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Thoughts on a ground-breaking Oscars ceremony (82nd Academy Awards)

It used to be that I’d have to endure a media blockout through an entire Monday so I could enjoy the Oscars telecast. As it happens live on a Sunday night in the States, it’s actually around 10AM Monday morning in Australia, and in the past the TV network screening the event wouldn’t do so until the prime time slot later that evening, usually 8 or 9 pm. This meant having to avoid all computers,...

MEMENTO review: holy short-term memory loss, Batman

Christopher Nolan is best known for his Bat-films, Batman Begins and The Dark Knight; big, heavy, dark comic book movies that have captured the hearts and wallets of a generation of moviegoers. But once upon a time, before Christian Bale gargled gravel and donned the bat cowl, Christopher Nolan made a little film called Memento. It’s a mind-bending post-noir psychological thrillery affair, as well as a pretty...

WAKING SLEEPING BEAUTY promises to shed light on unsung Disney heroes.

If you asked a group of people in their twenties what films come to mind when you hear the word “Disney”, you’d most likely get responses along the line of The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King. These films have managed to stand the test of time with all of them having reached, or nearing, their 20th anniversaries (how old does that make you feel?).  But what is it...

Summer review round-up: the good, the bad and the ugly

Way back in the beginning of December, in our first week of existence, I posted a list of the five most anticipated films of the summer. Now that it is officially autumn (even if the weather obstinately refuses to accept this incontravertible truth), it’s the perfect time to look back over the past three months and put the summer releases in perspective. There were a few surprises, some hits and some misses,...

TREKKIES review: celebrating geekiness

If you think Star Trek is ‘lame’ or ‘uncool’ then you are still manacled to the ball-and-chain of high-school mentality populararity contests, and should probably go back to listening to Green Day and reading Harry Potter and watching Avatar, you soulless humbug. Star Trek is a forty-year-old institution, a supporting pillar of modern pop culture, and beyond being a hideously outdated and...

UP secures both Best Animated Film and Best Picture nominations and it totally deserves it.

[Writer's note:  This review was originally written when Up was in theatrical release and my thoughts on it haven’t changed since then.  I’m thrilled to see it nominated for both best animated feature and best picture at the Academy awards.  When reading over this, I found it funny that I compared it to District 9 and Inglourious Basterds in quality, both of which have also been nominated for best picture...

BAFTA awards snub AVATAR, earn my respect

Ah, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts: Britain’s answer to the Academy Awards. I don’t think I know any people who speak of the BAFTAs (or the Golden Globes, for that matter) when comparing the calibre and critical worth of films; it’s always the Oscars that everyone talks about ten years after the fact. But the Oscars are weird and unpredictable, especially when it comes to Best...

A personal reflection on M.NIGHT SHYAMALAN

Remember the first time you watched The Sixth Sense? Perhaps you were lucky enough to not know the ending upon your first viewing – making the twist all the more powerful. I remember hearing about the film long before I saw it, there was always someone at school talking about how they went with their older brother and it scared the shit out of them. ‘The ending is amazing’ was a phrase I found myself hearing...

DISTRICT 9 review: brains, brawn and prawns

The teaser trailer for District 9 is one of the scariest things I’ve ever seen. You know the one, where the totally weird and alien thing sits in an interview room, with its face blurred, and clicks and pops and grunts in response to some questions asked by off-screen humans. It hooked my attention and piqued my anticipation more than any other trailer I can remember, that cold, chilling image of an...

The new TOY STORY 3 trailer is loaded with nostalgia and looks amazing

I was lucky enough to be near a cinema last weekend that was screening the Toy Story Double Feature (none of the theatres near my apartment are showing it for some reason).  It was great to see a couple of my favourite films up on the big screen again. It was an extremely nostalgic experience.  My head was suddenly filled with thoughts of family, old friends and that comforting feeling you get when watching a...
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