Where's your undead at?

Interesting film alert *insert flashing lights here*! While having another YouTube binge I came across the trailer to Zombieland which looks quite appealing.

Granted, it looks like an Americanised version of Shaun of the Dead and is the latest flick to enter the new Zombie comedy sub-genre (we have Simon Pegg and Nick Frost to thank for that). It centres around two men (Woody Harrelson and Jesse Eisenberg) who have found a way to survive in a world over run by zombies. Reprising his role from Lost In Translation, Bill Murray stars as a zombie and Abigail Breslin and the severely talented Amber Heard make-up the group of survivors. Watching the trailer I had two thoughts;

Thought #1: “Wow, what an awesome use of slow motion.”

Thought#2: “Can Jesse Eisenberg star in any movie that doesn’t have `land’ in the title? Adventureland, Zombieland and . . I’m-a-better-version-of-Michael-Cera-land.”

This movie looks slick and fun in the hands of relatively unknown director Ruben Fleischer, plus I’m really beginning to like that Eisenberg character. Zombieland will be released in Oz on December 10 and like the monsters it features, I doubt you’ll need a brain to fully enjoy it.

Welcome to Wonderland

Burtonites desperate for a glimpse at the kooky directors version of Alice in Wonderland will be ecstatic to know USA Today has posted some exclusive concept art and publicity images. I recommend anyone with eyes should check them out here as they are, to put it simply, AMAZING.

Notably the images are a lot brighter than Tim Burtons usual Goth-German expressionist style but hello this is Wonderland and colour is a must. Thankfully for us hardcore fans there are the usually Burtonisms evident, particularly in Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dum. Boy oh boy am I excited about this! Not only is Burton one of my favourite directors, this also marks his first foray in to 3D filmmaking. The live action is being merged with CG animation and motion-capture creatures, and then transferred into 3D.

Did I mention the stellar cast? No? Well, it features emerging Aussie talent Mia Wasikowska as Alice, Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter, Anne Hathaway as the White Queen, Helena Bonham Carter as the Red Queen, Alan Rickman as the Caterpillar and Martin Sheen as the White Rabbit. Shooting wrapped up in the UK after only 40 days and work has now begun on what will be intensive post-production. Alice in Wonderland is slated for a March 5, 2010 release date in the US which will no doubt be later for us Aussies in Newfoundland.

Above: Mia Wasikowska in an image from the film, prior to Alice's entry in to Wonderland.

Nazis, nipples and narrative: a DVD review of `The Reader'

Now that Oscar season is well and truly over, so begins the wave of award-worthy movies hitting our shelves. With the more appealing Slumdog Millionaire, Frost/Nixon and Milk released earlier in the year and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button earlier this month, The Reader is the last of the best picture nominees to get a DVD release.

Adapted from Bernhard Schlink’s novel Der Vorlesser and directed by Stephen Daldry, the film is set in 1950s Germany where schoolboy Michael Berg begins an affair with much older Hanna Schmitz. In a bold piece of casting the character of Hanna is played by Kate Winslet’s breasts. In fact, Hanna is an ensemble performance from Winslet’s entire anatomy as her nipples and baby-maker spend as much time on screen as her face. Constant nudity aside, this is the role that finally won Winslet the best actress Oscar after five previous nominations. Solid as her performance is in The Reader, she was more deserving of the gold statuette for her role in Iris or Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

For much of the first third of the film all you do is watch Hanna and Michael going at `it’, but their affair comes to an abrupt end (much to my stomachs relief) when Hanna moves away. Fast forward some years later and Michael is now a wet-eyed law student sitting in on the trial of seven women, former prison guards for the Nazis during WWII, accused of atrocious war crimes. Much to Michael’s surprise, his cougar Hanna is one of the accused. Thankfully we don’t have to witness another grunting and grinding display between Hanna and Michael, but the cringe-worthy sex scenes soon seem like a fond memory as a bunch of crying and moral lessons ensue. Ralph Fiennes plays an older, yet still weepy, version of Michael who tries to come to terms with what Hanna has done and the effect she has had on his life.

From The Boy in the Stripped Pyjamas and Good, to Defiance and Valkyrie, in the past eight months there have been a plethora of WWII related films. With Quentin Tarantino’s Inglorious Basterds just around the corner, it seems Hollywood has found its latest niche topic. The element that sets The Reader aside from the others lies in its Nazi sympathies. Of course, any film that vaguely smells of Nazi is unpopular with audiences and you get the feeling the encounter with an aging Holocaust survivor at the end of the film has only been thrown in to try and balance the scales slightly.

Sure, the performances are solid; Winslet is convincing as the snarling, rude and frequently nude Hanna and Fiennes brings his experience to the role of older Michael. Up and comer David Kross is good as the young Michael, although, he doesn’t have to do anything except get laid and tear-up so it’s questionable how hard the role would have been to play. The cinematography, a joint effort by Roger Deakins and Chris Menges, is truly beautiful and carries much of the film throughout the slower scenes (and there are plenty of those).

Like an overwhelming majority of Oscar nominated films The Reader is a depressing movie and weighed down by its urgency to say something meaningful about the human condition. Arguably people aren’t going to rent-out a film like The Reader and expect the joyous escapism of Slumdog Millionaire. Yet even as a piece of artsy cinema The Reader is a mediocre ride with not enough `omph’ to really punch the message, whatever that is, home.

First time viewers will be glad they waited for the DVD release and if the feature film hasn’t drained every last morsel of enthusiasm out of you, then there’s plenty of extras to keep you philosophising. They include a feature on adapting the novel for the screen with an intriguing interview of David Hare, the man tasked with writing the script for The Reader. Surprisingly for a film without any special effects or big stunts there are plenty of featurettes for the movie voyeur including a look behind the make-up work, music and production design. The Reader is available to rent or buy on June 24.

Obscure is the new black

For all you movie and internet voyeurs out there, boy have I got a treat for you. And no, it's not a Schmacko. It's a nifty website called MovieLine which along with movie news, reviews etc there's also a section dedicated to obscure film findings. You know, the kind of movie which is brilliant in its own right but slips behind the couch cushion and is lost for months, years, decades. 

You can check the site out for yourself here.

Note: when I say `obscure' movies I don't mean the kitsch, obscure horror movies I usually harp on about *cough Sleepaway Camp cough cough*. This is high-brow obscure, the kind which would make all your les artiste friends feel unworthy.

Take a walk down the Lane

"Lane writes prose the way Fred Astaire danced; his sentences and paragraphs are a sublime, rhythmic concoction of glide and snap, lightness and sting." -The New York Times Book Review

Oh, there are many things I want in life; a pet unicorn, Mark Wahlberg as my husband, a chocolate fountain in my house and to write like Anthony Lane. Mr Lane is a critic from The New Yorker whose writing literally fizzes off the page. His reviews are so funny, so witty and so insightful everything I have ever written suddenly feels majorly insignificant. The amicable Michael Adams from Empire magazine put me on to the talents of Mr Lane and I was able to ship a book of his writings over from the US. I've spent the last few hours reading said book and am now basking in the afterglow of his brilliance. If I could, I would post the entire book on this site so you too can marvel at his hilarious and magnificent reviews. Instead here a few of my favourite snippets.

Anthony Lane on Pulp Fiction:
"Everybody knows the old E.M Forster distinction between story and plot: 'The king died and then the queen died' is a story. 'The king died and then the queen died of grief' is a plot. Fair enough, but what Forster failed to foresee was the emergence of a third category, the Quentin Tarantino plot, which goes something like this: 'The king died while having sex on the hood of a lime-green Corvette, and the queen died of contaminated crack borrowed from the court jester, with whom she was enjoying a conversation about the relative merits of Tab and Diet Pepsi as they sat and surveyed the bleeding remains of the lords and ladies whom she had just blown away with a stolen .45 in a fit of grief.'" -October 10, 1994

Anthony Lane on American Psycho:
"Such is the fate of satire: however strong you make it, there will always be people who like it spicier still - who barely notice that it was meant to be satire in the first place." - April 17, 2000

Anthony Lane on Mission: Impossible 2:
"The big problem with the new John Woo movie is not what it's about, or whether it adds lustre to epistemological conundrum that is world cinema, but what are we supposed to call the damn thing. In my innocence, I had presumed that any sequel to Brian DePalma's Mission: Impossible would bear the title Mission: Impossible II or Mission: Impossible Just Got a Teeny Bit Harder, but apparently the latest installment would prefer to be known as M: i-2, which looks as ugly as it sounds." - June 5, 2000

Anthony Lane on Pearl Harbour:
"The last Michael Bay film, Armageddon, was a handy guide to what you should do when an asteroid bumps into your planet. At the time, most critics scorned the picture as deafening and dumb; in retrospect, it feels like a mature, even witty, exercise in self-reference, considering that the effect of watching a Michael Bay film is indistinguishable from having a large, pointy lump of rock drop on your head. His new picture, Pearl Harbour, maintains the mood, pulsing fervor as it tells a tale familiar to every child in America: how a great nation was attacked and humbled by the imperious pride of Ben Affleck. He plays Rofe, a dyslexic Tennessee farmboy who has loved to fly ever since he was old enough to crash. At least, I think he's from Tennessee; his accent takes a patriotic tour of several states, as if to indicate that the noble Rafe could have come from just about anywhere." - June 4, 2001

Anthony Lane on the 2001 Oscars:
"Gladiator will presumably slay all tigers, crouching or otherwise, although I for one would welcome a best-director nod for Ang Lee, largely because of a desire to see him run up the wall of the Shrine Auditorium, spin over Russel Crowe, and bounce lightly off Catherine Zeta-Jones." - March 26, 2001

Anthony Lane on Charlie's Angels:
"Who is responsible for Charlie's Angels? According to the credits, it was `directed by McG' thus raising the intriguing prospect of the world's first motion picture to be made by a hamburger . . .After seeing the movie, I have even less grasp of McG than when I went in, although the evidence suggests that we have Thick Shake to thank for the screenplay, and that impressive special effects were by Large Fries." - November 13, 2000

Anthony Lane on Julia Roberts:
". . .if you had knelt behind the screen at the premiere of Pretty Woman and peeked around the edge, you would have seen the menfolk sitting there, slack as puppies, waiting for Roberts to unleash her grin and wondering if they could climb into her mouth." - March 26, 2001

*The above are extracts from the book Nobody's Perfect: writings from The New Yorker by Anthony Lane.

Taking the Mickey

Well, well, well.
Mickey Rourke’s turn as Russian baddie Whiplash certainly makes Jack Sparrow look straight as a ruler.This, dear readers, is the latest image off the set of Iron Man 2, the sequel to the Robert Downey Jr hit of `08. Rourke stars as the thorn in Tony Stark’s metallic side for the sequel along with Sam Rockwell as Justin Hammer. This is the first look at Rourke as Whiplash and was pointed to off Jon Favreau’s Twitter account. I must say, the get-up is a bit. . . erm . . campe? With Scar-Jo in leather as Black Widow and Rourke rocking the bondage, it seems the sequel will be catering to all fetishes. Bunuel would be proud kinky has gone so mainstream.

Favreau the funnyman

Sometimes I love famous people. Especially ones with a sense of humour and especially ones who utilise their Twitter following.

Jon Favreau, I'm talking to you.
I follow the director/producer/actor on Twitter and he just tweeted the following:

Jon_FavreauRT @dsgrimace: @Jon_Favreau just thought you should know that another photo leaked from Iron Man set. http://yfrog.com/0p559puaj

I've gotta say, those exclusive Iron Man 2 pics are going to storm the entertainment world! Haha keep up the funnies Favreau.

Over-share of the day

"Let me tell you, The Reader was not glamorous for me in terms of body-hair maintenance. I had to grow it in, because you can't have a landing strip in 1950, you know? And then because of years of waxing, as all of us girls know, it doesn't come back quite the way it used to. They even made me a merkin because they were so concerned that I might not be able to grow enough. I said, 'Guys, I am going to have to draw the line at a pubic wig. But you can shoot my snatch up close and personal.'"

-Kate Winslet tells Allure

Get them on your radar

Ah I don’t know what has gotten into me lately – I have been blogging like a mad woman! At least two posts a day for the past weekish. There are stints when I find little to no movie news or reviews that interest me but lately . . . lately there has been tonnes. Dawn French tonnes. If there hasn’t been a new cinema-plex opening or a new movie worth reviewing, then there’s hordes of news which interests me and I want to write about it. I’m hoping this post will satisfy my insatiable urge to write blog posts at the moment and I intend to have at least a day break after this. But seriously, I just HAD to give you the run down on some up and coming new releases. I had a YouTube binge last night and caught up on a bunch of trailers I hadn’t seen and rewatched some I had. Anywho, here’s my selection of MUST SEE movies for the months of June and July.
Two Lovers (out nowish)

James Gray, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways. Nay, let me count the films; Little Odessa (digged), The Yards (blew my freakin' mind), We Own The Night (adored). Now we have his latest offering and Joaquin Phoenix’s alleged last foray in to acting, Two Lovers. The theme of love and the dark comedic elements are new features in a Gray film which has previously dealt with family relations and crime. However, Two Lovers does look like a splendid adult-drama with a juicy cast. It was released in Australia last week but won’t be screening on the Gold Coast until this Thursday (if we’re lucky). You can watch the trailer here.
The Hangover (June 11 aka this Thursday) Looks like this little gem from the director of Old School is shaping up to be the surprise comedy hit of the year, but it’s still early days. The trailer is hilarious and in the US it opened to a $46 – $53 million weekend ahead of the Will Ferrell blockbuster Land of the Lost. The critics are frothing for The Hangover too with the almighty Empire giving it four stars. Pretty impressive for a comedy-formula that seems tired. Apparently one of the many benefits here is instead of covering the dramas of a bachelor party, The Hangover starts once the party is over and the three mates have lost the groom (and their memories). Sounds a like a frat-pack version of Memento but the trailer is very appealing, plus Bradley Cooper is great in pretty much anything he’s in.
Year One (June 18, next Thursday)

I've already done a bunch of posts on this promising comedy prospect. Therefore my advice is: watch the trailer, then read this post.

Bruno (July 9) Try and ignore the controversy if you can, but you simply cannot ignore the brilliance of the Bruno trailer. There are few times I have laughed so hard during a trailer. I enjoyed Borat but from the snippets of Bruno I’ve seen, I think Sacha Boren Cohen’s latest character will trump him. The best recommendation I can give this movie is the trailer, I particularly love the African American scenes.
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince (July 15) Everytime I watch this trailer I get goosebumps. Whether that's because the trailer is actually good or because I'm a massive fan of the books, it's hard to know. I do know this, this movie begins to build towards the Harry Potter series climax which will come to life on screen in the from of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 (to be released six months apart respectively). I’ve never been a huge fan of the films but the last two have certainly improved my expectations dramatically and this looks Potteriffic.

Drag Me To Hell (July 23)

Easily the film I’m most excited about on this list. Long before director Sam Raimi did the Spiderman films he dominated the horror genre with his Evil Dead series (among others). Apparently Drag Me To Hell is a hilarious and horrific return to form for one of the genre’s heroes. It premiered at Cannes and since then has got rave reviews from every Tom Dick and Harry film critic. Horror is one of my favourite genres but recently there have been only a handful of decent films. Going off the trailer, Drag Me To Hell looks like an awesome ride and I can’t wait to be genuinely scared at the movies again. Its been too long.

My Sisters Keeper (July 30)

I know, it’s hard to get past the vomit-inducing movie poster complete with Abigail Breslin and Cameron Diaz looking cute. My Sister’s Keeper has been a long awaited adaptation of Jodi Piccoult’s best selling novel. I heard great things about the book and was sincerely disappointed upon finishing it. The book was drawn out, self-indulgent and overly soppy. To my surprise, the trailer looks like its done a much better job of compacting the themes and storyline of the novel. Cameron Diaz looks like she’s about deliver a stellar performance but one of the major reasons to see this film has to be Sofia Vassilieva. Here she plays cancer-ridden Kate but most of you would recognise her from tv’s Medium. She’s a superb little actress and I look forward to seeing this movie despite the misleadingly happy poster (when really this is a film about cancer, death and family relations).

That Land of the Lost shiz is out this Thursday too and as much as I love Will Ferrell, I don’t think I can sit through two hours of him trying to do a Brendan Fraser in Journey to the Centre of the Earth. There’s this other movie you may or may not have heard of, Transformers something? Transformers 2, that’s it. The Bayhem hits screens on June 24 which is, like, so soon for the fanboys patiently waiting. Ew.

Like calling yourself the skinniest person on The Biggest Loser

Robina Town Centre has had a renovation complete with a new cinema complex. In their own words this is supposed to be “the best Birch Carroll and Coyle cinemas in Australia.” I have a few problems with this alleged truth. Firstly, if it truly is “the best Birch Carroll and Coyle cinemas in Australia” why would they choose to have it in the cultural vacuum that is the Gold Coast? And secondly, can they honestly say this BCC Cinema trumps those in Sydney and Melbourne? Even Brisbane? I decided to check it out for myself last night and I would argue they would be lucky to be the best cinemas on the Gold Coast let alone Australia. Sure, there’s a whole two cinemas dedicated to 3D so thankfully locals such as myself can see 3D movies on the Gold Coast without having to travel to Brisbane. And sure, there’s a one VMax cinema for maximum sound, maximum seat comfort etc etc and sure, the candy bar workers wear cute little red and white-stripped outfits. However, let me clarify this now. Although I haven’t been to them all, the new Robina cinemas are not the best BCC in Australia. They’re not even the best on the Gold Coast, probably equal with Harbour Town cinemas. That said, I’m so so so grateful there will be somewhere local I can watch Pixar’s Up in 3D this month. This is not to mention the plethora of other 3D movies to be released which I will be able to watch and enjoy with this technology. For example, last night I managed to catch Dreamworks’ Monsters Vs Aliens in 3D. Yes, I realise this film stopped playing about two weeks ago in most pockets of Australia, but since the Gold Coast has a 3D cinema they figured now is as good a time as any to play it (along with Journey to the Centre of the Earth 3D). Boy am I glad I waited to see that movie in 3D. I popped my 3D cherry earlier this year with My Bloody Valentine 3D and unlike that movie, Monsters Vs Aliens sputtered out pretty early on. The technology and animation was brilliant throughout the movie but the comedy and clever genre references ran out after the first 20 minutes which is a shame. Sorry Dreamworks, Pixar still holds the ace.

A dedication (of sorts)

As a general rule, the film students at Bond are my favourite at uni because they don’t say `OMG’ or have a Louis Vuitton handbag. They also don’t look down at my Toyota Echo when I pull up next to their Mercedes Benz in the parking lot. That’s the decent kind of people they are. But there’s an exception to every rule. One particular moron threw my whole theory into disrepute today when I overheard him tell a friend the reason slasher movies are “shit” is because (and I quote) “there are no unifying factors to compare each of their merits with another one. Plus they have no meaning.”
Oh no he didn’t!
Fine. Okay. Everyone has his or her opinion but at the very least you have to back it up with some evidence. Being the obtrusive eavesdropper that I am, I couldn’t help but ask him how he could validate such a claim. Due to my introduction you can deduce he was a film student and that my dear readers is (again I quote) “all the validation ya need.” After all, what would I some “journalism chick who probably wants to end up working at Dolly for her whole life” be able to add? So I told him off the top of my Dolly-reading head there are at least three common factors in slasher films:

1. A public holiday is a desired element to base the `plot’ around. The examples I provided were Halloween, Friday The 13^th, My Bloody Valentine and April Fools Day.
2. Every slasher movie needs an iconic villain with a recognisable get-up. Think Michael Meyers from Halloween, Jason from Friday The 13^th, hookman from I know What You Did Last Summer, Harry Warden from My Bloody Valentine and of course Ghostface from Scream.
3. Sexual themes, coarse language and/or a protagonist (preferably a virginal female) are also crucial.

Needless to say we were politely told to “quiet down” by the librarian and the douchebag film student quickly scampered out of the premises before we had a chance to continue the discussion. And yes, I know what you’re thinking; I AM a psycho and should probably have said nothing. But that’s not how I roll. So here, this is to you dicky film student – I dedicate this post complete with your own portrait done by myself in paint. I sincerely hope your film career is as esteemed as McG’s.

14 things almost as blasphemous as a Buffy remake without Joss Whedon

In the words of Amy Winehouse "what kind of fuckery is this?". In case you haven't heard the atrocious news by now, Roy Lee and Doug Davison of Vertigo Entertainment are planning a big-screen remake of Buffy the Vampire Slayer WITHOUT Joss Whedon. It goes without saying fans the world over have exploded and I read on one site that "Whedonites will burn L.A to the ground before they let this happen." I agree, and frankly if reducing L.A to a pile of ashes will stop the remake, then it's a price worth paying. Apparently the Vertigo Entertainment douchebags are working with the director of the original Buffy movie Fran Rubel Kuzei and her husband Kaz on the relaunch. The new movie will not retain ANY of the original characters so say bye-bye to Spike, Angel, Willow, Giles, Xander and all the rest. Just Buffy Summers will remain for the movie which is not a sequel or prequel, instead it will be an `entirely new' version. Except it will suck. Oh and get this, they want to do a Chris-Nolan and make a darker version of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Darker than the series? Are you serious? AH! I can't talk about this anymore because it makes me so damn angry. It has taken me nearly two weeks to calm down enough to write this post. It's blasphemy I tell you! Buffy the Vampire Slayer without its creator and father Joss Whedon? After an entire series has been created and adored for years and while the storyline continues amongst hugely popular graphic novels? An entire Buffy-verse exists which just can't erase and try to start again. Fuck that! Everything about Buffy the Vampire Slayer stems from the brilliant mind of Joss Whedon. From the story lines to the dialogue to . . . EVERYTHING! Buffy is my favourite television show of all time and I don't want to see it raped by some studio keen to cash in on the Twilight-induced vampire craze that is intoxicating teens at the moment. Remaking Buffy without Joss Whedon would be like making more Star Wars episodes without George Lucas at the helm. But since the only way you're going to get Lucas off the Star Wars bandwagon is by prying it out of his cold, dead hands that blasphemy would never happen. So, to summarise my argument about why a Buffy the Vampire Slayer rehash would be a disaster without Joss Whedon here's a brief list I have put together. 

14 things almost as blasphemous as a Buffy remake without Joss Whedon

• Watching The Curious Case of Benjamin Button twice.
  
• Germaine Greer on the cover of FHM.
• A donkey dislocating its jaw to swallow a python.
• Megan Fox winning an Oscar.
• A velvet jumpsuit.
• Kevin Rudd singing `Ice Ice Baby' on Tuesday karaoke night.
• B*witched announcing a comeback tour.
• Rob Zombie.
• House numbers spelt with letters.
• An Electra sequel.
• Cadbury ceasing the production of Cream Eggs.
• Stephenie Meyer winning a Pulitzer Prize.
• Waking up at 6am.
• A Bratz movie. Oh, wait . . .

Don't hate the player, hate the game

Since I did a rhyming post on both of these movies last week, I figure it’s only right I share my verdict. I’ll try to keep this brief. Firstly . . .
State of PlayOne word to sum up my description of State of Play is wow. Considering I’ve worked at a newspaper since I was 17, it’s rare I see a movie which actually has a realistic depiction of journalists. Usually Hollywood tends to adhere to the cliché of either an obnoxious, overly ambitious reporter who will tread on anyone and anything to get the story or the heroic, righteous reporter with the publics best interests at heart. Both are extreme generalisations and seldom found in a real newsroom. There are only a handful of films I think faithfully portray journalists and the nature of the profession (sections of All The Presidents Men, Hotel Rwanda, Shattered Glass and Good Night and Good Luck are a few that spring to mind). State of Play can now be added to that list. From Helen Mirrren’s turn as the newspapers strained editor to Rachel McAdams’ role as the papers young and exuberant blogger, everything about the characters in State of Play reeks of authenticity. None more so then Russel Crowe’s superbly believable performance as seasoned crime reporter Cal McAffrey. From his diet of Cheetos and tinned soup, to his unkempt appearance and questionable reporting methods, he feels like someone plucked straight out of any western newsroom. Thankfully these characters aren’t put up on the high-horse journalists often are in Hollywood movies, it’s their flaws and at times lack of ethics that give them substance. I haven’t seen the six-part BBC miniseries on which this film is based so I’m not sure how much credit they deserve for character development etc. However, the three dimensional personalities in the film are one of its key strengths. Ben Affleck and Jason Bateman also deliver strong performances in supporting roles. The other pros include a brilliantly paced movie which knows exactly what it is; a meaty thriller rife with corruption, assassins, murder, political conspiracies and great reporting. On top of this it touches on the current dying state of newspapers and the increasingly rare species of hardened reporters such as Cal. The plot twists and action are as frequents as Crowe’s consumption of junk food and overall State of Play makes for an excellent thriller which will be treasured by movie goers, particularly those with an insight in to the newspaper industry. In a nutshell I would describe it as a tense action-thriller which provides a refreshing look at the nature of modern journalism.
Adventureland

Sometimes I truly hate living in this cosmetically enhanced hell-hole known as the Gold Coast. One of the keys reasons behind this train of thought is the limited selection of movies released here. Sure, it could be worse. I could live in Boonah where I hear you’re more likely to see a two-headed man named Frank than see a movie within a year of its release date. Moving on, after great difficulty I was finally able to see the teen comedy Adventureland which was playing in limited release (sigh). Set in 1987 it evolves around recent college graduate James (Jesse Eisenberg) who has to take a dead end job at a local amusement park. I’m not a huge fan of teen comedies but the positive feedback from critics and the presence of Kristen Stewart and Ryan Reynolds sparked my interest. Directed and written by Greg Mottola, the guy behind Superbad, the film is a semi-autobiographical account of his stint working at an amusement park in the 80s. Not as crude as Superbad it still manages to tick all the right comedic boxes while accurately portraying the often awkward, painful time for teens about to hit their early twenties. It's a refreshing change to see a teenage movie with intelligent characters, after all they're not all dumb-fucks who get their hands glued to their penis (I'm talking to you American Pie franchise). Mottola doesn't throw his characters into the dorky or popular cliches, instead they have substance. They discuss Moby Dick, Russian philosophy, tertiary education, Lou Reed and Charles Dickens. At the same time they like to go out, have sex, get drunk and smoke pot. The characters feel real and the performances are perfect. A notable mention has to go to Bill Hader who is terrific in yet another supporting role and his Saturday Night Live sidekick Kristen Wigg. Martin Starr as Joel and Matt Bush as Frigo are also great. If you get a chance to see this movie before it stops screening I highly recommend it. Adventureland competently treads the ground between Napoleon Dynamite and Superbad, teenagers and adults alike will embrace it. For those still questioning whether to see the film or not, pillars of Australian movie criticism Margaret and David both loved Adventureland and Margy gave it four stars (which is pretty darn impressive).

Remember how I said I would keep this brief? I lied.

The toys are back in town

Prepare to be *insert martian voice here* `eternally grateful' as one of the most successful animated franchises is getting ready for another installment. Yep, as of June 18 next year Woody and the rest of the gang are back for Toy Story 3D. I know, you're probably wondering why the heck I'm getting you excited about it now considering it's over a year until it hits our screens.  Well, the teaser trailer was released last week and although it doesn't give away any details of the third movie just seeing the beloved Toy Story characters on screen again is enough enjoyment for me.
Watch the teaser here.

Hello there trailer

Ah, it kills me to follow New Moon news with yet more New Moon news but I fear the angry mob may kick down my door with pitchforks and flaming torches if I do not abide. To argue my case further, let me point out this is fresh. Like, only-304-views-on-YouTube-at-the time-of-posting-this fresh. The first Twilight Saga: New Moon trailer has landed.
Watch it.
The trailer appeared a few hours ago on MTV (in conjunction with the movie awards). Let the sequel hysteria begin as already there are comments posted by viewers under the teaser trailer which read “OMG!!!! I just cryed watchin it!” Not only is this the mark of an atrocious lack of literacy amongst today’s teenagers, it also demonstrates majority of them are sad sacks of shit.
Trailer related thoughts?
It looks like director Chris Weitz has been able to keep the `feel’ created by Catherine Hardwicke in the first film and thankfully hasn’t succumbed to jazzing up the sets or costuming despite the success of Twilight and boosted budget. Big tick for consistency. I shall award another tick for incorporating the key starting scenes from the book/movie into the trailer, no doubt tweens will be left panting like the Quiltette tribe members. Fans will be giving ticks of their own for the biggest non-surprise of the trailer; Taylor Lautner (Jacob) shirtless. But seriously, what is with the special effects? Correct me if I’m wrong but I was under the impression Summit Entertainment gave them their pocket money early for this film so the effects wouldn’t reek of telemovie like the first instalment. Ignoring the dodgy stunts, the Jacob-werewolf-transformation looks so CG, I expected to see Shrek walk in to the frame. Overall I think this is a teaser trailer that lives up to its name. There’s a large portion of the audience who haven’t read the books and for them, the closing werewolf reveal will be a massive excitement stimulant. In conclusion I promise no more New Moon news for a week . . .if I can help it.