Face to Face Review

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‘From Australia’s most acclaimed playwright, David Williamson, a moving and powerful new film about lies, betrayal, sex and bullying in the workplace. A young construction worker rams into the back of his boss’s Jaguar in a fit of anger at being sacked. Rather than fronting court, he’s given the chance to explain his actions in a community conference.‘

I hadn’t really heard anything about Face to Face until this week when I had the pleasure of seeing the film at an advance screening followed by a Q&A with the cast and crew (although David Williamson was unfortunately absent due to health problems). Made on an almost non-existent budget, Face to Face is a character drama that asks some hard questions about workplace bullying, and proves that Australian drama is still a force to be reckoned with.

Face to Face is a slow burning film, when Continue reading →

Cash Cows – Firefly

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Creator/Director: Joss Whedon

Writers: Joss Whedon, Tim Minear, Ben Edlund, Jose Molina

Cast: Nathan Fillion, Gina Torres, Adam Baldwin, Summer Glau, Alan Tudyk, Morena Baccarin, Jewel Staite, Sean Maher, Ron Glass

Years: 2002-2005

“…You can’t take the sky from me.”

Let’s hop in the wayback machine. In 1997 a limited-run program titled Sessions at West 54th presented a live performance of an up and coming band calling themselves “Ben Fold Five”. Host Chris Douridas intorduced them with this brilliantly simple statement: “If you’ve heard these guys perform, you’re a fan. If you haven’t, you’re about to be.”

Ladies and gentlemen… Continue reading →

Cowboys and Aliens Review

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‘A spaceship arrives in Arizona, 1873, to take over the Earth, starting with the Wild West region. A posse of cowboys and natives are all that stand in their way.

The title of this movie alone was enough to make we want to see it, which I suppose is the main reason that the studio chose it. And when you have a cast of actors including Harrison Ford, Daniel Craig, Olivia Wilde, Sam Rockwell, and Clancy Brown then the movie sounds a lot more interesting.

Cowboys and Aliens was a fun movie, but I felt that Continue reading →

Jane Eyre Review

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‘A mousy governess who softens the heart of her employer soon discovers that he’s hiding a terrible secret.’

Jane Eyre is possibly one of the most adapted novels in the English language, it seems that every few years a new movie or TV series is released, allowing us to see many different interpretations of Charlotte Bronte’s classic.

Cary Fukunaga’s Jane Eyre is a welcome Continue reading →

Conan the Barbarian Review

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‘The epic tale of child sold into slavery who grows into a man who seeks revenge against the warlord who massacred his tribe.’

With the new Conan movie coming out recently, I’ve spent a chunk of the last few weeks delving back into the original stories, movies, and the MMORPG Age of Conan to give myself the best chance for comparison. Conan is one of the best-known characters in fantasy fiction, and a lot of people have tried to capture the spirit Robert E. Howard’s original adventure tales.

So does the original Conan Continue reading →

Dungeon Siege III Review

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‘Fight hordes of dangerous creatures in a mystical fantasy world.’

With the hotly anticipated Diablo 3 coming out in the near future (hopefully), I’ve been filling a lot of my gaming time with other dungeon crawlers to tide me over. Among these is the recently released Dungeon Siege III, the latest entry in a series that I know very little about.

Dungeon Siege III is a game that oscillates Continue reading →

The Quantum Cat

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Just a quick shout out. My friend and fellow screenwriter Tom has started up his own blog over at The Quantum Cat where he covers:

  • REVIEWS OF MUSIC, FILM, BOOKS AND MORE… THE LIKE OF WHICH THE WORLD HAS NEVER READ OR HEARD BEFORE.
  • RANTS OF SUCH DIVINE INSPIRATION THAT YOU WILL DOUBT THE VERY FOUNDATIONS OF YOUR BELIEF/POLITICAL/COMPUTER SYSTEM!
  • THERE WILL BE INTERNET MEMES, ANIMALS, MUTANTS, ROBOTS,  DINOSAURS! (Already coming through on that promise. To politics!)
  • THERE WILL BE EXCERPTS OF MY VERY OWN FICTION! (Not the good stuff, because WordPress would then own it and I’d be forced to pull out my laptop cord in frustration and then sue a pencil company.)
  • BULLET POINTS!
  • SHOES, SHIPS, CEILING WAX!
  1. NUMBERED LISTS!

…and a great many other things.

If you’re after a laugh, then check it out!

Al

Green Lantern Review

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‘A test pilot is granted a mystical green ring that bestows him with otherworldly powers, as well as membership into an intergalactic squadron tasked with keeping peace within the universe.’

Given that Warner Brothers in their infinite wisdom decided to release Green Lantern locally over a month after the US release, I’ve had plenty of time to hear how much people don’t like this movie. Reviews are almost universally scathing, and the ticket sales reflect that, so it was no surprise that I went into this movie with low expectations.

Unfortunately, those expectations were Continue reading →

Sunshine Review

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Director: Danny Boyle

Writer: Alex Garland

Starring: Cillian Murphy, Rose Byrne, Chris Evans, Mark Strong

Year: 2007

I can’t remember who it was who described the formula for a thriller, but it goes something like this: A man is on a crashing plane and the controls are damaged; at the last second he finds a parachute and jumps from the plane, only to find Continue reading →

Beat Hazard Ultra Review

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‘Arcade action powered by YOUR music! Experience your music collection like never before with this intense arcade shooter. How will your music play?’

How many times have I told myself not to go nuts during a Steam sale? I always manage to grab a bunch of games that I look at once and immediately uninstall, but for all of those disappointments, there are the diamonds in the rough. Beat Hazard Ultra is one such gem.

The concept behind Beat Hazard is a fairly Continue reading →