another example of combo love!

movies and politics.... two loves rolled into one amazing youtube video. this is a recent entry into the q&a competition called 'get enrolled'. the spoof video parodies the two contenders for prime minister in the upcoming australian federal election.

check it. it's giggle worthy.

daydream, i fell asleep amid the flowers.

bit of a music post. i have recently rediscovered the wonderful band 'i monster'. 4 of the songs on their album 'neveroddoreven' i have heard before on tv but my favourite song 'the blue wrath' is the theme tune from one of my absolute rewatchable films 'shaun of the dead'. if you haven't seen the english zombie comedy then i can't suggest enough you go out and find it at your local video shop or just borrow mine.

anyways, 'i monster' is a british electronic group, made up of sheffield-based producers dean horner and jarrod gosling that formed in 1997. they themselves aren't very well know yet, their music is instantly recognisable due to subtle melodies and catchy re-mastered versions of old classics.

and if all that doesn't convince you, then do check out their first album here. they also released their latest album last yr 'a dense swarm of ancient starts'.

who knew she was so sensitive about naked jokes.

after watching 'national treasure - book of secrets' yesterday, which is pretty good by the way, i noticed that there are a lot of things that helen mirren does well but, unfortunately an american accent in not one of them. also, the other thing i decided was, when i get all old and wrinkly i will aspire to look like helen does today!

now, i know she was pretty famous for taking off her clothes a lot in her long, interesting and prolific career but she is also a credit to her craft. minus the bad accent in the big disney movie she is rather wonderful. so here comes a mini list of her best -> the queen, state of play, elizabeth (mini series), the hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy, calender girls, gosford park, the hawk, where angels fear to tread, pascali's island and caligula (one of the worst movies ever, only surpassed by 'sex and the city 2').

bring on november!

harry potter and the deathly hallows, bitches! going to be epicly dark. first look at bill nighly as scrimgeour, griphook and john hurt as ollivander is back! can't wait for more footage. check out the first official trailer, though i'm not exactly sure what happens to the sound at the end.

danger mouse and sparklehorse present:

dark night of the soul!

this is a great cd written and produced by danger mouse and sparklehorse and deserves a serious listen for the sheer amount of wonderful names that are included in the artists list. iggy pop, pixies, the flaming lips, super furry animals, neutral milk hotel, julian casablancas, the shins, nina perssons, the strokes....it's like an orgy of amazingness! deep mellow tunes but, for some reason the album isn't actually that depressing. moody but jaunty.

still, my primary reason for this post is the rad 100 page book of photos that will be included with the cd. the picture above is one of them and shows the very talented david lynch, who contributed the stills and is responsible for great films like, 'mulhollond drive' and 'blue velvet'.

you can get your hands on a copy via the evil torrents and listen to the entire album that is live streamed here. or if you are more patient than me, and you can wait till the 13th of july when emi will be re-releasing it for a nice tangible hard copy.

one bandwagon i won't be jumping on.

james cameron is to blame but it really isn't just his fault. 3d is the most absurd crazy this decade. i really must be missing something, i just do not see the fascination.

i live my entire life in 3d, why in the world would i want to go and escape my boring life only be forced to wear unattractive glasses and have it seem as though spears are being thrown at me? this anger has come from the latest news on the 3d front, 3d tv. is anyone really going to buy these and sit at home watching backyard blitz in blue and red glasses going, 'it really feels as though you are in their backyard!'? you know, because you don't have one of those.....wait....

it also isn't even that great. to be honest the whole experience left me feeling distinctly queazy. caution 3d may cause you to look like a loser and motion sickness. though, i do have to admit i really love this picture. the lady at the front looks like she is having a gay old time.

christmas in....may?

yes yes i know it is traditionally in december or july but here i go again, bucking the trend. but, today i watched 'love actually'. again. and remembered why i love it and wish i was english or even just lived in london again. there are two reasons i love this movie. one, the airport scenes that bookend the movie are rather amazing. real footage from heathrow airport is used wonderfully to highlight the nice family side of humanity. gives you a nice warm and fuzzy feeling in your heart. secondly, the cast. not just the obviously well breed and eloquent cast of rickman, thompson, nighy, neeson, linney, atkinson, firth and grant (who is a rather good dancer, as it turns out) but the kid that plays neeson's step-son steals the movie in my opinion. thomas sangster is his name and he is an absolute cutie. makes me feel quite old because as it turns out he is 20 years old. eek!

anyway, one of my fave scenes in this film. far too many to choose just one but this has music so it wins.

i hate you, james cameron!

what a hack! i hate him to the exact same degree that i love maggie. ooh yea think about that next time you make a film! as one of the 5 people in the world who haven't seen 'avahontas' you will never get any of my money you idea stealing arse! that is all.

i heart you, maggie smith!

i also love that my uni degree (the fun one) allows me to watch movies as a requirement for assessment. anyway, the latest big assignment that i'm doing with alex is organising a film festival centred around a genre. hence 'hagsploitation' was born. well, we didn't invent it but we are bringing it out of obscurity for all to bask in its amazingness!

maggie smith is my favourite of all favourite actresses' of all time. in the movie 'keeping mum' she is a great modern example of hagsploitation or 'psyco-buddy'. in this movie, comedy is mixed into the genre well and proves that nana violence and laughs can go hand-in-hand.

maggie is a credit to her art and that fact that a grumpy cynical indie snob like me can fall for her charm and grace is inspiring. my first beagle puppy will be named in her honour!

combo love!

i really love film, music and trivia generally. so when i found out that this video combined 3 loverly things into one amazing music video i felt the need to share. the vid below is from the very talented band kasabian. now these young lads from leicester in the uk have been tinkering around with guitars and such for a few years now, as a result are now at the top of their game. some of you may have seen them play at the big day out this year.

this song is off their most recent album, 'the west rider lunatic asylum' and this particular song is directed by none other than mr. richard ayoade (who plays moss from 'the it crowd') and stars the very funny noel fielding (from 'the mightly boosh') as the serial killing vampire 'vlad the impaler'. the name 'vlad the impaler' funnily enough was the original name chosen by bram stoker for the character who would be later called dracula. how cool is that?!

there is also a wonderful line in the song, "joker, meet you on the other side". this is a bit of a shout out/homage to heath ledger on his work in 'the dark night' and his subsequent death. still, regardless of all the doom and gloom in this song the video is oddly funny. this is a great display of the inate humour of the band, director and the actor in this 4 minute mini movie.

i really don't get the lesbian 'dress code'.

seriously! as i write this in the uni library, cause i ran out of internet again damn house md and its addictive episode goodness, i am stting opposite a very dykie looking lesbian. though can't be sure she really is gay but the crew cut and trucker singlet are indicators.

last night i went to the opening of the sydney travelling film festival and one of the two movies we watched was 'the topp twins: untouchable girls'. the film follows the lives and careers of new zealands finest yodelling, activist, rural lesbian twins. they were hilarious! their complete abandonment when it comes to performing is very endearing and leaves you forgetting and not even caring that they are so out of this world different.

still, the only problem with them is the way they choose to dress. come one, flannel is not a good look on a lady. BUT, for these two women it doesn't really matter. the crew cut hair and thick new zealand rural accent is actually charming. maybe because they are from the country is is more acceptable. if you are gay living in sydney, you have no excuse to not dress with some sense of femininity. it's as if they think dressing feminine comes from the love of a good penis....ummm somehow i don't think that is right.

anyway back to the topp's, an act like this would never find the level of fame and receive national love were they from australia. new zealand is very lucky in this respect. maybe it is because it is comparably such a small country but the topp twins in my mind seem to personify liberal thinking and acceptance that australia is severely lacking. these two women who have been openly gay from the very beginning of their public lives are truly beloved by all new zealands from every walk of life. from the big city gay scene to their rural home town cattle drive community.

these two women through their extensive advocacy work (anti-nuclear, gay rights, anti-apartheid, breast cancer awareness) make me feel terribly good to be a human being. still, the fact that had they been from rural australia they would never had reached the level of national fame that they do in new zealand. and THAT makes me ashamed to be australian. god bless new zealand.

england's answer to gran torino.

the new michael caine movie, 'harry brown' looks amazing! this months empire magazine has a great story in it about the film and how it will most likely be the charming englishmans final film with him as the leading man. this film, that is daniel barber's directorial debut, speaks of social and cultural decay in london that is ignored by caine's protagonist until his friend is killed by drug dealers. this film combined with clint eastwoods elderly portayal in gran torino has birthed a new sub-genre that critiques are calling 'geezer thriller'.

keep a look out for this film that is in cinemas 25th of may. for now check out the trailer.

you know, it's all my mothers fault i'm this way!

as i contemplate my future winter fashion choices and what i will put with what, it dawns on me the obvious impact 1950s and 60s fashion icons have on me. in some subliminal way, twiggy, bridget bardot, marianne faithfull, lauren bacal, edie sedgwick and of course janet leigh with their unique brand of amazingness have snuck into my wardrobe dreams. yes i dream of clothes, what of it! it's a nice reprieve from the giant badger with his good friend the knife wielding clown! but i digress....

i'm not naive, i know that fashion goes in cycles and my love of these amazing women is a result of what is 'cool' at the moment. still, i think my love for these radtastic ladies ('cept ole edie, not sure how to reason her away. that's her there btw.) is perhaps a product of my upbringing. good looking, clever, independent but still with nice husbands, wealthy, blonde = my mum. doesn't really explain why i have their haircut, but i suppose it could shed some light on why i do seem to enjoy somewhat of a 60s lifestyle. i mean for god sake i just bought a bicycle from that decade!

art, film, music, the sexual revolution, the pill, BARBARELLA, more sex, pop art, easy rider, the free speech movement, the original star trek series, hippys, mick jagger before plastic surgery, minimalism, 2001: a space odyssey, CREAM (the band, you dirty birds), the civil rights movement, screen printing, the beatles, more drugs, oceans eleven (original NOT remake), beehives, more rock n' roll, mini-skirts, the mamas and the papas, goldfinger AND dr. no, warhol, the bikini, jimmy hendrix, nehru jackets, planet of the apes.

i could go on, but i really should stop now while i can. anywho, i know i have an incredibly idealised vision of this era but still assassinations, wars and prime minister swimming misshaps not with standing, if the tardis were to come by i'd definitely ask william hartnell for a lift back to a more revolutionary time.

'inspiring final lines of a speech that douchebags will quote in their facebook profiles!'

this vid deserves its own blogpost for the title alone but there is more to it than that. every year in the months of january and february the big studio companies that make the movies we love and hate will turn out their carefully made academy award winning films. the big problem is that a lot of them are CRAP! in just the past two years films that almost went straight to dvd won best picture. indie films, that were successful at the canne film festival are starting to win big at the industries most lucrative awards.

why? in the last ten years, larger studios that passed on films like, 'the hurt locker' and 'slumdog millionaire' insist on releasing inspirational trash that is easily palatable for a moronic american audience. a good example comes to us this year in the form of, 'the blind side'. now sandra bullock won the oscar for best actress for this film that critics are slamming and audiences are loving. i think this is because audiences can't seem to permeate the thick crunchy outer layer of the true underdog story and reach the gooey racially prejudice centre. this is a movie that as far as plot goes, is the movie 'beethoven'! except that the cute and fuzzy st. bernard dog that stuggles to understand our ways is a big black dude! why aren't audiences angry? is sandra's charisma really THAT powerful? it seems so.

anyway back to the vid below. first this is not a trailer for an actual movie. this was made to make a point. movies that we watch are becoming so one dimensional and formulaic that studios don't feel the need to challenge their audiences. this is not a good thing. and until they realise this, the best picture prize will continue to go to smaller complex films. the below video outlines the step-by-step recipe that studios are choosing to follow when they make movies this time of year. enjoy!