“We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold.”

These are the first lines in Terry Gilliam’s adaptation of Hunter S. Thompson’s gonzo piece, ‘Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas’, and you pretty much get the idea from the get go. The plot revolves around Raoul Duke (Johnny Depp), his attorney Dr. Gonzo (Benicio Del Toro) and their trip to Las Vegas in a red convertible to cover the Mint 400 whilst in a drug induced haze.

When it was first released it was considered a box office flop after grossing only $10,600,000 with a budget of $18,500,000. Despite this, it has gone on to achieve a cult following.

The movie contains the surrealistic details of Terry Gilliam’s work which is what made the movie work. He was not the first choice as director however, but after creative differences between Alex Cox (the original director) and Thompson, Cox was fired and replaced by Gilliam. Thompson admitted that nobody could project his thoughts onto the screen as well as Gilliam could.

The acting was brilliant from both Depp and Toro. Both hardly recognizable with a bald Depp and a large Toro who gained 40 pounds for the role. He was seen 3 years earlier in the role of the tall and skinny Fenster in ‘The Usual Suspects’. Depp was great as always and his narration really held the the movie together well, but it was Toro who stole the show as the frightening 220 pound Samoan equipped with a hunting knife and under the influence of raw ether, mescaline and countless other drugs. Just like the director, Depp and Toro were not the first choice. The first choice duo were Jack Nicholson as Duke and Marlon Brando as Dr. Gonzo. How’s that for a compliment?

Fans of Hunter S. Thompson must have already seen this, and probably enjoyed it as much as the next fan. From the minute the book hit the shelves it was called unfilmable, but Gilliam has done a terrific job, has stayed true to the book and is extremely accurate from chapter to chapter.

**** 1/ 2

RATED: R

In a post-apocalyptic America (Zombieland) over-run with zombies, four survivors team up to help each other survive. The unlikely foursome include the timid white virgin, Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg; the main cast members are named after towns which relate to them); the gun-totting cowboy on his personal quest for the final Twinkies, Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson); and ‘matchstick sisters’ Wichita (Emma Stone) and Little Rock (Abigail Breslin) who con their way to survive.

An ongoing joke throughout the movie are Columbus’ simple set of rules to survive the zombie quagmire. These rules, and fear, have kept an unlikely hero like Columbus alive. He presents it in a quirky narrative form, followed by a hilarious example. Some of these rules include ‘cardio’, ‘checking the backseat’ and ‘limbering up’.

The main purpose of Zombieland is to display creative ways of killing zombies; dropping a piano on an unsuspecting undead is just one of a few. Zombieland is the funnest time I’ve had watching a movie all year. I was somewhat disappointed though, that it was too funny. There simply wasn’t enough scares for it to fall strictly under a horror comedy. I fear (ironically) that this factor will disqualify it as legendary horror/comedy like American Werewolf in London and the Evil Dead trilogy.

The opening credits ranks as one of the best of 2009 along with Watchmen. The slow-mo depictions of the world being transformed to zombieland; one of my favourite slow-mo scenes was a father-son three legged competitor being chased down by the other zombie father-son combos.

This was one of my most anticipated movies of 2009 and my expectations were fulfilled. Everything needed for a fun film was there; witty humour, streets of blood, realistic makeup and a brilliant cherry-on-top cameo from Bill Murray. Like I said, this is simply not a pure horror/comedy and don’t expect anything like formula as Drag me to Hell (the best horror movie of 2009). If you’re up for some fun and a visual rollercoaster, this has to be on top of your must-watch list.

I give it 3 and a half toasters.

Rated MA

Based on the Maurice Sendak’s children’s book of the same name, Spike Jonze directs a fascinating, captivating and touching; yet also a depressing and unstructured film. Max (Max Records) is a child with a vivid imagination – his imagination often being utilised to escape his childhood issues, such as his parent’s divorce, his sister’s neglect and the pain of alienation. One night, his mother, Connie (Catherine Keener) brings her boyfriend (Mark Ruffalo in a brief appearance) over the house for dinner. Max wears a a wolf costume and his imagination runs wild, demanding his mother to feed him meat and eventually biting her shoulder. After a verbal lashing from his mother, Max runs away from home to where the wild things are.

The movie starts off well enough and introduces Max and his many juvenile issues, growing emotional pains and being old enough to feel complex emotions, but too young to express them healthily. From here on in, Max is on his journey of self discovery with several of these ‘wild things’; monstrous, gravity defying and emotional beasts. Each one of them almost represents different aspects of Max’s personality; credit due to Jonze for expanding on the plot. Max Records first lead role was promising, had presence and a certain charm when on screen. With this charisma, more lead roles are sure to come. I have to say though, that this is definitely not a film for children; but a film about childhood. It has it’s light-hearted scenes but as the movie goes on, it feels darker and more depressing when certain emotionally unhealthy ‘wild things’ run rampant. The desolate look on the ‘wild things’ don’t help. What really impressed me though was the use of animatronics and CGI on the monsters. From the intricate details of their faces, capturing every tear and smile; or the wide scaled physically demanding pile-up scenes, Where The Wild Things Are is a possible candidate for one of the technical Academy Awards.

I got a glimpse of this trailer a while back and was eagerly anticipating the release. The soundtrack sounded promising and the use of frames caused me to believe that there were going to be transitions between Max’s fantasy world and the real world, in a similar brand to that of Guillermo Del Toro’s Pan’s Labyrinth. My unfulfilled expectations on this may have caused me to under-appreciate this. So if you are going to see this, don’t go in with any expectations and just digest every beautiful scene as it comes. An adorable story, great indie soundtrack and visually exquisite CGI makes this more than worth watching.

3 and a half stars.

Why it’s the best and worst thing you will ever let into your life.

You’ve heard about it, you’ve seen it on your mate’s computer. A little button at the top of their screen that simply says ‘Stumble!’. The StumbleUpon toolbar is a mysterious and powerful tool, whose mystery is only exceeded by its power.

Be aware, for you have been warned. If you have the StumbleUpon toolbar on your computer, two things are likely to happen. One, you will discover total radical and awesome sites that will blow you away. Two, you will never sleep again. I’m telling you, it’s addictive.

“Just one more Stumble,” you say to yourself over and over and over, as the clock hands drift. Then you look and it’s three in the morning, and you haven’t moved in six or seven hours. “Oh no! I’ve got school/work tomorrow!” you think, “I’ll just have one more…”

So it goes, on and on. Yet, I have no regrets about Stumble. Since I signed up for a (free) account, I have seen areas of the internet that I would never have found. I have learned random and useless facts. I have seen amazing photos of events I would never have known about. The concept is so easy! All you do is go to www.stumbleupon.com, and sign up for an account. You tick a heap of boxes so Stumble (in all its mystery and power) knows which sites to drop you at, and then you put your like it, or  you don’t. After that it’s even easier. You can write a review of the site, you can friend and connect to people who like the same stuff you do, or you can sit for hours in front of your computer like a mindless drone… Or if you’re looking for a more positive spin, a sponge eager for information. So in a nutshell, Stumble is like channel surfing on the internet.

I know you want to know more, so go and check it out. And remember, Stumbling is less awkward on the internet.

“Open up your mind”

Imagination can be defined as ‘The formation of a mental image of something that is neither perceived as real nor present to the senses.’

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus is a sporadic drama about good and evil. The enchanting scenes open up our mind to possibilities.

The film is rather bizarre but this is no surprise considering it is directed by Terry Gilliam who has produced such films as Monty Python and the Holy Grail and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.

Dr Parnassus (Christopher Plummer) the God-like protagonist makes a deal with the devil (Tom Waits) which guarantees him mortality and later eternal life in exchange for his adolescent offspring. He thoughtlessly agrees but regrets this later when his daughter Valentina (Lily Cole) is born. He realises that Valentina will soon be taken by the devil, Parnassus pleads for him to reconsider so the devil agrees on a new gamble. Whoever collects 5 souls first keeps Valentina. Parnassus and the entourage guide people to positive, uplifting thoughts whilst the devil tempts his victims into selling their souls for evil. Tony (Heath Ledger) tries strenuously to help Parnassus by attracting people into a mirror which leads to a world of imagination, every time he leads them through the world his face changes, Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell convey this superbly. Each face represents an aspect of Tony’s imagination. Heath Ledger, who plays Tony, died half way through the shooting of the film forcing Terry Gilliam to improvise this alternate ending. The film is unique, there is a contrast between contemporary culture and olden day circus themes, this is portrayed throughout the movie by presenting small, plain black and white settings and colourful panorama. The best part of this film was the concept which in essence described that we all have a choice to do wrong or right, good or evil and that our actions have consequences. I went into the cinema expecting a structured, heart warming movie; instead I came out feeling violated by the erratic story line. However shortly after I felt enlightened by the spontaneous flash backs of mysterious locations and imaginative costumes. On the whole the movie was different; the highlight for me was watching the strong performance of Heath Ledger and Tom Waits.

Rated PG

A hybrid between a sports movie, a chick flick and a feel good comedy, Whip It treads delicately on the boundaries of a cliche coming-of-age film; yet somehow Barrymore knows this and embraces it just enough without going too far over-board.

The movie explores different relationships consequently fractured by Babe’s endeavours in the skating rink. Foremost of these associations is the mother-daughter relationship between Bliss and Brooke. A crucial moment in the movie is the confrontation between the two (a cliche; I know) where the acting ability of Page and Harden alight the screen. This mother-daughter theme may also be a reflection on Barrymore’s own estranged relationship with her mother.

Ellen Page is taking one step closer to winning an Oscar and she does herself no harm with another dazzling performance (she did all her own stunts and skating). Marcia Gay Harden, as always, doesn’t disappoint, displaying great chemistry with Page. A strong supporting cast really complements the two actresses. Juliette Lewis as Iron Maven from the rival team plays her character with a grungy look that demands respect; Andrew Wilson, the lesser known older brother of Luke and Owen, plays a hilarious role as the jean shorts wearing coach and Kristen Wiig as Maggie Mayhem, Babe’s mentor, pleasantly surprised me with a role much unlike her small cameos in comedies as the socially inept lout. Barrymore herself plays the role of Smashley Simpson, Babe’s accident prone team-mate. To top it all off, Jimmy Fallon makes a humorous appearance as the try hard womaniser Master of Ceremonies, Johnny ‘Hot Tub’ Rocket.

However, Landon Pigg (Oliver, Babe’s love interest) does not do his character any justice and I couldn’t see the chemistry between the two actors. Babe and Oliver’s ‘young love’ appeared too contrived for my liking and was very hard to believe. This makes it harder to swallow whenever he’s on screen.

Barrymore’s direction is a success! She’s assembled a great all-star cast and has obviously picked a few tricks from her godfather, Steven Spielberg. She directs the film with as much energy and rapture as her own personality. This could be the first of many films to come from Barrymore. Forget the cliches for two hours and sit back and enjoy this joyous and infectious movie about teen defiance, friendship, familial love and ‘being your own hero’.

Rated: M

3 and a half stars

The older brother Stephen, played by a sly, unshaved Mark Ruffalo, is often leading his younger brother Bloom, a forlorn Adrian Brody, into troubled waters.  They find their calling in childhood, Stephen is to spend the rest of his life looking to write and execute the perfect con, while Bloom searches in vain for a way to live an ‘unwritten’ life.  Bloom wants out of the family biz but Stephen manages to rope him in for one last job; to show millionaire shut-in Penelope (a youthful Rachael Weisz) the world while relieving her of a couple of million dollars.  But of course, things do not all go to plan, and hilarity ensues.

The characters are nothing short of brilliant.  The relationship between Bloom and Stephen is amusing and touching, without too many Hollywood cliches.  Penelope is intelligent enough to catch the details that make up the con, but too naïve to put it all together.  However my favourite character is Japanese explosions expert Bang Bang (Rinko Kikuchi).  With hardly any dialogue her character does anything but fall into the background, with her scenes being some of the most entertaining.

One of the stand out elements of The Brothers Bloom is the poetic detail of both the script and the scenes.  Endings are hinted in the beginning and there are moments of total confusion as the audience struggles to figure out which is the con, and which is reality.

The settings, dialogue and costumes are another element that allows for the watching and re-watching The Brothers Bloom to you hearts content, believe me, you’ll get something new every time.  The soundtrack wraps up all the magical elements of The Brothers Bloom into what I expect will become somewhat of an indie classic.

Traditional World War II films such as Schindler’s List and The Pianist, which talk about the struggle of the Jewish under a relentless invading force, are completely out of place next to this film that instead relates more to adventure films such as The Great Escape and the Dirty Dozen.  Quentin Tarantino admits himself that Inglourious Basterds is a “spaghetti western” adaptation of a “big issue” movie and, indeed, historical accuracy takes a back seat to the usual ‘crowd pleasers’ of violence, sex and explosions.

The primary aim of this film is to entertain and in true Tarantino fashion, the film is shot and edited in a vintage ‘Tarantino film’ style to keep the viewer afraid, disgusted, in suspense but above all, engaged and entertained.  Of the many trademarks used by Tarantino in his films, at least 19 were present in Inglourious Basterds.  An example of a Tarantino trademark (TT) is his references to cult movies and television and this is present throughout the film in different areas.  Examples of his confronting and ‘no trappings’ film editing are best seen in the titles that flash up on screen and in the segmentation of each plot development into chapters of the film.  Cinematically, the climax begins in the beginning of the fifth chapter entitled Revenge of the Giant Face with an amazing montage on the opening night of Nations Pride to the tune of Cat People by David Bowie and ends in a spectacular explosion of the cinema that is the centre of the narrative on more than a few levels.

The narrative itself serves as a device to get the camera from once place to another and, unlike most films about world war two, the narrative holds no lasting moral that the audience is supposed to leave the theatre with.  Instead, the underlying question posed to the audience is shown through the characterisation of the multiple protagonists and the graphic nature of the acts they commit on screen.

Like the Dirty Dozen, Lt. Aldo Raine and his men are portrayed as morally ambiguous and the complete opposite of the classic American hero of the traditional war film.  Other characters such as Shosanna Dreyfus who would classically be motivated out of a need for survival, is instead pushed through the narrative by a blinding desire for revenge that is strong enough to erase the poise and courtesy of her appearance in act 3.

The casting of Brad Pitt as Lt. Aldo Raine promised a lot but proved to be disappointing. Brad Pitt’s characterisation of Lt Raine was neither realistic enough to be convincing, nor outrageous enough to be entertaining.  In a film where all the characters are one of either extreme, either as frightening and Col. Landa, or as comical as Adolf Hitler, a mediocre performance is very noticeable.  The best actor of the film however, is undoubtedly Christoph Waltz as Col. Hans Landa who was able to play such a complex character convincingly enough that the complete turn around of the character in act 5 seemed seamless and perfectly within the character’s capacity.

The violence committed by these protagonists is displayed in loving detail by Quentin who is no stranger to blood and gore and its graphic detail is intended to shock the viewer and subtly pose the question “Does violence shock you just as badly when the victims are supposed to be the bad guys?”  Audience reactions to this would suggest no.

Whilst there were some audience members looking on in horror, most viewers seemed to be fluent with Tarantino’s extreme style and were even able to find humour in some of the most grotesque sections of the film such as the beating of a German officer by Sgt. Donowitz with a baseball bat.  Unlike some of his other films however, Tarantino uses comedy to great effect in this film. During some of the most suspenseful scenes, such as the opening scene in Lapadite’s farm house, humour can be found in the smallest of things.  After two viewings of this film, it is still impossible to avoid chuckling at the stark contrast between Lapadite’s modest pipe and Landa’s extravagant and outrageous pipe.  This humour is precisely placed by Tarantino in the midst of an intensely suspenseful scene and the result of this is that it takes the viewers mind off of the suspense momentarily and afterwards the audience is returned to the suspense with a refreshed patience.

Whether you believe that Inglourious Basterds is social commentary or base entertainment is dependant on the way you interpret the protagonists.  Often it is assumed that the protagonists are expected to live up to a degree of moral responsibility by either not committing base acts or at the very least, feeling remorse.  The truth is that none of the characters are intended to represent any form of moral upstanding.  Colonel Hans Landa is probably the most complex and interesting character of the film and the character that we see the most sides of.

Special effects in this film are used in traditional Tarantino style.  The gore is disgusting and the explosions are exciting.  There isn’t any computer generated content and everything resonates with that ‘vintage’ theme that is present in so many of Tarantino’s movies.  Blood and gore seem to be present at a steady rate throughout the film with some intensely realistic peaks in the beginning of act 2 and in the last show of the film.

Explosions however were almost completely missing until act 5 when the fire sequence more than made up for the lack of anything else similar in the film. Act 5 was undoubtedly the most expensive to film and Tarantino wasted no amount of time making sure that the cinematography exploited this act to its fullest using amazing establishing shots of the cinema and filming gunshots and explosions in painfully-slow motion.

Quentin Tarantino sees no use for long drawn out introductory scenes in order to establish setting for this film and instead replaces this convention with a simple introductory caption ‘Once upon a time in NAZI occupied France…’.  Again, Tarantino relies on the ‘assumed knowledge’ the viewer has of traditional war films and lets the viewer create their own reality to a small extent.  The same technique is also used in the portrayal of the Nazi soldiers. There is one minor sequences used to show the atrocities committed by the Nazi’s to earn the title of ‘evil’ and instead, the viewer is simply expected to already know exactly what the Nazi’s have through their experience with other war films.

Sound and music is used to great effect in this film and the montage that takes place in the beginning of Act 5 is undoubtedly the climax of the score however, in some parts of the score, the music’s execution was entirely too obvious and bordering on the offensive.  After Hans Landa had established that there were Jews hiding under the floor boards in act 1, the music accompanying the film took on a form obviously intended to highlight the rising suspense in the narrative however, this music was completely overpowering and the audience found itself more in fear of the menacing tone of the score than of the Nazi’s on the screen.

With Inglourious Basterds, Quentin Tarantino is able to produce a film that is as guiltily entertaining as a ‘spaghetti western’ whilst still being able to cleverly hide some social commentary and dark humour in between the scalping and Lt. Raines’ snuff taking.  As a historical fiction, Inglourious Basterds pushes the limits of conventional film and explores exactly what he can and cannot get away with when talking about Hitler.  Expect to be shocked but always remember to simply enjoy the film for what it is.  Entertainment.

Rated: MA 15+

I replayed this CD a number of times before coming to a conclusion and each time I found something new and interesting either in the sounds or in the lyrics. This is an album that you will want to come back to and play over and over again. Each song tessellates into the next track almost seamlessly yet doesn’t make the CD sound like one huge “mega track”. Like the last release from Karnivool “Themata”, there are some tracks that will stand out from the rest of the album and undoubtedly become radio favourites while other tracks will be best appreciated with the rest of album. “Set fire to the hive” springs to mind as one that separate’s itself from the group and I imagine that before too long, we might be hearing this track on a hottest 100 compilation.

If you are already a fan of Karnivool, then you don’t need any encouragement to listen to this album. Likewise if you’re into anything “heavy” that’s been written in the last few years I urge to at least give this album a quick listen. You won’t regret it.

The Boat That Rocked, relabelled Pirate Radio for American audiences, has a certain rebel charm that I couldn’t quite pass up.  Based on a true story, the film follows eight disc jockeys and self proclaimed music lovers on their journey to bring outlawed music to the waiting masses of England.

The ensemble cast, including Philip Seymour Hoffman, Bill Nighy, Nick Frost and Rhys Darby, work well in complimenting each other’s comedy styles and journeys.  Some of the jokes are slightly tasteless and overused while others will have you gasping for air.  The underlying theme of rebellion is overlaid with other individual coming of age and self discovery journeys.  Bill Nighy in particular is amazing as the Captain of the motley DJ crew, leaving you wanting to be a part of the whole affair.

One place I found that The Boat That Rocked was lacking was in the developing of these storylines, a disadvantage of having such a large number of characters to work with.  It seemed that many of the individual aspects of the film were undeveloped, which, while not causing the film to flop, left me personally with a feeling that much more could have been accomplished.  That’s not to say director Richard Curtis didn’t try.  The film stretches over 2 hours, which is somewhat of a shame because had it been only half an hour shorter, it may have drawn a larger fan base.

However, I found that the real star of the film was the amazing soundtrack that saw some great 60s rock and pop tracks making an entrance.  I was personally blown away by this, not only by the choice of artists, which really embodied the feeling of the 60s, but also the tracks that made the film itself a much more enjoyable experience.

Regardless of some design flaws, The Boat That Rocked is ultimately a successful film with a unique plot and generally well executed script that will appeal to audiences of all ages, particularly fans of Brit-Pop.

4/5 stars