December, 2009

Another year ends, another tsunami of best of lists floods the net. There are a couple of rarely uttered truths associated with this process that readers ought to be aware of, so consider this, if you like, a kind of public service announcement. If that’s too much of a stretch, consider it a longwinded rant [...]

You’ve gotta hand it to Hugh Grant. That sleazy, floundering Englishman manages to achieve what appears to be the excruciatingly onerous objective of staying awake throughout Did You Hear About the Morgans?, his puffy, exasperated red eyes telling a thousand stories – each about how he shoulda hit the snooze button and stayed in bed. [...]

In yesterday’s Crikey newsletter I contributed a story discussing 20 of the biggest movies set to be released in 2010. To read it you have to be a Crikey subscriber, which includes access to all back issues. Click here (https://www.crikey.com.au/Accounts/FreeTrial.aspx ) to register for a free three week trial. To tide you over, here is [...]

Robert Downey Jr. moves into 221b Baker Street and makes himself at home – quaffing sherry, waxing deductive, plucking violin strings, verbally jousting with his homey Dr Watson and generally kitting up Arthur Conan Doyle’s iconic literary detective with new found cool in Sherlock Holmes, the latest snazzy action pic from British director Guy “Lock [...]

On the publicity circuit for his new film The Lovely Bones (released Boxing Day) blockbuster director Peter Jackson, best known for his acclaimed Lord of the Rings adaptations, discussed entering the war picture genre with his own take on Gallipoli – to be released in time for the infamous WWI campaign’s 100th anniversary. “We are [...]

After ripping the film industry a new one with Titanic in 1997 and thus snaring a modest accolade commonly known as the most successful movie of all time mega-minded director James Cameron retreated to the cavernous lairs of computer labs and editing suites where legend has it – his films are so big, you see, [...]

Last month in the Crikey newsletter I wrote about about a range of innovative online marketing strategies that have been used to promote Paranormal Activity and the subsequent, super-sized success the film has generated in America. Director Oren Peli’s faux home video spookfest has emerged as the first nano-budget blockbuster since The Blair Witch Project in [...]

Woody Harrelson bursts into the zombie genre with full tilt glower power and a hell for leather bad attitood in this screwy throwaway post mod zom-com from director Ruben Fleischer, who tries very hard to be fun and edgy but settles on a level of storytelling innovation not much more alive than your average zombie’s [...]

This week four stills emerged from the set of The Karate Kid remake, which stars 11-year-old Jaden Smith in the titular role and Jackie Chan as Mr. Han, a reworked version of ol’ wax on wax off himself – Mr. Miyagi. Will Smith is executive producer, which may give intelligent readers a clue as to [...]

Spike Jonze’s big screen adaptation of Maurice Sendak’s well-loved children’s picture book Where the Wild Things Are feels, well, a lot like a picture book, relying on beautiful images and an uncomplicated narrative and echoing familiar themes of forgiveness, family and the value of a good home. Padding out the tersely told story of an [...]