Fantastic Four Surf Sydney

This evening I entered the press pit at the red carpet event in Sydney celebrating the forthcoming release of Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. The stars of the film; Jessica Alba, Ioan Gruffud, Chris Evans and Michael Chiklis all attended and I was lucky enough to chat to them about the making of the film, working with special effects and what we can expect from the sequel. Here's a few photos I took at the event. Keep checking the site for details of when my interviews will be published.

Burke & Wills on the radio

This Friday I’ll once again be appearing on Eastside 89.7 FM’s Cinemascape show. Tune in at 17:30 to hear my critique on Burke & Wills, the debut film by Mathew Zeremes and Oliver Torr; the films writing, directing and producing team. The duo also found the time to star in the low budget Australian feature that was shot in just 9 days for under $20,000.

Cinema Retro Issue 8

The latest issue of Cinema Retro is with us and it's looking like the best yet. I'm probably slightly biased as the issue features my article on the making of the Mario Bava classic Danger: Diabolik but any magazine that puts Our Man Flint on the cover is a must buy in my opinion. Check out the cover image and the first page of my article. For details of where to purchase one of the finest film magazines around go to www.cinemaretro.com

Acolytes Set Visit

This week I was lucky enough to be flown up to Brisbane to visit the set of Bloodlust director Jon Hewitt’s Acolytes. Featuring Smoking Aces and Star Wars Epsiode 1: The Phantom Menace star Joel Edgerton; the film is a twisting thriller that, from what I saw on set, promises to be a chilling and shocking ride. I look forward to writing up the trip in a future issue of Shivers. Thanks, as always, to Fiona Searson for arranging the trip.

Easter news

Happy Easter! While you're happily chomping away on your chocolate eggs it's time for a news update!

The latest issue of Filmink, on the shelves now, features two of my recent interviews. Edgar Wright chatted about the making of Hot Fuzz and gave me sneak peak at his work on Rodriguez and Tarantino's Grindhouse while Greg McLean talked all things crocodile for his latest horror action film Rogue.

The May issue of Film Review features my Vox Pops chats from Sydney's Dendy Opera Quays cinema. This time around we found out what Australian audiences thought of The Queen.

Shivers #132 continues my coverage of the making of The Ferryman with my chat with the always charming John Rhys Davies.

Issue 8 of the excellent Cinema Retro will be out soon and features my article on the making of Mario Bava's Danger: Diabolik!

Finally you may recall I chaired a question and answer discussion at the Eternal Sunshine of the Academic Mind symposium at Sydney University. I've now been asked to contribute to a publication covering the event and have written the afterword on Cult Film & Religion. It gave me the wonderful opportunity to wax lyrical about two of my favourite directors; Ken Russell and Alejandro Jodorowsky, in particular their films The Devils and The Holy Mountain. Keep posted for a publication date.

You're Nicked!

For those of you Sydneysiders near a radio this afternoon I'll be reviewing Edgar Wright's fabulous Hot Fuzz at 17:30 on Eastside 89.7 FM's Cinemascape show. The director's follow up to Shaun of the Dead stars Simon Pegg and Nick Frost and this time around he pays hommage to the action films that filled the shelves of every video store during the Eighties. With a little Dirty Harry thrown in for good measure! Wright's love of cinema shines through in every scene, I can't wait to see what he does with his mock trailer featured in Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez's Grindhouse.

Danny Boyle's Sunshine

Space suites inspired by Kenny from South Park, recreating the solar system in London’s East End and pitching a film about eight astronauts in space strapped to a bomb, these were just some of the topics covered by Danny Boyle last Sunday at Popcorn Taxi’s exclusive screening of his new film Sunshine at Sydney’s Bondi Junction.

The Scot who gave us Trainspotting and Shallow Grave, was in fine form as he discussed his cast, “Big stars just don’t work in space; it just humbles everyone.” He continued on this train of thought discussing the benefits of using a less than stellar line up of Hollywood talent. “If you don’t have big stars the audience has no idea who’s going to die next!” he laughed.

The event brought back memories of the London NFT’s Guardian Lectures and I very much look forward to the next Popcorn Taxi event. For the record, Sunshine, the film that Boyle wanted to be “more NASA than Star Wars,” is fabulous. Doing for the Sci-fi genre what 28 Days Later did for horror. Boyle’s new movie harks back to such luminaries as 2001: A Space Odyssey, Alien and Andrei Tarkovsky's Solaris and you can’t give higher praise than that.

For my full thoughts on the film listen to Cinemascape on Eastside FM nearer the time of the film’s release next month.

C.R.A.Z.Y DVD review

This wonderful French Canadian production follows the confused younger years of Zak Beaulieu. A misfit in his father’s eyes and seemingly sexually confused from the moment of birth, he hides himself in music and is seen as a freak by his brothers, a nerd, a biker and a jock. None of them can understand what is happening with their strange little brother.

The soundtrack is amazing; David Bowie’s Space Oddity, Pink Floyd’s Shine on You Crazy Diamond and The Cure’s 10:15 Saturday Night all accompany some beautiful scenes as Zac battles his homophobic, Patsy Cline obsessed father and tries to find his place in the world. It may sound clichéd but director Jean-Marc Valleé handles the material with a deft touch.

Zac’s teenage years are played by Marc-Andre Grondin, a confident performance that combines the naivety, curiosity and confusion of the teenage years, all set to the glorious music of the time. He goes through all the trends of the Seventies, though Eighties. Glam rock, Punk, Goth, he tries them all, much to his families bemusement, and they form the soundtrack to his early teenage fumblings as he tries to unravel his confused sexual leanings. The films trump card is the use of music to depict the change in time and thus the acceptance of sexual preferences and the politics that accompany them. Michel Côté is also excellent as Zac’s father; an irascible rogue who’s adoration of the Fifties chanteuse Cline has affected his whole family and given Zac his passion for all forms of music. Their love hate relationship forms the core of the film.

C.R.A.Z.Y is wonderfully provocative, sprawling and highly recommended on all counts and Madman Entertainment’s DVD sweetens the deal with a few nice extras including The Making of C.R.A.Z.Y and the theatrical trailer. Add to that a thumping 5.1 mix and you have a must buy on your hands.

Bobby

This Friday at 17:30 I’ll once again be appearing on Sydney's Eastside 89.7 FM’s Cinemascape show. This time around I’ll be discussing my thoughts on Emilio Estevez’s love letter to assassinated presidential candidate Robert. F. Kennedy entitled Bobby. Shot just two days after Andy Warhol in 1968, the much loved politician’s death still resonates today and the ex-brat pack star has managed to pull together a quite astonishing cast together to depict the Kennedy siblings last moments. Obviously an adoration of the Kennedys was a prerequisite as there is no way that a line up of this many Hollywood stars would normally appear in such a low budget movie. A quick glance at the credits brings up Sharon Stone, William H Macy, Demi Moore, Elijah Wood and Lyndsey Lohan and there are many many more. As a huge fan of The Breakfast Club and Repoman I’ve kept an eye on Estevez’s career since and I have to admit he’s done a commendable job considering he wrote, directed, produced and starred in Bobby. However, he may have bitten off slightly more than he can handle in places, his inexperience showing at times and a few of his high profile actors just don’t perform well but on the whole this is a sterling effort, not quite a classic but well worth a watch. Tune in to hear my thoughts.

Caught by the Fuzz

Last week I was lucky enough to interview Shaun of the Dead director Edgar Wright about his new film Hot Fuzz, once again starring Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. Wright delightfully describes the film as an Agatha Christie set piece as if directed by Brian DePalma. The interview will appear in the next issue of Filmink.

Smokin' on the radio

For those readers in the Sydney area I'll be making my regular appearance on Eastside 89.7 FM's Cinemascape show. This Friday at 17:30 I'll be reviewing Joe Carnahan's Smokin' Aces. With an amazing cast, the director of Narc manages to channel the spirit of Guy Ritchie into an entertaining, if derivative, thriller that desperately wants to emulate Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels but doesn't quite make it. Tune in to hear my thoughts.

Kenny DVD review

When you think of that tried and tested comedy genre the mockumentary, most will think of Ricky Gervais’ and Stephen Merchant’s The Office or the cinematic work of Christopher Guest like Best in Show and The Mighty Wind. Well now there is a new pretender to the throne so to speak. The low budget, toilet obsessed box office smash has hit the DVD market running and Madman Entertainment’s excellent DVD is the perfect way to pay Kenny and his friends a visit. Telling the story of Kenny, a toilet operative, the film is a non stop barrage of filthy, yet well executed, toilet humour and beautifully judged characters. An uplifting story of the Aussie battler making a better life for himself; Kenny breaks the shackles of his family and his work colleagues when he travels to a toilet convention in the States.

A family affair, the film is written, directed and performed by the Jacobson brothers, Clayton and Shane with added input by their father Ronald. Shane takes the title role of Kenny and gives an amazing winning performance. His dialogue is beautifully judged despite the lowbrow subject matter. Ronald almost steals the picture as Kenny’s grumpy old dad. In fact the crews inexperience only comes to the fore during the films final third when Kenny leaves Australia. The fish out of water aspects are funny and you desperately want Kenny to get together with his newfound friend but the whole section suffers from pacing problems that are only rectified when he returns to Australia to deal with the toilets at the Melbourne Cup. That’s probably slighty harsh as Kenny is a fabulous little comedy and an outstanding artistic and commercial success for the first time filmmakers. It’s a very Australian comedy and all the better for it. Highly recommended.

Madman have out together a wonderful DVD package including a fantastic selection of extras. You get 11 deleted scenes, an audio commentary by director Clayton Jacobson and Kenny and the original theatrical trailer. They also throw in the Kenny Toilet Quote Companion to sweeten the deal. It’s a 16 page booklet full of all your favourite quotes from the film, Kenny's toilet tips and philosophies from the 'Dalai-Lama of Waste Management'

Available from www.madman.com.au

Billy Crystal

Yesterday I had the great pleasure of attending the Australian national press conference of 700 Sundays, the new one man show by Billy Crystal. The When Harry Met Sally star was in fine form as he fielded questions from the press joking about his age, “the damn internet has got it wrong'!" His long lasting relationship with his wife, “we see other people. Let's just say Hugh Jackman and I are pretty close,'' and Jewish culture “700 Saturdays? You fly for 15 hours and you find the one Jew who says `Hey, why not 700 Saturdays?' Why not 700 Thursdays, you know, come on, Thursdays I close the store early to get ready for Fridays. Unbelievable.'' He brought a smile to even the most cynical of journalist's face.

Lucky Miles

On February 22nd I'll be travelling to South Australia to attend the world premiere of Michael James Rowland's debut feature Lucky Miles, the opening film of The Adelaide International Film Festival. Produced by Blink Films; the film tells the tale of 3 men lost in the Australian desert, it's a black comedy about difference, distance and dud maps. For information on the festival check out www.adelaidefilmfestival.org.

For those of you listening to Eastside 89.7 FM last week you would have heard me review Christopher Guest's For Your Consideration. Not a bad effort but when compared to Best in Show the film has to be called a disapointment. A shame; when I interviewed Parker Posey last year she certainly built up my anticpation but unfortunately For Your Consideration isn't worth considering.

Morricone Conducts Morricone DVD review

Having seen the maestro perform at London's Royal Albert Hall a few years back it was with great excitement when I opened up a package from Umbrella Entertainment containing a copy of Morricone Conducts Morricone and I'm happy to announce the disc doesn't disappoint. To be honest though how could it when the great man has some of the greatest soundtracks of all time up his sleeve.

Some of the magic is obviously lost in translation, the thrill of seeing a full 200 piece orchestra and choir performing classics from movies like The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, Once Upon a Time in The West and The Mission, in the flesh cannot replicated, no matter how good the sound system but Morricone Conducts Morricone makes a valiant stab at it. The camera work is a bit static at times and the use of stills is formulaic at best but if you close your eyes and let the aural majesty of Morricone's music weave its magic, you simply just can't go wrong. The fact that he plays passages from my favourite soundtrack of all time Once Upon a Time in America probably makes me slightly biased but this disc is highly recommended, in fact the only real downside is the lack of any music from Danger: Diabolik

Happy New Year

Happy New Year to you all. Well 2007 has already been a busy year, here's the latest publications that have featured my work.

The last two issues of Shivers magazine, issues #130 and #131, have featured my previews of The Ferryman and The Disturbed respectively. Future issues of the magazine will feature my interviews with director Greg McLean on Rogue and actor John Rhys Davies on The Ferryman.

Issue #5 of Smoke & Mirrors will feature my interview with Bruce Woloshyn, the visual effects supervisor on Night at the Museum and the most recent Film Review magazine includes my interview with A Clockwork Orange star Malcolm McDowell. As always I have also been conducting my regular vox pops interviews for Film Review in Sydney; the latest being The Queen outside The Dendy Opera Quays. The fabulous Cinema Retro magazine will also feature my large feature on the making of Danger: Diabolik in the next issue.

Finally I have recently been invited to be a member of The Sydney Film Festival. It's a tremendous honour and I very much look forward to working with the festival in the future.

The Queen

For those in the Sydney area I'll be reviewing Stephen Frears excellent film The Queen this Friday at 17:30 on Eastside 89.7 FM's Cinemascape Show. The show will also feature reviews of Babel and Marie Antoinette.

Open Season

Tune in to Eastside 89.7 FM today at 17.30 to hear me appear on Cinemascape. This week you'll hear reviews of Casino Royale and A Scanner Darkly as well as my thoughts on the latest computer animated feature Open Season, released just in time for Christmas.

The Black Dahlia

As a huge Brian DePalma fan it with trepidation that I approached reviewing The Black Dahlia. His extraodinary output in the 70s and early 80s including Carrie, Dressed to Kill, Blow Out, Scarface and The Phatom of the Paradise was always going to be hard to live up. Unfortunately The Black Dhalia, despite being based on an James Elroy novel and starring the gorgeous Scarlett Johansson, is terrible, falling in line with DePalma's recent disasters like Mission to Mars. To hear the rest of my thoughts on the film please tune in to Cinemascape this Friday at 17:30 on Eastside 89.7 FM.

In Print

Its about time I gave you an update of where I've been in print; the latest issue of Smoke & Mirrors features my interview with Cinesite's Matt Johnson discussing his work on Omen 666 and V for Vendetta.

The last couple of issues of Shivers have featured my work; Issue #129 concluded my set report from Stephen King's Nightmares & Dreamscapes and Issue #130 includes my interview with producers Matt Metcalf and Alan Davies discussing the making of The Ferryman.

Finally the December issue of Film Review includes my vox pop report on what Sydneysiders thought of the wonderful Little Miss Sunshine.

I also recently interviewed director Gregory Read about his recent Australian thriller Like Minds starring Toni Collette and Richard Roxburgh.

Shortbus on the radio

I'll be reviewing John Cameron Mitchell's controversial Shortbus this Friday on Eastside 89.7 FM's Cinemascape show this Friday at 17:30 for those in the Sydney area. As a huge fan of Hedwig and the Angry Inch I was intrigued what Mitchell would do next but I don't think anyone could have been prepared for Shortbus. An ensemble cast play a group of New Yorkers who converge on an underground club called Shortbus; a place where there are no boundaries and sex, drugs and art is for everybody. Among those we meet are Sofia, a sex therapist who has never had an orgasm, James and Jamie, a gay couple who bring in an additional partner to save their relationship and Severin, a deeply confused dominatrix. The depiction of sex is incredibly graphic. In the first five minute almost every taboo known to mainstream cinema has been broken in explicit detail. What separates Shortbus from a regular porn film, however, is the human spirit on display. You grow to love the characters; the sex becomes secondary to the relationships between the characters and NYC. Shortbus is a brave, post 9/11, look at the sexual morays of a city that is only just beginning to recover from such a traumatic event. Highly recommended for the open minded, a word of caution for the easily offended....you will be!.

More fun on the radio

I'll be on Eastide FM's Cinemascape show reviewing Roberto Benigni's The Tiger and the Snow this Friday at 17:30. Tune in if you can.

Last Tuesday I also discussed film criticism and in particluar The Complete Stanley Kubrick by David Hugnes and The Time Out Guide to the 1001 Films To Change Your Life on Eastside FM's Between the Covers book review show.

Happy Friday the 13th

To celebrate the fact that today is indeed Friday the 13th here’s my review of the horror classic from www.cinephilia.net.au. Keep checking the site for my cult film and DVD reviews.

In 1957 at Camp Crystal Lake a young boy had been drowned as uninterested counsellors ignore his cries. In 1958 two teenagers are brutally slain, in 1962 fire causes the camp to be closed. In 1979 the camp is re-opened but soon the counsellors are being killed one by one by a mysterious killer. As they fight for their lives and try to save the children in their care, it becomes a battle of the strong to see who will walk out of “Camp Blood” alive.

Director Sean. S. Cunnningham had already made a name for himself working with Wes Craven on Last House on the Left. Following the success of John Carpenter’s Halloween he saw that the horror genre was the next big thing and looked for a name for his project that would strike terror into the audiences. Friday the 13th was the unlikely moniker but on its release the film became a box office sensation. Carpenter may have done it first in the US but Friday the 13th was the film that put the body count movie on the map. The film spawned a multitude of sequels; some great, such as Friday the 13th Part 4: The Final Chapter, and some frankly awful, Friday the 13th Part 8: Jason Takes Manhattan being one such. All had one thing in common, the psychotic Jason Vorhees wielding an axe and killing as many sex-crazed teenagers as possible. All that is, except one, the original.

Looking past the blood, gore and sex and the original Friday the 13th is a good little movie. Yes, watching it now the plot seems hackneyed but back in 1980 this was inspired stuff. One tends to forget that the villain of the piece the first time around was Jason’s mum, distraught at the general malaise that the modern day teenager had fallen into. The summer camp tutors were more interested in sex than saving her son from drowning so she revenged her child by murdering any young couple intent on getting frisky.

Cunningham and the writer Victor Miller may well be trying to make a statement there but you can’t help but think all they were really trying to do is scare the living daylights out of the viewer.Cunningham directs with style, cranking up the tension at every opportunity. He is ably assisted by make-up legend Tom Savini, fresh from his work on George. A. Romero’s Dawn of the Dead, and Henry Manfredini, whose score became the blueprint for every slasher movie made in the 80s. So many of the films shock moments became synonymous with the genre that many ignore what an important part Mario Bava’s Twitch of the Death Nerve played in the conception of Friday the 13th and its sequels, especially, Part 2. Plagiarism aside, however, these films are everything that was great about the 80s horror film and you even get to see a young Kevin Bacon with an arrow through his neck! How could you refuse?

Paris, Texas DVD review

Travis (Harry Dean Stanton) a lone figure walks out of the desert into a bar and collapses. All memories of his previous life have seemingly gone so it’s up to his brother Walt (Dean Stockwell) to help Travis piece together the flashbacks of his fractured life and discover why this loner left his wife Jane (Natasha Kinski) and child.

Paris, Texas marks the career best for many of the cast and crew. Director Wim Wenders may have flown high with Wings of Desire but Paris, Texas shows a director at the height of his powers. Never before or since has his grasp of the frailty of the human spirit and fragility of life been so emotively portrayed.

He is helped immensely by his two leads; Harry Dead Stanton was wonderful in Alex Cox’s Repoman and David Lynch’s Wild at Heart and who can forget him as Molly Ringwold’s father in Pretty in Pink but in Paris, Texas he plays a man at the edge of a precipice. No one can be unmoved as Travis slowly and painfully unravels the mystery of his forgotten life. Natasha Kinski by 1984 had appeared in Roman Polanski’s Tess to press hysteria and bared all in Hammer Film’s To The Devil a Daughter and Paul Schrader’s Cat People. Here she displays a warmth and sensual vulnerability as Jane, the object of Travis’ torment.

The other stars of the film are Ry Cooder’s slide guitar and the eye of cinematographer Robby Muller. The soundtrack Cooder creates is wonderful and perfectly compliments the mood and tone of the visuals whilst creating an independent character of its own. Many will know his work from The Buena Vista Social Club but he has also supplied soundtracks to such diverse films as Walter Hills Southern Comfort and Mike Nichols’ Primary Colours. Muller’s exceptional camerawork gives the arid desert landscapes an otherworldly quality perfectly suiting the films hypnotic power.

Not to be missed on any count; this deeply moving and haunting account of a shattered life will leave no one unaffected. Madman Films have sweetend the deal even further with a nice collection of deleted scenes and footage of Wenders and Kinski at Cannes. An informative running commentary by Wenders rounds off an essential purchase.

DVD available from Madman Films

Little Miss Sunshine on the radio

Next Friday 13th at 5:30pm on Eastside FM 89.7's Cinemascape Show I'll be reviewing one of my favourite films of the year; Jonathan Dayton and Valarie Faris' wonderful comedy Little Miss Sunshine. I urge each and everyone of you to see this film as soon as it opens. You won't regret it.

Greg McLean talks killer crocodiles

Last night I interviewed director Greg McLean about Wolf Creek, his new movie Rogue and his thoughts on the state of the Australian film industry, in particular the recent spate of low budget horror films. Mclean revealed himself to be a huge fan of Alien and Jaws so the thought of a giant crocodile rampaging through Australia's Northern Territory just gets better and better. The interview will appear in Shivers magazine and will form part of my Antipodean horror film article in Dazed & Confused next year.

Back to School

Here are the details of the film symposium I will be taking part in this Friday at the University of Sydney. I will a member of the film forum discussion panel at 12:10pm.

Eternal Sunshine of the Academic Mind:
Film, Faith, Culture and the University.

A one day symposium on current trends in
Film study and film teaching

Supported by the Religion, Literature and the Arts Society And Studies in Religion
University of Sydney

9.00AM - 5.30PM
22 September 2006
Woolley Common Room

Call for papers: research on film, culture, religion and pedagogy are welcome, please submit your abstract to Chris Hartney by 31 August at (hartney@arts.usyd.edu.au) Studies in Religion, Woolley A20, University of Sydney, NSW 2006.
- Registration Cost: $35/$20 (inc. lunch, morning/afternoon tea, notes etc)

Latest News

Last night I spent a splendid few hours chatting away with Doug Turner and Stacey Edmonds; the creative force behind the forthcoming I Know How Many Runs You Scored Last Summer. We were also joined by the films lead Jai Koutrae. Check out the trailer at http://www.therunsmovie.com/. My interviews will feature in Shivers and an Aussie horror special that will appear early next year in the newly launched Australian version of Dazed & Confused. My interview with Malcolm McDowell will be appearing in issue 2 of the magazine hitting newstands soon.

In other news the second part of my on set report on Stephen King's Nightmares & Dreamscapes features in issue #129 of Shivers magazine. Last week I also had the great pleasure of interviewing John Rhys Davies about the forthcoming The Ferryman. The consumate professional, he was an absolute delight to talk to. I look forward to sharing our discussions in the pages of Shivers early next year.

Next week I'll be taking part in the University of Sydney's Film Symposium. I'll be appearing on a panel with Jamie Leonarder from the Mu Mesons archive and SBS's At the Movies show to discuss religion in film. The film forum takes place on Friday 22nd September.

On a final note I've finally sercomed to the dreaded MySpace so check me out on www.myspace.com/davemichaelbrown. Its probably the only way I can pretend that Ennio Morricone is my friend.

Cinemascape

This Friday at 17:30 I'll once again be appearing on Sydney's Eastside FM 89.7's Cinemascape show. Unfortunately this time around I'll be reviewing Mike Binder's Man About Town starring the woeful Ben Affleck.

Snakes on a Plane review

“I’ve had it with these motherf**king Snakes of this motherf**king plane!” There you go, I’ve said it, the line that Samuel. L. Jackson was born to say. The whole film seems to be building up to that line but unfortunately by the time it comes Snakes on a Plane has run out of steam. Don’t get me wrong, Pacific Air Flight 121 is a fun ride, but after all the internet generated conjecture, rumours and publicity, that’s all this film is. Any hope of Snakes on a Plane being the ultimate trash experience have been sucked out of the window along with a few rotting snake riddled corpses along the way.

The premise is slim to say the least, a mere excuse to get the cast on the plane and become snake food. The cast too is a glorious collection of clichés that wouldn’t be out of place on any 70s disaster movie, with the possible exception of the Paris Hilton look-alike Mercedes Harbunt with her pet Chihuahua Mary Kate who provides the film with one of its biggest deliciously macabre laughs. Samuel. L. Jackson is fantastic as the FBI agent Flynn and Julianna Marguiles is likeable as airhostess Claire Miller despite continuing her run of post E.R. performances in trash like Ghost Ship. Australian actor Nathan Philips of You and Your Stupid Mate and Wolf Creek is fine as Sean Jones but to be honest everyone pales into insignificance next to Jackson at full throttle. Ex- stuntman David. R. Ellis handles the directing duties with aplomb moving up from previous efforts like Cellular and Final Destination 2 but the biggest let down unfortunately for a film called Snakes on a Plane, is the snakes. The dreaded CGI beasts just don’t look real, the image is often blurred and despite the best efforts of the actors, just don’t look scary. They even throw in a green tinged snake-cam to no real effect. This is possibly why the studio allowed the crew an additional five days to up the horror and move the film away from the family fun of a PG-13 to a harsher, hopefully more profitable R. The moments that are added are pretty obvious, copious mile high club style nudity, bloody insert shots and the glorious profanity of Jackson’s infamous line were all added after poor audience reaction at test screenings.

Here come’s the crunch; with a film like Snakes on a Plane you have to be able to laugh at people being killed by snakes in a more and more preposterous fashion. If you don’t find the thought of snakes leaping out of a toilet funny, then don’t go and see Snakes on a Plane. If the name of this film gets you excited at its mere utterance then grab a group of friends and see it at a packed multiplex. It’s as simple as that.

Aussie horror

Over the next couple of weeks I'll be talking to the makers of a couple of low budget horror films. Tonight I'll be chatting to Daniel Armstrong; the director and producer of The Disturbed, a zombie film being shot in Melbourne by Strongman Pictures. Set in an aslyum the film promises to be an apocalyptic vision of violence, terror and insanity. They have just completed a five minute promo and are presently finalizing finance for the full feature. For all you make up artists out there check out issue three of Smoke and Mirrors for a competition to play a member of the undead in the film.

Then next week I'll be meeting up with Doug Turner, the director and driving force behind I Know How Many Runs You Scored Last Summer. A gore filled comedy in the tradition of Shaun of the Dead, a killer is on the loose with a razor sharp cricket glove and sharpened stumps for weapons with revenge on his mind! The film was shot in Sydney bv Media 42. Its refreshing to see filmmakers just going out and making movies despite the lack of funding possibilites for genre films in Australia. After the success of Wolf Creek and the forthcoming The Ferryman and Black Sheep here's hoping we're on the brink of a resurgance in the antipodean horror film.

Cinemascape

This Friday I’ll once again be appearing on Eastside 89.7 FM’s Cinemascape show. I’ll be reviewing Rian Johnson’s Brick so for all you Sydneysiders please tune in at 17:30. For those who have been listening I recently also reviewed the new Australian sporting comedy Footy Legends on the show.

How Twisted is Bryan Brown?

Well last week started off well when I got to chat with the legendary Aussie actor Bryan Brown; the star of Cocktail, Gorillas in the Mist and FX - Murder by Illusion to name a few. We talked about his new TV show Two Twisted, a return to the sinister and disturbing worlds of The Twilight Zone and Alfred Hitchcock Present's. He has gathered together a fine array of talent both infront and behind the camera including Sam Neil, Melissa George, Paul Middleditch and Jacqueline McKenzie. Lets hope it kick starts a deluge of home grown television drama production down under. Keep posted for when the interview will be published. For Australian readers Two Twisted is now showing on Mondays on Channel Nine.

In some brief news my report from the set of Stephen King's Nightmares and Dreamscapes appears in the Shivers supplement of Starburst Special #76 and my talk with ILM's Grady Cofer will be appearing in the third issue of Smoke and Mirrors, on shelves very soon.

For anyone reading in London I'm very jealous indeed as this year's Frightfest Festival starts in a couple of weekends time on August 24th with a charity screening of Chris Smith's Severance. The line-up over the long weekend is sensational so if you live in London and don't have tickets, shame on you. Those days squashed behind The Cinema Store's table with Theo and Neil flogging zombie DVDs in The Prince Charles cinema's basement seem so far away! Have a great one Paul, Alan and Ian and everyone who is attending.

Latest news

While travelling I was lucky to catch up with a couple of filmmakers to discuss their latest endeavours. In London I caught up with Matthew Metcalf and Alan Harris, the producers of the forthcoming New Zealand horror film, The Ferryman. Starring John Rhys Davies; the duo promise that the film will be a gory return to the 80s glory days of The Evil Dead, The Thing and Braindead. I can hardly wait! My interview will appear in Shivers near the time of the films release.

The always-entertaining Lloyd Kaufman welcomed me into Troma’s NYC office with open arms and excitedly discussed his latest horror masterpiece Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead. It tells the story of a fast food establishment that is built over an Indian burial ground with disastrous results. My chat with Lloyd will appear in a future issue of Filmink.

As always, it was a pleasure to catch up with the guys at Visual Imagination. I’m very happy to report that the July issue of Film Review features my all-new set report from Superman Returns plus highlights from my interviews from the pages of Starburst; that’s twenty pages of Superman Returns fun by yours truly.

To round things off the second issue of Smoke and Mirrors is on the shelves now and features my interview with Wil Cohen, the man who handles the special effects on the new series of Dr Who. Talk of werewolves and Cyberman bodes well for the new series.

Sydney Film Festival report - week 2

Better late than never, having returned from a month overseas, it’s about time I wrapped up the second week of the Sydney Film Festival.

C.R.A.Z.Y, a French Canadian production, follows the life of a young boy, obsessed with David Bowie and confused about his sexuality, the film perfectly portrays the inner turmoil’s raging through the body and mind of a teenager in the Seventies. Directed with panache by Jean-Marc Vallée and perfectly played by Marc André and Michael Cóté as the boys Patsy Cline loving father; C.R.A.Z.Y is highly recommended for film and rock music fans alike.

Edmond, starring William. H. Macy and directed by Stuart Gordon, the man who gave us The Re-Animator took David Mamet’s source play and gave us an unsettling account of a man unhinged by the tortures of modern day life. Using the streets of New York to claustrophobic affect, Macy’s central performance is an excellent portrayal of frustration and desperation but the rest of the talented cast is underused. A good effort but the film lacks the ferocity and unease of watching the story unfold on stage.

Much has been said about Rian Johnson’s Brick, a film noir detective story set in an American High School and for the most part the exultations bestowed upon the film are spot on. Beautifully shot and brimming with visual flourishes Brick maintains its dark foreboding mood whilst never releasing the tension as it unwinds its complex plot. Joseph Gordon Levitt shows that the promise he showed in Greg Araki’s Mysterious Skin was no fluke.

Andrew Denton’s God On My Side was an interesting, if flawed, look at religion in the United States. Often going for the easy laugh, Denton made for an affable host but the film showed none of the rapier wit and fascinating mind that he displayed at the Q&A that followed the screening. A valiant attempt that belied its television origins.

My favourite films of the festival, however were Nicolas Winding Refn’s extraordinary Pusher trilogy. Exciting, shocking and hilarious; all three films show a director completely at home in the genre displaying a virtuosity and style completely at odds with the films low budget. Pusher followed the lives of Frank and Tonny, two low life dealers, played by Kim Bodnia and Mads Mikkelsen, as they try and make good a drug deal that has gone disastrously wrong. The sequels With Blood on my Hands: Pusher II and I’m The Angel of Death: Pusher III tell the stories of Tonny and drug overlord Milo respectively. Milo, played by Zlatko Buril is a work of comedic genius, his vain attempts to separate his daughters birthday party and a particularly gory and harrowing drug deal are the work of genius and its no surprise that Mikkelsen has taken the role bad guy in the next Bond film. I cannot recommend these films more.

Sydney Film Festival report - week 1

Things kicked off well with the festival opener, Rolf De Heer’s Ten Canoes. A fantastic little film; beautifully shot in colour and black and white made with the help of the people of Ramingining; Ten Canoes is a million miles from grubby nightmares of Bad Boy Bubby. Starring Jamie Gulpilil and narrated by his father, the legendary David Gulpilil, the actors speak in their native indigenous tongue. The cinematography by Ian Jones is breathtaking and the humour the aboriginal stars bring to their roles is thoroughly engaging. How kidnapping, sorcery, revenge and canoe building fit onto the story you’ll have to wait and see but this is delightfully entertaining cinema that treats its subject matter with the utmost of respect.

Hard Candy, the directorial debut by David Slade was amazing. Uncompromising, unflinching and unrelenting in its vision of revenge and mental torture, the film grabs the audience from its opening seconds and never lets go. What’s truly special about the film is how little Slade actually shows, the audiences imagination is left to run wild. The performances are excellent, in particular Ellen Page, an actress whose young years belie an amazing talent, definitely a face to watch in the future. Highly recommended.

Starfish Hotel was a bit of a disappointment, with talk of David Lynch and Donnie Darko influences I had high hopes but all we got was a man walking around in a bunny suit. Probably a bit harsh but this beautifully put together film had some serious pacing issues. Unlike Nicholas Winding Refn’s Pusher and With Blood on My Hands – Pusher II; two excellent thrillers that formed part of the festivals Danish spotlight. Can’t wait for the third instalment next week. I also hear from good authority that Adam’s Apples delivered the goods.

The two screenings of Michael Frank's Ra Choi proved very popular so thanks to everyone who attended. We had people in tears at the box office at the sold out Sunday screening. Those lucky enough to get into the Dendy Opera Quays also saw two excellent Q&A sessions when Frank was joined by associate producer Milli Howson and cast members Nammi Le Benson, Nina Karen Fernandez and Paul He.

A huge surprise was Little Miss Sunshine; a fabulous little comedy about a family struggling to get their daughter to the Little Miss Sunshine beauty pageant. Toni Collette, Greg Kennear and Steve Carell all give delightfully performances in this hilarious and moving look at a dysfunctional family with an even more dysfunctional Volkswagen van. The feel good movie of the Festival!

Cinemascape

This Friday at 5:30pm I'll be reviewing Colour Me Kubrick on Eastside 89.7FM's Cinemascape show. Please tune in if you are in the Sydney area.

Superman Returns

As the release of Superman Returns grows ever closer I thought I'd round up my articles on the film published so far; Starburst Special #74 features my first set report, Starburst #336 features my interview with Kevin Spacey, Starburst #337 includes my chat with the films writers Dan Harris and Michael Dougherty, Starburst Special #75 features my interviews with Brandon Routh, Kate Bosworth and producer Gil Adler and finally onto Starburst #338 and my chats with director Bryan Singer and Parker Posey make an appearance. Articles on the film will also be appearing in Film Review, Ultimate DVD and The Works so watch this space.