Favourite Movie Friday with Arj Barker

It's no secret I'm quite the Arjy Bargy fan and I was lucky enough to interview the comedian a few weeks ago ahead of his Gold Coast show at the Arts Centre on Tuesday, March 22. He chatted to me via phone while a friend dropped him at his hotel in Sydney and yes, of course I asked him about his favourite movies:

"Gentleman Broncos really cracks me up. I've seen it, like, three times over the holiday season. Jemaine (Clement) is also in that, the director Jared (Hess) is great and there are just some really good unknown actors. That movie fucking kills me. Apocalypse Now, which was amazing. I watched a redux version recently, like a re-release. Easy Rider is just such a beautifully film shot in a beautiful . . .what do they call it? Technicolour. It's just beautiful and has interesting footage and is a pretty intense movie. Those are just three that I really like. And I saw Scott Pilgrim which was great and really unexpected. That's the best way to see it (with no expectations), my friend told me to see it."

He mentions Gentleman Broncos AND Scott Pilgrim Vs The World in the same sentence. How can you NOT love this guy? Stayed tuned for my upcoming post where Arj talks about the possibility of a Flight Of The Conchords movie.

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Movie Mazzupial's 10 best films of 2010

Okay, okay, I’ve dangled the carrot long enough. This has been a week of movie lists; the best soundtracks of 2010, best movie posters of 2010, worst films of 2010 and gold star films of 2010 (I'd post the links to these articles, but if you're too lazy to scroll down the page then you don't deserve to read them *hmph*). Of course they were all a precursor to the big one – my list of top 10 movies of 2010. Without further ado, let the countdown begin . . .

10 - A Single Man

9 - Fantastic Mr Fox

8 - Centurion

7 - Boy

6 - Scott Pilgrim Vs The World

5 - The Princess and the Frog

4 - In The Loop

3 - Kick-Ass

2 - The Fighter

1 - Inception
To look back on 2009 with reflective indignation, dig my best and worst lists.

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Movie Mazzupial's best movie posters of 2010

I’m quite the movie poster fiend, as discussed previously on this blog with my best and worst all time lists of movie posters. And although I may regret some of the choices I made on those, the best movie posters of 2010 list is a little more carefully considered. Unfortunately some of these films haven’t yet been released in Australia, but since their posters are out I feel it’s fair to include them. Here’s the eye candy:

Hesher
This falls into the category of films us Aussies are hungrily waiting for, even more so when you consider this grabbing piece of poster art. And that's what it is - art. It's an image so arresting it couldn't fit more perfectly into David Michod's tale about an anarchist.Kick-Ass
Posters for action blockbusters so often fall into the lazy category (hello there Unstoppable), but Kick-Ass is the exception. With the block black background and yellow lettering, the creators leave all the awesomeness to the film's characters literally jumping off the wall at you. The neon paint splashes are also a clever way to substitute more graphic blood splatters AND throwback to its comic book origins.You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger
I'm a stickler for simplicity and Woody Allen's latest film led the way for several other movie posters that rely on simple, bold graphics. Less is, as they say, more.The Loved Ones
From the Pretty In Pink lighting to dishevelled torture victim, this poster for The Loved Ones sums up the movie perfectly - stylish and sinister.Machete
This is just one of a series of posters promoting the film, most of which relied on using images of the A-List cast. However, the direct 2D graphical style of this had me sharpening all sorts of artistic kudos.Blue Valentine
Dark and romantic is Blue Valentine, and this single image of the love enamoured leads gets all of that across and more. The hand-written style font is also a nice touch, along with love heart V.The Social Network
From the clever border to lone image of Jesse Eisenberg as the Zuker, The Social Network poster did much to intrigue people. But for me, the element that drove it home is arguably the best tagline of the year. It's so good in fact; the makers blew it up to cover the entire poster. Like.The Virginity Hit
Again, simplicity triumphs!Scott Pilgrim Vs The World
The studio thought a collage poster featuring the film’s stars was more marketable, which stands to reason. However, it was Bryan Lee O'Malley’s fully drawn character poster that ticked all my boxes. Its appeal is almost strictly for fans of the graphic novel, which is fine by me.Let Me In
In a similar lone image vein to Blue Valentine, this succeeds due to the conflicting colours and themes. Although I still think the artists version at Fantastic Fest is superior.Winnebago Man
Oh-so perfect in every feasible way. Simply super simple.The Runaways
The tag is catchy, but for a film starring two of the hottest up and comers as the female demi-God's of rock n roll, it’s a pretty ballsy move NOT to picture them in the poster (this one at least). It’s the right move I think, as this grimey graphic alludes to The Runaways biggest hit - Cherry Bomb.And the best . . . Black Swan
The poster being flashed up in the theatres is of course the lone headshot of Natalie Portman looking quite, well, evil. However, the superior ones are the series of posters released in the lead up to the film’s premiere. Don't be fooled by the simple, block shapes - the artwork is deceptively complex and has an almost M.C. Escher-like quality. Notably, they are also draw-droppingly beautiful.

In other poster related goodness, for Tyler Stout’s take on popular movie posters click here, for Killers shizzle here, The Dark Knight Rises wannabe posters here, Lego posters here, Jossing around goodness here.

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A KO on every level

From the second the iconic Universal logo plays on screen in pixelated format with eight bit music, you know Scott Pilgrim Vs The World is going to be a faithful adaptation of the comic series which draws unashamedly from video game culture. Based on Bryan Lee O'Malley's cult graphic novels, the film follows 23-year-old slacker and indie rocker Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera) who falls for the super cool Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead). But in order to date her, he must defeat her seven evil exes; Indian/pirate hipster Matthew Patel (Satya Bhabha), movie star Lucas Lee (Chris Evans), rock star Todd Ingram (Brandon Routh), lesbian Roxy Richter (Mae Whitman), the Katayanagi twins (Keita Saitou and Shota Saito), and music producer Gideon Graves (Jason Schwartzman). Huge fans of the source material, such as my myself, will not be disappointed with what can only be described as an absolutely awesome film. The comics were very simply animated, with traditional manga style and black and white imagery. However, it was always the content that made them great as they captured the humour and attitudes of a particular period most twenty-something's can relate to. The film manages to not only capture the tone of the comics, but enhance it. The signature pop-up titles are transferred usefully into the film and besides being visually engaging, they add some great comedic commentary.In fact, everything has been done perfectly in the crossover to the big screen and Scott Pilgrim Vs The World virgins are likely to be blown away by the plethora of pop culture references, music, surreal action scenes and the flawless integration of video game elements.But this film is dinged by the all-round strong performances from the ensemble cast.Michael Cera actually steps away from the mumblecore, shy teenager-schtick he has become so well known for and successfully takes on a more complex character. He is supported strongly by the hilarious and pitch-perfect work from actors such as Chris Evans, Anna Kendrick, Allison Pill, Mark Webber, Johnny Simmons, Ellen Wong, Brandon Routh and Jason Schwartzman in smaller roles. But it is Kieran Culkin, the younger brother of Home Alone star Macaulay, who steals the show as Scott's gay best friend and roommate Wallace Wells. Culkin captures Wallace's dry sense of humour and wit perfectly, breathing life into what is by far one of the most unique characters in the story.

Yet the star of the movie has to be writer, director and producer Edgar Wright, who has crafted a piece of film pop culture unlike any other. The absurdist nature of the story line and constant video game references, such as the bad guys turning into coins when defeated and the Legend Of Zelda theme music playing in the background, would have been too much for some filmmakers to try and tackle. But Wright boldly takes the blueprint and erects a tower of colour, action, humour and style that reaches the giddy great heights of ADD filmmaking. Although it is very different from Wright's previous films,Shaun Of The Dead and Hot Fuzz, it is similar in that it also has their intelligence, comedic timing and inventive camera work.

Scott Pilgrim Vs The World is really a multimedia package, with the borrowed elements and shout-outs to technology flying in as fast as the jokes. It is edited and packaged so sharply that I physically had to close my mouth after the first 15 minutes to suppress any further outbursts of appreciative geekiness and cheshire grin. Scott Pilgrim Vs The World is a KO on every level and to quote its tagline, it is truly "an epic of epic epicness''.

It is out in cinemas now.

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An epic review of epic epicness

Kiddies, prepare to wet your panties because my online video review of Scott Pilgrim Vs The World is up. You can view it HERE.

Thanks has to go to my mad gamer friends, headed by Peflab, who helped me with the tech terminology. I hope y’all like it and stay tuned for my extended written review.

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