Below are the most recent 7 friends' journal entries.

Sunday, December 20th, 2009
twelve_cards	1:37p	Listomania.... Favourite Films of 2009 No one asked but here is a Top 15 List of Favourite Films for 2009. The only stipulation I made was that I had to have seen them in the cinema, which meant that a couple of great films I saw on DVD made in 2009 are left off the list (namely Adventureland and In The Loop). First, some special awards! Best Crazy Person in a Movie: a tie between Michael Shannon in Revolutionary Road and Mathieu Almric in A Christmas Tale. Best Move From An Actor After Starring In The Wire: Aiden Gillen, Senator Carcetti, as an Irish, chess-playing, vengeful bad guy in the action movie 12 Rounds. Best Independent Movie That Was An Independent Movie Cliche But Was Still Very Good: Frozen River. Best Bad Movie That David Stratton Awarded Four Stars: Knowing. Best Break-Out Performance From A Bearded Comedian: Zack Galifianikis in The Hangover. Best On-Set Freak-Out During Production That Was Better Than The Movie Itself: Christian Bale and his issues with professionalism during Terminator: Salvation. Best Use of Poo-Eating Gross-Out Humour To Completely Derail A Movie Comedy: Year One. Best Vampire Movie That Was Pretty Much The Same As Twilight Even Though All The Hipsters Said It Was Better Than Twilight: Let The Right One In. Best Movie That I Thought Was Going To Be Insufferable Twee But Was Actually Sufferable Twee: Paper Heart Most Charming Female Movie Characters That I Would Have Devoted Nerd Shrines To When I Was In High School: tie between Carey Mulligan in An Education and Rachel Weisz in The Brothers Bloom. Most Likeable Movie To Feature A Sweaty Juliette Lewis: Whip It. Best Performer To Act Through Their Nose: Giovanni Ribisi in Avatar. Best Performer To Act With Half Their Face Removed And Still Be Charming: Frank Langella in The Box. Best Director To Wave Their Hands Up And Down In Front Of The Story They Were Telling: Steven Soderburgh for The Informant! Best Judd Apatow Movie That Wasn't Actually Directed By Judd Apatow: I Love You, Man. Best Judd Apatow Movie That Was Actually Directed by Judd Apatow: Funny People. Best Use Of A Cute Dog Averting A Global Disaster While Millions Perished But It's Okay Because The Cute Dog Survived: 2012 Okay, enough of that... the list 15. WATCHMEN Faithful comicbook adaptation that was a bit heavy on the Matrix slow-mo and the final scene didn't have the kick that it should have, but overall, great visuals, great actors (especially Jackie Earle Haley as Rorschach) and great enough that you don't have to worry about whether or not Alan Moore liked it. 14. THE BOX Richard Kelly's creepy, bizarre-o adaptation of a Richard Matheson Twilight Zone episode only lasted two weeks in the cinema, but it had something for it when it was engaging enough to make see that Cameron Diaz is actually an alright actress. 13. THE GIRLFRIEND EXPERIENCE Intelligent enough to be more than simply the stunt of 'Hey, that's a porn star acting as a prostitute!' 12. ZOMBIELAND & DRAG ME TO HELL The return of the 90-minute movie that satisfies audience genre expectations while being very clever and most importantly just plain old popcorn fun. 11. MOON Masterful work by Sam Rockwell. 10. SAMSON AND DELILAH Masterful work by writer-director Warwick Thornton. The best Australian film in some time... 9. OBSERVE & REPORT I've seen it twice now and even though it has some of the Apatow improv blahs here and there, the Taxi Driver styled uncomfortable rage lurking underneath Seth Rogen's character made it really something else than your standard mall cop comedy. Last minute Award For Best Climactic Surprise That Is Both Hilarious And Shocking. 8. JCVD Watching the Making Of Documentaries on the JCVD DVD really expanded what the film does with the Jean Claude Van Damme persona. I think he really went out a limb with this film and commits something that is surprisingly sincere and made me respect him all the more. Last minute Award For Best Action Sequence You Don't Want To End for the title credit sequence. 7. INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS Above all I felt the marvellous satisfaction of a good story really well told and sometimes that's enough! A gleefully revisionist ode to the power of cinema. 6. DISTRICT 9 A full course meal of a movie. What seems like obvious sci-fi satire is really well handled and Sharlto Copely's performance as his desk clerk character was key to making me care about what happened, giving the third act change-up into Transformers territory a real heart that you wouldn't find in the Transformers sequel 5. A SERIOUS MAN I love how the Coens can balance profound existential concerns with ironic grotesque laughs. "Accept the mystery." 4. UP I had not seen a Pixar film in awhile and I was glad to be reminded of how rich, how delightful and in this case how moving their films can be. 3. WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE Again, like Up, a film that had really moved me. I understood the ideas behind the scenes in Jonze and Eggers' take on the children's story, what it said about being a child and being a parent... 2. THE WRESTLER One of the first films I saw this year (technically it's a 2008 film but who cares) and still one of the greatest. 1. SYNECDOCHE NEW YORK The Wrestler would be probably be my favourite film of the year since it's got it all - action, character, heart, 1980s hair metal and I could easily watch it whenever - but I might place Charlie Kaufman's debut film as a director (another film that's technially a 2008 film but again, who cares). What sets Synecdoche New York apart, alongside it's roster of great female performers (Michelle Williams, Samantha Morton, Emily Watson, Dianne Wiest), it's clever humour, it's high-concept plot, it's fantastic lead performance by Phillip Seymour Hoffman... was that it actually made me think about life, the shape of it, how we like the lead character seem to be composing our masterwork to an audience that isn't there and to a finish that we won't experience... it seems silly to say such a thing, but yeah, it was a film that made me think deep about things if only for the couple of days after I saw it. That's that. Volunteer your own cinematic loves for this year, please... Current Music: Fences ~ Phoenix (15 Comments |Comment on this)
Wednesday, December 16th, 2009
twelve_cards	11:22a	Weekly Rentals Round 3... Another week, another batch of weekly rentals viewed and reviewed! Boarding Gate (2007): I could watch Asia Argento read through a telephone book and still find the results very sexy. Oliver Assayas (who directed Irma Vep) creates a stylish, sparse yet absorbing thriller that follows Argento's ex-prostitute character attempt to reconnect with an old flame, a flailing corporate boss (Michael Madsen proving he still has some acting talent left amidst his consignment to Direct-to-DVD territory) while fulfilling a contract with her shady employers. The camera is fascinated by Argento as she finds herself in tense situations and as her own screen persona moves from the outrageously vampish (the S & M foreplay she indulges Madsen in) to emotional confusion when she is on the run in Hong Kong. Also stars Kim Gordon as a the contact with the fake passports and new identities. Final Destination 3 (2006): Following on from Rob's recommendation (he once outlined both the Saw and the Final Destination franchises in order of value), I checked out this third one that revolves around a rollercoaster accident. Basically the film is just a catalogue of creative kills (much like the Nightmare on Elm Street sequels were to the 1980s). I liked Mary Elizabeth Winstead in the lead; she's pretty and treats the whole thing like she's Meryl Streep (such as when she reacts in horror when her digital photo mysterious records a sign saying 'HIGH DIVE' as 'HIGH D IE'). I also liked it when the annoying characters had their heads smooshed by random "accidents"... this was pretty much everyone in the movie. Also my favourite dialogue exchange here. The Steam Experiment (2009): I have already discussed on Bullshit Movies and I intend to catch up with more direct-to-DVD Val Kilmer. Hamlet 2 (2008): I was keen to see this when it was reviewed at Sundance and was set to screen at Luna. However, I can see why they defaulted and the film went straight to DVD. It's a watchable comedy but nothing original. The idea of a self-obsessed high school teacher has already been done in our own Summer Heights High and the film is never as hilarious as that Arrested Development episode where Tobias directed Shakespeare at Maebe's high school. Coogan was great in the lead but needs a better starring role if he is ever to dominate the globe as he should. Lots of scenes were stolen by the parade of hilarious females like Catherine Keener, Amy Poehler and Elisabeth Shue playing herself in an amusing turn. Redbelt (2008): David Mamet tackles the fight film with this satisfying thriller/character study, his best since Spartan, one of my all time favourite films (though this isn't saying much, Spartan was Mamet's last film before this one). Chiwetel Ejiofor is excellent as the lowly jujitsu master, Mike Terry, who comes into contact with various characters, embroiling himself in a scam (cue Mamet regulars like Ricky Jay and Joe Mantegna) while resisting competing in a Mixed Martial Arts tournament. What can I say? I love the overheated code of the Samurai purist-driven philosophy Mamet imparts in repeated maxims: "There is no situation that you could not escape from. Know the escape!" P.S. Emily Mortimer is charming as always. Highly recommended. Spoorlos a.k.a. The Vanishing (1988): I'd already seen the terrible Hollywood remake starring Kiefer Sutherland and knew some of the particulars in regards to the original's tragic ending (in contrast to Hollywood's happy ending), but this film still sucked me in and knocked me out. Follows a young couple on vacation. The wife goes missing at a petrol station. The husband looks for her over the course of three years wanting to know the truth. One day he receives a postcard that promises such a thing at a great cost. At first, director George Sluizer lets you share the anxiety of losing someone in a public place, but then in a unique twist shows us the kidnapper and his preparations. A very chilling climax... but which is also quite moving when you think about it. Recommended. Current Music: Two Handed Handshake ~ The Hold Steady (7 Comments |Comment on this)
Tuesday, December 15th, 2009
twelve_cards	10:16a	Rich Beggar... One Night Only I am working on a short story that involves a fictional has-been rock star named Rich Beggar. Soda wondered if I was going to provide an illustration of the man. This is what I came up with. Truthfully this wasn't what I was picturing in my head when I was writing, but I like what came out. Recently when drawing I usually use a photo or something as a base to illustrate from. It's been awhile since I just came up with a face out of the blue. Though I was reading about Dave Graney's past bands in the 1970s and 1980s before I did this... so who knows... Current Music: Chance Meeting ~ Bryan Ferry (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Monday, December 14th, 2009
twelve_cards	8:41p	Colloquy, Issue #18... B for Bad Movie The academic paper I wrote on the Joe Bob Briggs DVD commentary and critical reaction (both past and present) on Meir Zarchi's notorious rape/revenge exploitation classic, I Spit On Your Grave has gone online at Colloquy, Monash University's online academic journal. The paper is entitled '"They don't call 'em exploitation movies for nothing!": Joe Bob Briggs and the Critical Commentary on I Spit On Your Grave' and you can read it here. Oh, and here is Joe Bob Briggs swearing in an audience with his 'Drive-In Oath'... Current Music: Black Tongue ~ Yeah Yeah Yeahs (2 Comments |Comment on this)
twelve_cards	12:24a	Favourite Songs of 2009 (Part 1) I have been resistant to thinking of Best Of lists. Firstly one is under a double-pressure of figuring out a Best Of List for 2009 and NOW also a Best Of List for the 2000s. Secondly, I guess I don't like looking back as it makes me think about time and history and the fact that I'm pushing onwards into my late-20s. Of course these are silly reasons and with the time I have on my hands, why the heck fire don't I make some Best Of Lists? Okay, so those will be incoming, but for the moment, here is a smattering of some of my favourite songs released in 2009, and obviously because they are my favourites they are the best of 2009 (see how that works!) Note: in no order of preference, randomly selected and not at all complete! Matt Berry - 'Take My Hand' Comedian and musician Matt Berry released his album 'Witchhazel' online for free and I thought it would be more spazzy 1970s-styled prog-rock like his previous album 'Opium,' which oscillated between parody and Berry's sincere love for older genres and styles. However, I was blown away by the first proper song on 'Witchhazel' entitled 'Take My Hand.' Berry builds on the intro to Elton John's 'Daniel' for this delightfully sweet and enchanting tune. Kanye West - 'Paranoid' I know the album came out in 2008 but I listened to it most in 2009 and that was when the single for this tune came out. By far the stand-out track on '808s and Heartbreak' just because it is damn funky and catchy with its chorus. The video is good too if you care for Rihianna made up to look like a sexy Whitney Houston in Sin City get-up. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - 'Soft Shock' I do love 'Zero' and the video where Karen O just struts her stuff around a street in a nifty leather jacket, but the song I always returned to on 'It's Blitz' was the third track, 'Soft Shock.' Nice and pretty. I'm a fan of the softer, electro-pop based tunes on the record. The kind of song you want to wrap yourself in... Future of the Left - 'Throwing Bricks At Trains' I love the lyrics of FOTL. A lot of the time I don't understand what they mean but I know that they are funny and clever despite that. This was my favourite off their recent album as it has a melancholic undertone to its driving pace and provides some weird WW2-era sense of nobility to the idea of youths throwing bricks at train. Lil Wayne - '3 Peat' Once again I'm late to the party here since 'Tha Carter III' was released in 2008 and I had not borrowed and burned my brother's copy until this year (whatever, this is my list and '3 Peat' made my 2009 and in the words of Weezy, "I don't give a motherfuck!"). Anyway this was the year I got into Lil Wayne and the first track from this album is my favourite (and would be my favourite song of 2009). It's all build up and no release. The perfect opener to an album but to me an epic in itself. Throw it on and face the world. I'll do another one of these later in the week. Please submit your choices for songs of the year by all means! Current Music: 3 Peat ~ Lil Wayne (5 Comments |Comment on this)
Sunday, December 13th, 2009
twelve_cards	3:26p	The Steam Experiment (2009) Here is an artistic use of dissolves where the director merges two images together - Val Kilmer's fat face and some boobs. This represents a high point in the motion picture it is taken from The Steam Experiment and a high point of cinema in general. Read the review here. Current Music: New Wu ~ Raekwon (Comment on this)
Wednesday, December 9th, 2009
twelve_cards	9:53p	"You want to suffer? Go to a rock show!" So last night I saw Jarvis Cocker. The sign of a great gig is when the songs you know of the artists, those that you find so-so or simply okay on CD, turn into magic moments in concert. Songs like 'Black Magic' and 'From Auschwitz to Ipswich' were brilliant live. The concert closer (that is, before the two encores) 'Discosong' with the mirrorballs flashing was superb. Real babymaking music from the sight of all the couples dancing together. Cocker was just as charming as I'd imagine he'd be - looking smooth as shit in his grey suit jacket and unflappable tie, throwing out free chocolates from his jacket pockets, running through historical events and celebrities who were born on the date of their performance, even covering 'The Crystal Ship' in honour of Jim Morrison's birthday during the second encore... I was captivated. Everything I want in a show-man. Even bad jokes worthy of your dad (the bit where he was worried about sharing his water for fear of swine flu and made a pig snort). I love that Jarvis is older, with the beard and a wry lyrical look at such things with songs like 'Homewrecker' ('This is about when you are teenager and you look at people in their 30s or 40s or 50s and say 'I'll never do that. Not me.' And then you get there, and you're like, 'Why not? It'll be fine if I do it.''). So, yeah, Jarvis Cocker. Effortlessly cool while being uncaringly uncool. Current Music: 'You're In My Eyes (Discosong)' ~ Jarvis Cocker (7 Comments |Comment on this)