of self loathing, he can't please his parents and his grandmother seems to be the only one who cares at least a little. Dahmer comes off as a quiet man, a shy man, he has trouble talking to others. He lures his victims in, and he drugs them, he can't bring himself to be with them unless they are unconscious. This is explorer more via flashbacks as he figures out his homosexual urges and can't sexually be with them unless they are unconscious.

There isn't much of a plot to speak of, this film is done via showing Dahmer during his reign of capturing victims and flashes back to different points in his life (his first murder is one) and maybe what led him to do what he did. The cannibalism is not explorer what so ever and it is strange they mention it on the cover. This film works because of the casting, Jeremy Renner is simply flawless as Dahmer. He brings a strange innocence to the character while remaining creepy and terrifying at the same time. At first it was a bit difficult to accept him playing this monster as he truly looks so adorable at times, but the way he actually goes about portraying Dahmer makes you look passed that. In a lot of cases serial killers (murderers) look like the person next door and that really worked here. You could believe he managed to lure these men back to his apartment, and then take control of that situation. Renner shows what a strong and capable actor he is, and if you are a fan of his this film is a must see.

This is a different entry into the serial killer sub genre, as it tries to show a different side to a monster and it isn't typical. I can't remember if this film was covered in the book I read Celluloid Serial Killers, but I would say it is a must see for something different. I thought for the most part this had a really decent script, some scenes come off really well and show what they need to. The direction is really good too, I was impressed with David Jacobson's work here. This is an above average direct to DVD effort, with strong performances and leaving out that exploitation element. I do believe that was a smart move for the story they wanted to tell.

Lake Mungo

2010-01-29T09:29:00.002+10:30

3/5

Lake Mungo is an Australian film which goes for the documentary style, telling the story about a young girl who while out with her family goes missing and suspected to have drowned. Her family recounts the events leading up to her disappearance and what happens after her body was recovered. This film is played out by 'home made footage', 'news footage', 're-enactments' and 'interviews' and it tries to show how the family deals with their grief and how the supernatural plays apart in it all as they try to understand what happened to Alice and what secrets she may have been keeping.

It is hard to really go into more detail without completely spoiling the film, the less you know the better it is. The actual home footage and interviews are really well done and quite convincing. I thought the actors for the most part did a stand up job. The news footage looked authentic which really added to the style and I think the only low point is some of the supernatural stuff was a bit hard to understand and see. The twists and reveals sometimes felt out of place and didn't make much sense at first. They establish Alice had secrets, and some were rather startling but in some ways it added nothing to the story.

This film I would say is not so much horror as it is a film about grieving with a supernatural twist. It is a rather sad film, as I cannot imagine what it would be like to be a parent losing a child (in this case a teenager) in the way that Alice was lost. The things they find out and of course a revelation at Lake Mungo which is actually rather creepy and disturbing. Things like this really sit you hard, however there was so much potential to do more here and it falls flat. At times the film can be a bit slow and it isn't until the second half it feels like the pace improves and it really grabs your interest.

It is hard to tell what the film makers wanted to say here, but none the less it did make for a somewhat interesting film and something a bit different from this country. The positives with this film certainly out-weigh the negative and it is actually a well put together film a side from pacing issues in the first half. They wanted to establish the family and what had happened but some scenes could have been left out to tighten up the pace. This was a pretty good effort and I liked the film for what it was.

Awesome Film Poster Of The Day #147

2010-01-29T09:26:00.001+10:30

Awesome Film Poster Of The Day #147

RoboCop

Paranormal Activity

2010-01-28T15:24:00.002+10:30

1/5

Paranormal Activity ended up being one of the most talked about smaller films towards the end of last year. It was the little film that could, made for basically nothing it grossed millions at the box office and got a wide release. The film was being called one of the scariest films ever made, and needless to say it did not live up to that for me. But my issues do not only stem that I was not scared (rarely do films scare me these days) but I found this was a really badly made film.

Paranormal Activity had a good idea behind it, there is a couple who have moved in together and the woman since she was younger has had strange experiences with the paranormal and it has started again. Determined to get to the bottom of it, her boyfriend buys a video camera and they plan to tape every day in the hopes of picking up something on camera.

Now that does sound like a good idea, a creepy premise, adding realism by using a hand held camera Blair Witch style. Well good idea, bad execution I am afraid. I found the two characters to be extremely unlikable and very irritating and annoying. In a film like this I want the characters to be people I like, people I can relate to. I really did not get that at all and I wanted to really just grab a baseball bat and smash them one! Not only were they irritating, they were extremely stupid as well. Sure there are things that were done to serve the plot but it made no sense and it came off stupid and annoying. I am sure they could have written something better, no much potential down the drain.

The acting was hard to watch at times, it made me laugh at times I really shouldn't have been laughing. No offense to the actors, I am sure they tried their best. But it came off so bad at times and the more intense it was supposed to get the worse the acting got. Some of the things that happened were supposed to be scary, but again I laughed so hard, it was really that stupid. Now this review is going to go into *SPOILER* territory so you have been warned. There was a scene where the boyfriend is in the bedroom and the girlfriend is screaming, he goes to help her but he runs back to grab the camera. Now I understand without the camera we can't see whats going on but really? She could be in danger but apparently its more important that it be filmed ... stupid, stupid, stupid. It wouldn't have hurt this film to have had hidden cameras around the place and have the hand held stuff doing other things. Then there are the things that are meant to scare, a door slightly moving, um no not scary. The girlfriend apparently being possessed and spending hours at night watching the boyfriend sleep, um no. I laughed so hard watching it, it looked really silly! I can see some people might be freaked out, but sorry it didn't work for me. Power footprints, silly! A Ouija board working on its own and then catching fire, man that was the dumbest and most hilarious part of the film! It did not work and it looked so stupid and fake (again hard to do on a small budget), and even worse the boyfriend was told not to do it, so what does he do? Find an Ouija board! Back to the stupidity of this film, the boyfriend! He is an idiot who does not listen and basically because of him the shit hits the fan. Why did the girlfriend put up with such a dick??

The psychic they call recommends they call this demon expert immediately, and that is what they should have done. But no, the boyfriend says no and it isn't until this demon thing has taken over that they call him and he isn't available, yes of course he isn't. All this stuff is introduced and it goes no where. This film has three different versions and I watched the theatrical cut, the ending of the original version was changed at the suggestion of Steven Spielberg apparently. The ending in the theatrical cut just made this already terrible and stupid film even worse. It did not fit in with anything going on and obviously left open for a part 2. The original ending which I watched worked better and fit in with the film, and it was probably one of the only decent things the film did. I didn't see the third ending but I read what happens and even that seemed better then the theatrical one.

I can't recommend this film at all, it is really terrible I'm afraid. One of the worst films to come out of 2009 yet it managed to be one of the most hilarious and very unintentionally.

The Poughkeepsie Tapes

2010-01-28T15:10:00.002+10:30

3/5

This film goes for that whole documentary style approach, with interviews from various people explaining the situation. Tapes were found in a house in Poughkeepsie which show a serial killer at work, documenting all of the moves he has made over the years. They show bits and pieces of the tape to fit in with what they are talking about in relation to the killer and how he has worked over the years.

Now this is a low budget affair and it shows, in way does this look real. Some of the people who play characters from various law enforcement do come off more realistic then others. Each actor is on their own level, some come off and rather unconvincing and others come off a lot better. I thought one of the stronger ones was the man who plays the profiler who shows the Tapes to his class. The man playing the killer I thought actually had some of the worst acting in some intense scenes and that killed some of the moments for me.

The idea of a serial killer who changes his MO, moves from place to place and hides his identity tricking everyone, yet documenting it all on tape was a really good idea. I really dug that and was curious to see how it would play out. The way of doing this like a documentary I thought really worked with what they were doing. Some scenes on the actual tapes were really unsettling, especially ones that involved him with young girls (nothing was shown, rather implied) and one involving him stalking a woman in the house who he then keeps as a slave. Other scenes on the tapes did not come off as well and because of the bad acting from the killer were almost laughable.

Unfortunately due to these elements this is a bit of an uneven film, it would have benefited from some better capable actors. The effects used however were rather affective and with the budget they had I thought it went over pretty well. I had heard mixed things about this film, and it is easy to see why. Some would write this off as a rubbish low budget affair, and others I think would get a lot out of it too. I wasn't disturbed or creeped out by this, but I really as I said dug the idea behind it. This film is a really strong effort, you can feel the amount of work was put into this and you got to appreciate that. There are some good twists and turns and a lot of things to do with the story actually work really well. The script is pretty good, I was rather impressed with how this all played out and the ending I thought was great too.

This was something different for the serial killer sub genre and having him tape everything was a good plot device, I can't imagine watching tapes like this if they were real. It doesn't explain the actions of this man, it is too hard too. The monster created here really is something nightmares are made of.

Awesome Film Poster Of The Day #146

2010-01-28T10:30:00.004+10:30

Awesome Film Poster Of The Day #146

Moon

Super Podcast Ep 20 - Video Game Adaptations w/Bede Jermyn & Pat Torfe

2010-01-27T14:29:00.006+10:30

Welcome to the landmark Episode 20 of the Super Podcast! Yes folk we have hit numero 2-0! I can’t believe there are 20 episodes already, time flies when you’re podcasting! Once again I am joined with my good mates Bede Jermyn (Terror Australis, JoBlo Schmoe) and Pat Torfe (AITH DVD Pub Critic). We decided to delve into the world of Video Game Adaptations and we ponder whether there are actually any really good ones out there.

Highlights Include:

We have a good laugh at the early adaptations and admit we did like them as kids.
Yes there is Street Fighter talk, and yes I do my Van Damme impression.
We talk about the film I consider to be the best adaptation.
No pokemon films get discussed however Lara Croft does get a mention.
Which one of us three is the sad sake who has seen every Uwe Boll film?
Resident Evil films and Silent Hill, were they worthy?
Is anything Uwe Boll made remotely decent?
And much, much more!

Again I would like to thank Bede and Pat for joining me, it was a blast to chat to them and about such a great subject! I would like to thank all the listeners for making this podcast such a success, without you I doubt I would have gotten to 20 episodes! Of course you can find me on Twitter, @SuperMarcey and you can find Bede @BedeJermyn and of course Pat @PatTorfe. If you have any comments, suggestions or general feedback please do not hesitate to email me at marceyness@gmail.com

Listen Now:

Standard Podcasts [01:29:22m]: | Download |

Awesome Film Poster Of The Day #145

2010-01-26T17:30:00.001+10:30

Awesome Film Poster Of The Day #145

Beauty & The Beast

Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire

2010-01-25T15:26:00.004+10:30

4.5/5

Precious is the story of a teenage girl, she's over weight, illiterate and she is pregnant with her second child (she got pregnant both times because her father raped her) and she has enrolled in an alternate school in the hopes of turning her life around. Meanwhile she has to deal with her abusive mother who just wants to get as much welfare off her as possible.

Precious is not exactly a happy film, in fact after I watched this I felt like my soul had been sucked out. That isn't to say this is not a good film, it is an excellent and well made film, it just isn't exactly a happy one. Precious is a sad story, but unfortunately her situation is not one of fiction. There are many teens out there in her situation or in a similar situation and something like this really aims to bring light to that and make people aware. I honestly can't imagine what I would do if I was in the situation that Precious was in. Her life really does suck, she has a horrible mother and her only escape is her fantasies. That really is until she gets kicked out from school (for being pregnant no less) but she gets recommended to go to an alternate school. She wants to learn and she wants to go to school, so behind her mothers back she goes. This is where her life starts to turn around, as she hesitantly learns to read and interact with others and come out of her shell.

Precious is played by new comer Gabourey Sidibe, she puts in such a fantastic performance I had a hard time believing this was her debut role. This girl just had all the right elements for the character and she embodied them. What a great find from the film makers, I really hope she goes on to other things, I would love to see more of her. The best actress nominations she has been receiving are certainly well deserved. She really does show this strong will with the character, something strong deep inside which keeps her going. Precious was not an easy role to play and it is awe inspiring that this newer did such a fantastic job. Paula Patton plays the teacher Ms. Rain at the alternate school, she was just a shining light here. Her relationship with Precious is a very important part of this story, and they had this perfect chemistry together. I don't think I have seen Paula in anything else but I sure would like to, again what a find she is! I really loved her in this, and her character brought a nice balance in.

Mo'Nique I am used to seeing in comedic roles, and I didn't mind her. But I certainly haven't seen her like this before, the character she plays as Precious mother Mary is one of the most disgusting characters. She is a brutal and vile woman, and I can't imagine this was an easy role to play. But boy does she pull it off and then some, you really want to smash this woman upside the head and take Precious away. Her final scenes in the film are really well done and Mo'Nique really blew me away. I have to say the awards she has won are well deserved. I really liked all the girls who played the classmates, they all came off as real and they had their moments. Mariah Carey has a small role, and she is alright. She wasn't in it much and she didn't have much to do but she at least proved she can do a decent job. I am not a fan of hers but I can admit when she does something right. Lenny Kravitz was also alright for the small role he had, but again it wasn't anything major and I can't imagine anyone screwing that up.

Precious is not an easy film to watch, but it is a reminder that life isn't always peachy. There are messages to be said here and there is something strangely uplifting about the film upon its conclusion. Be prepared to sit through something that really is sad, emotionally it is a draining film. However it is an extremely well made film, there is a fantastic use of colour and imagery. Some great direction by Lee Daniels, I was pretty impressed, especially how some of the more brutal scenes are handled and some flash backs as well. This is an impressive film and for me I think it set out to achieve its goal, I was moved by it. I haven't read the book it was based on, so I am not sure how it does compare. I felt it did have a strong script and the material was handled rather perfectly. Like the tag line says 'Life is hard. Life is short. Life is painful. Life is rich. Life is....Precious.'

Flashforward (novel) by Robert J. Sawyer

2010-01-25T12:00:00.004+10:30

Rating: 5/5

I actually sought this out after I saw the pilot to the TV series, I had found out it was loosely based on a sci-fi novel. The ideas presented in the TV series were interesting, and I searched high and low for this novel.

If you are familiar with the TV series, the novel is completely different. To be quite frank, the TV series has been dumbed down quite a lot. The novel's main characters are in fact scientists, to be more specific Physicists. We have Llyod Simcoe and Theo Procopides as our main two characters who are conducting an experiment to find the Higgs boson. At the exactly 5pm (Geneva time where they are located) the entire world blacks out. As they wake up they soon discover that they have had visions 21 years in the future.

The novel is set in a different 2009 (this was first published back in 1999), and the first part of the novel focuses on the fall out of the flashforward and the need to discover how it happened, and whether the experience they were running is in fact responsible. Much like in the TV series, one of our characters does not have a flashforward and they find out they will be murdered. The search to solve that is a major plot device in the novel, and it really works too. I thought this novel was just fantastic, it cleverly mixes sci-fi and the element of fantasy and personal drama and relationships extremely well.

I really felt strongly towards the characters, I really got caught up in their situations and their heart breaks. The ideas presented really make you think, whether or not the flashforwards are destined, can things be changed, is the timeline fixed? It makes you wonder and really is something that is thought provoking. I felt Robert J. Sawyer constructed something extremely intelligent, and it made me walk away with a new out look on things. I feel it is such a shame they made so many changes to the TV series. I think a faithful adaptation of the novel would have made for a compelling sci-fi film.

I would highly recommend this book, even if you aren't much of a sci-fi reader I think this novel does have something for everyone. Sure it has a lot of science in it but you can always use google if you do not entirely understand something. The characters are extremely well written, and the scenario's they are faced with as I said will make you think and wonder.

You can purchase the novel on Amazon or Borders Australia.

ISBN: 9780812580341

Category: Science Fiction

Format: Paperback

Pages: 320

Awesome Film Poster Of The Day #144

2010-01-25T11:57:00.001+10:30

Awesome Film Poster Of The Day #144

Cabin Fever

[REC]

2010-01-23T15:50:00.002+10:30

4/5

Thank you Spanish horror, you have given us a really awesome entry into the genre. I had head a lot about this film, and I actually didn't even see the trailer. Then the American shot for shot remake came out and I didn't bother to see a trailer for that either. So what took me so long to see this? I have no idea, availability I guess would be the main factor. I had heard so many good things but this one just going under my radar. I am sure glad I waited and watched the original, I can't imagine Quarantine holding a candle to this despite starring Dexter's own Jennifer Carpenter.

[REC] is a simple story, we have a television show host and her camera man shooting a piece for the show on a Firehouse and the firemen and what a typical night is like for them. Things go as they normally would, our host Angela (played wonderfully by Manuela Velasco) interviews different people as they go about their duties. A call comes along and Angela and her cameraman get to tag along. It isn't clear as to what the emergency is, but they head into an apartment complex and we hear some lady is unwell. They head to her apartment along with other officers on the scene. The horror and terror then really begins as there is clearly something wrong with this woman and the occupants in the building find themselves trapped inside by the authorities.

This is the type of film that throws you into a situation and you have to fend for yourself and work out what is going on. It is all shot hand held camera, from the point of view of the cameraman as you would expect. You can look at it as if the tape from that night was found and you are reviewing the footage. This was a low budget film, but you can't really tell, the effects were actually really well done and there were some top notch performances. You especially really relate to Angela, and you kind of need that connection with her. Manuela Velasco put in a great performance, she's a spunky woman and it really worked. The situation they are in, is a terrible one and you really would hate to be stuck in it. Part of the horror is the situation and what would you do if you were in there. Would you make the same decisions as these people? It is a very bleak situation, they are stuck there and they really can't get out and something is on the loose.

You don't fully get an explanation, you only know what is shown and what Angela finds out. But you don't need any more details, you can figure things out and make up your own mind. I like films that do this, sometimes it is okay not to be spoon fed everything. I know there are people out there who are not big fans of films shot like this, but it worked perfectly for the story being told. It was an affective device, and it felt more real (thanks to the effects and acting) and it hurts when things take a turn. It was an engaging film, the pacing was really well done, and it worked in such a way it suited each turn the film made.

The only let down I felt was the way it wrapped itself up, yes you can decided on certain things but it wasn't entirely clear. I actually wouldn't have minded if this was a little bit longer, so expand upon things, but even without that it did work pretty damn well. It isn't often you get a film like this, it is genuinely creepy and scary (scary would be the situation, I wasn't actually scared watching it but it had good jump scares that were affective). I can't imagine how I would react in the situation they were in, and I sure as heck never want to find out. It is nice to see a film like this in the genre, something that works really well and doesn't let up. It goes to show you don't need a massive budget to make a good film.

Up In The Air

2010-01-23T15:26:00.003+10:30

4.5/5

The tag line kind of says it all I guess, the story of a man ready to make a connection, or is he? Our main character Ryan Bingham (George Clooney) is grounded a very limited number of a days in the year, he's always on the move, travelling from city to city having been hired to fire people from their jobs. Basically because the person meant to do it is too much of a coward, which Ryan explains of course. He lives life out of a bag, not connected to anyone or anything. All that changes however when his company hires a new young hot shot Natalie (Anna Kendrick) who has new ideas for the company which would see the employees grounded. This does not sit well with Bingham, and his boss (Jason Bateman) in turn asks Ryan to show Natalie the ropes before they go ahead with her plan. Of course along the way Ryan meets his female counter part Alex (Vera Farmiga) and those connections start to get made. Throw in some side story about Ryan's sister getting married, and you have yourself Up In The Air.

This is the third film from Jason Reitman (the son of Ivan who has directed such classics as Stripes, Twins, Kindergarten Cop and Dave), and I must say I think Jason just keeps on getting better. I really enjoyed Thank You For Smoking and this film is in the same vein as that. I liked Juno as well, but this film is an improvement from that. I haven't read the book that this is based upon, so I can't really compare but what I found here was a really enjoyable and some what truthful film with certain elements. Each of our main characters had their charms and quirks and you enjoy spending time with them, and you want to reach out and help them.

George Clooney was made for this role, I can't imagine anyone else as Ryan and nor do I want to. This fit him like a glove, he hit all the right notes. George just had all the right elements, even his age fit the bill perfectly. His chemistry with Anna and Vera was spot on, you couldn't really ask for a better trio. You really get into the relationship that forms between Alex and Ryan, and when certain things happen you really feel it. The relationship between Natalie and Ryan works so well and they play off each other perfectly. There are some scenes which were just so fantastic you didn't want them to end. I mentioned Anna Kendrick being the stand out in The Marc Pease Experience and she is a stand out here, I really hope to see more of her (And no not in the Twilight-Saga she is far too good for that), she is fast becoming one of my favourite young actresses. Vera Farmiga is quite charming in this, she looks stunning as well. She had great chemistry with George, which all played out really well. As I said they made a great trio, and when they have scenes together it is so funny in how they played out, I really loved it.

Jason has a great style and it works for a film like this. He knows how to get these great performances from his actors and he picks some great names for smaller roles (J.K. Simmons for example who was also in Juno and Thank You For Smoking). The messages in the film are obvious and I think the only thing which let this film down was the way it actually concluded. It really is a relevant film for the way things have been over the past few years, with more people losing their jobs and such. I can see looking back at this and saying it was a product of its time, but it certainly wont feel dated. This is one I do want to see again, like with Thank You For Smoking it feels like it has that re-watch value. I am really looking forward to what Reitman comes up with next, in my opinion he is three for three.

Awesome Film Poster Of The Day #143

2010-01-23T15:15:00.000+10:30

Awesome Film Poster Of The Day #143

Total Recall

The Hurt Locker

2010-01-22T14:39:00.002+10:30

4.5/5

Kathryn Bigelow has given me two of my all time favourite films with Near Dark and Point Break, and I will watch anything she directs. When I heard about this film, it seemed like something rather different from her and I wasn't sure if it was really going to be my cup of tea. But damn was I ever wrong, what she has crafted here is probably one of the most intense and suspensful films I have ever seen. This is a film set in Iraq, with a group that makes up the bomb squad unit. They get sent in to dismantle and disarm bombs in the most dangerous of situations.

Now I have no idea how acurate the portrayal of this actually is, I am not going to pretend to know what it is like being smack bang in the middle of a war and what it is like being there. I can only look at this as a film, and what I got from it. You are basically put into a dangerous situation from the start of this film, you see the people involved and what they have to deal with. They are dealing with a bomb that could go off at any second, potention enemy could be anywhere waiting to detonate. The intensity of it all really got to me, and I was glued to the screen, and actually fearing what may happen. We get to know our characters and their situations and how doing this particular job has affected them. They try and deal with their every day lives out there, trying to keep themselves sane while the place around them crumbs (so to speak). They do not want to be there, but they get that call that there is a bomb and they have to go out there.

You get a really strong feel for everything going on, Kathryn's direction here is nothing short of fantastic and I don't think I saw a film in 2009 with better direction. It brings you right in, and it does not let up until the final frame. The look of the film is fantastic, you feel like you are right there with them. The washed out look, the cinematography, it just all feels very authentic. Acting wise, our three main characters are all just fantastic and they all excelled in their roles. Brian Geraghty as Owen did such a great job as the young and disturbed one. Anthony Mackie as JT was just so damn good in his role, he wants to take charge of the situation he knows how dangerous things are. Then we have for me the stand out with Jeremy Renner as William, the new guy to the team who seems rather wreckless and of course has his issues with JT. Renner certainly gave one of my favourite performances from 2009, he played all the right notes and just seemed to fit this character perfectly.

I can certainly understand all the praise for this film, it really does deserve it. It is a slow burn film, which worked really well for it. It certainly wouldn't have been as intense if it was done differently. It has some nice cameos from a lot of familar faces and they all do pretty well. Some interesting sub plots, one which kind of left me a bit confused but after thinking about it, I understood what was going on and it made perfect sense. I really want to watch this again, because I am sure I will get even more out of it a second time.

Carriers

2010-01-22T14:19:00.003+10:30

3.5/5

Carriers is one of those disease out break films, it does not actually give you much detail about the disease, but you just know there is no cure and it has spread rather quickly. We basically start the film in a car with four young people, two brothers Danny and Brian played by Lou Taylor Pucci and Chris Pine and two girls Bobby and Kate played by Piper Perabo and Emily Va Camp with Perabo being Pine's girl. We find out they are headed somewhere to get away from the outbreak. Of course they come across a broken down car with a father and daughter and the daughter we see is infected. Things do not look good right about now.

So what sets this film aside from the similar ones in this genre? This had less gore and it didn't have hundreds of disease infested people running around trying to kill everyone. This was more of a slow burn, character study of people in this terrible situation. And for the most part it all really worked. The horror element was the situation they were faced with and the tough decisions that followed. You really do not want to be in their situation, and you feel for these people. They are trying to avoid this disease but it is around each corner, and the decisions they are faced with are tough ones. You do not want to leave anyone behind, you don't want to risk getting infected.

The script was very solid, aside from a few little flaws it worked pretty well. It isn't until later on that you get a feel for the relationship between the two brothers and it would have been better if they had really played this more from the beginning. Chris Pine plays a-hole to a T, you don't like him too much at first but you can understand his motives and you do actually like him later on. Piper Perabo should take on more roles like this, she is very likable and a strong actress. You feel for her situation and as things progress you really feel that pain. Lou Taylor Pucci was the stand out for me, he really grew as a character in this and you do relate to him. He put on a great performance here, and I felt he probably had the toughest role to play. The weakest of the four was Emily Van Camp but that isn't to say she wasn't good, she was good just not great. And keep an eye out for Christopher Meloni in a small role, he can do no wrong.

This was a really strong effort in my opinion and I really liked this film and the fact that while the material isn't new what they tried to do was. The direction by Alex and David Pastor is rather impressive, they also wrote the film and I'll be keeping my eye out from more from them. I thought it was shot really well, the use of colour and location was spot on for this type of film. They made all these elements work, and while this film certainly wont be everyones cup of tea it certainly was mine.

Awful Film Poster Of The Week #19

2010-01-22T13:02:00.001+10:30

Awful Film Poster Of The Week #19

The Spy Next Door

I saw this and I vomited, Jackie Chan your career has gone down hill, although this has been years in the making :( I miss the Hong Kong films.

Awesome Film Poster Of The Day #142

2010-01-22T13:00:00.000+10:30

Awesome Film Poster Of The Day #142

Barracuda

Universal Soldier: Regeneration

2010-01-21T14:34:00.003+10:30

4/5

So there are these terrorists who are looking to cause a nuclear holocaust unless the President releases prisoners, if not his children will die and the Chernobyl nuclear reaction goes bomb! These terrorists are ready for what they might throw at them as they have a bad ass UniSol on their side in the form of Andrei the Pitbull. He isn't a normal UniSol, he is a Next Gen UniSol, an elite fighter who is unstoppable. So what do the good guys do to stop the situation? They want to reactive the apparently only one who can stop them, Luc Deveraux (Jean-Claude Van Damme). And as if that was not enough, the bad guys have managed to get a hold of his arch-enemy Andrew Scott (Dolph Lundgren) to try and stop him.

Phew that is a long description, and it probably sounds a little on the dumb side? Well it kind of is, but Universal Soldier wasn't exactly a film you were to take seriously in the first place. What set the original aside is it had great action, the story wasn't bad, it was actually engaging at times and it had two awesome leads in Van-Damme and Lundgren and they delivered some of their best performances. I wont mention Universal Solider: The Return, we will pretend that does not exist. I consider this to be the real sequel to the original.

Now the plotline is average, the story is average, but it does work. What really made this such an enjoyable and engaging film is the amazing action and really good cinematography. This film is a direct to DVD effort but it is just too good for that! I would have loved to have seen this on the big screen, it really does belong there. The action is really mind blowing at times and it is done so well. Now Van-Damme isn't exactly in this a lot, he comes in more in the second half. But the first half really does a good job of setting everything up and it is really good. Andrei is a great badie, he has a good presence and he really kicked some major ass. Van-Damme was awesome, his acting was good, and there is this one long sequence where he does VANDAMMAGE! It was awesome, and it really delivered! The entire film was worth the watch for just that. When Lundgren shows up for his cameo, the excitement is there. They have a fantastic showdown, they both looked to be in good shape for their age and they delivered the goods as I knew they would.

The only real cons here are some plot holes which show up, and the fact that it would have been nice to have more of Van Damme and Lundgren. But this really is an above average direct to DVD action film. It looks like it had a bigger budget then it did, it really is just too damn good. As a fan of the original, this was a great sequel and it made this UniSol fan very happy. It was nice to see a film that felt like it was made for me. As I mentioned the action is fantastic and I gotta say this film is better then some action-equse stuff that gets released in the theater. It was left open for another one and if they do the same things right, I am on board.

Awesome Film Poster Of The Day #141

2010-01-21T14:30:00.001+10:30

Awesome Film Poster Of The Day #141

Dune

Warm Bodies

2010-01-20T15:30:00.003+10:30

Pretty exciting news right here, I've been waiting for this for awhile and it has been announced!

Summit Entertainment (Yes that Summit behind Twilight) has acquired the rights to 'Warm Bodies' which is book written by Isaac Marion (Atria Books will be publishing it soon). 'Warm Bodies' is about a zombie, who tells his story. He winds up befriending the girl of one of his victims. Now the book I must say is excellent and I really encourage everyone to check it out when it has been published.

Now you're probably wondering, why am I excited about this news? Well the film is being Produced by my sister Bruna through Make Movies her company! Yep this is really exciting and I look forward to hearing more about this as the news comes out.

Summit have gotten Jonathan Levine on board to write and direct. Levine wrote and directed 'The Wackness' and he directed 'All The Boys Love Mandy Lane' which I reallly loved! I haven't seen 'The Wackness' yet but it is sitting on my to see pile.

So I say congrats to Bruna, this is really exciting!

You can check out the original story at Variety.

Awesome Film Poster Of The Day #140

2010-01-20T15:15:00.002+10:30

Awesome Film Poster Of The Day #140

SAW

This comes as a suggestion from my good mate Pat Torfe.

Awesome Film Poster Of The Day #139

2010-01-18T10:11:00.000+10:30

Awesome Film Poster Of The Day #139

Chopping Mall

Ilsa She Wolf Of The SS

2010-01-13T12:14:00.003+10:30

4/5

Now I like me some exploitation films, and one I have heard about for many, many years is Ilsa She Wolf Of The SS. This is a cult classic exploitation film, and after many years I managed to track down the unrated version to finally watch and see if it lived up to its name.

This is a nazi exploitation piece, set inside a Nazi death camp where they conduct medical experiments. Ilsa the warden is looking to find out that women can withstand pain and torture in order to fight, but she also has a problem that no man can satisfy her and she sets out to find one that finally can.

Alright so that sounds awfully strange doesn't it? Well it actually really is! Ilsa has a lot of sex, but she doesn't quite reach that climax she is looking for, and when that happens the man she has had sex with, loses some of his manhood if you get what I am saying. This sub plot goes on and on and it is really just excuse to show naked Ilsa and sex scenes. The torture scenes with the women are mostly implied, I had heard how gross and gorey this film is, but it actually isn't. Some of the worst kinds of torture are shown off screen, but it does make you squirmish because you know what they are doing. The acting isn't too bad either with our leading lady Dyanne Thorne as Ilsa owning the role and owning the film. Without her, this wouldn't have been anything to even give a second thought to.

This has all the things you want in an exploitation film, there is no lack of big breasts, bush and sex. There is blood and gore, and it is actually quite well done when it is shown. This actually has a coherent storyline, and it isn't too bad. I actually think Martyrs might have taken some inspiration from the torture stuff with a certain woman in this film. I can understand a lot of people hating this film, and saying how awful it is and what it portrays. But it is after all just a film, and it is an exploitation film, its goal is to disgust and show naked women. I guess if you are sick of seeing fake breasts and you want to see some real ones, check this film out.

Perfect Casting, Perfect Performance #3

2010-01-13T12:01:00.004+10:30

Perfect Casting, Perfect Performance #3

Sam Rockwell as Sam Bell in Moon

The last two editions of this feature, I had two pretty iconic actors and performances showcased. For the third edition I have chosen a film which was released last year and what I consider to be easily the best performance of 2009. Moon is a small indie film which has kind of gone under the radar and it is almost a crime that Sam Rockwell has not gotten more recognition for his role in this film. I have always been a fan of Sam Rockwell, he is a great actor. The role of Sam Bell is easily his best, I was blown away by this performance. This as I stated in my Moon review is the perfect example of Perfect Casting, Perfect Performance.

I really can not picture anyone else in this role, and I honestly do not think anyone could have pulled this role off the way Sam Rockwell did. Sam Bell is a complex character, and the role is a challenging one. Here is a man who has been alone with just a computer voice for three years on the moon. If that was me, I would have gone crazy after a few weeks. You can see the cracks starting to show. The way Sam shows this in his performance it really does affect you as a viewer. You feel his pain, you really feel his longing to get off there and go back home. It isn't often when an actor can really make you feel what he feels, and it isn't just once off, it is through out the entire film. From start to finish he is this character and you feel every second of it.

Now this is going into spoiler territory but Sam Rockwell successfully played the multiple characters as well, and you actually believe that there is more than one of him. We've seen the one actor play different roles in a film, and their interaction between the characters can make or break a film. If you aren't convinced it does not work (I think back to the great performance of Cate Blanchette in Coffee and Cigarettes), but it works just too well here and I really thought they had cloned Sam Rockwell and he was playing the different roles. It is truly amazing what Sam Rockwell and Duncan Jones achieved with Moon, and I do believe this performance is going to be one that will stick with me for a long time.

Awesome Film Poster Of The Day #138

2010-01-13T11:59:00.001+10:30

Awesome Film Poster Of The Day #138

The Crazies

Super Podcast Ep 19 - The Avatar Edition w/5 Guests over 3 Rounds!

2010-01-12T17:40:00.002+10:30

Welcome to Episode 19 of the Super Podcast, only one more episode before we hit 20! Quite the achievement I must say! This latest episode is a little bit different from the norm, the format for this episode has changed. This is the Avatar edition and I decided to find a few different people to discuss the film with, and instead of having everyone all talk at once, it is split into 3 rounds with the discussion on the film being different for all 3 rounds.

Round 1 guests include my MGR buddy Matt Denton who joined in, despite the fact he hasn’t seen Avatar. Ching-Yao Yu, who is a good buddy of mine from the Twitter-verse and who gives me funny feedback on my blog posts, and from Veracity Nation John D’Agnese.

Round 1 highlights include:

The difference between seeing the film in IMAX and on a regular cinema screen
How the Box Office was doing, and what we think contributed to that
Do we want to watch it in 3D at home and what we think of the up and coming 3D TV’s
The issues with had with the film, but did it ruin the experience?
And much, much more for Round 1!

Round 2’s guest is my fellow schmoe from JoBlo (forums) Bede aka Terror Australis (the Terrible Australian). Why is he so terrible? You’ll have to tune in for that one!

Round 2 highlights include:

Unlike everyone else on the planet, Bede watched this in 2D, how did it hold up?
What we think of this in comparison to Cameron’s last film Titanic.
We discuss the craziness that is people needing therapy after finding out Pandora isn’t actually real.
Is James Cameron King of the World?
Of course there is much, much more!

Round 3’s guest is my buddy in crime Steven from Empire forums AKA Big Bada Boomba AKA CokedUpBabyBoy, so many alias’s perhaps he should have starred on the show instead of Jennifer Garner?

Round 3 highlights include:

What we thought was the best thing about the film.
The over all experience of seeing the film in IMAX.
What we thought of Sam Worthington, and which one of us doesn’t find him all that attractive (hehe)
We ponder why people have become so obsessed with the film.
As usual there is much, much more discussed!

I would like to thank all my guests for joining me for the show it was a real pleasure to have them all on. It was great to discuss the film with different people and get different opinions and views on it. You can find and follow all my guests on Twitter, they are all excellent peeps! For myself you can find me @SuperMarcey, Matt Denton @TheMattDenton, Ching @nutzareus, John @Physboy, Bede @BedeJermyn and Steven @CokedUpBabyBoy

I always encourage feedback, suggestions and of course if you would like to be on the show, you can contact me via Twitter or through my email marceyness@gmail.com or via the many forums I frequent and Facebook or through the blog!

Listen Now:

Standard Podcasts |Download |

Jennifer's Body

2010-01-12T13:12:00.003+10:30

3/5

So the trailers for this looked pretty good, it looked like a decent horror high school film. Did it live up to my expectations? Yes and no I guess, I mean I didn't mind the film at all. It had a cool premise, the overly hot Megan Fox and an overly hot Megan Fox. I mean that is one of the selling points of the film, and it really does deliver the goods there.

This film is about a high school cheerleader who gets possessed by a demon who feeds on males. It is up to her best friend to put a stop to her. Sounds simply enough right? Well it really is!

Based on the screenplay by Diabolo Cody (best known for Juno), this attempts to be a sort of new wave horror for this generation. Now I think Diabolo did a good job with Juno, I liked the film for what it was. Her script isn't too bad, I thought some of the dialogue was really, really stupid whilst other parts were actually really funny and quite clever. It was very hit and miss for me, and sometimes it was a little too distracting.

The character of Jennifer isn't really all that likable, it feels like she keeps her friend 'Needy' (Amanda Seyfried) around because it made her look more attractive and 'Needy' just does whatever she says. Their friendship seemed really force, and I don't think it worked all that well to be perfectly honest. I thought Megan Fox was pretty well suited to the role and she was quite good. She looks hot, and she knows she looks hot! Amanda Seyfriend was really good as 'Needy', I thought she really stood out with her performance. I liked Johnny Simmons as Chip her boyfriend, their little relationship was really cute and it leads up to the final showdown as well which I thought was good.

As a horror film it is a little bit too tame but its perfect for the younger teen audience and I found it enjoyable and fun for the most part. It does have its flaws as I mentioned earlier, I thought the pacing could have been a bit tighter, but it wasn't a bad way to spend the evening. I thought giving Amanda's character the nick name of 'Needy' was just a little too obvious and silly. I probably would watch it again though, I can see this becoming a future guilty pleasure actually.

Awesome Film Poster Of The Day #137

2010-01-12T13:05:00.001+10:30

Awesome Film Poster Of The Day #137

Rocky

Fantastic Mr. Fox

2010-01-11T22:28:00.002+10:30

4.5/5

I have to say that this film really is fantastic! I honestly cannot remember if I read the story by Roald Dahl, as I used to read his stuff quite a lot in my younger years. So I can't really say how faithful it was to the source material. But what I got here was a highly enjoyable and really fun film. I enjoyed every second of it, I really just loved everything about it, it was great!

The story is about a trio of nasty farmers who want to get rid of the fox who steals from them. That fox is Mr. Fox (voiced by George Clooney) who is not satisfied with his life and he wants to go back to doing what he used to do before having a son, stealing! Of course chaos and fun play a big part in all of this and lesson are learned.

The voice casting for this was just great, George Clooney was so perfect for Mr. Fox he had all the right elements and it worked so well. Meryl Streep as Mrs. Fox was another case of great voice casting, she was divine in the role, just loved her. Jason Schwartzman also worked really well as their son Ash who really is quite the adorable little character. Bill Murray as the badger was another really nice choice, I really enjoyed what he brought to the table. Other notables were Wally Wolodarsky as Kylie, who was Mr. Fox's right hand man so to speak. He was great and Kylie was just a great character too. Eric Anderson (Brother of Wes) was quite awesome as cousin Kristofferson, I loved the chemistry he had with George and Jason, it all worked so well. I just loved the casting of Michael Gambon as our main bad guy, he was just fantastic. Also keep an ear out for Willem Dafoe as the ugly, nasty rat. He played that part well, and I actually had no idea he was a voice in the film, so that was a surprise.

The stop motion animation in this was really great, I loved the style of it. It brought this great humor to the story and characters, it worked so well. I loved the scene where we first see Ash and his expression and body language just worked so well for the scene and his character and it was portrayed in the voice as well. All the elements for this film just came together so nicely. It was nicely paced, it had such a good amount of humor and a nice running time. I really could easily rewatch this quite often, a fantastic film and easily one of my favourites from Wes Anderson. This was something different for him, and it worked, I wasn't sure what I might think of the film initially when I heard about it. The trailer was really good, and the good reviews started to come in and I was confident I would like it, but I didn't expect to love it! I am glad to be surprised by a film, I highly recommend this one folks.

Awesome Film Poster Of The Day #136

2010-01-11T20:28:00.001+10:30

Awesome Film Poster Of The Day #136

Star Trek: First Contact

Homecoming

2010-01-10T11:49:00.003+10:30

3/5

A direct to DVD film here, I had no interest in actually watching this however someone hired it and I thought eh lets see what post OC Mischa Barton can do. The film actually turned out to be alright but for all the wrong reasons. It was full of plot holes and oh so far fetched but that turned out to be part of the fun.

This was made before Mischa got really bloated, she actually looked fine here and didn't really look drugged up. She plays Shelby a small town girl who seems to have a few issues, she still believes her High School boyfriend is dating her, even though he moved away to college and dumped her. Said ex boyfriend Mike (Matt Long) is dating someone else, Elizabeth (Jessica Stroup). He has to go back to his home town to retire his football jersey number and introduce Elizabeth to his parents. Shelby does not take too kindly to all of this and after a road accident she holds Elizabeth captive.

This is like Fatal Attraction meets Misery for the younger crowd. We have the obsessed woman with Shelby, and the held captive part when she accidently runs Elizabeth over and keeps her in her house. While she does that, she aims to win Mike over, as you would expect. What really was rather annoying but also really funny and it made for some entertainment was that Mischa is not exactly threatening. Yes Elizabeth was hurt but it wouldn't take much to over power Shelby and she had so many chances to escape but apparently her character is extremely stupid. Oh yes the film is littered with stupid characters, but some how they manage to work anyway. Shelby seems to have some super human powers, super speed and super strength it seems awfully silly. They clearly did not think about these things when filming the movie, they just figured it would add to the suspense. I found it rather amusing, which made the film fun and silly.

Performance wise, everyone actually does a decent job. Mischa played a psycho pretty well, you really wanted to just slap her through the entire film. Jessica Stroup was alright as well, she did well despite having to play a bit of a stupid character, you actually care for her and don't want anything to happen. Matt Long was good as well, again he did the best he could given a stupid character. Michael Landes who you might remember from Final Destination 2 also playing a character in law enforcement was good too, he seemed to have fun playing this character.

I mean not an altogether bad way to spend an evening, just don't expect anything special. It is an average thriller, and its flaws actually made it enjoyable in the so bad it is good way. Probably one of the better direct to DVD thrillers out there too.

Awesome Film Poster Of The Day #135

2010-01-10T11:47:00.002+10:30

Awesome Film Poster Of The Day #135

The Arrival

I really just love the simplicity of this poster, I think it is so well done. I remember picking this up on video when it first came out based on the cover alone. The film for me was quite good too, I really liked it and I thought it was an above average entry into the genre.

The Lovely Bones

2010-01-09T18:29:00.002+10:30

3.5/5

Peter Jackson is an interesting film maker, he has made films of different genres and for the most part I've enjoyed them a lot. He has a unique and beautiful visual style, which is present in all his films (Yes even the early ones), and watching the trailers to this it seemed this was no different, it looked like a visual delight despite the sad subject matter. It looked like a return to the style of Heavenly Creatures, in some ways it was. After reading a lot of reviews for this film and seeing the negative reaction it has gotten, I can understand it however I felt very differently. I really liked this film for the most part.

The Lovely Bones is based upon a book of the same name which I haven't read, about a 14 year old girl named Suzie Salmon who is murdered. She watches as her family struggles to cope with her loss, she looms around the inbetween. Her father becomes obsessed with finding out what happened and who did it to her, the family basically falls apart.

I don't think this book would have been easy to write a script for, it seems like something that was rather difficult to translate to the screen. I do believe Peter Jackson did a good job with it, it is a hard subject matter, considering what happens to Suzie and the fact that she is telling the story from beyond the grave so to speak. The scenes we see of Suzie in the inbetween are quite stunning, very gorgeous to look at. Almost reminded me of some of the scenes of The Imaginarium Of Dr Parnassus (Both Jackson and Gilliam have their unique styles but they are both very visual film makers), there is a strange beauty to them even in the sadness.

The stand out performers were Saoirse Ronan as Suzie and Stanley Tucci as Mr. Harvey the man who kills Suzie. Saoirse Ronan is an amazing young actress, she already has an Oscar nomination under her belt and I do believe we've just seen the start of a great career to come. She really embodied Suzie and you really just fall in love with the character and it hurts when she is gone from her families life. One of the most disgusting and creepy characters Mr. Harvey was played flawlessly by Tucci and this was quite a different role for him. I would put this up there with Jackie Earle Haley's performance in Little Children of pedophile Ronnie. Both characters were genuinely creepy and pretty much flawless as well. Tucci disappeared in this character, and you basically just want to beat him up badly for what he has done. As the story progresses you come to realise just what a disgusting person he is too.

Everyone else was pretty solid as well, I know Mark Wahlberg has developed this reputation of being a bad actor after The Happening. I have always thought he was a decent actor and I've enjoyed him in films like The Italian Job and Shooter which I think he is perfectly suited to. I thought he was just fine in this, maybe he wasn't the perfect choice but I thought he tried and he made it work for the most part. I felt his pain of losing a child, and I did relate to his character. Rachel Weisz had a small role as the mother, she was fine when she was there but it felt like a wasted role. I really liked Susan Sarandon as the alcoholic grandmother, I thought she did just fine too, not so much of a waste role. At least you felt she was there, whereas with Weisz you didn't. Michael Imperioli was quite good as well, it was nice to see him in a film.

I thought the direction was pretty good, the pacing worked as well, there were maybe a few slow parts but that didn't really affect the film too much for me. Now this is headed into spoiler territory however the ending just did not sit too well with me. Now this is a sad and depressing film already and I think the way things wrapped up for certain things just made it even more sad and upsetting and I felt that the audience deserved something better. I am not sure if this was how it was wrapped up in the book, and obviously things in life aren't always happy, but it felt as though we all deserved something happy. Certainly not Jackson's best film but a pretty solid effort, I hope that the subject matter (religious elements) don't put people off. We all believe in different things and this is just one interpretation of that. Have an open mind.

Awful Film Poster Of The Week #18

2010-01-09T18:26:00.002+10:30

Awful Film Poster Of The Week #18

Did You Hear About The Morgans?

I am not picking on SJP, but this is one of the worst and ugliest posters I have seen for some time. I just need one word to describe it - YUK!

Awesome Film Poster Of The Day #134

2010-01-09T13:01:00.002+10:30

Awesome Film Poster Of The Day #134

Blazing Saddles

Kick Ass trailer 2

2010-01-09T09:39:00.004+10:30

This looks like it will be a lot of fun, and Nic Cage doesn't look overly insane for once.

Law Abiding Citizen

2010-01-08T19:04:00.003+10:30

4/5

I have to say this first off, this film is extremely far-fetched and some what silly. But you know what, even with that, I had a blast with it! I enjoyed myself with this film and I was smiling ear to ear to see Gerard Butler in a role like this and away from the Rom-Com scene. This suited him so well, and I want him to take on more roles like this.

The film is about a man Clyde (Gerard Butler) whose wife and daughter get killed in a home invasion and the DA Nice Rice (Jamie Foxx) makes a deal which sees the real culprit not do much jail time. Clyde does not take too kindly to this and years later he decides to get his own justice.

This is a revenge film, a different kind of revenge film though. We have a character who I guess we are supposed to think of as the bad guy with Clyde but we do feel sympathetic for him at times and what he has to say makes a bit of sense. You do feel he got the raw end of the deal, but you do also feel for Nick and the cops and the others who were involved. While Clyde is supposed to be the bad guy, you can't help but like him. Gerard Butler plays such a bad ass character, and it suits him so well, he really made the character his own. Jamie Foxx is also good but the character he plays isn't anything challenging and he doesn't really do much else with it. The two share a good chemistry together and their scenes work really well.

The look and feel of the film I really liked, the pacing as well worked for me. It felt like it took the right amount of time to get where it was going. The violence at times was brutal and it does not hold back on certain things. You think something wont happen but it does, and there are a few shock bits as well, which I think worked really well. Where the film does fail is how far-fetched it is and you really have to suspend belief. But part of the fun was seeing just what sort of things Clyde was going to come up with, and some of them actually worked pretty well.

I had a good time with this bad ass film, I enjoyed it. As I said I enjoyed seeing Gerard Butler in this bad ass role and seeing him naked went down well too. It was a good thriller, despite its flaws, Gerard fans should definitely check this out.

Awesome Film Poster Of The Day #133

2010-01-08T10:18:00.001+10:30

Awesome Film Poster Of The Day #133

First Blood

SuperPodcast Ep 18 - Films of 2009, we should have watched more w/MGR Crew Matt and Will

2010-01-08T00:58:00.000+10:30

Welcome to Episode 18 of the Super Podcast, in this installment I am finally joined by my MGR Podcasting crew Matt Denton and Will McCaskie. The first ever British and Scottish guests on Super Podcast, I am branching out! Being that it is a new year we thought we would go over the films of 2009, what we saw, what we liked, what we didn’t like and what we did not see. As it turned out we had not seen quite a few films of 2009, and felt we were probably the wrong trio to be talking about it hehe.

Highlights include:

As we delve into 2009, I ask the boys whether they had seen certain films, they had not.
There turned out to be some films we had seen, but did we like them?
The boys pretty much can offend anyone and everyone, so beware!
Apparently I pronounce the name Megan Fox wrong, and this becomes a discussion.
Which person actually liked Transformers 2?
We chose our top films and worst films.
And of course much, much more!

Okay truth time, I did enjoy having the boys join me for the podcast, we always have a blast when we get together. Something different for us all, as MGR has a different format. You can follow the boys on twitter of course, you can find Matt @TheMattDenton and you can find Will @The_Partys_Over and if you wish you can follow the MGR Podcast @MGRPodcast. If you have any feedback, suggestions or you just want to send me dirty photos you can email me at marceyness@gmail.com and send all hate mail to Matt Denton.

Listen Now:

Standard Podcasts: Download |

Fish Tank

2010-01-08T00:00:00.002+10:30

4.5/5

I went into this film not knowing anything about it, just that it was British and it featured Michael Fassbender, I had not even seen a trailer but I had seen some good ratings around the forums I frequent so I thought I would give it a shot. I am sure glad I did, I really thought this was an excellent film.

What is Fish Tank about? What do you think of when you hear the words fish tank? Small environment, trapped maybe? Well that really does sum up the film, our main character is Mia (Katie Jarvis), she is a 15 year old who dreams of becoming a dancer. She is being raised by her alcoholic single mother. Things change when her mother gets a new boyfriend Connor (Michael Fassbender).

From the start of the film you see Mia shouting and being abusive as she walks around the local neighbourhood. It is obvious she does not really have any friends, and her abusive behaviour easily stems from her mother. Her younger sister shows the same traits and the mother does not seem to care. These early scenes are shot so well, there is a strange beauty to them, and you just can't take your eyes away. Our lead Mia played by new comer Katie Jarvis is nearly flawless in this film. She becomes her character, and she feels awfully real and true to the story being told. This girl wants an escape, she craves a father figure and she craves love and attention.

The relationship we see form between Connor and Mia seems rather harmless at first but you can feel the sexual tension between them both and the feeling that it will lead where you don't want it to sets in. Despite the way she acts, I really wanted Mia to get away from her environment and have a better life. I am not sure if anyone else who saw this felt that way for her, but I really did. I almost felt as trapped as she did at times, especially in certain scenes. There are times where you will feel uncomfortable, but it works too. As I mentioned this film feels very real, and the way it was shot really adds to that feel, it almost feels like sad poem.

As I mentioned Katie Jarvis gives a great performance and Michael Fassbender does as well. There is a certain charm about him but also something strange with Connor, there is always that uncertainty about what his motives might be. Fassbender plays it all so well, I just want to see more of him. The direction by Andrea Arnold is just done so beautifully and truthfully, she has painted a picture of something real and something sad. Definitely one of the best films I got to see in 2009 and I would highly recommend this.

Awesome Film Poster Of The Day #132

2010-01-07T22:08:00.002+10:30

Awesome Film Poster Of The Day #132

The Shining

eBay tip

2010-01-07T22:05:00.001+10:30

If you are ever selling anything on eBay, use registered post no matter what it is. The rubbish I am dealing with now could have been avoided if I had used my brain and spent the extra $2.5o to register the parcel. There are too many awful scammers out there.

The Marc Pease Experience

2010-01-06T11:03:00.003+10:30

2/5

I sat watching this and I just thought, what in the world is this? A mess? Unfortunately yes it is a huge mess. What went wrong? I think this had some potential to be quite good, a bit of a musical and something fun, but it was anything but that.

The film is about Marc Pease (Jason Schwartzman) who loves to sing and during his High School muscial of The Wiz he runs out when it is his turn to perform his solo. Eight years go by and he still is basically acting like he is in High School, trying to get his group of singers to do a demo tape and annoying his music teacher Jon Gribble.

That is basically what it is about, and the character of Marc Pease is not exactly all that likable, I really just wanted to punch him out and tell him to grow up. I just found Jason Schwartzman to be extremely annoying in the role. He did not suit it, and he basically slept walked through it, I was not a fan. The only thing I thought was decent in the film was Ben Stiller as Jon Gribble. His character is supposed to be the one you don't like and he makes it work. I mean this wasn't a role that required Ben Stiller to do much with, but he was good. Anna Kendrick as the love interest Meg she was alright as well, she had little to work with but she makes sure you remember her. I do believe she will be an actress to expect big things from.

I really just cannot recommend this film, I found it boring at times and just extremely annoying with how things worked themselves out. At least the end performance of The Wiz actually looks really good and it was performed well. But sorry to say this film does not have a lot going for it, and it was really disappointing. It started off in such a way I thought maybe it would be alright but it just got messier and messier as it went on. Below average film, which is a shame. Not sure what the director might have been smoking ...

Awesome Film Poster Of The Day #131

2010-01-06T11:00:00.001+10:30

Awesome Film Poster Of The Day #131

The Machinist

Darth MC Hammer

2010-01-06T10:57:00.000+10:30

Awesome Film Poster Of The Day #130

2010-01-06T10:46:00.001+10:30

Awesome Film Poster Of The Day #130

The Adventures Of Priscilla, Queen Of The Desert

Awesome Film Poster Of The Day #129

2010-01-01T21:28:00.001+10:30

Awesome Film Poster Of The Day #129

American History X

Happy New Year

2010-01-01T21:23:00.002+10:30

Well Happy 2010 folks! Lets hope this year is a good one. 2009 had its ups and downs, but lessons learnt and life lived. Bring it on! Now I normally would do a write up of 2009, and how it was for me. So much has happened and I have documented it on this blog, so its all there anyway. I just want to move ahead, and busy livin, woooo yeah!

Avatar

2009-12-30T14:27:00.002+10:30

4/5

Easily one of the most talked about films this year, James Cameron returns after a 12 year break with the ground breaking Avatar. Did it live up to the hype? It sure did! Watching Avatar is like watching some wonderful dream, the visuals are probably some of the best I have ever seen in film, and in 3-D it is nothing short of spectacular.

So what exactly is Avatar about? It is about the planet Pandora, the native people there the Na'vi live in harmony and are at odds with the humans. You see the humans want to mine a mineral and the biggest source of the mineral is where a big group of Na'vi live. A paraplegic marine (Sam Worthington) befriends the Na'vi using an Avatar (A body grown which he can operate which is a Na'vi so he can interact with them ect) and learns about them and their way of life. Of course things get complicated ... and you'll know exactly where the film is headed.

Let's get the cons out of the way first, and there isn't a lot to actually fault with Avatar. My issue with this film lies with the script. It is not overly original, you've seen this story before and while there are original elements there, the basic structure is nothing new. You'll know exactly what is going to happen, there just aren't any surprises. It would have been nice if there was an unpredictable element there. The dialogue is extremely cheesy at times, a problem I had with Titanic. Now I really enjoy Titanic a lot, but my issues with that are the same here. Bad dialogue, cheesy stuff, a bit of a weak love story although in Avatar it works much better and is more convincing. And with Titanic I thought DiCaprio and Winslet were rather weak in their roles, however that wasn't the case here with our leads which I am happy to report. It'd have been nice if we got better dialogue and less cheese but Cameron did not learn from his past mistakes. It didn't ruin the film for me or anything, but it did bring it down a notch. Certain characters were totally cliqued but thanks to some good acting it didn't come off too badly. One issue I had, this is set way in the future, so why is one of the main characters smoking? That was just silly and dumb and it felt really out of place.

Now to the pros, we'll start with the acting. Sam Worthington was the perfect choice for our lead Jake Sully, he's so charismatic and just so damn charming and handsome. He worked so well and despite his Australia accent coming through from time to time he was great. Stephen Lang made for the perfect bad ass Colonel, he really brought his A game and definitely gave his character more then was written. Sigourney is always great, and she was well great here. It was good to see her in a James Cameron film once again, I liked her. The real stand out though was Zoe Saldana as Na'vi native Neytiri. We only see her as a Na'vi, but what she does here is really something else. She hits all the right notes, and you just can't help but totally fall in love with her. She was perfect and truly one of the great 2009 performances. She was awesome in Star Trek and I hope Zoe continues with her great roles, she is truly a talented actress and she's come along way since Center Stage (Which in owned in). All our supporting actors were also really good, the acting was definitely over all great and it really lifted the film.

Of course the big deal is the visuals, James Cameron is known for this. All his films look fantastic and he always wants to do bigger and things that haven't been done before. And you know what? He always manages to pull it off, he's a true perfectionist. The film, once we get to Pandora is just breath taking, it is truly a beautiful thing. I want to go live there, and fly on the flying creatures and be one with nature. It is just so pretty to look at, and in 3-D everything looks real, it does not look like it is CGI, it does not look like it was done a blue screen, it actually looks like they went to Pandora and filmed it there. The achievement with that is phenomenal, and the way things were shot just all worked so well. You can't really fault how this film looks, and it really needs to be seen on the big screen in 3-D, it is truly one of the best cinema experiences. I had no problems naming Avatar one of my Top Films of 2009, it is quite the achievement and such an enjoyable film. The final fight at the end is unbelievable and it was so fantastic to watch. I really hope it does not take James Cameron another 12 years for another film, give us something soon!

Awesome Film Poster Of The Day #128

2009-12-30T14:25:00.001+10:30

Awesome Film Poster Of The Day #128

District 9

Easily one of my personal fav posters for 2009

Awful Film Poster Of The Week #17

2009-12-30T14:15:00.004+10:30

Awful Film Poster Of The Week #17

Management

I have no idea what this film is, or what it is about. But these three posters for it actually induced vomiting. Such a lazy and awful photoshop hack job, who in their right mind is actually enticed to see this film based on these posters? Usually I showcase just one, but this one has three equally as awful ones. Jennifer Aniston doesn't even look like herself and Steve Zahn who I just adore just looks like some weird man-child, its actually kinda creepy. Was the photographer even awake when he took these? Lazy and stupid posters, vomit!

Gamer

2009-12-28T19:57:00.003+10:30

2.5/5

I'll get straight to the point, this really isn't a very good film. It really is style over substance big time, and if they actually went into developing the substance more it would have made for a good social commentary piece, as there is a lot to say there but they really didn't go in the direction. Instead they focused on the action and the gross sex stuff.

So what is this about exactly? Well it is the future, and games are pretty much all anyone is doing. There are two main games which were created by this insanely rich guy Ken Castle (Michael C. Hall), Society and Slayer. These games are a lot different as you actually play as real people, where one game focuses on sex the other is about violence. One of the gamers Kable (Gerard Butler) and his player are unstoppable and Kable seems to be the key to the rebels taking down Castle.

So what was actually good about this film? Gerard Butler, he does what he has to do with the role (and a terrible name for his character), the man belongs in action. He's ripped, he's charismatic, and he's awesome. The action scenes in the game of Slayer for the most part are pretty awesome and gruesome in their violence and I dug that. Michael C. Hall whilst he had a really poorly written character, really just runs with it and owns. He's a cool dude and even though there is a scene with out of the park dancing, he can pull it off. This film is filled with weird cameo's and some feel out of place, and others were just utterly disturbing (Milo Ventimiglia).

The Society game is actually very disgusting, and some of those scenes are just nausiating to watch, the way they were filmed was just too trippy and just not very good. Society is like an over sexed SIMS type game, and there is so much they could have said about it but they didn't. The script is pretty awful for the film, the team behind this film pulled off something awesome and fun with Crank but it seems they can't really recreate that.

There were moments in this film I had fun, and other moments that dragged, and other bits that were just not very good at all. For the most part I enjoyed Gerard Butler and Michael C. Hall but yes this film does not have a lot going for it. Pretty average, and it could have been so much better considering the premises is actually a good one.

Awesome Film Poster Of The Day #127

2009-12-28T19:54:00.001+10:30

Awesome Film Poster Of The Day #127

Confessions Of A Dangerous Mind

This Is England

2009-12-27T20:55:00.002+10:30

4.5/5

This is a film I wish I had not waited so long to see, much like with another Shane Meadows film (Dead Man's Shoes) I really wanted to see it. However I waited, and waited and I felt I really needed to be in the right mood to watch it. So several years after it's release I finally got around to watching it, and I wonder, why? The film is excellent, my second Shawn Meadows film and I got to say this guy is amazing.

This Is England is apparently based upon experiences that Shane Meadows had growing up, the film focuses on a young boy Shaun. He is a bit of a loner, an outcast, lashes out at people, he does not seem very happy. One day after school he meets a group of skin heads, who basically take him under their wing. He finally has found a group of friends, they treat each other like family, but it does not take too long before things get a bit dirty.

Firstly I got to say that Thomas Turgoose who plays Shaun is a brilliant young child actor, what a performance he gives here. He is so convincing, it is utterly incredible, I got to give it to Turgoose and Meadows for creating the character of Thomas in the way that they did, because without this performance this film wouldn't have been quite the same. There was definitely a strong connection between actor and director, truly I was blown away by him. The other real stand out is Stephen Graham (Who was recently in Public Enemies) as Combo, the skin head who comes out of prison. What an amazing performance he gave, he is genuinely creepy as well and it works perfectly for the character and the inevitable climax. I was so impressed with what he did with the role, he really just became the character.

Shane Meadows is such a strong director, he gets amazing performances out of his actors. The shots he does are so well done, the scenes play out so well you just do not want to take your eyes off the screen. He has such charismatic performers to work with, the scenery really comes alive with them in it. His use of colours is very affective, he paints such a clear picture. He really is such a great talent, I can't really decide if I liked this better then Dead Man's Shoes, whilst they are very different films, he again just does everything right.

I find it hard to fault this film, it looks amazing, the acting is amazing, the script is excellent and Shane Meadows, well he's the man. There is a lot to take away from this film, considering its subject matter and all, you really just want to help this kids realise exactly what it is they are getting themselves into. They come from poor homes, parents just seem rather clueless, it is a very realistic portrait of the place they come from. Considering this was based on his experiences I think it really shows, because it feels so real.

Awesome Film Poster Of The Day #126

2009-12-27T20:52:00.000+10:30

Awesome Film Poster Of The Day #126

The Brood

Awesome Film Poster Of The Day #125

2009-12-26T08:14:00.001+10:30

Awesome Film Poster Of The Day #125

Silent Night, Deadly Night

Super Podcast Ep 17 - Top 5 Horror Of The Decade w/Bede Jermyn, Pat Torfe & AJ Hakari

2009-12-24T13:00:00.001+10:30

Welcome to Episode 17 of the Super Podcast! Episode 17 is as epic as they come! Not only do I have a guest, I have three of them! I welcome back Bede, AKA Terror Australis from the JoBlo forums or as I call him the terrible Australian. I also welcome back Pat Torfe, Arrow in the Head’s very own DVD Pub critic. The third guest is a new one to Super Podcast and also my very first American guest (I’ve only ever had other Aussies on and Canadians) also from the JoBlo forums, Adam J. Hakari. Our topic for this episode is our Top 5 Horror of the Decade from 1999 to 2009. These are our opinions and personal favourite picks, basically what we considered to be the Top in horror for those 10 years.

Highlights include:

The terrible Australian picks an epic for his number 5 which leads us to get off topic and discuss the Expendables and Machete
A pick from Pat ends up getting discussed later in the show as others had that higher up in the list.
AJ has a pick which has a title so amazing, you just have to hear what it is.
A certain film comes up which everyone loves, except me and I think that wont go down too well.
A vampire film comes up, and we all agree this one leaves Twilight for dead.
Pat hasn’t seen a few of the picks, which is funny because he reviews horror DVDs!
Our top 2 and top 1’s are both surprising and maybe a little predictable but all good stuff.
And much, much more!

We had such a great time with this podcast, it was a real pleasure to have Bede and Pat back on the show and to chat to AJ despite his technical issues (He kept cutting out and dropping out but thanks to clever editing you wont notice). You can follow Bede on twitter @BedeJermyn, you can follow Pat on twitter @pattorfe, and you can follow AJ on twitter @MadMovieMan all fantastic guys! Of course you can follow me on twitter @SuperMarcey and you can send me feedback, suggestions ect to my email at marceyness@gmail.com

Listen Now:

[ 149:56m]: | Download |

My Top 10 Films of 2009

2009-12-24T07:12:00.004+10:30

Might as well just state my Top 10 for 2009 and keep in mind there are still quite a few films I haven't seen yet which are making the top lists for people (eg: UP, Up In The Air, Hurt Locker), so this is based on the films I have seen and the ones which I consider t0 be excellent films, enjoyable films, what I loved in 2009. Agree or disagree, it is my opinion folks.

10. Zombieland

9. The Imaginarium Of Dr. Parnassus

8. Where The Wild Things Are

7. Drag Me To Hell

6. Avatar

5. Star Trek

4. District 9

3. Watchmen

2. Inglourious Basterds

1. Moon

Perfect Casting, Perfect Performance #2

2009-12-23T18:13:00.003+10:30

Perfect Casting, Perfect Performance #2

Sigourney Weaver as Ellen Ripley in Aliens

With my first Perfect Casting piece I chose Christopher Reeve as Superman in the Superman films, but for my second piece whilst Sigourney has played Ripley the same amount of times that Reeve played Superman I have decided to single out one film from the series. Why you might ask? Well read on ....

We first meet the character of Ripley in Alien, she is one of the crew of the Nostromo who come across a nasty surprise and Ripley ends up being the sole survivor (with Jonesy of course), which leads us to Aliens, the sequel. Aliens is hailed as one of the best sequels ever made, some people prefer it over the original. They are both completely different films, and in my opinion both perfect films. The tone and mood for the films are so different, but we still have Ripley. Ripley was developed in Alien as a character, but it is in Aliens she is really fleshed out a lot more and Sigourney really shines through.

There is a reason this is the role she is most remembered for and associated with, this is a role she was meant to play, no one else would have worked. This is a role she made her own, and the performance she gives in Aliens as Ripley is quite simply perfect. She was actually nominated for an Oscar for this performance and rightfully so too. James Cameron is known for his strong female characters, and made Ripley a real leader, but not only that he tapped into her natural nurturing instincts which is a main point of the film with the relationship she forms with Newt. It does not stop her from being the tough woman she is, she is a survivor and Sigourney with her performance makes you believe every little bit of it. You really feel for her and you really believe she can kick the aliens sorry asses too.

While I think Signourney was fantastic in Alien, she is the real star in Aliens and I do believe she gives quite possibly her best performance in this film. She was great in Alien 3, no doubt and also one of the good points with Alien: Ressurection although her character is a lot different. This is the crowning jewel performance of Ripley and truly one of cinema's greatest. There are times when films just do not have a great strong female character and Ripley is top of the list with those. Without Sigourney I don't think we would have had such a great character or such a memorable one. Without that, there wouldn't have been such a demand for keeping that character alive and going in the next two films. I truly believe this was perfect casting and a perfect performance and one of the reasons why this wonderful actress is top of the list of my favourites.

Awesome Film Poster Of The Day #124

2009-12-23T14:21:00.000+10:30

Awesome Film Poster Of The Day #124

The Goonies

The Doom Generation

2009-12-22T08:43:00.002+10:30

4/5

This was a really trippy film, there is no other way to describe it. I am going to struggle to give this any kind if explanation actually. The tag line is a heterosexual film by Gregg Araki, maybe meaning there was only hetero sex in it but there was a lot of homosexual undertones in this film.

Basically, what is it about? A couple Jordan (James Duval) and Amy (Rose McGowan) have a crazy night after they meet up with drifter Xavier (Jonathan Schaech). They basically develop this three way relationship which of course if going to blow up, they get into trouble, and meet the strangest cast of characters and basically mayhem is all over the place.

This film is basically one big drug trip, and the message is clear really, this generation is doomed, hence the title. Gregg Araki has a great visual style, the use of colors is amazing and I really loved that. His use of big signs in the background which relate to the scene was also a really good touch, I liked that as well. A lot of little things were great, little lines of dialogue, which is extremely quotable as well and the use of $6.66 was also a nice touch.

Peformance wise it was really good, Rose McGowan hit all the right notes and she was perfectly suited for the character and she looked phenomenal, her body in this is to die for. She does get all the best lines and her delivery is mostly spot on. James Duval does the air head role perfectly, he looked the part and he played it just right. I liked him, but there were times I did want to just smack him upside the head. Jonathan Schaech played the overly sexual stranger, well really dirty! He was kind of hot and gross at the same time and the chemistry he shared with both Rose and James was fantastic, you can feel the heat burn up between the three.

I can see why people hate this film, people probably write it off as a nothing film but I got something out of it and I enjoyed it.

Awful Film Poster Of The Week #16

2009-12-22T08:33:00.004+10:30

Awful Film Poster Of The Week #16

Baby Geniuses

Does this even need an explanation? AWFUL! I want to be sick looking at it and that poor kid, urgh!

Awesome Film Poster Of The Day #123

2009-12-22T08:13:00.002+10:30

Awesome Film Poster Of The Day #123

Invasion Of The Body Snatchers

Awesome Film Poster Of The Day #122

2009-12-22T08:07:00.002+10:30

Awesome Film Poster Of The Day #122

Batman Begins

Awesome Film Poster Of The Day #121

2009-12-18T13:33:00.001+10:30

Awesome Film Poster Of The Day #121

The Prince Of Darkness

The Soloist

2009-12-17T19:26:00.002+10:30

3/5

This is the true story (the film was based on the book by Steve Lopez) of Steve Lopez who is a reporter who one day comes across a homeless man Nathaniel Ayres who is playing the violin. Steve can tell that Nathaniel has great musical talent and he decides to make him his new story for the paper. Of course word gets out about it, and Steve tries to help Nathaniel and a friendship forms between the two.

Okay so yes this is based on a true story, taken from the articles and book that the real Steve Lopez wrote, now I haven't read them and I am not sure how much is fact or fiction. But this pretty much does follow the formula of these types of films and I am not sure it really brought anything new to the table. The actual story itself is a really good and interesting one, and the characters presented are interesting as well. I felt Nathaniel was interesting, I wanted to know how he became homeless, did he know he was mentally ill? We do get a series of flashbacks but I actually wanted more, I wanted to see more of his early life.

The style of the film I actually don't think really suited the story it was telling. It was a little bit confusing at times, and with the actual story in relation to Steve Lopez and his boss Mary, we are left to assume we know their relationship. But it isn't explained at all and we just assume she is his ex wife with a complicated relationship. The pacing of the film was a little bit off at times as well, and it certainly could have had some cuts to make it sharper.

The films high points, I would start off with the music, it is actually just so beautiful and a real treat to listen to. When Nathaniel plays the Cello in this one scene I just thought it was done so affectively with the images, it came off so well. Jamie Foxx who plays Nathaniel (and he likes bio pics apparently) was really good in this role. He actually really disappeared into the character and the make up used was excellent. You couldn't really tell it was Jamie Foxx at times, and he did well playing a young Nathaniel as well. Jamie Foxx is quite the talented actor, and this in my opinion really suited him. This role was more of a challenge and I am really glad he was picked for this. Robert Downey Jr could have played this role in his sleep, I am not saying he wasn't good, he was great and he was a good choice. I just don't think his role as Steve was all that challenging for him. He did come off well and they both had good chemistry together and some of their scenes are rather touching. Catherine Keener is always good, and she was fine here as well.

This isn't a film for everyone, it does try to send a message about the homeless situation in Los Angeles and I think it does come off well, and it does make you hope that things are getting done there. For a bio pic I thought it was good, I just really think the style didn't suit the story it was telling. The music aspect I thought was great and if you do like that kind of thing I do think you will get something out of it. Of course if you are a fan of the actors it is worth checking out for them, especially Jamie Foxx in a role which is a bit different from what he does. This should have been better but it is still a good film if maybe a little bit average.

Awesome Film Poster Of The Day #120

2009-12-17T19:25:00.001+10:30

Awesome Film Poster Of The Day #120

Bubba Ho-Tep

Super Podcast Ep 16 - The Films Of 1999 w/Steven

2009-12-16T12:58:00.001+10:30

Super Podcast Ep 16 - The Films Of 1999 w/Steven

Welcome back to another installment of Super Podcast! With 2009 almost at an end, I decided it was the perfect time to take a look back 10 years ago to the year that was 1999 and what an iconic year it was for film. My very first podcasting guest Steven (aka Big Bada Boomba) from Empire Australia forums joins me as we delve into the films from 1999.

Highlights include:

We discuss some influential films of 1999, including the award winners
We touch on films we hated from that year
Steven’s all time favourite film was from 1999 and we touch on that
I mention which film really defined 1999 for me
There were a lot of teen related films out in 1999 which we discuss
We go over the Top 10 highest grossing films of 1999
And much much more!

It was fantastic to have Steven back on the show, and it was a blast to chat about the films of 1999, and just how many iconic films really did come out that year. You can catch Steven at the Empire Australia forums or you can follow him on twitter @CokedUpBabyBoy and check out his Blog - Anomaly. If you have any suggestions, feedback or comments you can always shoot me an email at marceyness@gmail.com

Listen Now:

Standard Podcasts [ 85:04m]: | Download |

The Exorcism Of Emily Rose

2009-12-15T20:56:00.004+10:30

3.5/5

The film tells the story of a young college woman Emily Rose (Jennifer Carpenter) who believes she has become possessed by demons. During the course of an exorcism she passes away and the blame is placed on the Priest (Tom Wilkinson) who was left with her care. He is charged with negligent homicide and lawyer Erin Bruner (Laura Linney) has to defend him. We find out the story during the court proceeding which takes place.

I had wanted to see this since it first came out and for some reason I never got around to it, until tonight. I do like these types of films with The Exorcist and Stigmata being personal favourites of mine, so yeah naturally this one seemed like it would be right up my alley.

For the most part I actually really liked the film, part court room drama, part horror, part religious debate, it mixed all these elements rather well I thought. If anything I think one of the only major issues I had with the film was it pushed the religious side a bit too much instead of giving us an unbiased film and probably 20mins could have been cut from it.

Performance wise, I felt everyone was rather strong. It was a bit strange seeing Tom Wilkinson portray a priest but I thought he was great casting and he worked rather well. Laura Linney makes for a good lawyer and I enjoyed her for the most part, this was a case of safe casting I felt. Jennifer Carpenter who I actually haven't seen in anything other than Dexter was actually quite affective as Emily Rose. Her 'possession' scenes were actually rather creepy and she made it work, and boy can this girl let off a good scream! I was impressed, she was really good. The other cast were also quite good, and played off each other well especially in the court room scenes.

Now the imdb plot synopsis claims this was based on a true story, as it does at the end. But this was actually based on the case of Annelise Michael from I believe the 70's, and if you read that story it is quite sad one and I thought they made a pretty good film based on that case. Something like this will no doubt give people reason to debate over whether possession is real or if she did suffer mental illnesses or epilepsy. Whilst I would have preferred the film take a more unbiased approach I did think it was a good one.

Where The Wild Things Are

2009-12-15T12:51:00.002+10:30

4/5

The children's book of the same name by Maurice Sendak is a strange one to actually make into a film. But Spike Jonze has done it, and I for one really liked it. I read the book quite often in Primary School and unfortunately I have not read it since then so it is not really all that clear in my mind. All I remember is the bedroom transforming into the forest and the wild things appear.

The film itself follows the story of young Max (Max Records), who seems to be a bit of a shy child, who gets no attention from his sister (Pepita Emmerichs) which is desperately craves. He has a wild imagination, making an igloo in the yard which ends up getting destroyed by the neighbourhood kids which upsets Max even more so that his sister didn't help him. Max's mother (Catherine Keener) is a busy one but she makes the time for Max. Max seems to be having difficulty dealing with getting older, and seems to lash out. The night where his mother doesn't show him as much attention as he'd like because she has a friend over, he cracks a tantrum and runs off.

This leads to Max entering his imagination in the world of The Wild Things. Much like how things were at home when he ran out, there seems to be a bit of a tantrum going on with The Wild Things, as he stumbles upon one of them destroying the houses they live in. We then meet The Wild Things, Carol (voiced by James Gandolfini) who like Max is having a hard time and destroying the houses as he is angry over KW (voiced by Lauren Ambrose) for leaving them. The other Wild Things Alexander (voiced by Paul Dano), Judith (voiced by Catherine O'Hara), Ira (voiced by Forest Whitaker), Douglas (voiced by Chris Cooper) and The Bull (voiced by Michael Berry Jr.) aren't too impressed with Carol's actions, but Max tries to unite them all. He tells them he is a King, so they make him their King instead of eating them and that is where the adventure begins.

I have to say firstly while the marketing at this seemed to be aimed at kids, it isn't really a kids film. I wouldn't recommend this to anyone younger then 12, I just don't think they will get it and it does end up being rather complex as well. This is more of a film for adults (young and old alike), and I think the pacing of the film as well might bore the young ones. With that said, that was my only real gripe with the film, was the pacing. Sometimes it worked, other times it didn't and it just moved a little bit too slow with some scenes. Other then that I really enjoyed this film and I did get a lot out of it.

There are clear paralells with The Wild Things and Max himself and his life. Carol is like Max, he reflects who Max is and who he wants to stay. Max does not want to grow up, and I do feel his character was having a hard time adjusting to that. KW is the sister he does not have and really wants, their relationship is a key part of the story and strong part of the film. At times it was so touching, and Lauren Ambrose did such a great voice job. I do miss her. While the other Wild Things aren't as developed, you can see parts of Max and his family in them as well. Different parts of his personality, parts of his life, and this is something a younger audience I don't think will pick up on.

As the story progresses things do not go according to plan for Max, and Carol becomes even more difficult to deal with (like Max was with his family), and the conflict that happens is important as Max learns a few life lessons there. There are some sad things in this film and some up lifting things as well, just like life it isn't all peaches and cream.

One very successful element of this film is the Wild Things themselves, they look simply fantastic. You can't tell if they are actually real or not, and the way they interact with their environment and with Max is stunning. I was so impressed with the over all look of the film, the use (and lack of) colour really worked. The voice jobs done by the actors were so fantastic, everyone seemed to fit so well, and they really had some great personalities present. For the small role she had Catherine Keener was great as the mother, and she had great chemistry with Max. And of course Max himself, he was great, he hit all the right notes and showed all the right emotions. He worked well for the most part and I think they found the right kid for the role. Hopefully he gets more roles, he has some talent there and it'd be a shame to see it go to waste.

Awesome Film Poster Of The Day #119

2009-12-15T12:16:00.000+10:30

Awesome Film Poster Of The Day #119

Candyman

Dexter Season 4

2009-12-15T12:06:00.002+10:30

Okay I was really having a think about whether or not I wanted to blog about this because I don't want to give any spoilers for anyone who isn't up to date. So I will try my best to not reveal anything.

I really wanted to briefly write about this currently season because it was simply phenomenal, and in my opinion one of the best shows currently on TV (There are shows I haven't gotten around to watching so obviously there are those who will disagree), but this Season really took the show to a whole new level.

The performances were really top notch this season, Michael C. Hall is without a doubt an excellent actor and this role is tailor made for me (Perfect Casting, Perfect Performance) and he delivers the goods and then some this Season. Jennifer Carpenter has really blown me away this Season, she has really lifted her game and she was fantastic. She has come a long way since the first Season, really proud of her. The stand out comes in the form of John Lithgow as Trinity, this Seasons villain. Now I am used to seeing Lithgow in a comedic role with 3rd Rock From The Sun, I had forgotten just how fantastic he can be as the bad guy (Cliffhanger, Ricochet). He was the perfect choice to play against Dexter and it worked on so many levels.

The story arc's for this Season were really great and interesting and every episode flowed so well. Dexter has grown so much as a character and it really showed this Season. I have no idea if they can out do this Season, but it was easily the best since the first Season, maybe even better.

Awful Film Poster Of The Week #15

2009-12-14T18:59:00.002+10:30

Awful Film Poster Of The Week #15

Sex and the City 2

This came out last week and I nearly vomited when I saw this complete mess! What is actually supposed to make me want to see this film come next year? Not this turd of a poster! It is terrible, Sarah Jessica Parker looks like wax, is she that far gone that they had to photoshop her to hell and back? The expression on her face is like ... AHHH. Urgh this is such a complete mess, terrible poster! I'd boycott the film because of how terrible this poster is. Now I am a SATC fan, I loved the series, I didn't mind the first film but urgh a simple poster can really be a turn off and this certainly is!

Awesome Film Poster Of The Day #118

2009-12-14T18:54:00.001+10:30

Awesome Film Poster Of The Day #118

Alien

Awesome Film Poster Of The Day #117

2009-12-10T19:41:00.001+10:30

Awesome Film Poster Of The Day #117

The Matrix

Moon

2009-12-09T16:26:00.002+10:30

5/5

The directorial debut from Duncan Jones, starring Sam Rockwell is easily my top film of 2009. This film blew me away, now I expected to really like this film but I didn't expect it to be this fantastic. So what is it you might ask that is so fantastic about this film that I would name it my top film of 2009? Well folks ... everything!

So what is Moon about? Well it is called Moon, so it has something to do with the Moon right? Yes, yes it does. The film takes place on a station on the Moon, Sam Bell (Sam Rockwell) has a three year contract stationed there, he is alone. His only company is with a computer known as GERTY (voiced by Kevin Spacey), as well as receiving messages from Earth. He is isolated, he feels that isolation as he counts down the three weeks left to his three years contract being up and he can go home. Sam gets into an accident, and that is where things start to get strange.

Best you do not know anymore about the plot, so I will leave it at that. I did not know much about the actual plot going in, I only knew what I had seen from the trailer and the spoiler free reviews that I had read. It felt so good to go into this film not knowing what to expect, how things would unfold. It is important to know this is a low budget, indie, sci-fi film that is layered and complex. It wont be a film for everyone, but this really had my name written all over it. I love a good sci-fi film, I love Sam Rockwell and I love to show my support to indie films. Duncan Jones (David Bowie's son) I've heard and seen interviews with him and I have so much respect and admiration for this man. He has even responded to me on Twitter, now that is cool folks! He has come up with such a great story, and the direction in this film certainly does not feel like a debut effort. The talent he shows here, it feels like he is a great veteran. I thought he was nothing short of amazing, and I can't say enough good things about the work he has done.

On the acting side, this is a one man show with Sam Rockwell. I recently started a new column here on Super Blog called Perfect Casting, Perfect Performance and in a future column this is going to feature on it. I honestly do not think another actor could have done what Sam Rockwell has done with this role. He was the perfect choice for this role, I really believe Sam was meant to play this role. There is nothing short of amazing with what he does, he becomes Sam Bell, and he played all the right notes. (Minor Possible Spoiler Ahead) The scenes where he has to act opposite himself, you would think it was two different people doing the work. I really don't think I've seen that work so well as I have here. (End Spoiler) His interactions with GERTY are just fantastic, and I am not sure how it was shot, whether Spacey was there or a recording was played or someone else did the voice whilst shooting but it works so well. Sam Rockwell is such a talented actor, and it is a shame he isn't a bigger star. This man really should be in top consideration this awards season, he deserves it more then anyone else.

This film really is one of the most unique experiences I have had for many years (Along with District 9), and in a time where we get remake after remake it is so refreshing to get something so original, so thought provoking and so stunning to look at. Like with District 9, the budget was small but it looked so damn impressive you wouldn't guess it was low budget. I really wish we would get more films like this, and it is a shame that it gets a limited release, films like this should be seen!

Thank you Duncan Jones and thank you Sam Rockwell!

Awesome Film Poster Of The Day #116

2009-12-09T16:18:00.002+10:30

Awesome Film Poster Of The Day #116

Mad Max

Selling on eBay

2009-12-09T13:35:00.001+10:30

Yeah shameless plug hehe

Dan and I are selling DVD's on eBay as well as his XBox 360 which has three red rings, its good for anyone who wants to repair it, we just don't have the time atm.

So if you're interested in anything, check out my store.

http://shop.ebay.com.au/marcey13/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_from=&_ipg=25

Awesome Film Poster Of The Day #115

2009-12-08T15:44:00.001+10:30

Awesome Film Poster Of The Day #115

The Little Girl Who Lives Down The Lane

AVP Game Refused Classification

2009-12-08T06:28:00.002+10:30

Here is the news article from News.com.au

Aliens vs Predator game banned, will not be 'sanitised' for Australia

By Chloe Lake, Technology Editor From: news.com.au December 07, 2009 5:34pm

Popular game banned for violence
Developer refuses to edit the game
Says it's made for adults, not children
Australia has no adult rating for games
A POPULAR sci-fi horror game has been banned in Australia - and the developer refuses to "sanitise" it for a local release.

Aliens vs Predator, a video game based on the popular movie series, has been refused classification for containing high-impact violence, according to the Classifications Board.

"We will not be releasing a sanitised or cut down version for territories where adults are not considered by their governments to be able to make their own entertainment choices," the game's maker, Rebellion Developments, told gaming blog CVG.

Unlike other developed nations, Australia does not have an adult rating for games, which means that anything stronger than an MA15+ rating has to be refused classification.

Aliens vs Predator was banned for showing close-ups of human characters experiencing "explicit decapitation and dismemberment" as well as "stabbing through the chest, throat, mouth or eyes," according to a copy of the Board's report published on GameArena.com.au.

"Characters can be stabbed with a Predator's wrist blade or an Alien's tail in depictions reminiscent of impalement," the report says, adding that players can combine explicit violent moves, such as decapitation or eye-gouging.

Similar actions are depicted in the movie series that inspired the game, with none of the films rated above MA15+.

Previous Alien vs Predator games – released by other developers and publishers – have been rated M and MA15+.

Rebellion Developments said it was "disappointed" by the ban, but remained defiant.
"The authorities had no choice (...) we agree strongly that our game is not suitable for game players who are not adults," the company said.

"The content of AvP is based on some of the most innovative and iconic horror movies, and as such we wanted to create a title that was true to the source."

"It is for adults, and it is bloody and frightening, that was our intent."

Previously banned games, such as Fallout 3 and Left 4 Dead 2, have been edited for local release.

Last month's release of zombie game Left 4 Dead 2 was so hastily edited that IGN game reviewers described it as "the worst censorship result in Australia's history" that was "not worth the plastic the disc is printed on."

Australia's classification laws cannot be changed without the support of every state and territory attorney-general.

South Australian Attorney-General Michael Atkinson remains outspoken about his opposition to R-rated games.

He recently acknowledged the lack of an R18+ rating "restricts adult liberty to a small degree", but said it was worth it to protect children from violent games.

Sega, the publisher of Aliens vs Predator, said it "will continue to investigate all options available to us, including the possibility of appeal".

This kind of stuff pisses me off to no end, this country can be so backwards! The rating system is a joke, why is there not an R rating for games I will never know. Censorship in this country continues to piss me off, and pissed me off badly! I honestly got so angry many years ago I wrote and spoke to people who were very vocal in wanting to get certain films banned, and they had a hard time actually being able to justify as to why. I wish I still had their responses because I laughed so hard with what they had to say (Yes some were politicians).

Unbelievable that that Classification Board has already banned six games this year! For more details on how utterly ridiculous this country is with censor ship, check out this website. You should see which films have been banned, were banned, what is edited (same with games). It really is such a joke...
http://www.refused-classification.com

Melbourne Armageddon Expo Robot Chicken Panel 18th Oct 2009

2009-12-07T19:16:00.003+10:30

Melbourne Armageddon Expo Robot Chicken Panel 18th Oct 2009

I managed to record as much as possible from the 2nd Robot Chicken Panel with Seth Green, Matthew Senreich & Tom Root from the Melbourne Armageddon Expo, the questions asked were weird and the responses were weird, it was fantastic!

Just excuse the people being in the way, I had good seats but people weren't being overly considerate with staying low so everyone could see.

Awful Film Poster Of The Week #15

2009-12-07T11:13:00.002+10:30

Awful Film Poster Of The Week #15

One Missed Call

This comes as a suggestion from my friend Ching. Now I haven't seen this remake, nor do I want to, why? Just look at the terrible poster! How in the world is that supposed to make anyone want to watch it? The title is One Missed Call, well the person isn't missing a call and their eyes are mouths, what the heck is that supposed to represent? It looks so stupid and silly, and it makes the film look bad (apparently it really is too), and well for me this is vomit inducing!

Awesome Film Poster Of The Day #115

2009-12-06T21:16:00.003+10:30

Awesome Film Poster Of The Day #115

Chinatown

Perfect Casting, Perfect Performance #1

2009-12-05T13:33:00.005+10:30

This is a new feature to Super Blog, I thought I would go through what I consider to be examples of Perfect Casting & Perfect Performances in film and TV. I used that term often when reviewing a film, perfect casting. There are times when someone is just so suited to the role, you just know that no one else would ever work. What I want to go through is the roles I really consider to be the best of the best. Now this is of course open to debate, but this is my opinion, no one elses. I know that people will agree and disagree and I encourage all feedback. So now on to the very first Perfect Casting, Perfect Performance column.

Perfect Casting, Perfect Performance #1

Christopher Reeve as Superman/Clark Kent in the Superman Film series

I have chose Christopher Reeve as Superman/Clark Kent from the Superman films because I truly feel as far as the perfect casting goes, this defines it! No one else has played the role of Superman and Clark Kent quite like Reeve, and I honestly do not think anyone will. Playing the double role of Superman and Clark Kent is not an easy task, they might be the same person but deep down they are oh so very different. Kal-El from Krypton is the superhero known as Superman but he has to protect his identity and live normally as reporter Clark Kent from the small town of Smallville. While Superman is this amazing unstoppable force full of confidence saving the world, Clark Kent is clumsy and bumbling, especially when around one Lois Lane. They are both so different, and Christopher Reeve played them both to perfection, you could actually believe they were two different people despite the fact they look exactly alike aside from those glasses.

In comparison to Brandon Routh for example who played the roles in Superman Returns, he made for a good Clark Kent, that he was suited to, but when it came to Superman he failed to deliver fully. Christopher had the confidence, and the power, everything he did from the way he spoke to the way he moved was so true to the character of Superman. While I think Brandon tried, he didn't quite pull it off. Just watch as Superman talks with Lois at her apartment, the way he talks to her, the way he moves. Then watch the scenes where he is Clark Kent around Lois, he is hunched over and shy, lacking that confidence, you wouldn't guess they are the same person. A reason why I think we can believe no one picked up that they were the same person. Brandon I think pulled off all the Clark quirks pretty well, but still Christopher did it better and Brandon had big shoes to fill.

Superman the movie is one of my all time favourite films and Superman is one of my all time favourite characters. Christopher really brought this character alive, and with everything you could believe a man can fly. The film itself is just so stunning and beautiful and really true to everything that Superman is about. I feel Christopher really understood this and was in touch with Superman and Clark Kent. The way he could change between the two characters is just such a delight to see. I have no issue with saying this truly is perfect casting and this is a perfect performance. In Superman the movie and Superman II, he really does just take my breath away and I am always in awe of his performance no matter how many times I watch it. When someone can do that to me, you know they have done something superb.

I truly believe this is one of cinemas greatest performances, say what you will but Christopher was Superman, and in more ways then one. He was a great man, and his tragedy and how he lived on after that I think proved he really was Superman. He did not give up on life, and he managed to live many years after his accident. I see him as a true hero, and may he rest in peace. With all the roles he played, none was stopped by this role and no one else has been able to replace him. I truly believe that Superman and Clark Kent is a role that is difficult to play, especially if it is written well and true to what Superman is all about. Christopher did what no one else has been able to do, they have come close but no one has been able to stop what he did, and I thank him for his amazing performance as Superman and Clark Kent.

Pictures from CapedWonder.com

Awesome Film Poster Of The Day #114

2009-12-05T13:29:00.000+10:30

Awesome Film Poster Of The Day #114

The Abyss

Zombieland

2009-12-04T11:18:00.004+10:30

4/5

What happens when a crazy disease turns people into zombies? Well you've seen many films like this before, but nothing quite like Zombieland. I mean zombie films usually have the same kind of formula, people turn into the living dead, they want to eat you, need to survive and get away from them. I mean sure they all are different, some have humor, some are done serious and some are just really badly made films. What set Zombieland apart from the rest was its characters and its heart, yes this film had heart!

I felt that Zombieland isn't just a film for fans of zombie and horror films, it is more main stream and it has more appeal to a larger audience. A bit a long the lines of Shaun of the Dead in that respect however these two films are very different and I really don't see the need to compare them at all. The film starts off with our introduction into the world of Zombieland with our main character who is known simply as Columbus (As that is where he wants to go) played by Jesse Eisenberg, he runs down the ground rules as to how he has survived. On the way he meets up with quite possibly one of the COOLEST characters I have seen in a film for some time (I want to buy this man an entire building full of Twinkies) known as Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson). Now these two are easily an odd couple, yet they have chemistry and it all works. They go about trying to get to where they are going and of course they come across more survivors who are well let's just say a bit more then a handful with Wichita (Emma Stone, HOT) and Little Rock (Abigail Breslin).

That is about all you need to know story wise, I mean it is better if you just sit back and enjoy it, because it is so much fun and enjoyable. If you are thinking this is a film all about killing zombies, well it isn't. Sure there is that in there, but there is so much more going on. It is about the characters, their story and their journey, and I gotta say it really sucked me right in. There is also this awesome cameo which I wont ruin for you, but it is so fantastic I loved every second of it. I felt the story and the script were pretty strong, the humor was great, it was mostly hit for me too which is always good.

On the acting side, Jesse Eisenberg felt like he was playing Michael Cera. It got really annoying too, I mean why didn't they just cast Michael Cera? It felt like it was written for him, it really did. I mean he did alright, but it was just too Michael Cera. Woody was easily the stand out, he just rocked in this. I have always been a fan of Woody Harrelson, from Cheers to Transsiberian (If you haven't seen that film check it out, brilliant performance from Woody), and this role was just perfect for him. He brings so much to the table and he made every aspect work, I mean even with some silly things, you don't take notice because he just rocks the role. Tallahassee is now one of my all time favourite film characters, I loved him! Emma Stone, wow she looked incredible! She was gorgeous to start with, very hot too, just WOW! I can't say enough nice things about her, she had a character which could have been rather unlikable but she really made it work. I thought she was great, good casting. Abigail Breslin sure has grown up since Little Miss Sunshine, and she is a strong actress, this was a good role for her and I really liked her in this. Again she made it all work and the chemistry between all the characters was great, it needed that to keep the film flowing and keeping it fun.

There wasn't much I didn't like about the film, aside from some plot points which seemed a bit silly and some of the pacing was a little off, but overall I just thought everything worked really well and came together nicely. I enjoyed being with these characters and going on their journey. I liked all the survival rules and how they related to things which happened in the film. I had heard so much good stuff about this film, I decided as I do to just go in with no expectations and I had a really good time. This certainly will be a film I will probably end up watching over and over, if only so I can spend time with Tallahassee!

Awesome Film Poster Of The Day #113

2009-12-04T10:58:00.002+10:30

Awesome Film Poster Of The Day #113

Army Of Darkness

Awesome Film Poster Of The Day #112

2009-12-03T18:31:00.001+10:30

Awesome Film Poster Of The Day #112

The Devil's Rejects

Thank you Paul B. Kidd

2009-12-02T19:23:00.004+10:30

I reviewed a book recently called Celluloid Serial Killers by Paul B. Kidd, now for those that know me I love my true crime books and this book combined that with film so it had my name written all over it. I really enjoyed the book quite a lot and Paul is a fantastic true crime writer.

I posted my review on this blog as well as my livejournal account, and Paul actually found it on there and contacted me about it. I have to say I am really blown away that he actually read my review and has asked me for more feedback. Being a fan of his work, it is really a great honour to be contacted and asked for more serial killer titles he might have over looked.

Thank you for actually taking the time out Paul to contact me and ask for my opinion, it really means a lot to me. And after this, I am encouraged to write even more and express myself, something like this really makes it all worth it! You can read my review here or check out my livejournal.

Awesome Film Poster Of The Day #111

2009-12-02T16:50:00.001+10:30

Awesome Film Poster Of The Day #111

Friday the 13th Part VI

This comes as a suggestion from my buddy TJ

Trick 'R Treat

2009-12-01T19:19:00.002+10:30

3.5/5

This is a film that has been sitting on the shelf for two years, it was supposed to be released back in 2007 theatrically however the powers that be shelved it. This seems to happen more often then not, and with it's impending DVD release I had heard a lot about it, mostly from the horror community. There is a lot of hype surrounding the film, and I try to ignore that (I have learned my lesson going back to my experience with The Descent) and just go in with no expectations. I hadn't even seen a trailer for this film, I had no idea what it was about only it was an anthology and that it was themed to Halloween.

So what is Trick 'R Treat about exactly? A lot of things, it has the different stories which weave together, however at its core this is a film about Halloween itself. The one day of the year where the ghosts and ghouls come out to play, and boy do they in this film! It takes place in a small town which really loves October 31st, parties and trick or treating are running wild.

What really grabbed me with this film is the look, it looks like Halloween. The sets are fantastic, you really get the feel and the atmosphere of Halloween and with me it really dragged me in. I wanted to jump in and hang out there (despite the horrors), the jack o lanterns in this film were just stunning and star themselves. Gotta give props to everyone involved, they did a great job here. The costumes as well were great, all of them were top notch and just really great to look at.

The stories themselves for me were hit and miss, I really loved one of them involving the kids and I really just didn't get into one which involved Brian Cox. The others were good I thought, and a nice twist with the Anna Paquin one which I will not reveal. The less you know the better it is, as watching this I was surprised all the way through although you can guess where things might be headed. They do all come together really well, and the opening is a good one to get you hooked in.

On the acting side it is all really good, everyone does a great job. I thought Dylan Baker was especially creepy and it was a great role, he did it well. Michael Dougherty got good performances from his actors and his script was really good as well. You can tell he really loves Halloween and he wanted to make something true to that day as well as giving us a great 80's feel to the film.

While this film did have it's flaws, I thought over all they did a good job, there was a lot of heart here. Pacing wise I thought certain scenes could have gone a bit faster, and maybe a few changes here and there but that is personally just how I felt. Without giving out spoilers I felt one thing in particular was really dumb.

I guess if you love horror and you love Halloween this is definitely a film for you.

Awful Film Poster Of The Week #14

2009-12-01T19:14:00.002+10:30

Awful Film Poster Of The Week #14

Batman: Forever

I have always hated this poster, now I don't mind the film, yes it has a lot of faults but I can still enjoy it for what it is. Sure they took the film in the wrong direction completely, but it does have its moments. But anyway, this poster really does just represent everything that IS wrong with the film and blows it up. It is actually vomit inducing for me personally, and Tommy Lee Jones just looks way too cooooky and Chris O'Donnell ... well eck.