Yes, that’s right, today marks two years since I started this blog to rant and rave about my love for all things movie. Of course, nothing beats your first blogversary and after the streak of creative genius that led me to celebrate with this cake last year –
- trying to come up with something to celebrate two years was incredibly hard. So, I decided to make a cake themed towards the best movie I have seen recently. Without further or do, I present the Inception cake – 
Now, if you’re wondering why it looks a little smashed. . .that’s because Inception completely smashed my mind! Moving on, I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who reads Movie Mazzupial, your readership is heartily appreciated. I sincerely love writing about movies and movie-related topics that interest me. But it makes it all the more fulfilling having followers who are just as passionate about it as I am. I’m chuffed to say the number of you has steadily grown from my humble beginnings of a few friends and family, to around 23,624 lovely visitors from Australia, US, UK, France, Canada to places such as Pakistan, Ecuador, Kuwait, Azerbaijin, Nigeria and tonnes of others. I hope you’ve been able to find a satisfying mix of movie reviews, news and exclusive interviews.So, without getting all ridiculously soppy and nostalgic, I could never have dreamed this time last year just how much better things could get when it comes to Movie Mazzupial. In the last 12 months I’ve had some amazing experiences and got to meet and interview the likes of people such as James Cameron, Susan Sarandon, the Spierig Bros, Peter Jackson, Tim Burton, Todd Farmer, the Volturi, J.J Abrams, Saoirse Ronan, Alister Grierson, Victory Tischler-Blue, Daniel Barber, Sam Rockwell, John Collee, Tom Green, Elmo, John Musker, Ron Clements, Mia Wasikowska, Harry Cook, Woody Allen, Abby Cadabby, Michael Hoffman, David Gould, Carey Mulligan, Jonathan Mostow, Michael Apted and loads more, those being just the highlights. I’ve also had the opportunity to meet dozens of incredible upcoming indie filmmakers whom I simply don’t have the space to mention here. All of you, thank you so much for taking the time to chat and let me pick your brains.
Hopefully exciting things will continue to happen over the next year and with another 365 days up my sleeve, I might be able to finally conduct Mission: Mazzupial Mayhem. In the mean time, thank you and stay tuned, because in the next month I have more exclusive interviews with folks such as Dennis Quaid, Taika Waititi, Will Ferrell, the cast behind Tomorrow, When The War Began and, of course, my future husband Mark Wahlberg.
Much blog love peeps,
Movie Mazz xxP.S. Thanks to the lovliest colleague in all the land, Seanna Cronin, for using her mad photographic skills and taking the above pic. Also, kudos to Kat and her delightful suggestions on how to celebrate this bloversary. I promise next year we’ll have a kids party hun :o)
The Special Relationship opens with a quote from Oscar Wilde, which reads “true friends stab you in the front”. It is an appropriate statement, considering this is a dramatisation of the relationship between United Kingdom Prime Minister Tony Blair and American President Bill Clinton.
Quaid as Clinton is a unique sight, with his weathered good looks replaced with white hair, white eyerbrows and that signature accent. But once you can stop gut-laughing, Quaid is decent as one of America's most notorious Presidents. Sheen and Quaid bounce off each other, with Blair essentially the dorky kid in high school trying to befriend the cool jock that is Clinton. In the supporting cast, Mark Bazeley does a solid job of reprising his role of Blair's spin doctor Alastair Campbell from The Queen and Hope Davis is fierce as Hilary Clinton.
The Special Relationship opens in cinemas August 5.
Thank heavens for The Dark Knight, because if it wasn't for its record-breaking success, British filmmaker Christopher Nolan would not have the freedom to make his latest masterpiece.
The fact Nolan has been able to thread together multiple storylines using the same actors, yet set in different time settings and spaces, without completely alienating the audience is an accomplishment of movie making. Like the characters in the film, Inception tunnels into your subconscious planting seeds of its genius in a similar fashion to the great works of Stanley Kubrick. However, it is so detailed and complex that when you leave the cinema, trying to retain details from the film is like trying to keep water in the palm of your hands. The only way to appreciate the magnitude of its brilliance is with multiple viewings.
That Snyder, he sure is one stylish motherfucker. This image hit the net a few days ago via an Emily Browning fansite and is the first look at the bad-ass babes of Zack Snyder’s new film Sucker Punch. It’s scanned from a spread in 
One of my favourite Australian actresses, 21-year-old Browning stepped up to the role after Amanda Seyfried dropped out due to scheduling conflicts. Thank heavens for that, because as far as I’m concerned Seyfried has ruined herself with all the atrocious rom-com’s she has starred in of late. After a bunch of appearances in Australian TV productions and films such as Ned Kelly, Browning broke into the Hollywood market with her captivating performance in Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events. Followed by her role in supernatural thriller The Uninvited, Browning will be one to watch after Sucker Punch and her role as Lucy, a university student who becomes a prostitute in Julia Leigh’s erotic version of Sleeping Beauty due for release next year.
Replacing Evan Rachel-Wood, who also dropped out over scheduling conflicts, is former child star Jena Malone. Having amassed an accomplished body of work, Malone is just another feather in the bow of accomplished young actresses at the fore of Sucker Punch.
What can you say about Cornish? Except that she is ridiculously awesome and my favourite Australian actress behind Cate Blanchett! Since her breakout performances in Australian flicks Somersault and Candy, with Heath Ledger, Cornish has gone from strength to strength in mainstream Hollywood blowing me away with turns in Elizabeth: The Golden Age, Stop-Loss and, her Oscar-deserving role in Bright Star. Mainly a dramatic actress, I’m looking forward to seeing Cornish in an action-flick where her attitude and beauty are just as important as acting chops. She has worked with Snyder previously, voicing one of the central characters in Legend Of The Guardians: The Owls Of Ga’Hoole.
Okay, so I’m not her biggest fan, but this is clearly Hudgens effort to make the transition from slutty Disney teen-starlet, to slutty Hollywood actress. But hey, if she shows some teeth in an action film I might be willing to overlook her previous efforts (hello there High School Musical and Bandslam). The jury is still out on her Twilighty-looking Beastly.
Chung has proved herself to be a sufficiently meaty action babe after Dragonball: Evolution, Sorority Row and her decency in Grown Ups. Toting a lollipop and fishnets in this though, she’s sure to bring that hot-Asian chick flavour a la Lucy Liu amongst a largely Caucasian cast in Charlie’s Angels.
The lass with arguably the best natural rack in the industry (remember her topless scene as Lucille in Sin City?), Gugino plays a nurse in the asylum. Like Cornish, she has worked with Snyder previously, but as the original Silk Spectre in Watchmen.
Along for the ride are Scott Glenn, Oscar Isaac, Jan Hamm and Black Dynamite himself Michael Jai White (above)! Woo!
Me and Orson Welles is period-dramedy set in 1937, New York and follows high school student and aspiring actor Richard (Zac Efron) who, by a stroke of luck, auditions for a young Orson Welles (Christian McKay) outside the Mercury Theatre and is hired on the spot to perform in his production of Julius Caesar. Once deep within the bedlam of the up and coming play, Richard finds himself attracted to career-driven production assistant Sonja (Claire Danes) and learns more than he wants to about the nature of show business.
This is clearly Efron’s bid to step out from the shadow of the High School Musical franchise and establish himself as more than a chiselled, teen heart-throb with ridiculously shiny hair. He is unsuccessful. As a slick and intelligent young-adult in thirties America, Efron struggles to stay afloat in a sea of more experienced and competent performers. He is supposed to be the heart and emotional focal point of the story, but his performance is largely underwhelming. When he croons and bats his eyelashes at the audience you could swear he has forgotten he is the star of a supposedly mature nostalgia trip and imagines he is back on the steps of an American high school singing to his sweetheart. The usually amiable Danes is equally bland, and her depiction of what could have been a complex, female character is reminiscent of cardboard in the wind.
Setting out to capture the magic of theatre, Me and Orson Welles instead captures the magical performance of Christian McKay (above) who outshines every other aspect of this mildly entertaining romp.
Australian-based screenwriter John Collee (above) is not afraid to tackle any project, and I mean any project. From a sexy version of Tarzan to a script for Steven Spielberg on the Battle of the Bismarck Sea, Collee is known as one of the most versatile wordsmiths in the industry. Renowned for his work on Oscar-winning films such as Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World and Happy Feet, he most recently brought Charles Dawrin to life in the new biopic Creation.
While the final adjustments are being made to his script and the studio searches for stars and a director, a similar process is happening to Collee's attempt to convert the Onimusha video game series (below) into a live-action feature film.
Filmed in South Africa, this film looks and feels authentic as it moves through decade to decade of Sandra's story. This is thanks to fantastic location shots, sets and a largely South African cast. Skin is the debut feature film from Anthony Fabian, who comes from a background in short films and music documentaries, and his inexperience shows in a number of typically film-school shots and montages. Fabian also writes and produces the film along with several other people, so he cannot be held entirely responsible for the jumpy screenplay. Like another recent biopic, Creation, the film tries to fit too much in and the awkward flashbacks jump around Sandra's story rather than allowing the audience to focus on the gravity of it.
Bettany is, as always, flawless. His physical resemblance to a young Darwin aside, Bettany, he is the heart of Creation and his insatiable curiosity, vulnerability and sweetness make for a captivating portrayal. He delivers one of his best performances to date, which is saying a lot considering his body of work, and he should be contender for an Oscar nomination. Performing alongside Connelly, his real-life wife, adds context to the intricate relationship between Darwin and Emma. Connelly is restrained and rather bland at first, but her performance builds with dramatic intensity throughout the film and she is once again convincing as the wife of a tormented genius after her Oscar-winning turn alongside Russell Crowe in A Beautiful Mind.
Creation opens in cinemas on Thursday.
Despite having seen and achieved many things, Collee says he choose to focus on this chapter of Darwin's life because it `represented something about the modern condition'.
The career of The Runaways was short lived, spanning only five years, but the impact they had on the music industry was immense. The all-girl teenage rock band helmed six albums and several hit singles such as Cherry Bomb, Queens Of Noise and Born To Be Bad, and helped shape female rock icon Joan Jett. Yet it was a dirty, tumultuous ride as shown in The Runaways, the directorial debut from Floria Sigismondi.
The focus of the film is the individual stories of Jett and Currie, who are key members of the group and share an intimate relationship as friends and sometime lovers (which cumulates in a pash between Stewart and Fanning). Coming from a background as a photographer and music video director, Sigismondi has an eye for visuals and her competency in creating this grungy 70s world is similar to Catehrine Harwicke's effort in The Lords Of Dogtown. Her direction of the music scenes, which are all sung and performed by the actors, really captures the electricity of the band and their music. However, that is also her downfall because The Runaways retains a glossy sheen that seems out of place given the events unfolding on screen. The story too has been trimmed and moulded from Currie's autobiography, so that it is just rebellious enough, while skipping over some of the more confronting and compelling issues.
Flashy and feisty, The Runaways is an entertaining piece of pop art, but it fails to delve deeper into the real story. For an accurate account see former bassist Victory Tischler-Blue's documentary Edgeplay: A Film About The Runaways. Sure, from a technical perspective it may be one of the worst documentaries I’ve seen, but she captures the band’s truly amazing story in interviews and mind blowing revelations. Watch it. In other news, I interviewed her a few weeks ago and she describes Jett as a “fucking c#nt” so she deserves your props for that.
From Catherine Hardwicke’s severely under budget, yet insightful, direction of the first film, to Christ Weitz’s melodramatic and lush take on the second, director David Slade has trumped both of his predecessors with Eclipse. The British filmmaker comes from a background in complex horror thrillers and he is the first to give The Twilight Saga some much-needed teeth. Central to the series are the slow, soppy scenes where the characters profess their undying love for each other and Twihards will be pleased to know there are still plenty of those. But scattered amongst them are pockets of action which have Slade’s stylish stamp all over them. You will still be hard-pressed to raise an eyebrow, let alone goose bump, in the `scary’ scenes, but from the suspenseful opening chase through the rain-drenched streets of Seattle with Aussie newcomer Xavier Samuel, Slade takes it up a notch.
The dialogue is slightly less sickening, thanks to some refreshingly realistic scenes between Bella and her dad, Charlie (Billy Burke), banter between Edward and Jacob and a few splashes of humour throughout. Stewart and Burke once again prove to be the most formidable acting talents in the cast, however, Rathbone, Reed, Anna Kendrick, Dakota Fanning, Samuel and Pattinson also put in decent performances. Lautner, however, is once again out-acted by his biceps and his constant shirtlessness even causes Edward to ask “doesn’t he ever where a shirt?” But of course, a clothed Jacob decreases the films total gross by a few hundred million, so the producers also throw an almost-naked scene in there too. You know, just to whip up a blood-in-the-water-esque frenzy amongst the shark pool of Twihards.
