Interview with Jack Black

Onitsuka trainers, Pandas and Nirvana. Just a few of the things I chatted to Jack Black about when he hit Sydney town to attend the Sydney Film Festival Australian premiere of Kung Fu Panda 2. For more Panda related awesomeness head over to Empire Online at http://www.empireonline.com.au/interviews_and_events/interview.asp?IID=1000000492.

Interview with J.J. Abrams

When J.J. Abrams landed in Sydney to promote his excellent new film Super 8, I talked to the Star Trek rejuvenator about working with Steven Spielberg, casting the kids and making such a Super flick. Head over to Empire Online at http://www.empireonline.com.au/reviews/review.asp?FID=1000001655 to read my review.

What's The Frequency Kenneth?

A few weeks back I was lucky enough to chat with Kenneth Brannagh when he was in Sydney to promote Thor. I also spoke to two of the film's stars Tom Hiddleston (Loki) and Jaimie Alexander (Sif). To watch the full interviews head over to http://www.empireonline.com.au/interviews_and_events/interview.asp?IID=1000000448

I Spit On Your Grave Q&A

To launch this year's A Night of Horror Film Festival and celebrate the Australian release of the original I Spit On Your Grave and the 2010 remake on Blu-ray and DVD, I took part in a Q&A session with director Meir Zarchi on stage after a screening of the sparkling new print of the 1978 "classic". The film is still an ordeal to sit through but chatting with Meir certainly gave the audience a new perspective on one of the most infamous video nasties.

The A Night Of Horror festival, based at the Dendy Newtown, features a splattering of the latest horror films including the premiere of the internet funded The Tunnel, the Australian premiere of David Blyth's Wound, the 3D chiller Hybrid and the charmingly titled Dead Hooker In A Trunk and the world premiere of #12. I'm a judge at the festival along with Ozploitation producer extraordinaire Anthony I. Ginnane and Steve Kastrissios - director of the excellent The Horseman. For ticket details head to www.anightofhorror.com. See you there!

The Hobbit Press Conference

Last week I was lucky enough to travel to Wellington, New Zealand to attend the press conference and unveiling of many of the cast of The Hobbit including Martin Freeeman, James Nesbitt and Richard Armitage. Here's some footage of the press conference, listen out for me...

This Weeks Radio News

It's been a busy week on the radio. I produced this weeks Cinemascape show on Eastside 89.7FM. The show included my review of Robert Rodriguez's Mex-ploitaion schlock-fest Machete starring Danny Trejo, Don Johnson, Robert De Niro, Jessica Alba and Steven Seagal plus chats about George Clooney in Anton Corbijn's The American and the terrors of Jackass 3D. I also reviewed Machete this morning on Campbelltown FM and will be doing the same tomorrow morning on Classic Rock FM so tune in to 95.3FM at 7:50am if you are in Sydney. I'm also on ABC Balarat 107.9FM tomorrow around 10:15am. I'll be talking once again - shock, horror! - about Machete plus The American and Jonathan Lynn's Wild Target. I was lucky enough to chat to the Yes, Minster scribe this week, the results are over at www.empireonline.com.au. You can also read my recent interviews with FX genius Greg Nicotero and The Social Network writer Aaron Sorkin.

Update time!

After a long blogging silence I'm back with an update of what has been happening of late.

Things have been busy but wonderful at Empire Magazine. In recent months I've been lucky enough to interview a couple of personal heroes. As a huge fan of Halloween, TheThing, Gremlins and The Howling I was thrilled to chat to John Carpenter and Joe Dante. I also have interviewed the likes of Dolph Lundgren and Jonah Hill. To keep up-to-date with the latest movie news, reviews and interviews head to www.empireonline.com.au.

It's been a busy time on the radio. I've been appearing regularly on-air on Cinemascape on Eastside FM, the morning show on Campbelltown FM and the morning show on ABC Ballarat.

Anyone who rents discs at Blockbuster can read my DVD reviews in the monthly InterAction magazine. Even if you don't, pop in and grab a copy or head to http://www.blockbuster.com.au/extras/magazine-archive to download a copy.

Keep on reading for my news on my freelance writing and radio appearances.

The Loved Ones Poster Quote

Here's the new poster for the fabulous Aussie horror film The Loved Ones with a quote from yours truly..."Pretty in Pink meets Wolf Creek. The film is out in Oz on September 30th and lucky Londoners can catch the film at a screening at this years Frightfest.

The Waiting City Review on Cinemascape

After a few months off line I'm back. It may have been quiet on the internet front but there has been no sign of radio silence. As a case in point this Thursday I'll be reviewing the new Australian film The Waiting City on Cinemascape on Eastside 89.7 FM. The films stars Radha Mitchell and Joel Edgerton as a feuding couple waiting in Kolkata, India to meet the child they are about to adopt. As well as Cinemascape I'm now Empire Magazine's morning show film guy on C91.3 FM so if you are in the Campbelltown area tune in on Thursdays in to hear my thoughts on the latest film releases. This week I'll be reviewing Christopher Nolan's Inception.

Kick Ass review on Cinemascape

Today I graced the airwaves on two Sydney radio stations. As usual I produced this weeks Cinemascape on Eastside FM. The show featured reviews of Jean-Pierre Jeunet's Mic Macs, Philippe Lioret's Welcome plus my thoughts on Matthew Vaughn's fantastic Kick Ass. Cinemascape is now broadcast Australia wide through the Community Radio Network so tune in to your local radio station and find out if they broadcast the show. I also started a new regular spot on C91.3 FM's Morning Show. Today I reviewed the 3D remake of Ray Harryhausen's Clash of the Titans and the teen comedy She's Out of Your League. Tune in every week just after 10AM.

EMPIRE Strikes Back

In a bit of incredibly exciting news this week sees me take on the position of Senior Editor at Empire Magazine here in Sydney. To keep up-to-date with the latest film reviews, movie news, trailers and interviews head over to www.empireonline.com.au

How to Train Your Dragon review - Cinemascape

This Thursday I'll be producing Cinemascape on Eastside 89.7 FM. The show features reviews of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and Five Minutes of Heaven and my thoughts on the latest 3D animated film How to Train Your Dragon. Tune in at 11:30 to hear the show. In other radio related news..Over the last few weeks I have also been reviewing films on Adelaide's leading AM breakfast show on Fiveaa and passed judgment on Martin Scorsese's Shutter Island, Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland and the Oscar winning The Blind Side.

Daybreakers review on Cinemascape

Today at 11:30am I'll be producing this weeks Cinemascape on Eastside 89.7fm. The show features reviews of Precious: based on the Novel Push by Sapphire, Being in Heaven plus my thoughts on the Speirig brothers Daybreakers. Set in a neon lit future where vampirism is norm, blood supplies are dwindling and the human race is on the brink of extinction. An artificial blood supply seems like the only answer but will it sate the bloodsucker's hunger for fresh plasma? The sibling's modern take on the vampire genre has attracted a stellar line up of Hollywood star power, mixed with the cream of Aussie talent, including Ethan Hawke, Wilem Dafoe and Claudia Karvan. To hear my review of the bloodiest film ever shot in Australia tune in today.

Fantastic Mr Fox review on Cinemascape

Last week I reviewed Wes Anderson's Fantastic Mr Fox on Cinemascape on Eastside 89.7FM. Anderson's loving paean to the golden age of stop motion animation works miracles with Roald Dahl's source material and is a joy to behold from beginning to tail end. The vocal work from the likes of George Clooney, Meryl Streep and Bill Murray is top draw and Jason Schwartzman is fabulous as Mr Fox's moody teenage son Ash. His performance perfectly sums up the films delirious ethos; this is a classic Wes Anderson film that just happens to be performed by talking, animated foxes. Cussing fantastic!! The show is broadcast around Australia via the Community Radio Network so stay tuned.

A look back at 2009

As 2009 draws to an end it has certainly been a crazy end to the decade. As publishers rise and fall is has been a tough time for the freelance writer so I have been thrilled with some of my recent collaborations.

The latest magazine to feature my work is InterAction; the new incarnation of the monthly Blockbuster Video magazine in which I review the latest DVD and Blu Ray releases. I have also contributed to www.rottentomatoes.com as well as continuing my affiliations with Filmink, Drum Media, www.cinephilia.net.au and www.digitalretribution.com.

I have continued to review films and act as a producer on Cinemascape on Eastside 89.7 FM and have recently passed judgment on Where the Wild Things Are and Paranormal Activity. After a couple of weeks of specials we will be back on the air in the new year so stay tuned.

I've been lucky enough to interview the likes of John Woo, Let the Right One In director Tomas Alfredson, Pusher trilogy director Nicolas Winding Refn, Jason Bateman, Christophe Waltz, Diane Kruger & Kristen Bell. The biggest thrill, however, was reserved for my chance to chat with one of my favorite directors Quentin Tarantino. In Australia for Inglourious Basterds media junket we chatted about David Bowie, German cinema and gun totting film critics. His appearance at Popcorn Taxi's Dark Age screening was one of the highlights of the year.

My favorite films of the year were Let The Right One In, The Wrestler and Inglourious Basterds so it was an absolute pleasure to talk to many of the filmmakers involved those film. What 2010 will bring, who knows, but I have a big announcement I'll be able to make soon on a very exciting project I will be involved in. Keep em peeled for more news soon. Happy New Year!

Antichrist review on Cinemascape on Eastside 89.7 FM

Last week on Cinemascape on Eastside 89.7 FM I reviewed Lars Von Trier’s Antichrist. There are few films in recent memory that can match the harrowing experience of sitting in a theatre and watching Von Trier’s bloody, nauseating, disturbing nightmare. The director has claimed that the film was a guttural outpouring that screamed from his body after a period of deep depression and after watching the film clear almost half the audience at the screening I attended you do have to worry about the mental state of the director.

Telling the story of a couple who are traumatized by the death of their young child the film who dies while the couple are having sex. She, an amazing performance by Charlotte Gainsbourg, is grief stricken beyond belief. Her child killed as she was experiencing exquisite pleasure. He, played by Willem Dafoe, a physiologist by trade, takes his wife to a woodlands cottage, the place she is most terrified of to try and help her deal with the dark demons that have now overwhelmed her life.

The visuals are stunning from the over indulgent, black and white, slow motion operatic opening to the breathtaking creepy woodlands; this is one of the most visually beautiful films seen this year. This beauty, however, will be overshadowed by the unflinchingly grotesque denouement as the couples already fragile relationship turns to violence and self mutilation. For this reason Antichrist remains a very hard film to recommend. While it is a bravura piece of film making recalling Gaspar Noé’s Irréversible and Andrzej Zulawski’s Possession in terms of the effect sickening imagery; Von Trier pushes boundaries rarely scene and in one particular moment gives us a sickening cinematic first. Approach with caution, anyone easily offended stay away but if you are fascinated by cinema that takes it’s audience to the emotional limit, Lars Von Trier’s Antichrist is an extraordinary experience.

News update

Here's long overdue update of what has been happening over the last month or so. I was lucky to hit the red carpet for the Australian premiere of Couples Retreat and grabbed a few words with director Peter Billingsley and two of the films stars Kristen Bell and Jason Bateman. The full report appears at www.rollcreditsonline.com.











My interview with Steven Sheil, the director of the deliciously grim Mum and Dad appears at www.anightofhorror.com as part of my regular blog. The festival team are currently running the inaugural Fantastic Planet Science Fiction Festival in Syndey. I'll be interviewing one of the festivals international guests Kurando Mitsukake, the director of Samurai Avenger: Blind Wolf.

Publication wise I have a large feature on the making of the Ozpolitation classic Turkey Shoot appearing soon in issue #162, my set report on the making of the Spierig brothers forthcoming Aussie vampire film Daybreakers will feature soon in Filmink and my first Top Ten has recently appeared at Rotten Tomatoes with a look at the Top Ten Angels and Demons in movies. Also check out the new look www.cinephilia.net.au for my cult DVD reviews.

Moon review on Cinemascape - Eastside 89.7 FM

This week I produced the Cinemascape show on Eastside 89.7 FM. As well as discussion on Bruce Willis in Surrogates and Julie and Julia starring Meryl Streep and Amy Adams, the show featured my review of Duncan Jones’ amazing debut feature Moon starring Sam Rockwell and the voice of Kevin Spacey. Channeling Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey, Douglas Trumbull’s Silent Running and Peter Hyam’s Outland, Jones shows a supremely deft hand in depicting the frailty of the human spirit when faced with the total solitude of space. Using old school FX and winning performances from Sam Rockwell as his multiple selves, the focus is on story telling and characterisation rather than pyrotechnics and showy CGI and the restraint works wonders. One of the best films of the year and the finest science fiction film in recent memory. Moon is out of this world.

Che review on Cinemascape - Eastside 89.7 FM

This Thursday at 11:30am I'll be appearing on Eastside 89.7 FM's Cinemascape show. I'll be passing judgment on Steven Soderbergh's Che Parts One & Two starring Benicio Del Toro as Che Guevara, the Argentian revolutionary whose heroics in Cuba created a counterculture icon who's visage is still adorning T-Shirts to this day. Tune in to hear my review.

Anvil: The Story of Anvil

This Thursday I'll once again be producing Eastside 89.7 FM's Cinemascape show. This week will feature my review of the fabulous documentary Anvil: The Story of Anvil plus discussion on Joe Wright's The Soloist starring Robert Downey Jnr and Jamie Foxx and the self proclaimed 'Rocky of our Generation' Fighting. Tune in at 11:30 am to listen to the show.