Top 10 Hollywood Hunks

1. Mark Wahlberg Wahlberg and his Funky Bunch first came to the attention of females everywhere in the crotch-grabbing Calvin Klein ads of the nineties. Although he's gone on to become an acclaimed actor and producer, his shirtless turn as a boxer in The Fighter proves that even as a 39-year-old Marky Mark still brings those Good Vibrations.

2. Ryan Gosling

"If you're a bird, I'm a bird.'' Gosling might have won us over with his turn as a hopeless romantic in The Notebook, but it's his charisma commitment to his craft that has seen audiences fall in love him over and over again in films such as Half Nelson, Lars and The Real Girl and Blue Valentine. Plus, he makes beautiful, beautiful music with his haunting indie outfit Dead Man's Bones.

3. Eli Roth

Best known for his role behind the camera directing horror flicks such as Cabin Fever and the Hostel series, Roth had his time in the spotlight as The Bear Jew in Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds. He dispelled the notion that film directors are bearded, smelly and at least 50 pounds overweight. Some, as it turns out, are very sexy and very Jewish.

4. Joseph Gordon Levitt

The thinking woman's hunk. Gordon Levitt has made a career in the indie film circuit playing intelligent and quirky characters. But it was his dapper turn in Christopher Nolan's Inception that reminded ladies he looks damn fine in a suit. His mainstream crossover will continue when he stars in Nolan's last Batman film The Dark Knight Rises.

5. Adrien Brody Better known for his acting chops, Brody proved he could compete with the best action heroes in his macho and very shirtless turn in Predators. Seriously, did you see those abs?

6. Marc-Andre Grondin The sexiest French man that ever lived. Except, well, he’s actually Canadian. Marc first came to the attention of international cinema lovers with his powerful turn in under seen French gem C.R.A.Z.Y. From there he’s made a career of starring in art house French flicks, with the exception of Che: Part 2, and he will make his mainstream debut in Goon alongside Jay Baruchel, Liev Schreiber and Allison Pill.

7. Idris Elba

Salt N Pepa once described their perfect man as having "A body like Arnold with a Denzel face''. Meet Idris Elba, who more than fulfils that criteria with his huge physique, smooth intellect, street cred and roles in everything from The Wire (hello Stringer) to RocknRolla. Oh, and he’ll be swinging his hammer in Thor later this year so keep an eye out.

8. Colin Firth

He may have won over the critics with his Oscar-winning turn in The King's Speech, but for the ladies out there he won over our hearts as Mr Darcy in the BBC's production of Pride and Prejudice.

9. Taylor Kitsch

As the breakout star of football drama Friday Night Lights, Taylor Kitsch is one of the few Hollywood actors who's prettier than his female co-stars. With his model good looks and Prince Charming hair, Kitsch achieved a rare feat in X-Men Origins: Wolverine; he drew attention away from a ripped Hugh Jackman. Plus he's really pretty. Did we mention that?

10. Tom Hardy Every gal loves a bad boy and Tom Hardy encompasses the guy your parents would frown upon. The cheeky Brit's Hollywood popularity stems from his man's man appeal in films such as Bronson and Inception.

Read more...

Into the Dileep

I got to interview someone who was in Inception. INCEPTION! It’s like getting to interview someone from Brick but on a much more widely appreciated scale! Said person is Dileep Rao, also known as “that Indian guy” from Drag Me To Hell, Avatar and, yes, Inception. Coming from a theatre background originally, Rao has had incredible career. With only three movies under his belt, his box office average is over $363 million in the US and $1.2 billion worldwide, which is freakin’ insane and largely thanks to the huge success of his trio of features. Anywho, Rao is a clever and well-spoken lad and I had the chance to interview him last week ahead of his appearance at the Supernova Pop Culture Expo in Brisbane this weekend. Because it just wouldn’t be fair to give you interview snippets, here’s my full transcript with Rao where we discuss Inception, Nolan, Will Smith, Inception sequels, that ending, geeks, a possible role in The Dark Knight Rises and Inception. Movie Mazzupial: It’s lovely to talk to you Dileep, where are you talking to me from? Dileep Rao: I’m in California, based in Santa Monica there. MM: Now you’re coming to Australia for the Supernova Pop Culture Expo, is it your first visit here? DR: Yeah, it is. MM: Great, any touristy things you’re looking forward to doing? DR: I’m looking forward to doing the non-stereotypical touristy things. I want to see the town get lost a bit and see what I like. As soon as I find my hotel I like to go and get lost in the crowd of the city a bit. MM: Now, I’ve got to say, this is kind of surreal for me to interview someone from one of my favourite films of all time – Inception. But I suppose you get that a lot? DR: Thank you, that’s great to hear. It’s funny, out of all three of the films I’ve done I always get people coming up to me and saying Inception is one of their favourite films of all time, I’m honoured by that, it’s very moving. The boldness and intellect of Inception is great and people feel rewarded by that and have strong feelings about it. It’s nice and refreshing to see a movie that’s powerful and intellectually challenging within a blockbuster. MM: Definitely. Tell me about that experience, what was it like working with Chris (Nolan)? I mean, he’s kind of considered the new Stanley Kubrick right? DR: I’ve read that a lot and it’s not fair to put the burden of that on him. Stanley Kubrick has a whole career of films and has passed on, whereas Chris is still a young filmmaker. I’m the first person to champion and applaud Chris and there’s no doubt he’s one of the greatest filmmakers living. He’s one of the greatest living directors, I love working with him. He’s brilliant. It’s very unusual to have all these different movies from one person and in different genres. In that way he’s like Kurbrick. He had magic in The Prestige, then goes and does a comic book movie; he’s a masterful storyteller and a great writer. In fact, his writing is equal in quality to his filmmaking. MM: Yeah, that’s definitely one of the great things about him. Now, back to Inception, you got to slap Joseph Gordon Levitt! How awesome was that? DR: (Laughs) We had a lot of fun doing that scene because he had to just sit there, while Tom Hardy, who was in the background, and I would be just cracking up. Joseph couldn’t do anything, he just had to sit there and not react and we would be laughing like crazy. It was one of my favourite days on set. MM: Speaking of the set, it must have been an incredible experience working with such an incredibly talented cast and group of filmmakers. DR: It was like the 1927 New York Yankees but with the greatest actors in the world all in one room. Leonardo (DiCaprio) has been doing this for so long and is one of the greatest of our generation and Marion Cotillard is one of the greatest of our generation. I think that’s once of the greatest things about Chris is that the greatest - whether that’s cast or crew - want to work with him. I’m honoured to count myself as part of that. MM: Inception has had this kind of incredible response where it hasn’t even been out for a year yet and it’s already considered a modern classic. How does it feel to be a part of that? DR: It’s a tremendously amazing thing; I can’t take that lightly. I wouldn’t put it up against anything. I think its one of the coolest films ever. When we watched some for the cuts before it came I was like `I’m in it’ and I felt naked. It still blew my mind even then. I’m just so proud to be in it, its only been out 7 - 8 months now and people already consider it kind of one of the greatest films of the last decade, which is the same sort of things they were saying about Avatar.

MM: Now, I have to ask; what’s you opinion of the ending? I’m frankly against the whole “it’s a dream theory” but what’s your take?

DR: Well, I don’t think it helps to give an opinion about it because it ruins the wildly imaginative possibilities. But at the end in that lingering shot you hear the top start to wobble, which I think gives it away.

MM: Yes! Exactly!

DR: (Laughs).

MM: I swear this my last Inception question, but it’s been reported online in the past few days that Warner Bros are looking at Inception sequels, can you tell me anything about that?

DR: Can’t say anything on that. MM: Fair enough. I read that you were originally training to be a doctor before you started pursing acting and theatre. That must have been a huge life decision for you?

DR: It was. I wanted to be a doctor and I was studying to be one, but I changed my mind before it became too much of a reality. It was a hard decision and one that had to be made because I knew there was some part of me that would never be expressed in that profession.

MM: It’s turned out a pretty bloody good decision for you. I mean, out of the three feature films you’ve done it’s been Sam Raimi, James Cameron and Christopher Nolan. People spend their whole lives trying to work with directors and you’ve smashed them all back to back.

DR: I’m really lucky, you know? I think that when those things happen you’re pinching yourself all the time, but at the same time you have a job to do. You don’t have a lot of time to be standing around in awe. But they (the directors) all bring out the best in you. I’m very interested in them as artists, not just as a fan. I love all their movies, but I also understood you’re in a very important process with someone who needs to get done what they need to get done. These are only the first three films that I’ve made and it’s a crazy thing to realise who I’ve worked with. I was a stage actor for most of my life and maybe that’s why all of this came later.

MM: Do you understand how amazing that sounds? No wonder geeks worship you!

DR: Geeks are some of the best people around and those are my people, you know? I don’t look like this all the time; I’m a raging dork. I play board games and I love all that stuff too. I think part of that worship too is to do with James, Sam and Chris. They’re the kind of people who embrace their audience and their audience embraces them back. These particular films embrace the intellect and heart both. Raimi built films from hand, Cameron worked for Roger Corman and Chris, well, he makes them with such love. MM: Right. Well, I was doing some reading on you before this interview and read New York magazine called you the “Indian Will Smith”. How do you respond to something like that?

DR: That is absurd. It’s just not true. It’s flattering that anyone can put me in the same breath as Will Smith who has such an amazing career and has made so many movies. But I think I’m just me – I’m not anyone anyone. No one should be identified by their ethnicity, I’m proud to be Indian, but it’s like calling Tom Hanks the new Jimmy Stewart. Whereas it’s ridiculous to call me the new Will Smith because he’s been in so many movies and gigantic films. He’s one of THE only genuine movie stars in the world where he can open a movie everywhere and people will see it. I’m not that person.

MM: Now Chris Nolan has a tendency to work with actors again, please tell me he’s found a role for you in The Dark Knight Rises?

DR: I don’t know about that, but you never know what’s going to happen. I’ll leave that Chris, Chris knows best.

MM: So there won’t be any Indian chemists or psychics? Damn.

DR: (Laughs) Maybe, maybe not.

MM: Well, thanks so much for chatting with me. It’s been a real pleasure. And you know, I hope you enjoy Australia when you come here.

DR: Thanks a lot. Bye.

For dets on Supernova and to buy tickets to see Rao, click here.

Read more...

The 8 best actor-turned-musicians

A lot of attention has been paid to the reverse of this phenomenon; musicians turned actors. But for me, the opposite is more interesting because once you get past the legion of hot-pant wearing, gyrating, former Disney stars, there are actually some fantastically talented and unique actor-turned-musicians out there. No doubt some of these choices are going to have you baking frownies, but hear me out. Or hear them out. Either way, get listening.

1. Ryan Gosling

You know, I genuinely hate when people say “words cannot express how much I love blah blah blah” and then they proceed to use words to describe how much they love said thing or person. I nearly made that writing faux pas trying to explain just how much I adore Ryan Gosling as a musician. I’ve ranted about the brilliance of his outfit Dead Man Bones before, but I truly never get sick of it. It’s beautiful. Haunting. Unforgettable. It’s also in part thanks to his time in the Mickey Mouse Club. From there, Gosling developed an obsession with the Haunted Mansion ride at Disneyland and the music of Dead Man’s Bones comes from his failed attempt, with fellow actor Zach Shields, to write a musical based around the ride. Gosling and Shields have only made one Dead Man’s Bones album, but that’s enough to leave a magical impression. From the macabre melodies about zombies, werewolves, ghosts and murder, to it’s unrelenting indie sensibilities, their self-titled debut will seduce from the first listen. Unashamedly low-fi, the backing vocals provided by the Silverlake Conservatory Children’s Choir add to the poltergeist perfection which features everything from hand-claps and helter skelter musicianship, to Gosling moaning lyrics and a prolonged period of weeping to end a track. Outside of graveyard anthems, Gosling hinted at his skill as quirky musician in the standout scene from Blue Valentine where he plays a ukulele whilst singing a love ballad to Michelle Williams’ character. He also penned the song Unicorn Tears from the film, which deserves kudos for it’s awesome title and general delightfulness.

2. Jamie Foxx

You couldn’t get further from Gosling than Mr Foxx here, the Oscar-winner turned R’n’B crooner. Although already having released an album after his sitcom and stand-up success, Foxx’s musical career came into it’s own in 2006 with the release of his best-selling album Unpredictable (featuring standout tracks Extravaganza and Unpredictable). His third and fourth efforts, Intuition in 2008 and last year’s Best Night Of My Life, were just as slick and featured guest appearances from some of the best rappers in the bizz. Sure, most of his music is full of sexual innuendo, cocky self-assurance and criminally smooth vocals, but when has that been a bad thing? Plus, unlike fellow actor-turned-musician Drake, who works within the same genre, Foxx has a stellar set of vocal chords and doesn’t overly rely on autotune or producers to do the hard work for him. As well as lending his pipes to musical movies such as Ray and Dreamgirls, Foxx’s musical cameos are almost as notable as his solo career. After all, what would Kanye West’s Gold Digger be without with Foxx’s modern Ray Charles-esque backing vocals and lets not forget Slow Jamz with Twista and Kanye (again). The standout though, has to be the superb dirty grind Hustle Blood with Outkast’s Big Boi on 2010’s Sir Luscious Left Foot The Son Of Chico Dusty. As a side note, I highly recommend you check out Foxx’s video clip to Blame It which features a who’s who of Hollywood A-Listers partying down with Foxx, notably Ron Howard and Jake Gyllenhaal getting their wigga on.

3. Scarlett Johansson

I have a feeling I’m going to cop slack over this choice, but you know what? Bring it. For her debut album Anywhere I Lay My Head Scarlett Johansson could have strapped on a sequined top and spat out a quasi R’n’B/pop album. But no, she opted to do a record of Tom Waits covers that few people would understand and even fewer people would take the time to listen to. Sure, she doesn’t have a bubblegum sweet voice like, say, Zooey Deschanel. Yet there’s something so alluring about Johansson’s husky, almost androgynous voice that instantly draws me to the speaker like a kid listing to Joni Mitchell for the first time. Along with the 10 Waits covers and an original track, Johansson had a host of incredible guests lend their talent to the album including David Bowie, members of the Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs and Celebration, not to mention TV On The Radio’s Dave Sitek as producer. The record is almost like a female companion to Gosling and Shields’ Dead Man’s Bones, featuring that same ghostly magic. Personally, I’m a bigger fan of her album with Pete Yorn, Break Up, based on the duets of Serge Gainsbourg and Brigitte Bardot. It’s a lot more uppity, retro and fun than Johansson’s solo work and also features the addictive track Relator, which serves as a somewhat prophetic song given her marriage breakup with Ryan Reynolds. Plus, her cover of Jeff Buckley’s Last Goodbye is the only redeeming thing about He’s Just Not That Into You.

4. Tim Robbins

I first listened to Tim Robbins and The Rogues Gallery Band’s debut album while going on a three hour drive through the country. It was pretty much the perfect setting to digest this masterful and sweeping piece of storytelling. Robbins, who’s had an interest in music for decades, waited until he was 50 to release his first record this year and I can only think it’s a good thing. Each song plays like a mini-movie, with Robbins’ Nick Cave-esque storytelling within each track complimented perfectly by his minimalist vocals and the rag-tag group of experienced musicians he’s got backing him up. Robbins and the Rogues Galley Band are playing at the 2011 Byron Bay Bluesfest next month and frankly, I can’t wait to see what they do live.

5. Jared Leto

The man can sing. There’s no denying. In fact, I dare say Leto has the most powerful voice on this list of actor-turned-musicians. As the singer-songwriter and rhythm guitarist for 30 Seconds To Mars, Leto has shed his Hollywood pretty boy image by becoming an enigmatic frontman to this punk/rock outfit. They make epic music, inspiring a legion of hardcore fans with three-tone hair colours and Mohawks who get just as involved in the passionate and aggressive ballads for the misunderstood as Leto himself. If you’ve heard their music, you understand why.

6. Zooey Deschanel

Deschanel truly completed her indie girl, retro sweetheart persona with music project She & Him with fellow muso M. Ward. The bubblegum sweetness of her tunes invoke visions of riding a bicycle through fifties suburbia and despite some beige moments, the two albums from She & Him, Volume One and Volume Two, offer something relatively unique for left-field music lovers.

7. Taylor Momsen

Okay, yes, she does dress like a $2 whore crossed with something escaped from Rob Zombie’s basement, but Gossip Girl Momsen’s band The Pretty Reckless are pretty decent. Shying away from the Disney rock/pop sound of her peers like Demi Lovato and Miley Cyrus, Momsen’s band are decidedly more grunge and heavy sounding a la Nirvana and Garbage. Their debut single Make Me Wanna Die, off the Kick-Ass soundtrack, proved Momsen’s ambition to combine the vocal talents of Shirley Manson and Joan Jett, and so far it hasn’t proved too poor a move for her. Sure, The Pretty Reckless are never going to be a mainstream success thanks to their jailbait lead singer and edgy public persona, but that won’t stop many fans, including myself, highly anticipating their follow up to debut album Light Me Up.

8. Juliette Lewis

The ultimate rock chick, Lewis isn’t fazed by throwing on a lyrca leotard, grabbing a microphone and getting dirty in the mosh pit with her fans. I’m sure she’s also comfortable snorting a line of cocaine with carnies in a port-a-loo, but lets focus on her music. Lewis made her music debut with Juliette Lewis and The Licks before forming The New Romantiques in 2009. Lewis and her music are eccentric punk rock all the way, with lyrics that bash everything from corporate giants to former lovers. Throw in the purring vocals, and Lewis is a musician who rocks whatever band she’s in at the time, not to mention guest performances on tracks for legends such as The Prodigy and The Infidels.

Ones to watch: Emily Browning, Johnny Depp, Robert Pattinson, Lea Michele, Joseph Gordon Levitt, Kristen Stewart, Amber Riley.

Musician Meh-stakes: Russell Crowe, Lindsay Lohan, Jennifer Love-Hewitt, Gwyneth Paltrow, Katie Holmes, Vanessa Hudgens, Bec Hewitt, Tammin Sursok and pretty much every other Home and Away actress-turned-singer.

Read more...

Favourite Movie Friday with director David Michod

The film critic-turned-filmmaker’s debut film Animal Kingdom took out a jury award at Sundance and a tonne of others at the IF Awards in Sydney last month (including best director and best lead actor). He also wrote Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Natalie Portman vehicle Hesher, which is out next year, but most importantly, he shared his favourite movies (or movie rather) with me here:

“It’s so weird, there are so many different movies I really love but the one I think I love most is Apocalypse Now. In part because it works on such a grand scale, but it’s full of such beautiful detail. It was the first time I remember watching a movie and thinking `it would be fun to make that movie. Terrifying, but an adventure. It represents everything I love about films, making them and watching it.”



You can read my exclusive interview with David Michod here.

Read more...

Wow, Inception . . .just wow.

Thank heavens for The Dark Knight, because if it wasn't for its record-breaking success, British filmmaker Christopher Nolan would not have the freedom to make his latest masterpiece.

Inception is set in a future where the technology exists to extract people's dreams through entering their subconscious. Dominic Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) is an expert in the field and, along with partner Arthur (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), he is hired by corporations to steal the secrets and ideas of rivals. After their last job goes awry, a mysterious businessman (Ken Watanabe) approaches them with a proposition; he wants to plant an idea in someone's mind, a task which is considered impossible. And so begins the delicate mind-fuckery that is Inception.

From Dominic taking on `one last job' to the process of assembling a mish-mash team of experts, essentially this is a heist film set within the architecture of the mind. Yet it is so much more.

Inception is like a beautiful, intricate puzzle Nolan has created for audiences to solve.
The concept of an idea being like a virus with the potential to infect the mind is intriguing enough, but it is merely one piece of a highly complex and intelligent whole. Inception is a fully realised vision with superb performances, flawless camera work, mind-boggling special effects and a haunting score from Hans Zimmer. The gravity-defying hallway fight scene with Gordon-Levitt alone is one that will be talked about for years. It is a testament to the content of the story that the immaculate production takes a back seat.
The fact Nolan has been able to thread together multiple storylines using the same actors, yet set in different time settings and spaces, without completely alienating the audience is an accomplishment of movie making. Like the characters in the film, Inception tunnels into your subconscious planting seeds of its genius in a similar fashion to the great works of Stanley Kubrick. However, it is so detailed and complex that when you leave the cinema, trying to retain details from the film is like trying to keep water in the palm of your hands. The only way to appreciate the magnitude of its brilliance is with multiple viewings.
Inception is out now.

Read more...

King of the jungle

It is one of the most prestigious film festivals in the world and this year Sundance was ruled by one man; Aussie film student turned film critic turned film director David Michôd (above). After making a string of award-winning short films, Michôd's full length debut Animal Kingdom took out the dramatic grand jury prize for world cinema and reviewers compared his work to that of Quentin Tarantino and Martin Scorsese.

Michôd also had another film in competition at the festival, Hesher, starring Natalie Portman, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Rainn Wilson, which he co-wrote with director Spencer Susser who was nominated for the dramatic grand jury prize.
``It was incredibly exciting,'' says Michôd.
``I already felt like I won before the awards were presented because for it to play the way it played and for it to go down the way it went down…it was so exhilarating.
``I didn't need a prize; I already had my wildest dreams achieved.
``I was extremely happy that Hesher got in and Spencer was going to be there too.
``It's quite extraordinary when you think it about it because out of the 12 to 13 films in competition and the 2500 entries, we had them both in.
``I was very much living in an Animal Kingdom bubble. . .and to be there with so many of the cast and crew it felt fun, like being on tour with a rock band.
``It was great to be there with Spencer and Hesher and on some weird level it felt like we owned Sundance, but I think that way because I’m self-obsessed.''

Michôd says he had already left the festival when the award was presented because he didn't know `how the film was going to be received.' It was not his first time at Sundance, as he ventured there in 2008 in a déjà vu situation when his short film Crossbow was selected along with two others he co-wrote; Spider, directed by Nash Edgerton, and I Love You, Sarah Jane, directed by Spencer Susser and starring Mia Wasikowska.
“It really felt like people were talking about us and that there was something new coming out of Australia,” he says.
“People became aware we were all working on each others films.
“It was incredibly rewarding to go through the whole trauma of making a feature film and having it land there – I wouldn’t want it to play at any other festival.”

That wish cam true and to great result, with reviews for Animal Kingdom unanimously positive so far. Michôd says he had been carrying around the idea for the film for a while, however, it was his move from Sydney to Melbourne that prompted him to put pen to paper.
``It felt like a big city to me and I read a lot of true crime writing,” he says.
“It gave this new personality to the neighbourhoods behind the stories.
``I wanted to do a big, sprawling, crime story in Melbourne.”

His crime epic took a back seat while he finished film school and then got a job in Sydney working at Inside Film magazine where within two-years he became editor.
Michôd says he learnt a lot about how the business works in his time at the magazine and saw the distribution, marketing and publicity side of the filmmaking process which `filmmakers don't often get to see.' He says now that Animal Kingdom is to be released soon, he is surprised he was not more fearful of reviews given his experience writing them.
``I do think of myself as a sensitive soul and I'm surprised I didn't fear having the tables turned after having cast judgement for so long,'' he says.
``I didn't really enjoy reviewing films and I knew that if I didn't just jump out and have a crack, make Animal Kingdom, then I was never going to do it.''
As he began to gather momentum for Animal Kingdom through short film work, he also established a connection with Blue-Tongue Films, a loose-jointed Australian moviemaking collective founded by the Edgerton brothers Nash and Joel. Michôd, Spencer Susser, Nash Edgerton, Luke Doolan and Joel Edgerton (pictured in order above) make up the core of the group.
“The beauty of Blue-Tongue is it’s a collective of friends,” says Michôd.
“We’re all off making films with different production companies, but we always make sure we’re involved in each others stuff.
“It’s all about feeling like your not doing it alone, especially in the early days when you’re making shorts and none of you have any idea if there are careers awaiting you.”

Once the project was up off the ground, Michôd says `one of the most encouraging things' was how quickly people came on board.
``I felt good about it, but I didn't know it would work and I was racked with self-doubt,” he says.
“So, to have actors with such an incredible body of work jump on board quickly and enthusiastically made me think the material would work.
``It feels intimidating walking on set and all these powerful personalities and actors are waiting for you.
``But when you know the movie inside out, you know what you need to say.
``I know I wanted it to be quite simple and almost beautiful.
``I knew early on and talked about this a lot with the cinematographer that I didn't want it to be full of funky camera stuff.
``I didn't want it to feel like a rock 'n' roll crime movie that's about how cool criminals are.''

Animal Kingdom stars a who's who of Australian acting talent such as Guy Pearce, Joel Edgerton, Luke Ford, Ben Mendelsohn, James Frecheville and Jacki Weaver. It is psychological crime drama about a 17-year-old boy (Frecheville) as he tries to survive amongst his criminal family and manage a detective who is determined to save him. Animal Kingdom opens in cinemas on Thursday and you can check out the trailer below.

In the meantime, if you find the indie and oh-so-awesome film collective Blue-Tongue Films as interesting as I do, then I suggest you head over to the NY Times and read this far superior piece by Michael Cieply. Tis’ fascinating.

Read more...

Inception gets less, er, inceptioney

Seriously, could this get any more exciting?
It’s a well known fact Chris Nolan’s Inception is the film I’m most looking forward to this year. After putting together an overall wrap with the scant details that have been released through various sources online, a loose plot is beginning to filter through thanks to the magnetic full length trailer. Basically, DiCaprio’s character is a dream stealer, who slips into the subconscious and plucks away those nifty ideas. That’s as much as we have so far, but the full length trailer (below) looks fucking fantastic!

In other Inception news, besides original The Dark Knight-esque poster, there has been a cast series released featuring the key players and a line about their roles. Most importantly, Joseph Gordon-Levitt gets a poster all to himself, so I can die happy. Inception hits July 22 and I’m already clearing my calendar in preparation for critic screenings.

Read more...

Globey Dick

The nominees for the 67th Golden Globes were announced yesterday and upon reading the list, film critics worldwide have had the same reaction `WTF?’ Seriously, WTF? There are some truly, well-deserved nominees on this list but there others where it’s clear selectors have gone “shit, we’ve only got three nominees and we need five, ahhh lets throw her in there, him over there and give that one a nod too.”

Considered a `sort-of, not really' indicator of which direction the Oscars are heading, below is a breakdown of the nominees in the most important categories. I've placed a star next to the ones which, in a perfect world, I would like to win and have included what I think are the major oversight's in each category.

Best Motion Picture -- Drama

Avatar *
The Hurt Locker
Inglorious Basterds
Precious
Up in the Air
Oversight: Moon, The Lovely Bones, Balibo

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture -- Drama

Emily Blunt, The Young Victoria *
Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side
Helen Mirren, The Last Station
Carey Mulligan, An Education
Gabourey Sadibe, Precious *
Oversight: Saoirse Ronan, The Lovely Bones

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture -- Drama

Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart
George Clooney, Up in the Air
Colin Firth, A Single Man
Morgan Freeman, Invictus *
Tobey Maguire, Brothers
Oversight: Sam Rockwell, Moon!!! Sharlto Copley, District 9, Oscar Isaac, Balibo, Russel Crowe, State Of Play

Best Motion Picture -- Musical or Comedy

(500) Days of Summer *
The Hangover
It's Complicated
Julie & Julia
Nine
Oversight: The Brothers Bloom, Black Dynamite

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture -- Musical or Comedy

Sandra Bullock, The Proposal
Marion Cotillard, Nine
Meryl Streep, It's Complicated
Meryl Streep, Julie and Julia *
Julia Roberts, Duplicity
Oversight: Rachel Weisz, The Brothers Bloom

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture -- Musical or Comedy

Matt Damon, The Informant
Daniel Day Lewis, Nine
Robert Downey Jr., Sherlock Holmes
Joseph Gordon Levitt, (500) Days of Summer *
Michael Stuhlbarg, A Serious Man
Oversight: Mark Ruffalo, The Brothers Bloom, Michael Jai White, Black Dynmaite

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture

Mo-Nique, Precious *
Julianne Moore, A Single Man
Anna Kendrick, Up in the Air
Vera Farmiga, Up in the Air
Penelope Cruz, Nine
Oversight: Susan Sarandon, The Lovely Bones

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture

Matt Damon, Invictus
Stanley Tucci, The Lovely Bones *
Christopher Plummer, The Last Station
Christopher Waltz, Inglorious Basterds
Woody Harrelson, The Messenger
Oversight: Woody Harrelson, Zombieland, John Goodman, In The Electric Mist

Best Animated Feature Film

Coraline *
The Fantastic Mr. Fox
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
The Princess and the Frog
Up
Oversight: Mary & Max

Best Foreign Language Film

Barria
Broken Embraces
A Prophet
The White Ribbon
The Maid
Oversight: Let The Right One In

Best Director -- Motion Picture

Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker
James Cameron, Avatar *
Clint Eastwood, Invictus
Jason Reitman, Up in the Air
Quentin Tarantino, Inglorious Basterds
Oversight: Duncan Jones, Moon

Best Screenplay -- Motion Picture

Up in the Air
It's Complicated
District 9
The Hurt Locker
Inglorious Basterds *
Oversights: Peter Jackson, Phillipa Boyens, Fran Walsh, The Lovely Bones, Duncan Jones, Moon, Rian Johnson Brothers Bloom

Best Original Score -- Motion Picture

Michael Giacchino, Up
Marvin Hamlisch, The Informant
James Horner, Avatar
Abel Krozeniowski, A Single Man
Karen O. and Carter Burwell, Where the Wild Things Are *
Oversight: Bruno Coulais, Coraline

Best Original Song -- Motion Picture

"I Will See You," Avatar
"The Weary Kind," The Crazy Heart
"Winter," Brothers
"Cinema Italiano," Nine *
"I Want to Come Home," Everybody's Fine
Oversight: "Possibility", Lykke Li, The Twilight Saga: New Moon

There have been so many spanners' thrown in here, I don't even know where to start analysing some of these nominations. I'll launch with Avatar though, which is looking like a promising front runner for the Oscars and it's nice to see it getting the critical acclaim it deserves for literally revolutionising filmmaking and the cinema experience we've come to know. Plenty of nods for Inglorious Basterds too, wahoo, and if Stanley Tucci hadn't been so incredibly brilliant as the serial killer in The Lovely Bones I'd say Christopher Waltz would be a shoe-in for best supporting actor. He probably still is.

But WTF happened to Moon? Yeah, remember that amazing sci-fi slice of excellence which had one of the best performances of the year from Sam Rockwell who's the only actor in the whole friggin' thing! Massive oversight and I really hope the Oscar crew have a deeper field of vision than the Golden Globe douches who are so busy getting moist for Nine and Bullock (The Proposal, really?) that they skim over a bunch of five star offerings. Sigh.

I really could rant on forever, but at the end of the day I only have a passing interest in the globes because there are so many extended categories that fail to exist at the Oscars a lot of the nominees don't matter. Like good ol' Woody Allen says, awards don't mean anything, they don't take away or add to the enjoyment of a film for the audience and just because something gets a shiny, gold statue that doesn't mean it's superior in the scheme of filmmaking. So there *insert tongue poking here*.

I will say this though, the widened field of ten best picture nominees at the Oscars next year is going to make things very interesting (FYI if I had a moustache I'd be stroking it right now). The 67th Golden Globe awards will air on Monday, Jan 17 for us Aussies and Oscar nom's are announced shortly before then.

Oh, and HOORAY FOR JOSEPH GORDON-LEVITT! GO SON! His first of what should have been MANY Golden Globe nominations but it's cool, he's got one now and hopefully his award winning cycle shall begin.

Read more...

Hey! Ho! Lets Go!

(Above: From L-R Dee Dee, Tommy, Johnny and Joey Ramone)

Uh-oh. Consider me seriously worried. The specialty division (yes, that’s actually a division) of Fox Searchlight is in negotiations to make a movie about the Ramones. For those of you playing at home the Ramones are my favourite band EVER and although the thought of a movie based on their lives does excite me, their status as the founding fathers of punk rock and cultural rebellion is so sacred, I don’t want to see it fucked up on screen. Also, I’ve been known to hang out on a rooftop with a sniper rifle looking for people wearing Ramones logo t-shirts without even knowing any of their music!!! GAH! I hate those posers.

Anyway, deep breath, count backwards from 10. The film is going to be based on the soon to be published memoir I Slept With Joey Ramone written by the musician’s brother, Mickey Leigh and Ramones chronicler Legs McNeil. It would feature the band’s tunes, obviously. A former executive producer of Everybody Loves Raymond, Rory Rosegarten, bought the rights to the book several years ago and most importantly, he bought the rights to the music. So Searchlight are working closely with him to try and close a deal, a process that hasn’t finished yet say people close to the project.

I Slept With Joey Ramone is considered the most film-worthy piece of source material and centers on the life of Joey Ramone (aka Jeffrey Hyman) who was the lead singer and key creative force behind the iconic punk act. To be frank, this is such a complicated tale I don’t think the Ramones on the big screen could be done any better than the 2004 documentary End Of The Century which is an incredible, comprehensive piece of filmmaking.

A bit of background on the Ramone; they were formed in Queens, in 1974 by John Cummings, Jeffrey Hyman, Thomas Erdelyi and Douglas Colvin as teenagers who changed their names to Johnny, Joey, Tommy and Dee Dee Ramone. They went on to become the fathers of the punk movement and cult symbols, still recognizable today. They attained little commercial airplay but had a huge cult following with songs like Blitzkrieg Bop, I Wanna Be Sedated, Rockaway Beach and my personal favourite, The KKK Took My Baby Away. They’re cited as a huge influence in modern music with bands such as The Clash, The Sex Pistols and U2 all naming them as inspiration. They famously broke up in 1996 due to infighting and other members included Marky, C.J. and Richie Ramone who also played with the band at various points. They coined the phrase `Gabba Gabba Hey’ which is commonly used amongst rad people aka myself.

And that’s just skimming the top of their sordid history. On top of that Dee Dee, one of the key songwriters, worked as a male prostitute in his late teens/early twenties, battled a lifelong drug addiction and tried his hand at a career as a white rapper. Johnny ended up running off with, and later marrying, Joey’s girlfriend, an act which the pair never quite got over and that fuelled many feuds (besides their obvious political differences; Joey was very liberal and Johnny very conservative). Joey also overcame a severe case of obsessive-compulsive disorder, which hindered him earlier in his career. Oh, and then there was that time the Ramones worked with Phil Spector on the End Of The Century album and he made them play the opening rift of a song 400 times before holding them all at gunpoint until they got the composition `just right’. I guess they should consider themselves lucky they didn’t end up like Lana Clarkson or worse, one of Spectors discarded hair pieces . . .ew.

The Ramones, all of which have died in the last decade, besides Tommy, have been on the silver screen before in the awesome cult-classic Rock ‘n Roll High School, a teen-rebel comedy made in `79 which sees the band star as musical mavericks who help teens face off against a disciplinarian principal. Howard Stern last year signed on to produce a remake of the pic which is almost as disturbing as the guy behind Everybody Loves Raymond wanting to make their biopic. It’s just an all around disturbing extravaganza.

So, that pretty much sums up the Ramones movie so far . . .except for casting, director and a heck of a lot more information. But hey, this is everything that’s available for now so lower those pitchforks. Hopefully the future of this movie will mimic the storyline from the third season of Entourage where a Ramones biopic gets buried in studio development after Ari screws over one too many people. Boom.

Thoughts? Who do you reckon would make a good Ramone in the biopic? Personally I’d love to see British rising star Andrew Garfield in there, perhaps as Dee Dee (even though Dee Dee bares an uncanny resemblance to Steve Zahn). He would make a great Dee Dee and he definitely proved himself as an amazing performer in The Red Riding Trilogy: 1974 earlier this year. Jesse Eisenberg as a Ramone would also be awesome, as he could pretty much slot in anywhere. And how could I not mention the character-actor brilliance of Joseph Gordon-Levitt! You know he would tear up any part he was given but I say cast him as Joey, he could handle the difficulties of playing someone so complex. I wouldn’t mind seeing Jack White try his chops at acting, he can literally do everything else so odds are he could be good at this too. Jack White to play a Ramone, hmm it could work. I’m stumped on any other ideas though.

Read more...

Get your Inception on

The Inception trailer is up! Up I tell you!
Okay, okay, stop giving me dirty looks, it's only the teaser trailer. . .and tease it does.
Check it out HERE
Well, it's tres short and I'm not sure about the Terminator-esque music and title sequence. It does look mighty intriguing, no? And I caught a glimpse of Joseph Gordon-Levitt, so I'm happy!
NoW hurry up and be released already.

Read more...

The immaculate Inception

I promised a break-down on Chris Nolan’s latest project, Inception, and here it is. Complete with confirmed news, rumours and cast list. Prepare to become enthused, nay, extremely intrigued.

The concept

Batman fans went into cardiac arrest last year when Nolan announced his next film would not be a third Batman instalment, rather a film he had written several years earlier. Details of the plot are being keep under tighter wraps than Tutankhamen with the actors forbidden to give away any of the details.

When asked about the movie by MTV recently, cast member and Movie Mazz favourite Joseph Gordon-Levitt had this to say (or not say):
"Here’s the thing… I cant wait to talk to you about [Inception] but I’ve been very specifically asked not to talk about it. I want to respect [director Chris Nolan's wishes] because I love his movies and I’m so honored and grateful to be working with him. He’s got a really specific idea and way he wants people to be presented with this thing."

This, in my humble opinion, hints there are more than a few twists which would spoil the movie if known beforehand. Here is what we know about the plot so far; a CEO-type becomes involved in a blackmailing scandal. That’s it. Actually, Nolan also described the film as being set “within the architecture of the mind”. The films genre falls under the action, sci-fi, thriller categories and Nolan is no amateur at creating an amazing story. In fact, just knowing he has penned this latest effort makes me feel in safe hands considering he has previously written these masterpieces ; The Dark Knight, Batman Begins, The Prestige, Memento, Following and Doddlebug. His wife, Emma Thomas, is teaming up with him again to produce and Nolan is also directing.

I think this guy is one of the most creative cinema masterminds working and frankly I would go and see a Pizza Hut commercial if he made it. Fanaticism aside, this sounds so very, very exciting. And interesting. Inception is being shot in five countries including Morocco and a significant portion in Kananaskis, Alberta (a rural district in the Canadian Rockies). Oh, and it has a budget of $200 million. Yeah baby, $200 MILLION!

The Cast

WHAT A CAST! Seriously, I know decent cast's excite me easily but this really is incredible. There’s three actors in here high up in my hypothetical `top 10 all time favorites' list and one actress. Yet all are amazing performers and I can’t wait to see how they mesh together. They are:
Leonardo DiCaprio
The unluckiest Oscar-nominee who ever lived aka Leo, plays the lead role as the CEO-type.
Marion Cotillard Everyone’s favourite French actress (sorry Eva Green) plays Leo’s wifey.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt The power of Levittation continues with another foray into blockbusters playing an associate of Leo’s character.
Ellen Page The once-pregnant Page plays a young college grad student and Leo’s sidekick.
Ken Watanabe The man is back in villain-mode and plays the guy who is blackmailing DiCaprio’s character.
Tom Hardy A member of Leo’s team
Cillian Murphy and Michael Caine

These two ridiculously talented people are also cast, but there are no details on what parts they will be playing yet.

I’m hoping there will be a few more updates on the film before its July 22, 2010 release date here in Australia. Actually, scrap that. I’m digging the shrouding-in-secrecy vibe for a change. Bring on first posters and/or teaser trailer.

Read more...

G.I Goooooooo!

I’m feeling in a pretty good mood about blockbusters lately. Yes, I realise they're not something I get overly excited about. In fact, quite the opposite. Usually when I hear about an upcoming blockbuster you can colour me critical straight away. However, with Wolverine shallow yet surprisingly fun, the Star Trek franchise reinvigorated due Abrams’ brilliance and Terminator Salvation looking ace and just around the corner I figured now was a good time to mention another blockbuster that is on my radar. Remember G.I Joe, the little boys’ version of Barbie? Like the rights for Transformers, Monopoly and Cluedo, G.I Joe has been adapted in to a movie also. I’ve mentioned it briefly on this blog when there was casting news and a 30 second spot on the Super Bowl. However, now it’s a mere matter of months before G.I Joe: Rise Of The Cobra hits Aussie screens. Like every movie blockbuster nowadays G.I Joe: Rise Of The Cobra is an origins story on the elite military unit comprised of special operatives known as G.I. Joe who take on an evil organization (Cobra) led by a notorious arms dealer. The thing that interests me here is not only the mixed bag cast but the amount of attention given to assembling a meaty assortment of villains. Led by General Hawk (played by Dennis Quaid), the G.I Joe’s are Duke (Channing Tatum), Scarlett (Rachel Nichols), Snake Eyes (Ray Park), Ripcord (Marlon Wayans) and Heavy Duty (Adewale Akinnuove-Agbaje). The bad guys, Cobra, are Destro (Christopher Eccleston), Cobra Commander (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), The Baroness (Sienna Miller) and Storm Shadow (Lee Byung-hun). Originally Mark Wahlberg was considered for the role of Duke before execs decided they wanted someone younger for an origins story. The wickedly-good Channing Tatum was reluctant to sign up for the movie because he thought it would glorify war. However, after good friend and fellow cast member Joseph `Movie-Mazzupial-loves-you-long-time’ Gordon-Levitt got him to read the script, Tatum was on board and compared the flick to the early X-Men movies. Even dramatic actress Sienna Miller got in to the role putting on five pounds of muscle, taking advanced martial arts classes and learning to fire live ammunition. Stephen Sommers is directing and looking at his past projects (The Mummy, The Mummy Returns, Van Helsing) it’s easy to see what kind of movie we will be getting. Lots of action, lots of special effects, lots of fun and a plot that pales in significance to the first three ingredients. After the very brief tv spot on the Superbowl, G.I Joe: Rise Of The Cobra movie posters were released featuring very little except for the outline and names of specific characters and a gun or explosion in the background. Thankfully now the full trailer was released a few days ago and you can get more of a taste for the movie. Watch the trailer here. Although there isn’t going to be as much hype surrounding this and there is for dirty, dirty Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen I’m still juiced and prepared for a guilty blockbuster pleasure. G.I Joe: Rise Of The Cobra is out in Aussie on August 6.

Read more...