Article: The Movie Industry

Good read if you are interested in the movie industry - here
Quite long so be prepared.

What's up

Uni is lame :'(
Had my lil presentation in Legal History - that went well. Although I am still yet to participate in the online forum discussion.
Followed closely by last week's Equity Test - 25%! lamo.
Now I've got to get cracking on assorted crap over the break it appears - sob
A Labour Law Essay worth 30%? and a Legal History Case Note worth a healthy chunk too 25%?
Lamo lamo lamo
Gah and then after the break its hammer and tongs to churn out the remaining Legal History Research Assignement - the larger slice of pie Labour Law Assignment - and then preparing for exam in Econ (Money and Banking) and Equity End of Year :( I have yet to attend an econ tute and hand something in - there goes 10% fkin lamo bs lamo gay

Non-uni
Hopefully I will find the bloody video-camera and repair it in time to have a crack (or consider doing so) at a documentary competition. Could be fun. Last time I had the inkling of motivation to do soemthing like this it never left Canberra. Foruntately this time it shouldn't have to. But leaving my bedroom may remain an issue.
I've been doing a bit of drawing in the last few weeks with little aim. But I have decided to persevere both for enjoyment, and to hone my skills - possibly with a view to creating storyboards in the future.
Writing. I have done none. I should do more. Some. Any. Gah.

Soccer
My girl's team has made finals. The final league game, part 1 of a double header ended goalless. The rematch in 2 weeks will be for keeps and a place in the Final, presumably against OConnor. I have a tactical plan, and so long as players attend, I can work on the necessary elements in training over the next 4 sessions. I may attend Men's training this week and test how stable my joint is and say gday to my teammates from last season as they embark on their own finals run. Hopefully I will be fit enough for summer comp this year (mixed) but the success of that expedition and playing League football next season will probably rest on my gym attendance and how much muscle I can regrow on my dilapidated leg.

End of Year
Falls is a definite no now. Steph and Cecilia pulled, I was already unconvinced and noone else seems keen. Woodford? Maybe - added expense, added hippy concentration, and added distance are obstacles to overcome. Get a job? Given up on that concept for the remainder of the academic year. I only have 1 day uni-free (on my timetable that is), and really can't be buggered atm. Still the prospect looms of earning at least a little money to pursue my interests now and in the nearbye future. Tasmania - according to my mum, as of yesterday She and I and my brother will spend a week in Tasmania, staying at some shack or room somewhere and flying courtesy of cheap tickets - hence her sudden interest. End of season trip with the Soccer team could be fun. Even though I have done none to little work of any variety, I still feel like relaxing. Relaxing is great. I dig it.

Soccer excursions - looks like next week I will accompany Steph and Cecilia to the Aus v Solomon Island's world cup qualifier in Sydney. Then possibly/probably take in the Mariners v Jets game in Gosford. A-League looks like it could be a pretty groovy competition, so far decent crowds -10,000+ for opening round, plus the bumper 25,000 crowd at Sydney bodes well for the future. I'm pencilled into attend the Canberra round of Youth Coaching Course this year, but there is a chance they will pull it if the numbers are low, and that would really screw me over since I think the A.C.T. course is the last one scheduled, meaning I won't be able to jump the sinking ship and fly to sydney intime to take the course there. Coaching next year? Still considering wether to move up or down or around. Wouldn't appreciate having to deal with the 'parental' element at other clubs - thankfully that's not a consideration at ANU.

Miscellaneous
The battery clip on my MD player broke. How lamo. Fortunately it's not a crucial part, and a sliver of sticky tape will mend the defect.
Gotta send my car to have the reversing lights mended - they fail to light up atm, and some hippy cyclist will sue me for running him over.
Hair cut? sif that. I'm gorgeous.
Some day, over the rainbow, I'll be needing new soccer boots... god grant me a pair of Nike Mecurial Vapour's...

DVD Reviews6: August

Welcome to Collinwood - Sam Rockwell, William H. Macy
Comedy - Produced by George Clooney (who has a small part) and Steven Soderbergh, this is the opposite of their super cool "Ocean's" heist movies. And hilarious! 3 Stars


Shiner - Michael Caine
Thriller - A gritty gangster film, although actually follows an underground boxing figure trying to leave to make it to the bigtime by risking it all on one last fight. However after biting off more than he can chew, his violent nature and past catch up with him. Gripping drama. 3 stars


Alexander (Directors Cut) - Colin Farrell, Angelina Jolie, Val Kilmer, Oliver Stone [D]
Action, Epic - Only watched it out of the corner of my eye. A quite terrible 'movie'. Would be above par if it was on Discovery channel though. Pretentious and unsuited soundtrack. Horrible, distracting Irish accented Greeks. Disjointed retelling focus' on probably innacurate ideology of Alexander and the conflicts it caused that may have led to his downfall. The homosexuality is a non-issue except for homo-phobes and dealt with subtley and tastefully. Jolie is terrible as Alexander's she-bitch mother and has the thisckest wierdest accent of them all. Final battle with elephants is awesome and gory but does little to save this expensive excursion. 2 stars


Hart's War - Collin Farrell, Bruce Willis, Gregory Hoblit [D]
Action, Drama - A Hollywood war movie but once you excuse it historical innaccuracies and stereotyping of charachters and circumstances is a pleasant fiction. Based on the fictional novel of the same name, describes the precarious mystery of a series of murders within the American POW population of a German stalag and the young lieutenant assigned to defend the black american suspect. Well directed, with lush varied scenery and sets, and a very credible supporting. 3 stars


Stripes (Extended Cut) - Bill Murray
Comedy - OMG WTF? This movie sucked hard. And the extended cut means you are in for MORE crap. An 80's crappy comedy following 2 Joe Schmoes through boot camp to emerge our eventual heroes. Interspersed at regular intervals with titties and coarse jokes. This movie blows goats as does the one who made me watch it :P 1 stars


Ong Bak - Tony Jaa
Action, Martial Art - A Muay Thai Kickboxing movie. Poor acting, but the story line is little more than a frame to place the action sequences within. The film builds steadily into longer and increasingly fantastic stunts and fights. The muay thai styles are distinct and brutal giving the film a charachteristic flavour to distinguish it from lesser fight flicks. Fun action without being particularly gory. 3.5 stars


Lost in La Mancha - Terry Gilliam
Doco - A non-making of Gilliam's The Man Who Killed Don Quixote. Shows the failure of the production after a series of problems culminating in the withdrawal of a principal actor and the subsequent foreclosing by the insurers. Informative but not enjoyable. 2 stars.


The Tailor of Panama - Pierce Brosnan, Geoffrey Rush
Thriller - Based on the spy novel by John Le Carre, essentially a story about a proverbial storm in a tea cup. Entertaining, although failed to really excite - perhaps if the stakes were higher (does any one care about Panama?) Good although not excellent performances from Brosnan and Rush. 2.5 stars.


Japanese Story - Toni Collette
Drama - Winner of goodness knows how many Australian film awards. Arthouse springs to mind. Quiet, but not subtle - dramatic, but not truthful. The sparse script wavers between poignant unspoken scenes and meaningless chit chat, with direction consistently failing to draw out the importance of each telling moment. Avoid the hype. 2 stars.

Human Cannonball

Check the full article - here

MOVIE: Unleashed

This is not a normal Jet Li vehicle, and that may prove a disappointment to some. By that I mean that this film is primarily story driven, and follows the rehumanising of Li's character Danny. And when compared to ordinary action flics, Unleashed excels with bursts of violence, and the blistering speed of Li's martial arts.

Well directed with a gritty techno/rock score by Massive Attack, the film bleeds a believable atmospheric ambience of underworld crime, a parrallel world so slighlty displaced from the world around it.

The story is driven by these two worlds and the principle characters within it, played by the fantastically menacing Bob Hoskins, and the kindly samaritan Morgan Freeman. These two powerful influences each leave their imprint on the blank slate of Li, and despite his obvious acting deficiencies, his character traits are emotive and honest - similarly directed in the fashion of Besson's The Fifth Element (Milla Jovovich).

The story itself, written by Luc Besson in his classic thematicly driven style, is also thinly backed like some of his previous works. The plot holes may glare for some, but they are only incidental to the principle character's journey, which is well handled. A more classic and predictable story line might have brought the two worlds into direct conflict, but the path of this film is content to merely threaten meltdown, and retain the balance of his chosen way.

A better than average action movie, far better than most hollywood fare, but because of its unusual anti-climatic story arc, may dissapoint those unsure of what they are in for.

DVD Reviews5: August

Hotel Rwanda - Don Cheadle
War, Drama. A unique tale of a man caught in extraordinary circumstances. Schindler's list in Africa is a good comparison, but although not up to the visual and directing expertise of that film, is distinctive in it's modern setting and the realistic unwitting 'hero'. 3.5 stars

In Good Company - Dennis Quaid, Topher Grace, Scarlet Johansson
Romance - Topher Grace is understated and subtle - suits this movie, but can't see him getting any better. Dennis Quaid is believable and as always has wonderful presence. Scarlet Johansson in wasted in this film, good in a small part with little to work with. The film itself is subtle and soft, with a complementary score. Enjoyable. 2.5 stars

Hope Springs - Colin Firth, Heather Graham, Minnie Driver
Romance - Minnie Driver has a wierd face, Colin Firth appeals more to women then men. Heather Graham gets her kit off, but plays her usuall typecast airhead. Nothing grand, nothing repulsive. 2 stars

The Notebook - Ryan Gosling, Rachel McAdams
Romance - A poignant love story (finally a script) with decent although not exemplary performances. Touching. 3 stars

The Football Factory - nobody
Drama - Unimaginative direction and camera use. Trys to effect a Trainspotting feel, without the style and the plot while good, is hardly tight and fails to explore interesting issues fully. And failing that, the scenes presented are neither raw or dramatic enough in emotion or violence to make any lasting impression. 1.5 stars.

Frida - Salma Hayek, Alfred Molina, Julie Taymor [D]
Drama, BioPic - A gem of a movie, an extraordinary but uninflated life story. Hayek is wonderful in the lead, as is Molina as her womanising partner (although his accent frequently falters). Excellent direction by Julie Taymor incorporates complicated camera sequences and wonderful integration of Frida's surrealist painting styles by use of composite shots, and model work. Geoffrey Rush's cameo was unsatisfying (his russian is as poor as gabe's), but who wouldn't slip "Sex Scene with Supermodel" into their schedule. 4 Stars

Monster's Ball - Billy Bob Thornton, Halle Berry
Drama - The 'explicit' dvd version certainly is not family material. Enourmous R sex scene = Best Actress? Possibly. Berry was certainly not poor in this film and the morbid script and scenario drips dramatic intensity. A very dark film about dealing with life and death when death is your business, but smoothly lifts and then crests to a touching ending. 3.5 Stars

Hitch - Will Smith, Eva Mendes
RomCom - Nothing extraordinary, but a light hearted, will smith, big budget, summer romantic comedy. If you liked Alfie you won't be disappointed, but with a more predictable ending. 2.5 Stars.

New Art and Collection

I've uploaded most of my favorite photographs and drawings to a Flickr Album which can be browsed on the web. With Flickr I can set up small image thumbnail banners, like the one on the left (down screen possibly) which links to the larger image hosted at Flickr. The free version only allows me to split them into 3 categories so when I get around to that they will be Art, Photo's, and Miscellaneous? I'll continue to use blogger/hello hosting for incidental images so I dunno what I'll name that final catergory when I get around to sorting. Also I'll sort them by tag's which can be searched - i.e. keywords for the image content. I like the concept of online hosting, and my end up changing to a different host such as imageshack or another if I am limited by bandwidth, image sizes or upload constraints etc.

Here are my most recent creations:
Male/Female
Girl Studying
I've been continuing my life drawing, both male and female forms, facial expression and structure and pencil shading. I've almost expended by foolscap scrapbook and bought a new a4 sketchbook. I may create a collection of 'story page' images and upload them in their rough state. If they ever amount to a narrative worth reading I'll polish them at a later date.

MOVIE: Kung Fu Hustle

From the team that created and starred in Shaolin Soccer (awesome movie) comes this rather inferior follow up. The story is distinctly lacking - which can be fine in a martial art's film - however the martial art's prowess fails to impress, both from unextroadinary fight choreography and B grade computer augmentation. My overall impression was B-Grade throughout.

Sloppy shooting angles and graphic enhancement with objects flying in unrealistic directions and speeds contributed greatly to the film's inability to create suspension of disbelief. Furthermore the reliance on obtuse use of CG and over dramatic or comic images highlighted the obvious flaws in the what was being witnessed.

Direction was not clear in this film, it combined 20's retro styles with sheek asian designs, moments of through the 4'th wall comedy (not based in reality), serious (?) fight scenes of violence and evil - but resulted in a jumbled incoherent mess. The influence of thematic and scenic devices from the later Matrix movies was evident, but failed to achieve the aesthtic high of those film's for more than a moment, after which all the atmosphere built up was lost. Unimaginative and unvaried use of Chinese classical instrumental score was at times extremely inappropriate and ruined scenes that no longer visually and audibly matched.

Some will enjoy the irreverent comic theme, but expect to be disappointed at least a little. Oh and I won't even get into the 'love' story of the film or the use of old and ugly people for primary roles... :S

Soundtracks: Easy Listening

I've been paying much closer attention to sound in film, both effects and score. An inappropriate musical accompaniment can heighten or spoil the emotion in a scene or indeed a film, which incidently happened tonight for me in Kung-Fu Hustle (review tomorrow).

Here are a few fantastic Movie Soundtracks to have a listen to (easy listening, light pop, various artists)...
Garden State (great variety)
In Good Company

Before that I listened to...
The O.C. Soundtrack: Mix 1 (not a film I know)
You Got Served (great music in the film but not much/any is included on the soundtrack. The soundtrack is loaded with soft RnB by the stars' group, B2K - which sucks)
How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
Love Actually

Individual tracks/themes recently were...
Nina Gordon - Tonight and the rest of my life (The Notebook Soundtrack - didn't realise this)
Damien Rice - The Blowers Daughter (Closer Soundtrack)

Next few weeks/months I'll move onto...
The O.C. Soundtrack: Mix 2, 3, 4 etc... (No, I don't like nor watch the show)
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zizzou (?)

good morning, uni is gay

hey stepch
uni is fkin gay
esp in this fkin cold bs weather how fkin gay
how do u connecty to update the website and stuff? i might re do the mens club site cause it is ugly as sin
uni is gay
sif i wanted to get up for this shit
i could be in my warm bed
and not at gay cold uni
this sux
sux so hard
now im here ontime for my first ever econ tute that i havent been going to class for, reading lecture notes, or know where its at
and its in fkin psych
wtf?!
its fkin miles away
fkin gay cold uni crap bs goddamit
i think ill do some drawing later - but i dont have time
im supposed to get throughh all my reading and start proposing what stuff to prepare for the handouts for my gay class discussion bs crapnot
goddamn cold stupid uni bs shiznat fkin lamo
i wanna sit down somewhere warm and draw or write or somethin

email 9.46 am

DVD Reviews4: July - August

Bubba Ho-Tep - nobody
Crap - Ok. I thought it might be good. I was wrong. It was distinctly as average as a movie about a fat man in a retirement village could be... It was no Shaun of the Dead. I gave it a chance, and i'll never get those hours back. Nice atmosphere but not for an hour + 1.5 stars

The Motorcycle Diaries - Gael Garcia Bernal, Walter Salles [D]
Drama, Historical journey - This was a far better movie. Some beautiful cinematography of the different landscapes of the South American continent made a charming backdrop for the main charachters, who are performed admirably and convincingly. A journey that reveals the seed's of inspiration, subtle and honest. This movie could easily have slipped into moments of grandeur but instead shows the passions and ambitions of young men without a path. Curious to see what Salles directs next. 4 stars.

Rushmore - Bill Murray, Wes Anderson [D]
Comedy/Drama - After watching Life Aquatic I was curious to see the back-catalogue of Anderson's films. And Rushmore shows that Life Aquatic was probably always on his mind. It reaches neither as high nor as far as Life Aquatic, but has it's moments. Neither as loud as Life Aquatic, nor as quiet as Royal Tenenbaums which is next on my list. 2.5 stars

I'll Sleep When I'm Dead - Clive Owen, Mike Hodges [D]
Crime, Drama - Good reviews, but not from me. Quiet, overly understated, little context, and it's 'discussion' of the nature of individuals and the struggle to leave or rejoin a lifestyle (which I presume garnered the affectionate reviews) is so far between the lines it's off the page. Oh and I can't stand that woman with the half closed eyes. Old and withered - love interest? WTF?! 1.5 stars

American Splendor - Paul Giamatti, Harvey Pekar
Drama, Comedy, Biopic - Wierd. The true story of a freak, his freak friends, and how he didn't quite make it with his underground comic book about the above. A bizzare script that never takes itself seriously and switches randomly between the actor and the real man. A life - not a story. 2.5 stars

The Girl With The Pearl Earing - Scarlet Johansson, Colin Firth, Peter Webber [D]
Drama, Romance - A beautiful film about an Artist and his Muse in renaissance Holland. Amazing direction and performances guide this film as so much of the drama is unspoken, and is witnessed only through the subtle emotions, and physical inflections the director painstakingly shows us in soft and subtle scenery. Waiting for Webber's next film. 4 stars.

A Very Long Engagement - Audrey Tautou, Jean-Pierre Jeunet [D]
Romance - A pretty film about a fiancee searching for her husband, missing from the first world war. An investigation, with a good performance by Tautou, interspersed with 'Amelie-eque' oddity moments and reminisces of the different charachters she seeks out on her mission. Cameo by Jodie Foster. 3 stars.

MOVIE: Downfall (Der Untergang)

An excellent war movie. Unlike any other because of it's unique circumstances. Handled tactfully, showing the different sides of Hitler as described by those near him, but in a reaslistic and controversially 'human' way. By no means an apologetic view of Der Fuhrer, and infact even more chilling to see the portrayal as matter of fact. A bizarre suspension of reality of the german people and the horrific reality of what their blind faith had cost them as the end nears.

The story follows the final few days in the Fuhrer Bunker, but provides excellent early context of the narrative charachter, as well as succinct glimpses of the suffering of soldiers and civilians in the Berlin precinct's as the Russian army closes in. A large cast of the Nazi heirachy and staff are voyeured as they deal with the inevitable and terrifying situation they find themselves in.

Unique and powerful. Excellent performances and some uncanny likenesses. Compared to Saving Private Ryan, Das Boot and Stalingrad - and worthy among that company.

MOVIE: War of the Worlds

The last Spielberg movie I was really impressed with also happend to be a collaboration with Cruise which is probably why I expected a lot from War Of The Worlds (Minority Report btw). The film was by no means bad. Good performances all round, but I think the main problems I had with it were largely unimaginative effects design, and the physical length of the film duration - a snip under 2 hours. The story, thanks to hype and what little I knew of the original, was not mindblowing to me ('modern audiences' says some old codger in disgust).

Effects work, and by that I refer to the Alien Walkers and their weaponry, had a very 'A.I.' feel. Super smooth capsules, and prominant blue and purple neon lighting. How much of this was described in the novel I can't say, but it led to a feeling that the enemy looked too good and untouchable, but also in a friendly, or emotionless way - themes that could have lent themselves more strongly to being linked in the story line, but was not emphasized so that the final effect was simply one of odd displacement. Furthermore the cage's of human's was far too reminiscent of a scene in A.I.

The Aliens hit the ground quickly, which means lots of action for a good proportion of the movie, but at the sacrifice of generating emotional empathy with the charachters. Also for a film with so much action and war, there is a serious dearth of bodies, blood and 'ugly' destruction until the river scene - which is also understated. The sanitisation of the carnage also hinders believing the emotional responses of the charachters.

Overall a good movie, but not great. Unfortunately handled with too much 'PG kid's gloves'. In an aside: War of the Worlds was always going to be Dreamworks' big earner of 2005, Spielberg being a founder. Maybe getting everyone in the door was a major factor in keeping middle america happy and the takeovers at bay - Dreamworks posted a loss last year and may not remain the only 'independent' studio in Hollywood for much longer.

omg :( cancer lady baby

Brain dead cancer victim has baby girl.
Crazy shit - here
Also pretty sad when you delve into it.
I hope I don't get cancer. That would totally suck.
Been reading Lance Armstrong's biography It's not about the bike which is a pretty good read so far and intertwines his life with cancer and career in cycling.
Testicle the size of an orange. Damn

Listening to... (July)

POP!

Lindsay Lohan - Album: Speak
esp. Last Moment in Time, First, Nobody 'Til You
Hillary Duff - Wake Up
The Veronica's - 4 Ever
The Blips ft. Amiel - Green Eyed World
Rachel Stevens - So Good
Nina Gordon - Tonight and the Rest of my Life
James Blunt - You're Beautiful
Tammin - It's a Beautiful Thing

Rock

Bloc Party - Album: Silent Alarm
esp. Banquet, Helicopter
The Music - Album: Welcome to the North
K-O's - Crabbuckit
End of Fashion - O Yeah
Fightstar - Paint Your Target
My Chemical Romance - I'm Not Okay
System of a Down - Radio/Video

Urban & RnB

The Black Eyed Peas - Album: Monkey Business
esp. Don't Phunk with my Heart, Pump It, Do What You Want
The Pussycat Dolls ft. Busta Rhymes- Don't Cha
Bizarre - Rock Star

Club and Dance

DJ Sammy - Why
Alyson - Nothin' More to Say
Basement Jaxx - U Don't Know Me
Deep Dish - Single: Say Hello (Main Vocal Mix)
Deepa Soul - As I am (Junior Vasquez Mix)
Faithless ft Estelle - Why Go
Global Deejays - What a Feeling
Jenna Drey - Killing Me (Mike Rizzo Miami Club Mix)
Juliet - Avalon
Kelly Osbourne - One Word (Chris Cox Radio Edit)
Moustache - Everywhere
Mr Timothy - I'm on my Way
Murk - Doesn't Seem to Matter
Studio B - I see Girls
Syke and Sugarstarr - Ticket to Ride

charlize therone standing bathing suit 1024 pencil on paper raw