Latest News

Happy New Year to you all. Well 2006 looks like it will be as busy if not busier than last year so here goes. The first issue of Smoke and Mirrors; the Australian special effects magazine, is almost with us. The first issue will see my report from the set of Rogue and a profile of UK company Framestore cfc, the men and women behind some breathtaking imagery in the recent Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Doom and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Many thanks to Matt Hearn, David Lightfoot for their time and Ayisha Davies for making the set visit possible; from what I've seen so far Rogue will prove that Wolf Creek was no one off. Also thanks to Steph Bruning at Framestore for her gracious help.

Starburst issue #333 will feature part one of my preview of my Superman Returns set visit. The actual report will be featured around the film's release in July and will include my interviews with Bryan Singer, Brandon Routh, Kate Bosworth, Parker Posey and Kevin Spacey. Issue 4 of Cinema Retro includes a brief news piece on the recent Stanley Kubrick exhibition, the full report will appear in the next issue. I've also just sent off the third DVD Down Under report for DVD World so look out for that soon.

Twitch of the Death Nerve DVD review

Not content with inventing the Giallo thriller with Blood and Black Lace, Mario Bava way back in 1972 made a film that was to become the blueprint for every slasher film known to man. Twitch of the Death Nerve, also known as Bay of Blood, will seem strangely familiar to those readers who are huge fans of Friday the 13th, especially Part Two but then that sequels director Steve Miner has always declared that Bava’s blood thirsty thriller was a major influence but watching Twitch of the Death Nerve again it looks more like wholesale stealing. Any of these murders sound familiar; a young man opens a door only to get a machete in the face, a fornicating couple are speared together. The murders are copied almost frame for frame.

The big difference between Bava and the directors who followed in his footsteps is obviously talent. Twitch of the Death Nerve looks fabulous. Knives glisten in the sunlight, everything is beautifully lit and despite the fact that he invented the “have sex, will die” style of filmmaking, the storyline to this film is a pitch-black whodunit that comments on greed, family and exactly how far people will go for a few lire. The films twisted finale is hilarious and will leave most viewers with a startled look of surprise. In fact the playful tone of the film has more in common with Danger Diabolik than his other horror films such as Shock! and Blood and Black Lace.

The performances are suitably twisted, Bond girl Claudia Auger of Thunderball fames exudes a sultry sexiness and the rest for cast seem happy to disrobe or die or both. The squid obsessed fisherman is a fantastically bizarre character, infact there are very view normal folk on display. Everyone we are introduced to has a hidden agenda led by greed and corruption. Bava’s film is more a comment on what man will do man for money than a mere horror film.

Full review available on www.terroraustralis.net

Rogue set visit

No sooner as I'm back and I'm heading back to Melbourne to visit the set of Greg McLean's Rogue. McLean's previous film, the awesome Wolf Creek was a huge hit and hopes are high for his latest, all we know at present is the brief plot outline on IMDB, An American journalist on assignment in the Australian outback encounters a man-eating crocodile. Rogue stars Wolf Creek bad guy John Jarrat, Melinda and Melinda star Rhada Mitchell and Sam Worthington.

Real Horrorshow

It’s shaping up to be a very busy end of the year. Whilst in Melbourne as well as witnessing Ra Choi’s victory at the AGWIE’s I attended the press launch and gala opening of Stanley Kubrick - Inside the Mind of a Visionary Filmmaker. The exhibition is awe inspiring; items on display include Alex’s cane from A Clockwork Orange, ape costumes, space suits and the Starchild from 2001: A Space Odyssey, the typewriter and the axe from The Shining, costumes from Spartacus and Barry Lyndon and Tom Cruise's venetian mask from Eyes Wide Shut, the list is endless. We even get to see the great directors research work for his two great unmade films; Napoleon and The Aryan Papers. His library on Napoleon is the biggest in the world. With over 1000 artefacts on display you do indeed feel like you are walking through film history. If any readers can get to Melbourne before the end of January I heartily recommend you pay ACMI a visit. Malcolm McDowell was a warm and funny interviewee; the enthusiasm in which he still talks about A Clockwork Orange and Kubrick was a pleasure to hear. A Big thank you to Justin Rogers at ACMI for arranging everything.

Ladies and Gentlemen, we have a WINNER!

In a piece of Fantastic news, Ra Choi, against all the odds, beat Cate Blanchett's Little Fish, Three Dollars and the AFI winning Look Both Ways to win the BEST FEATURE FILM award at the AWGIE awards. Congratulations to writer, director and producer Michael Frank, Associate Producer Milli Howson and the rest of the cast and crew.

RA CHOI preview screening tonight

Just a reminder to all those in the Sydney area that the first preview screening of RA CHOI - Coming Out to Play is taking place tonight at Film Australia in Lindfield. The screening is at 7:15 and anyone interested in attending should email me at davemichaelbrown@yahoo.co.uk. RA CHOI has been nominated for best film at the Australian Writers Guild awards; the AWGIE'S will be handed out on Friday 25th November.

Viddy well my brother

I'll be heading to Melbourne on November 23rd to cover the opening of the Australian Centre for the Movie Image's Stanley Kubrick inside the mind of a visionary filmmaker exhibition. It promises to be an unmissable event featuring over 1000 props, posters and models spanning his entire career. I'll be interviewing Kubrick's wife Christiane along with Jan Harlan; producer of Eyes Wide Shut, The Shining and Full Metal Jacket, and the star of A Clockwork Orange Malcom McDowell. My coverage of the event will appear in a forthcoming issue of Cinema Retro. I'll also be doing a retrospective piece to mark the 35th Anniversay of A Clockwork Orange for Film Review next year. I'll be making a report on this site soon so keep posted.

In further news my interview with Tura Satana, the star of Russ Meyer's Faster Pussycat Kill! Kill! will be appearing in next months Filmink along with my delayed interview wth Bob Clark, the man who directed Black Christmas and Porky's. Joining my semi-regular DVD Down Under column in DVD World I will also be doing a regular Vox Pops piece from various Sydney cinemas for Film Review magazine. In more magazine news I'll soon be contributing to a new magazine Smoke and Mirrors. An Australian publication, the magazine will cover movie special effects and make-up and is aimed at both industry and movie goers alike. I'm very excited to be part of Smoke and Mirrors at such an early stage and look forward to telling you more, the first issue will be published in February 2006.

Dance Dance Dance

I'll be appearing on Eastside 89.7 FM's Between the Covers review programme again tomorrow (November 8th) at 11:30am. I'll be passing my judgement on Haruki Murakami's Dance Dance Dance.

For those who want to here my voice online; check out www.notyourusualbollocks.squarespace.com and look for the Australian music special for my views on whats happening with the music scene in Sydney as I join the shows host Marenco Kemp for an informal look at Aussie rock. For anyone interested in the independent side of music you could do a lot worse than check out Marenco's site, its a fantastic mix of obscure music, forthright views and a great way to keep abreast of the everchanging world of podcasts.

Ra Choi Preview Screening

The debut feature by M Frank RaChoi (Coming Out to Play) will be given its first screening on November 17th 2005. The cast and crew preview, screening at Film Australia, Lindfield, Sydney will also take place to introduce the film to distributors and industry members. If you are interested in attending the screening on a professional level please do not hesitate in contacting me at davemichaelbrown@yahoo.co.uk

On another exciting note Ra Choi has been nominated for the Best Feature award at the 2005 Australian Writers Guild - AWGIES. Its fellow nominees are Look Both Ways, Little Fish and Three Dollars. The awards will be presented in Melbourne on November 25, 2005.

After taking on publicity duties on the film, Ra Choi has been featured in Encore Magazine and Filmink and will be appearing in more UK and Australian publications so keep an eye out for more news. Please check out www.rachoi.com

Bad Boy Bubby DVD Review

Rolf de Heer’s twisted little movie is a love or hate experience. It pushes many boundaries both visually and technically and is given life by a career defining performance by Nicholas Hope as the titular Bubby.

Living with his religious fanatic mother in a small claustrophobic bunker, Bubby is told by his domineering matriarch that he will die if he leaves the confines of his home. Locked in solitude his warped worldview consists of four walls, an incestuous relationship with his mother and wrapping his pet cat in glad wrap.

Inevitably Bubby breaks loose; he kills his parents and escapes into the “real” world, a child’s mind in an adults body, he has been incarcerated for so long he has no comprehension of good and bad, how to deal with people, pizza or pets.

The film shows how Bubby approaches his new life as much as how society spurns anyone who is different. Through naïve perseverance Bubby wins people over by being himself. He becomes the singer in a punk band and a martyr to the dissatisfied youth of today.

Hope is a revelation as Bubby, with his mad shock of hair, bulging eyes and ever twitching grin he is amazing, completely engulfed in the character from beginning to end. Not surprising when you discover that the film was shot exactly in order. The characters he meets are often found to be as mad as Bubby without the excuse of being locked up for years; it shows you exactly how bizarre the people who occupy this world really are. The rest of the cast are suitably strange and often make Bubby look relatively normal.

The film looks wonderful; not sure if De Heer really required 32 different cinematographers but the contrasts between Bubby’s worlds are expertly depicted. The film is extremely disturbing in places and makes for an unsettling watch but there is a delicious line in black humour that some viewers may pick up, especially when Bubby takes to the stage toward the films finale. It’s a shame they didn’t play gigs to support the movies, I’d have been first in the queue for tickets.

Full review appears on www.terroraustralis.net

Kong is King

It may have only been 10 minutes but the footage of King Kong shown at the Supanova Fan Film Festival was amazing. Introduced on screen by Peter Jackson, we saw Kong battling three Tyrannosaurus Rex's whilst plummeting down a vine laden ravine as a panic stricken Noami Watts looked on. A mixture of finished footage and animatics, even in this unfinished state the result was awe inspiring, rest assured Jackson's King Kong will be the film of the year.

Gordons Alive!!

Hot of the press after my previous post we can confirm we have Flash himself, Sam Jones, introducing a special screening of Mike Hodge's Flash Gordon at the Supanova Fan Film Festival. Check out www.supanova.com.au for details.

Latest News

A long overdue update; it’s been a busy couple of months so lots to report. For starters I visited the set of Superman Returns for Starburst magazine and interviewed Bob Clark; the director of Porky’s, Deathdream and the classic Black Christmas for Filmink. My article Quentin Tarantino and the Re-invention of the Martial Arts film will now be appearing in the November of Metro Magazine.

I have just been commissioned to write a regular news column DVD Down Under in DVD World magazine which now has an Australian version hitting the shelves. I will also be chatting to the makers of Hidden, an action packed shocker from New Zealand, for Shivers magazine.

Over the last few months myself and Hilton Howson have been helping to organise a film festival with the guys at the Supanova Pop Culture Expo. The Supanova Fan Film Festival will take place over October 15th and 16th and features a fine selection of trailers, previews and features. At the moment we can confirm we will be showing a selection of previews from UIP including Aeon Flux, Doom and a 20 minute preview of Peter Jackson’s long awaited King Kong. Two months before the film is released the Kong footage is a major coupe and we can’t wait to show it. We also have the Australian premiere of Dungeons and Dragons entitled The Elemental Might. More news soon but keep checking this site or www.supanova.com.au for news.

The Fearless Freaks DVD review

Fifteen years in the making, The Fearless Freaks follows the lives and musical careers of Wayne Coyne, Steven Drozd and Michael Ivins, collectively known as The Flaming Lips, probably one of America's finest musical exports.

Director Bradley Beesley, band leader Wayne Coyne's art school neighbour, was given unlimited access to the band for almost 15 years. Following the highs and lows, the heartaches and the tragedies he has put together an enthralling look into the lives and careers. Somehow, against the odds, the self-proclaimed hillbilly punk version of The Who have become one of the rock worlds most engaging and much loved acts.

Looking at their early career as atonal punks through their guest appearance on Beverly Hills 90210, their first hit single years into their career with She Don't Use Jelly. Its still quite astonishing that a group with barely a hit to their name managed to persuade Warner Brothers to finance Zaireeka, a four album set that could only be listened on four separate stereos playing at the same time is amazing, the fact that they toured the album by conducting an orchestra of boom boxes during their car park experiments is even stranger.

The Soft Bulletin and Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots both brought the band critical acclaim but their modern day concerts featuring giant dancing inflatable suns, people dancing on stage dressed in furry animal costumes, glitter cannons, singing nun hand puppets and blood capsules have become the stuff of legend for anyone who has seen them perform.

Steven Drozd, an ex-heroine addict gives a shockingly detailed account of his battles and the bands tough love approach in trying to make him stop. A musical genius and multi instrumentalist, it is distressing to hear him discuss his addiction whilst he graphically shoots up in front of the camera. It's a brave move on Beelsey's part to include the footage but it gives the band an even human side, as does footage of front man Coyne dealing with his fathers death. The shots of Coyne helping the roadies set up the bands stage set and adjust the stage lighting just makes you love him and the band even more.

In these days of pop prima donnas it's amazing that possibly the strangest and most beguiling band working today are also the most human. The film is a joy from beginning to end and a must for anyone with an interest in vibrant and daring music. This reviewer may be slightly biased having seen the band on numerous occasions but The Fearless Freaks is a five star triumph.

Complete review available at www.cinephilia.net.au

Latest News

As mentioned earlier my article on Ra Choi and interviews with Jessica Harper and Troma's Lloyd Kaufman all appear in the August issue of Filmink magazine on shelves now. I also contributed a small Q&A with Kaufman for the DVD distributor Stomp Visual's winter catalogue.

In August I'll be visiting the set of Superman Returns presently shooting at Sydney's Fox Studios. The film stars Brandon Routh, Kevin Spacey and Kate Bosworth and is directed by Bryan Singer of X- Men and The Usual Suspects fame and I'll hopefully be talking to them all.

Radio Ga Ga

I'll be on the air again this Tuesday, July 19th, on Sydney's Eastside 89.7 FM. I'll be reviewing Adam Roberts Stone for the stations "Between the Covers" radio show. Tune in if you're in the area.

Sydney Film Festival: Report

Well the Sydney Film Festival has finished for another year. As always there was a wonderfully eclectic mix of films on show with something for everyone. Amongst my favourites this year were Greg Araki's Mysterious Skin, the documentary Inside Deep Throat, You, Me and Everyone We Know, Kontroll and Mean Creek. The Rock film selection was a joy; it was great to see Wattstax, The Love-ins and The Girl Can't Help It up on the big screen and any festival that schedules a screening of Russ Meyer's Beyond the Valley of the Dolls is good with me. A special mention must also go to One Night in Mongkok, B420 and 36 Quai Des Orfevres, all offered a new perspective on tried and tested genres and were thoroughly entertaining in their own right. Documentaries were the big thing this year and played to packed houses, in fact it goes to prove that while the Sydney Film Festival may well miss out on the big films its diverse range of movies continues to get more popular every year. During the festival I also interviewed Fenton Bailey, co-director of Inside Deep Throat and the fascinating chat will be appearing soon, watch this space. Click on the links to read my reviews at www.cinephilia.net.au.

Sydney Film Festival: Mysterious Skin review

Directed by Greg Araki, USA, 91 minutes, Rated R

Those familiar with the work of Greg Araki will know what to expect. The Doom Generation was a wild road movie full of graphic sex, cheesy gore and a career defining performance by Rose McGowen and Nowhere introduced the directors obsession with aliens and vaporized Christina Applegate and Traci Lords in the process. Mysterious Skin is the director's most assured work; it retains the explicit sexual drive that runs through all his films but adds an unexpected maturity to the proceedings.

Mysterious Skin is beautifully crafted, light years beyond his early work like Totally F***ed Up. Every scene looks perfect and the uninhibited performances are breathtaking. The leads are astounding; those who recognize Joesph Gordon-Nevitt and Brady Corbet from Third Rock From the Sun and Thunderbirds respectively will be amazed. The supporting cast also do wonders, Elizabeth Shue gives one of her finest showings since Leaving Las Vegas as Neil's mother and Michelle Trachtenberg, Buffy The Vampire Slayers little sister, is all grown up as Neil's best friend Wendy.

The film shows the boys early lives using their adult voices that make the shocking storyline even more disturbing. No matter how they decided to show the scenes as the baseball coach seduces the nine year old Neil with Atari's Asteroids and Kellogg's cereals, it was going to be squirm inducing and the film ranks as possibly the most disturbing film I have watched since the similarly themed Happiness. Like Todd Solondz's film, Mysterious Skin handles one of cinemas taboos with pitch-black humour and is an incredibly brave piece of cinema.

For full review check out www.cinephilia.net.au

On the Air

For those of you in the Sydney area I will once again be appearing on Eastside FM 's Between the Covers show. This time I'll be reviewing Neil Gaiman's American Gods. Tune in to 89.7 FM at 11:30 am on Tuesday 21st June.

Latest News

The next issue of Filmink will feature a report about the forthcoming film Ra Choi - Coming Out to Play directed by M. Frank. I'm going to handling some of the publicity duties on the film so look out for more news soon. The issue will also include more of my interview with House of Wax star Elisha Cuthbert. I have also recently interviewed Jessica Harper, the star of Dario Argento's Suspiria and Brian DePalma's Phantom of the Paradise and Lloyd Kaufman, head of Troma. Both interviews will be appearing in a future issue of Filmink.

In Under Andy's Shadow related news I've just interviewed Geraldine Smith, she featured in Paul Morrissey's Flesh, Spike of Bensonhurst and Mixed Blood as well as Scorsese's Raging Bull.