If you would rather be Buried than watch Eat, Pray, Love...

So, I have recently returned from Egypt and I'm now spending a week or so in London and to my surprise what do I find? That Australian release dates are waaaay ahead of the UK! And here I was thinking it was the other way around. While we're apparently getting the freshest titles relatively quickly, the UK cinemas are playing flicks that were in Aussie cinemeas months ago. Months! I have a friend who works at Paramount in the UK and he informs me that because of the world cup all of the release dates got pushed back, which makes sense, but it still weirds me out a bit when I see posters advertising The Rebound over here. Anyway, one film that did not freak me out was the over-hyped Buried. Sure, it's still better than Julia Roberts (much as I love her) riding a bike over some bridge in Bali and finding herself but . . .well, let me make up your mind with my online video review HERE.

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Green with envy

From his breakout hit Boy to starring in next year’s blockbuster Green Lantern (above), New Zealand filmmaker Taika Waititi is a shining light in Hollywood. The 35-year-old Maori writer, director, producer and artist first burst onto the scene in 2004 with his Oscar-nominated short film Two Cars, One Night and followed that success in 2007 with his debut feature Eagle Vs Shark. It starred his close friend Jermaine Clement of Flight Of The Conchords fame and Waititi also came on board to write and direct several episodes of the hit show. But it is his latest film Boy that is truly putting him on the world stage.

Whilst in competition at the prestigious Sundance film festival earlier this year, executives from Warner Brothers Studio saw Waititi performing in Boy and quickly approached him about a role in Green Lantern. Despite coming from an acting background in live theatre and perfoming in a comedy troupe with Jermaine, Waititi said it was strange to give up the creative reigns and return to performing.
“They saw Boy and were looking for someone to play this character, so I read for it and then suddenly I was an actor again,” he said.
“It was weird because it wasn’t part of the plan for me. I just wanted to do my thing and keep making films and be a director.
“It was very, very weird and I found it kind of strange to go from someone whose been in control for ages to sitting around on set waiting for your scene.
“Your part of it, but your also not part of it.
“It was fucking weird to be honest, but I loved it and watching how everything is done.”Green Lantern is the $150m mega blockbuster based on the DC Comics series of the same name and stars Ryan Reynolds in the title role (above). Waititi said he plays the role of Green Lantern’s faithful sidekick Thomas Kalmaku in the film.
“I can’t even pronounce his name properly because he’s supposed to be of Native American heritage,” he said.
“He doesn’t have any powers or do any of the action scenes.
“It’s basically that….the guy is like a tech geek. That old chestnut.
“It’s not a giant role or anything and you never know if you’re still going to be in it at the end of the movie.
“While I was shooting I was thinking, as a filmmaker, you don’t really need this scene. But I wasn’t going to tell them that.”

Tipped as being the biggest blockbuster of 2011, there has been a lot of hype surrounding the special effects used on Green Lantern. Reynolds suit, for instance, is being created using CGI technology and will constantly evolve throughout the film. Although Waititi said he didn’t get to see what the suit looked like during filming, what he did see of the production was `amazing’.
“I haven’t seen any of the suit stuff because they hadn’t even decided what the suit was going to look like when we were shooting,” he said.
“They’ve had almost a year since filming to develop that now, but the art I saw was amazing.
“It’s going to look incredible.
“That was very exciting for me because although I saw some of the green screen stuff, there’s no way to imagine what it’s going to look like.
“I just gave up and said my lines.
“I imagined it would look awesome down the track but at that moment it was just a bunch of weird people in normal clothes standing around with cameras.
“I wasn’t even in those scenes, I just went to watch their spotted-suit acting.”
Being involved in one of the most highly anticipated comic-book movies was a dream come true for Waititi (above), who said he used to `collect comics’ when he was younger.
“I was not really into the Green Lantern mythology, but I was more of a Batman guy,” he said.
“Batman was just a guy with determination who was badass and good at beating people up and fighting.
“He had the dark past and that appealed to me.
“I was a little bit into X-Men, but it got quite complicated with all the characters.”

But don’t get too excited, because Waititi said he is not likely return to the superhero genre anytime soon.
“It’s not really my style,” he said.
“I’m better suited to these character pieces and its sort of my background.
“There’s less stress and less stuff that’s over my head.”Boy is in cinemas tomorrow. Green Lantern is out June, 2011.

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Linking of you

I thought the above title was a little sweeter than the other possibilities which included `Lets get linky' and `Ta-da: it's Batlink'. I'll be quiet now.

Anywho, like an 8-year-old with alcoholic parents who spend their wages on booze and whores, I've been storing these links under my mattress for a few months now. Mostly these are articles or features that interest me, fantastically written reviews, delish trailers and the odd website. Hopefully it will give you something to link about (oh snap!).

• South Park: You've probably been hearing all about their 200th episode, which tries to incorporate as many celebrity insults as possible. Oh, it succeeds. This link, however, is of the opening clip where the kids find Tom Cruise working in a factory as a fudge packer. Brilliant.
• The 25 Best Remakes Of All Time: Contrary to popular belief, not all remakes are the spawn of Satan. Okay, most are, but Moviefone have done a darn good job highlighting some of the worthy ones. I would have like to have seen Brothers on this list, yet perhaps it's too soon.
• Joss Whedon rules the universe: Come on, you know it's true! Disagree and I know some hardcore Whedonites who will happily destroy you're life and everyone you cherish whilst reciting Buffyverse. So, fresh off the spoof-inducing news the Buffy legend will direct and write Marvel's The Avengers movie comes the double revelation that he's rewriting and directing the Captain America too. Hooray! He's had plenty of involvement with Marvel over the years thanks to his work on the X-Men series and so forth, but it's good to see the studio showing some sense and handing this project over to a real fanboy.
• Fuck the Ash Cloud: It's what many people have been saying for the past few days, yet The Dresden Dolls front woman Amanda Palmer does it so much better. This clip is recorded from her Dublin gig last night, where she performed the volcanic love song she and fiance Neil Gaiman (yes, The Sandman and Coraline legend) wrote together via the interwebs. Why? Because the flight cancellations are keeping them apart and jeopardising their week-long holiday together. Awww.

• He-Man gets more, er, hardcore: It seems impossible, I know. Yet the lad over at FilmDrunk has put together the news in his usual urine-running-down-your-leg style. For those of you playing at home, it's hilarious. The article kicks off with my candidate for best headline of the year 'Writers of Predators Hired To Masturbate The Universe'.
• 11 totally impractical 80s toy vehicles: I don't know how the dudes at Topless Robot were able to track all these down, but I'm so glad they did. I love lists, especially kitschy brilliant ones like this. Prepare for epic LOL's once you reach the Justice Jogger.
• Stillness Is The Move: If it's possible to be cooler than Beyonce, her little sister Solange Knowles is certainly trying. And arguably succeeding. The radilicous lady did a cover of underground New York band the Dirty Projectors' song Stillness Is The Move. Depending on your musical inclination, I reckon the Erykah Badu-esque version of the song is better than the original. So shoot me, either way, it's a soundgasm.
• Shutter Island review: Yeah, yeah, I know Shutter Island was released like, five Kick-Ass' ago but this review over at Pajiba is so bloody well written, I had to share it with you.
• Testing the Mickey Rourke hypothesis: The blog spiderweb that is Uproxx compiled this excellent post that tests the Mickey Rourke hypothesis: everything is better with a bird on your shoulder. "Raw, Precious see food bird"
• Green Lantern's suit to be CG: Perhaps the most interesting superhero movie news of the past month, besides Whedon dominating that is. Slash Film revealed that Ryan Reynolds Green Lantern suit will be completely CG in the film adaptation of the comic. This piece is the most in-depth coverage of the news and explores the reasoning behind Academy Award-winning costume designer Ngila Dickson's decision. Not a huge Green Lantern fan myself, this is surprisingly interesting. And hey, as long as we get to see Reynolds abs at some point during the film, I'm happy.
• The future of film criticism: A.O Scott at The New York Times takes a look at the future of film criticism and whether there actually is one. Compulsory reading for all film buffs, established and aspiring movie gurus.
• X-Ladies '88: I know, it sounds like the title of a hardcore porn series. Rest assured, this is actually a little slice of genius from John Allison at A Hundred Dance Moves Per Minute. It's his quirky take on the X-Men ladies from 1988, the year I came into this world kicking, screaming and covered in blood. If I play my cards right, I may just leave that way too ;o)
• The 10 most intimidating athletes in the world: Look, I did say I like lists. Especially well-researched, clever ones like this. A little disappointing there's only one female on the list, I could certainly think of few to add *cough Hayley Bateup cough*. But it's fair enough, after all Serena does "hit the ball like it owes her money".
• Nic Cage as everyone: One of my favourite websites ever, this confirms my theory that everything is better with a lil Nic Cage. Especially Nic Cage as the uinverse (below).
• David Firth twitter: Well, what do you know! The creep McCreepy animator that is David Firth has a twitter account, which he is using to keep y'all updated on the progress of his debut animated feature. For those of you who haven't been exposed to his Lizzy Borden-esque brilliance, Firth is the man behind such YouTube series as Salad Fingers, Video Dating Tape and, my personal favourite, Valentine's Day Special. He also has a website where you can view his work and so forth.
• Operator Please cover Blondie: Before you say this is shameless self-promotion, I figure that since it's not technically myself I'm promoting, it doesn't count. My friends band Operator Please have been kicking some major music balls since their debut album Yes, Yes Vindictive. Even that douche Perez Hilton has been gushing over them. Anyway, they have been hectically promoting their follow-up Gloves (which is out this Thursday) and appeared on Triple J's Like A Version last Friday where they covered Blondie's Heart Of Glass. Amandah nailed the vocals and you can listen to the entire Gloves album for free at their MySpace. FYI it rocks, namely Catapult and Back & Forth.
• Trailer trash: Two new trailers have caught my attention lately, one because it looks awesome and the other because it looks shit (with a capital TURD). One of my favourite comics ever (comic? graphic novel? mang-ic?), Byran Lee O'Malley's Scott Pilgrim series is hitting the big screen and the teaser trailer looks like the film may live up to its tagline "An epic of epic epicness". As long as there's plenty of Wallace in the film, I'll be ecstatic. The crapolla one is called Paper Man and stars Jeff Daniels, Emma Stone, Lisa Kudrow and Ryan Reynolds. The trailer really goes for every cliche indie heartstring it can get its hands on and I can already see a legion of fucktards updating their Facebook movies to include this `emotional and socially conscious' film in their favourites list. I bet Hipster Kitty would really be in to it too.
• Australian Tragic: Walkley award-winning Australian journalist Jack Marx's latest book is fascinating and devastating at the same. I'm half way through it at the moment, but I have to keep breaking it up with graphic novels because essentially it's a collection of uber depressing Australian tragedies that he has dug out of the archives. This feature on News.com.au sums up some of the most interesting tales from the book, but be warned: eeriness ensues.
• Nine badass hybrid monsters: You know, if lists were human I would totally cut off a lock of their hair and stay inside all day sniffing it. I love them THAT much. This list is up there, way up there as it creates a nine badass hybrid monsters that deserve their own sci-fi movie. Darn right they do, especially the Pigeonshark and the Bearshaktipus below (cue terrified screams).

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Don't hate the player, hate the game

Since I did a rhyming post on both of these movies last week, I figure it’s only right I share my verdict. I’ll try to keep this brief. Firstly . . .
State of PlayOne word to sum up my description of State of Play is wow. Considering I’ve worked at a newspaper since I was 17, it’s rare I see a movie which actually has a realistic depiction of journalists. Usually Hollywood tends to adhere to the cliché of either an obnoxious, overly ambitious reporter who will tread on anyone and anything to get the story or the heroic, righteous reporter with the publics best interests at heart. Both are extreme generalisations and seldom found in a real newsroom. There are only a handful of films I think faithfully portray journalists and the nature of the profession (sections of All The Presidents Men, Hotel Rwanda, Shattered Glass and Good Night and Good Luck are a few that spring to mind). State of Play can now be added to that list. From Helen Mirrren’s turn as the newspapers strained editor to Rachel McAdams’ role as the papers young and exuberant blogger, everything about the characters in State of Play reeks of authenticity. None more so then Russel Crowe’s superbly believable performance as seasoned crime reporter Cal McAffrey. From his diet of Cheetos and tinned soup, to his unkempt appearance and questionable reporting methods, he feels like someone plucked straight out of any western newsroom. Thankfully these characters aren’t put up on the high-horse journalists often are in Hollywood movies, it’s their flaws and at times lack of ethics that give them substance. I haven’t seen the six-part BBC miniseries on which this film is based so I’m not sure how much credit they deserve for character development etc. However, the three dimensional personalities in the film are one of its key strengths. Ben Affleck and Jason Bateman also deliver strong performances in supporting roles. The other pros include a brilliantly paced movie which knows exactly what it is; a meaty thriller rife with corruption, assassins, murder, political conspiracies and great reporting. On top of this it touches on the current dying state of newspapers and the increasingly rare species of hardened reporters such as Cal. The plot twists and action are as frequents as Crowe’s consumption of junk food and overall State of Play makes for an excellent thriller which will be treasured by movie goers, particularly those with an insight in to the newspaper industry. In a nutshell I would describe it as a tense action-thriller which provides a refreshing look at the nature of modern journalism.
Adventureland

Sometimes I truly hate living in this cosmetically enhanced hell-hole known as the Gold Coast. One of the keys reasons behind this train of thought is the limited selection of movies released here. Sure, it could be worse. I could live in Boonah where I hear you’re more likely to see a two-headed man named Frank than see a movie within a year of its release date. Moving on, after great difficulty I was finally able to see the teen comedy Adventureland which was playing in limited release (sigh). Set in 1987 it evolves around recent college graduate James (Jesse Eisenberg) who has to take a dead end job at a local amusement park. I’m not a huge fan of teen comedies but the positive feedback from critics and the presence of Kristen Stewart and Ryan Reynolds sparked my interest. Directed and written by Greg Mottola, the guy behind Superbad, the film is a semi-autobiographical account of his stint working at an amusement park in the 80s. Not as crude as Superbad it still manages to tick all the right comedic boxes while accurately portraying the often awkward, painful time for teens about to hit their early twenties. It's a refreshing change to see a teenage movie with intelligent characters, after all they're not all dumb-fucks who get their hands glued to their penis (I'm talking to you American Pie franchise). Mottola doesn't throw his characters into the dorky or popular cliches, instead they have substance. They discuss Moby Dick, Russian philosophy, tertiary education, Lou Reed and Charles Dickens. At the same time they like to go out, have sex, get drunk and smoke pot. The characters feel real and the performances are perfect. A notable mention has to go to Bill Hader who is terrific in yet another supporting role and his Saturday Night Live sidekick Kristen Wigg. Martin Starr as Joel and Matt Bush as Frigo are also great. If you get a chance to see this movie before it stops screening I highly recommend it. Adventureland competently treads the ground between Napoleon Dynamite and Superbad, teenagers and adults alike will embrace it. For those still questioning whether to see the film or not, pillars of Australian movie criticism Margaret and David both loved Adventureland and Margy gave it four stars (which is pretty darn impressive).

Remember how I said I would keep this brief? I lied.

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Retract them claws

In case you’ve been living under a rock for the past six months and have missed the close to shameless advertising campaign, X-Men Origins: Wolverine is out tomorrow. Yes, I realise tomorrow is a Wednesday (April 29 to be precise) and new movies usually only ever come out on a Thursday. But Hugh and the team are trying to do The Dark Knight thing and get a bit of extra business by opening a day earlier. Don’t mistake me, The Dark Knight and X-Men Origins: Wolverine are both movies adapted from popular comic-book characters and I did mention them in the same sentence. HOWEVER I’m not expecting the Wolverine movie to be anything close to the brilliance of The Dark Knight which, in my personal opinion, is one of the best movies ever made (send me angry letters later folks). I’m looking forward to X-Men Origins: Wolverine because I love the X-Men comics, I love the idea of starting at the origins of an iconic character and it looks like a frolicking good time at the movies. Plus, unlike the X-Men movie franchise this film features my favourite X-Man: Gambit in a starring role (hooray!) For those of you, like myself, who are trotting on down to see the first of what is sure to be many X-Men Origins movies, I hope we get what the trailer promised: a fun, action-packed, adventure film with little to no depth. In times like these I think a bit of escapism is just what the pointy-clawed mutant called for. X-Men Origins: Wolverine is screening everywhere, literally everywhere, tomorrow.

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Insy, winsy Scarlett

It seems every day there’s news of another comic book movie being made for the silver screen with more explosions, more stars and more money being thrown at it than a stripper with beer flavoured nipples. Here’s some goss on an already successful superhero flick and soon-to-be franchise Iron Man. Mark this as strictly rumour for the moment. You may remember a while back I reported British actress Emily Blunt had been cast as villain/heroine Natasha Romanoff aka Black Widow in Iron Man 2. However, the pom’s commitment to Twentieth Century Fox and the studio’s upcoming Gulliver’s Travels movie may prevent her from taking on the role. While Blunt’s reps are working furiously to reschedule her shooting dates, EW has said Marvel has been in talks with several other actors to take over the role, most notably Scarlett Johansson. Phoar! If anyone would be perfect to play Black Widow, it would be Scar-Jo! For those of you unfamiliar with the Marvel character, Natasha Romanoff aka Black Widow is a Russian super spy who has featured in several comics such as Spiderman, X-Men and Iron Man to name a few. The character is stereotyped as a femme fatale and Scar-Jo has already proven she can nail that archetype, most recently as Silken Floss in The Spirit. Plus how could they think of casting Blunt over someone like Scar-Jo in the first place? Blunt is a prude and Scar-Jo is a fox, end of story. For a completely frivolous reason it would be awesome if Scar-Jo was in this flick because then she and hubby Ryan Reynolds would have both been in super-hero movies (him in X-Men Origins: Wolverine). In the meantime we can only hope that casting directors make the right choice and sign up Scar-Jo while Blunt’s team keep trying to make both projects work (unlikely given Gulliver’s is further along with a start date of April 15 while Iron Man 2 doesn’t have a shooting script or a start date yet). Stay posted for more info.

Below: Scar-Jo as the Black Widow.

Just joking folks! This is actually what the Black Widow looks like . . .

. . .and this.

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Avenge is sweet

After the astounding success of Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk (the first two films from newly created Marvel Studios) it’s no wonder there are already two more films in production for the Iron Man franchise. Robert Downey Jnr has signed on for three more films as billionaire Tony Stark aka Iron Man and Terrence Howard’s character of Colonel James ‘Rhodey’ Rhodes is now being played by the talented Don Cheadle for the next three films. But wait, “three films?” I hear you say. Yes, that’s right THREE FILMS. Two more in the Iron Man franchise then Downey Jnr and Cheadle will reprise their roles in (drum roll please)
THE AVENGERS MOVIE!!!
There have been rumours circulating since Marvel created their own studio to independently produce their creations and those rumours appeared to have some substance when Downey Jnr had a cameo in The Incredible Hulk. Marvel Studios today confirmed The Avengers movie is in pre-production and Jon Favreau is on board to direct. Favreau did a stellar job of directing the first Iron Man film and is also set to direct the rest of the franchise. Sounds like a hefty work load for the writer/director/actor but he’ll be backed up by an awesome support team in the form of Louis D'Esposito, Stan Lee, David Maisel and Denis Stewart. Phew. Admittedly I’m getting really sick of comic book to film adaptations and it seriously feels like every second movie was originally a comic or graphic novel. Be original folks and create some new shit! But (and there is a but) I’m looking forward to The Avengers mainly because it’s a classic and one of the most recognised comics of all time. Those of you unfamiliar with The Avengers, here’s a quick run down. First created in 1963 by the legendary Stan Lee, The Avengers features some of Marvels key characters who unite to create a unique crime fighting unit. Originally founded and majorly funded by Tony Stark other characters in the unit include The Hulk, Captain America, Thor, The Black Widow, Spider Man, The Fanatstic Four and more. Whether some of these characters will appear in the film adaption is yet to be known but other team members in The Avengers have included Wolverine, Storm, Daredevil, Electra, The Punisher and tonnes of other lesser known characters. Only Edward Norton’s version of the Hulk, Captain America and Thor have been confirmed to be in the film version which is scheduled for release on July 15, 2011. The Iron Man sequel will be in theatres on May 7, 2010. Both will be distributed by Paramount Pictures.
On a related topic, I’m extremely pleased at the produce coming out of Marvel Studios and am glad they were able to make enough money off the rights to the characters they sold (i.e. Spiderman, The Punisher, Daredevil, X-Men) to start their own studio. After all, who can handle the Marvel subject material better than the people who created it? No one, that’s who. And with the animators, writers and creators at the forefront of the company (i.e Stan Lee, Don heck) it truly sounds like they have the characters best interests at heart when creating the films. Unfortunately Marvel Studios don’t have anything new coming out in 2009 as the highly anticipated X-Men Origins: Wolverine is from 20th Century Fox as they own the rights to the X-Men franchise. Hugh Jackman will be back to reprise his role as Wolverine and
Liev Schreiber (aka Naomi Watts’ hubby) will play the famous Sabertooth, the `always hot right now’ Ryan Reynolds will play Deadpool, former hobbit Dominic Monaghan as Beak and up and comer Lynn Collins will play Silver Fox, Wolve’s old flame. X-Men Origins: Wolverine was shot entirely in Sydney and will be released in Oz on April 30, 2009.

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