Everybodys Fine (2009) written & directed by Kirk Jonesoriginal screenplay by Giuseppe Tornatore

The marvel of DeNiro in his golden years now
is that he really is.
I've really gone of the Gino Gangster flicks
that have made DeNiro the acting hero
that most boys revere and have enjoyed just about
everything else i have ever seen from him.

What Just Happened was something special
with DeNiro taking a good shot at the
world of movie making and his roles in recent years has really
seemed to me like an actor trying to put aside for his more
notorious type casts into something purely wonderful.

As such is Everybodys Fine, which i have just found out
is a remake of 90's Italian film - Sanno Tutti Benne.
To my further delight, its orirignally written & directed by
Giuseppe Tornatore; the writer & director of Cinema Paradiso.
So first thing this week is acquire this version!!

This film made me tear. It really touched me.
Its not often a film about families provides an accurate
portrayal of how our parents might see us.
And somehow, least we hope not.
But as well how we tend to react to them.
I know i try very hard to be honest with mine and after watching
this film, feel a bit better about my relationship with my mother.

So do watch with a light heart.

Great effort from the entire cast and director - Kirk Jones.
Some scenic shots here are wonderful. Nothing flashy.
Everything kept simple & perfect. The pace was beautiful
and the music sweet.

As for DeNiro, if this is what we can expect of his years to come,
then hes only going to get better.

Whiteout (2009)directed by Dominic Sena

Urm, why?
Why did i watch this.
I knew it was going to be crap.
But the idea of the Antarctic really appeals to me.

I love the idea of this place that's totally void of life.
Well apart from the crazy penguins that reside there.
But there are no penguins in this story today.

You know those predictable thriller films with the 'bad guy'
who isn't the real 'bad guy'.
There is a badder guy behind it all.
So i'm there trying to figure out the story.
Nailing it at every turn (maybe this is why i watch these tragedies)
when the film totally surprises me, there is no badder guy.
The one bad guy it had was the only bad guy.
LAME !!!

There is beauty in this film. The white landscapes are beautiful
with some wonderfully shot sequences.
But this alone can't save a very mediocre style-less film.
There is a beautiful moment where Bekinsale stripes down
before a shower which was a delight to watch.
Perhaps this whole film was a rougue from some producer

to watch her get her kit off ?

A complete and total mockery to the Frank Miller comic books.

A Killer Whale Called Luna (2010) by Suzanne Chisholm and Michael Parfit

In the world of television Its quite embarrassing i think
how the BBC has allowed its news broadcasting
to falter i think almost constantly.
There isn't an instance whenever i watch BBC News
that i don't hear an apology for some muck up with
some technical error on a poorly reported story.
I always feel that this historical broadcasting corporation
needs to re-evaluate what its doing with its news team.
To top it off shows like Strictly Come Dancing add a further
degradation to  to its tarnished reputation.
Its boast to having the worlds most popular show - Top Gear
doesn't help its credibility either. Rich men talking about cars
isn't exactly the kind of show that makes me think -
what an amazing television station.

For me the 'beebs' one redeeming factor and its true testament
and historical contribution to the world of television, broadcasting
film-making and is its nature documentary legacy.

For years my heart has been touched and my mind -enlightened
and educated by the countless nature programs the BBC produces.
I can't say how sad i will be when David Attenborough passes.
I've grown up with this man's shows and countless others from the BBC.

So its here now in something i watched with Liz just before bedtime,
that once again that tears fell from the eyes with
A Killer Whale Called Luna

A heartbreaking story of a young Orca
who somehow through its own curiosity was separated from
his mother & pod and spent five years living amongst humans
in Nookta Sound of Vancouver Bay.

Luna's loss of family and companionship drove the lonely whale
right into the heart of the local comminuty where he sought
friendship from anyone who would set out on the water.
There are countless stories here of how this young Orca
tried to make friends with many people,
wanting to play with them and to share affection with one another.

The way the story tied into the life of the people of the First Nation
brings it one step further as they viewed his arrival as a rebirth
of a famous tribal leader again symbolising the Orca's love
with the indigenous locals.

This documentary is one of the most unique stories i
have had the fortunate chance of coming across.
A true reminder of our humanity and our link and bond
with our animal brothers and sisters.

watch it here:
BBC iPLAYER - A Killer Whale Called Luna

The Hurt Locker (2008) directed by Katheryn Bigelow written by Mark Boal

There aren't many war films that enjoy watching,
and this was one of them.
I'm not even sure why.
The characters are believable and there
Isn't so much pro war talk or pro America talk.
In fact the one place i do remember seeing an
American flag is where they keep the dead people.

I ended up watching this due to curiosity really.
I'm not a big fan of war genres and this whole Iraq
thing is just far too overrated for me.
I wanted to get in on the hype about James Cameron's
ex-wife who made a film that contends Avatar
for the Oscar on a serious level.
And it does.
These are the kind of film i like to see get nominated for
best picture. Although - i must say the final choice of
soundtracking - very very poor!
Shame on you music supervisor.

But the style is pretty cool.
Guerilla filming is the way to go for war films.
And a subdued score just gets me every time.
Somehow violence and beautiful music go hand in hand.
I have to admit - i do find the idea of diffusing bombs to be
pretty exciting.
I remember watching loads of films and always wondering how they
know which wire to cut.
So much pressure on so little.

This is a great film to watch, what i found particularly funny
were the two famous appearances getting snubbed out quickly.
Brilliant.

I do find small casts seem to go further in story telling.
So...Best Picture - i'm not sure.
I've seen better films.
But this is great film still non the less.

Capitalism: A Love Story (2009) written & directed byMichael Moore

I know its not a popular idea,
and im also known for my radical opinions
but i do love capitalism.

by definition:
Capitalism is an economic and social system in which capital and land, the non-labor factors of production (also known as the means of production), are privately owned, labor, goods and resources are traded in markets; and profit, after taxes, is distributed to the owners or invested in technologies and industries.


I dig what this means.
Being an artist the right to sell my art how i see fit 
means a lot to me.
But what ruins this pristine idea 
is simply greed.

And this is what Michael Moore should really have focused on in this 
humorous documentary.
Its no secret that Moore holds his socialist ideals
close to heart.
Watch any of his documentaries and you will see
just how one sided his arguments are.

I mean, if you borrow against your home,
surely you cant be ignorant of the fact that your going 
to lose your home if you don't keep up
on payments.

The tragedy here, is that the banks messed up
and it was the poor who lost their homes.

But the beauty here in Capitalism: A Love Story
is how he successfully strung together 
shocking horrorific news
of people being thrown out of their homes
to a social uprising.
Which made my heart beat fast till i was bursting into tears
from sheer joy in what humanity is capable of
when pulled together.

I wont dismiss Moore's one sided debate.
He is to me a master of edutainment.
And in a world where TV is the new source
of education - Moore is truly a hero for good.

Legion (2010) written & directed byScott Stewart

Don't you just hate it when film trailers make films out to be horrible
and then turn out to be fantastic?!
Well this isn't that.
But its not like it was a bad film and the trailer made it out
to be great.
The trailer made this film out to be something, predictable.
But what really angered me here,
is that it made it out to be alot better than the frail tragic peice of
hollywood film making than it was supposed to be.

Bad script.
Bad plot.

Even Paul Bettany and Dennis Quaid seemed
almost not bothered to put on a good performance.

The star of the show - Charles S Dutton didnt even last 10 minutes in the film.
What the hell?!
Cast someone not important if your only gona kill the cool guy off right away.

Trash this please.
Avoid at all cost.

The Burrowers (2008)written & directed by J.T. Petty

Get me some of this again!!
I'd put this along the lines of The Decent which i enjoyed
- immensely.

With a western setting, a group of men head out
on a journey to find their missing women.
They think that a native american tribe called
the 'Burrowers' have kidnapped them and
try to find them before they are raped and killed.

Problem is, there are no Indians involved.
Their women have been kidnapped by monsters
who have already started to digest them.

Its a slow paced film with some very dark and
twisted moments.
What a wonderful choice for a bedtime film.
It didn't put me in a sleeping mood at all.
But its a cool cool film i have to say.

Crazy Heart (2009) written & directed by Scott Cooper novel by Thomas Cobb

Jeff Bridges is one of the few great actors of our time,
who holds such a strong presence in any film
that even when the character is a supporting one,
its hard for his magnificence to not
almost completely steal the show.

This film is all about Bridges.
The story line is probably just what every other
country music song is based upon.
And we fall into this very comfortably.
Very easily.
You see - Its been done before.
The direction and style here is very subtle.
Even easier to fall into this.
A soft acoustic guitar guides us musically through
the entire film.
I'm in.

Bridges gives a performance I have not seen since
The Fabulous Baker Boys and the Fisher King.
He carries the entire film
and is in just about every shot throughout.
Bridges has just recently won a Golden Globe
for his performance here.
I hope the awards continue.

This is one i could easily watch again
comparable to Walk The Line.
Great film.

Yes Men Fix the World (2009) from Andy Bichlbaum & Mike Bonanno

*total spoiler alert*
**i promise it wont stop you from totally enjoying this anyway**


This is just nuts.
F***ing nuts!
These two guys want to fix the world.
Almost over night.

Posing as DOW executives,
and hosting a convention for banks.
They start by selling a modelling scheme
called 'The Golden Skeleton'.
They admit to having human casualties.
But as long as there is profit - its alright.
What's shocking is how they intended to shock
thank banks with this rouse, but instead are
practically cheered on.

What came next was even more shocking.
Via their fake DOW website, the BBC e-mails them
asking if they would like to do an interview
to coincide with the 20 year anniversary of the Bhopal incident.

So, if your like me and obviously know nothing of Bhopal,
then you didn't know that Union Carbide (now assimilated into DOW),
caused a gas leak in a small City in India,
that caused the death of 25,000 people.
How is stuff like this not taught in history class ?
And why did my parents never mention anything ?
DOW did spend millions and millions of dollars fixing the problem.
They paid for a massive advertising campaign to clean up their image.
Not the mess they made.
So 20 years on, people are still dying from this tragedy.
Children are born deformed and
many women are no longer able to bear children.
Horrible right ?

So once again posing as DOW execs, the Yes Men head to a BBC
studio in Paris and film a bogus interview with the BBC which was aired live.
Whilst on air, they claimed that DOW was sorry for the tragedy.
Oh yeah- they never claimed responsibility for the incident!
They also claimed that DOW would spend USD$24 billion to fix up the city
and pay for health care for all those who have suffered.

The BBC naturally started boasting BREAKING NEWS live
and publicizing the startling story everywhere on the internet.
Within 20 minutes DOW's stock plummeted 3% and the company lost
USD$23 billion.
Within the next hour DOW issued an official statement about the hoax
and the BBC made a live apology and hour later.

The tactics involved where somewhat genius.
And the Yes Men actually got away with it.
What made it better is that Channel 4 news interview them shortly after.
Jonathan Snow once again being the ultimate douche-bag ,
attacking them on live television,
saying that their actions had no thought of how the people of Bhopal
might actually feel about the hoax.

Feeling guilty about what they had done,
the Yes Men fly to Bhopal, only to find out that
they had become heroes to the people of the city.

See, what totally sucks here,
is that the media have gotten real good,
at not providing news any more.
Its mediocrity at its finest hour.
My one complaint about news firms like the BBC,
is that i don't really care about Gwendalyn who's god damn
poodle just won some stupid dog competition,
or that Bernard has now got internet in his little village.
There are serious events happening around the world
and here is the western world with its wealth and power
preoccupied with what Pie to eat over winter.

The Yes men are a breathe of fresh air to a world
that needs a little shake up
and their utterly humorous attempt
at trying to generate awareness,
which I am willing to bet my bottom dollar on
cost a lot less then Live8,
Is truly poetic and astounding.

My little spoiler only touches on the first 20 minutes of
this feature length documentary.
And believe me, it gets funnier and bigger with every
hoax. I highly suggest it to everyone.

Nine Miles Down (2009) directed by Anthony Waller written byEverett De Roche & Anthony Waller

Every once in a while i voluntarily watch a horrid b flick.
This time starring Adrian Paul of The Highlander series.
I used to watch The Highlander series religiously.
The sword fighting and historical memoirs made Adrian Paul
something cool to watch. Every once in a while just hoping
to see Christopher Lambert make an appearance, which he
eventually did.

Well Paul was less than great, in this less than great film.
And i urm..... passed out half way through.
I remember waking up only to see his naked ass
pressed up against a nice looking blonde woman.
And then i passed out again.

I tried to get back into it the next day.
And just couldn't.

Crappers.

500 Days of Summer (2009) directed by Mark Webbwritten by Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber

I very much remember watching the trailer for this
when i went to see the Bruno movie.
A failed trailer that marketed it as a summer chick flick.
So when a good friend recommended this,
I had to watch it.

And surprised i was.
This is a very unique film with honest
good heart felt emotion.

It had a very artistic presentation and i must commend
on the brilliant choice of narration coupled with soundtrack
picking.
The camera work is great with come very unique cut scenes.

I really enjoyed this film,
even though i took a break half time to cook up some crepes.
What can i say, i get hungry when i feel all good inside.

The Box (2009) written & directed byRichard Kelly

Seems like Richard Kelly has redeemed himself.
I mean the guy went from Donnie Darko to Southland Tales.
Similar to giving up a wonderful family life in a beautiful house
to living with a bunch of rednecks in a camper van.
Utterly disgusting.

I actually hated this guy for so long and myself
for having to watch a film starring
Justin Timberflake and The Rock.
If you haven't seen Southland - avoid at all cost.
Oh yea then theres this whole thing about
how Donnie Darko was actually about God.
NOOOOOOO! Don't ruin a brilliant film
by explaining it with a 'God' factor.... cringe...
my anger face followed by more - cringe.

So The Box.
I can't help but feel like im watching  film
that was made in the 60's.
Everything was just right.
The clothes, the cars, the cutlery and even the curtains.
The shoes, the glasses, the hair and the awesome televisions!!
The camera shots feel like an updated 60's flick
with the sort of panning you wish they had back then.
And to add to it the Barnard Hermann like score
only threw gas on this flame.

So what can i say, i think i really liked it.
I say i think, as i wasn't sure what i was going to
get out of this film.
Certainly, i think i got more than i intended.
Or at least something totally different.
I've never seen anything like it to be honest,
so perhaps im in a little bit of shock.
The plot is just so twisted and cruel.
And i mean really twisted and really really cruel.
It is a very dark film,
which plays on the moralities of human kind.


My favourite moment involves an awesome
sequence involving a a library and what reminded
me of Invasion of the Body Snatchers. -SUPERB!!!

The one thing that really ruined it for me was Diaz's over
melodramatic facial expression through out the entire film.
Right, i know your feeling a bit low
- but don't over do it darling.

Stephen Fry Intelligence Debate

What it it with waking up at strange hours of the morning.
It's 6am and i can't get back to sleep.

So onto facebook and reading up on posts,
and looky looky. A post with Stephen Fry !!!
He is the most exciting person on television for me!
I just LOVE QI.

But this here is something else.

The Intelligence² Debate - Stephen Fry (Unedited)




download full debate here:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3 

RANT: Martin Douglas for MSN FILMS

PLEASE NOTE: the following rant is directed solely at
Martin 'Douche Bag' Douglas  for his moronic
and patronizing article for Msn Movies.

I suggest reading it before
reading my rant.
you can read it here:
http://movies.uk.msn.com/movie-awards/photos.aspx?cp-documentid=152101045&page=11



It's 6:30 am.
I've just woken up and can't get back to sleep.
Hoorah.
Switch on the computer and
log onto msn to check my emails.

Up pops MSN TODAY.
And the very first thing msn news feeds me:
WHY AVATAR MUST WIN BEST FILM.

Alright i'm curious.
Personally i think the Oscars are a total waste of time.
In case you didn't know....
and of course it isn't really written anywhere,
at some point the Oscars got bought out
by big Hollywood fat cats
who realized it was the best way to market their DVD stock.
Joe Public hasn't realised this yet.
And neither has Martin Douglas.

They should legalize torrent download for films.
That might turn the Oscars
back into the award ceremony it was meant to be.

So, back to my rant.
This rant is directed at moronic buffoons
like Martin Douglas for Msn Movies.

He writes:
"The 11 best reasons why
Avatar should win best picture."
So i read. I thought Avatar was
quite brilliant to be honest.
What a joy ride.
I mean seriously it was so much fun to watch.
But best picture.
I mean to call it the film of the year,
I watch  a lot films,
that's not something i take lightly.
Calling only one of them - The Best.
So i read Martin Douglas' review
And goodness. Not one worthy answer.

Dude, let me proudly say
your the biggest film critic douche bag ever!
I mean you haven't given it one true credit
except pointing out the biggest obvious one
that Avatar is a frikkin sci-fi film.
You know what Martin Douche - the kids got that one
with out you having to point it out.
Don't patronize me.
It makes me feel like your insulting
my intelligence. tsk tsk.

The story is un-doubtfully a
nice big blue version of Dances with wolves.
A film that won Best Picture in 1990
because it had such an original story to tell.
It also picked up awards for best directing
, best screenplay, original score, sound,
and cinematography. I mean here you go,
look at what it took to create a Best Picture.

And when it comes to stuff like the Best Picture,
you know, 'its so good' it must be claimed
as the best film of the year
we really should be awarding these new told stories.
Films that make a difference.
Silly me,  i guess  Cameron is probably going to win
as he did with Titanic.
Gee, i wonder how he came up with THAT brilliant idea.
Oh yea, it bloody happened already.

I will have to agree with all of the Oscar nomination categories
that Avatar is in , apart from the best picture.

The BEST PICTURE award should contain
two of the following :

Best Writing for adapted screenplay
Best Writing for original screenplay
Best Directing

I mean what we are looking for that makes a great film,
must have all the elements.
Great acting, story, picture, score.
But the two main elements really, a great story and directing.
And check it out Martin Douglas,
they didn't nominate best writing
because its stolen idea.

So 6 reasons why Martin Douglas is a douche:
1. Pointing out the obvious makes me feel like a moron Martin
-how dare you!!
2. Anyone who favors Cameron over Tarantino
for anything post Abyssis - definitely a douche-bag.
3. Put that 'message' in a bottle and shove it up your a$$.
4. Actually claiming  how much money a film has raked in
determines its worth as a film, definitely makes you the biggest
douche-bag film critic ever.
5. As enjoyable as this film was, i've seen better films this year,
the fantastic Mr.Fox, Precious, Clold Souls, The Informant,
The Lovely Bones even.
6. He didn't leave any contact details for me to rant this right to his face.

Martin Douglas probably gets out of the office
from writing these horrible reviews for Msn that he doesn't know that
there are more movies than the ones advertised everywhere,
once again making him top film douche-bag.


I couldn't find a picture of Martin Douglas or a contact email.
So i hope this picture of a douchebag i found on google will do.

Agora written and directed by Alejandro Amenábar

This is a very interesting movie.
which unfortunately left my heart with little sympathy for those
of Christian belief.


Following the events which led up to
the death of Hypatia of Alexandria,
Amenabar's epic historical film tells
the story of the uprising of Christianity
and its intolerance with other surrounding beliefs.

Later reading would tell me some cool things such as this.
The agora was a place of assembly in ancient Greek states.
People would gather to hear statements
from ruling kings and council
Agora also served as a marketplace 
where merchants kept stalls or shops to sell their goods. From this twin function of the agora as a political and
commercial space came the two Greek verbs
αγοράζω, agorázō, "I shop",
and αγορεύω, agoreýō, "I speak in public".
The word agoraphobia, the fear of critical public situations,
derives from agora in its meaning as a gathering place.


Rachel Wiesz portrays Hypatia (aren't these old Greek names just the coolest!),
a philosopher and scientist who i think wise beyond her years.
I just feel for the enlightened few of yesteryear who became victim of primitive
ignorance. I knew if were alive back then i would have been burnt at the cross
for heresy or worse.


I didn't know that she hypothesized that the Earth was not at the centre of the universe.
And had proved it. And this happened 1,400 years before Copernicus.
But we never got to learn this because early Christians burnt all records of it.
One of the saddest moment in this film is when the Christians are let into an ancient library
and burn it to the ground as it was a pagan library.
Surely even your enemies knowledge is knowledge nonetheless ?


This movie left me feeling bitter and angry and even more - utterly disappointed
with how history was written.
Its a great film. Really.
The score is stunning. Quite original even.
Such an emotional undertone to the entire film.
Written by Dario Marianelli who scored the Soloist.


And visually the film is stunning with constant pull outs
to show off the entire landscape and our planetary relation.
Visually i think this is a very original take on this sort
of periodic film.


But be warned. If you are a devout Christian,
do the world a favour and watch this.

Daybreakers (2009) written & directed by Michael Spierig & Peter Spierig

I guess just because i love vampire movies,
doesn't mean i'm going to like all vampire movies.
And when the Spierig guys try to make this vampy city life style film
i urm... rejected it.

I did sit through the whole thing,
but the end of the film was just cluttered in clichés.
And so many loose ends too, just tied up without much thought.
The "redeeming sacrifices" need to stop in film making as far
as im concerned.
You know, the one wherethe 'bad guy' has a change of heart,
and lets himself die in order to save the good guys.
Its a pointless death,
and i think Hollywood has abused this so much
- i just no longer care.

Tell you what,
here are some positive notes
to this tragic vampire movie,
Sam Neil is once again a cool villain.
Ah yes, the degenerate vampires
- could have done with a lot more of these.
The idea, humans are going extinct
and the world is running out of blood for the vamps
- very very cool.
But damn, PLEASE write a better story for it.

And the bad note,
Ethan Hawke didn't get a steak through the chest.
Damn.
Another bad note, no sexy neck biting.
C'mon - its a vamp movie
and its not about ugly bat like vamps.
Get some skin in.

As far as vampire movies go,
better than some but still a bad film.

The Men Who Star at Goats (2009) directed by Grant Heslov screenplay by Peter Straughan based on a book by Jon Ronson

Fantastic.
Fabulous.
Frivolous.
Frantastical ?! yea ?

Stupendous film.
Gotta love Clooney in these quirky roles.
But with a cast like Clooney, Mcgregor, Spacey & Bridges,
seriously - are you gona fuck up? Hell no.
The cool of cool.
Superb casting.
And what a killer story line.
Peaceful Jedi Soldiers.
JEDI SOLDIERS!!
And they say that repeatedly through out the film.
We aren't soldiers, we are Jedi.
Hell yes!!
F*** YES !!

The Jokes are killer, the directing and execution
was just flawless for me.
Hippy soldiers praying to each other.
What a brilliant joke.
Oh yea, Avatar tough guy runs into a wall.
Let's laugh again!

I could watch this again very soon.
Its a classic already.

Triangle (2009) written & directed by Christopher Smith

I guess i could sum up this film as
a very violent Groundhog Day.

Don't get me wrong.
There is no slagging of this film.
Its f***ing brilliant.
Start to finish.
I loved it.

It didn't get boring.
It didn't get slow.
But it did get real strange.
And i like strange.

The plot is super original.
It really is.
I couldn't say anything more without
creating a complete spoiler.
So i suppose this is just a straight up
big recommendation.

Finding Bliss (2009) written & direct byJulie Davis

Cute film.
And I am almost certain... its partially biopic.
Leelee Sobieski stars as the heroine of the film
A promising film school graduate,
who after months of rejection in Hollywood,
finds work as a film editor for a porn studio.
*ahem*.. 
That's right.
We don't say porn.
We say Adult Entertainment.

There are a lot of giggles to be had here.
The casting in particular was quite hilarious.

I have to say, I find Sobieski to be a very cool
actress. Though I'm not sure why, I just do.

Denise Richards co-stars here along with
Jamie Kennedy - who gets his cock out.
But not with Richards - Damn.
Damn again.


Damn one more time.

Right, my second complaint.
For a film based around the sex industry,
we could have done with a lot more 
boobs and less of Kennedy's dong.

Overall a funny film.
A sweet rom-com with a pornographic surrounding.
Far from the daring brassiness of Stone & Parker's Orgazmo.
And yes - Ron Jeremy is in this one too!
Orgasmo

The tag line for the film was
Girl Meets Porn

and from this i guess they didn't stray too much.

I think I just would have preferred to have seen her 

about 5 years down the road, a bit more into it.

FUNNY ADS #001 - new job career builder

Since I was bold enough to introduce
GENIUS ADS
http://iamavideojunkie.blogspot.com/2010/02/genius-ads-002-low-low-cheese.html
why not FUNNY ADS.
(getting bored now aren't I. - no I'm not dammit!!)


so here we go.

An annoying ad that is also hilarious.

GENIUS ADS #002 - Low Low Cheese

I thought I would add a segment to my blog - titled GENIUS ADS.
Its what it is really.
What I think are the genius ads we see on television ( thought I don't even watch it).


I have titled this one no.2
no.1 can be viewed here
http://iamavideojunkie.blogspot.com/2010/01/honda-can-hate-be-good.html

This has got to be the BEST cheese ad EVER - no discussion.

The advert titled Mouse Trap was done by FALLON LONDON advertising agency for LowLow Cheese (KERRY FOODS company) in United Kingdom. It was released in the October 2009. Business sector is Dairy products.

Credits:

• Client: Phil Chapman
  Brief: To launch LowLow from Kerry Foods in the UK - a new lower fat mature cheese with 1/3 less fat than regular cheese, but with all the taste.
  Art Director: Gary Anderson
  Copy Writer: Tony Miller, Tony McTear
  Planner: Josh Gledhill
  Production Company: Outsider
  Director: dom&nic
  Producer: John Madsen
  Editor: Struan Clay
  Post-production: MPC
  Visual Effects Supervisor: Jake Mengers
  Audio post-production: WaveMedia
  Agency: VizeumExposureUK

Women in Trouble (2009) written & directed by Sebastian Gutierrez

High Hopes, High Anxiety , High Heels!!
With a tag line like that, how can this not be great.

This film was superbly low budget and amazingly funny.
The premise is just awesome.
Get a group of beautiful actresses and write dialogue mad enough
to be funny.

The stories of 10 different women whose lives all connect by one means
or another.
The film follows, a little girl, a few porn stars, psychologists, strippers,
 a masseuse , a bar girl and airline stewardesses
as their chance meetings with one another brings out some of the strangest
dialogue and scenarios I've ever seen.

The best moment here for me is the porn star who breaks into tears
telling a sad story of her dog who used to go down on her, it was
beaten and killed by her mother which has numbed her ability
to do girl on girl shoots with fellow actresses for fear of throwing up.
The whole scene is just brilliant and had me in stitches.

Great flick.

Big River Man (2009) directed by John Maringouin

As far as documentaries about crazy & inspiring people goes,
this one takes the cake.

Martin Strel is the worlds record holder for marathon swims.
But there's a little something more that makes him very special.
He's 53.
Very overweight.
He's an alcoholic with a gambling problem.
And teaches flamenco guitar for a living.

Before documenting Big River Man ,
he had already swam the Mississippi River and The Yangtze
and was now looking to break his previous records and set a new one.

A totally unique & crazy story.
I'm quite in shock as to what I've just watched.
A journey that lasted over 60 days and covered over
4000km.
This one has to be seen to be believed.

the blind side (2009) written & directed by John Lee Hancock based on a book by Michael Lewis

The trouble with the 1994 film Speed, is that it made a huge star
out of Sandra Bullock who really hasn't done anything good,
until now. Which is probably why its earned her that Golden Globe award.

The only reason I put this one on
is because I thought it would make me fall asleep.
But the story is so sad and heart warming,
that I defeated sleep and went to bed with this warm feeling
in my belly.

This is the story of 'Big Mike'.
Forced out of his mothers arms from the age of 7,
moving from couch to couch to the street to a gym.
Until one day,
when he is taken in and cared for by a very wealthy family,
and given every opportunity to make something of himself.

Its a true modern tale of Great Expectations.
And knowing there are such beautiful people on this planet,
puts me a in a nice warm place.

Cold Souls (2009) written & directed by Sophie Barthes

Now this is one of those superbly written films i just LOVE to watch.
Along the lines of Chalie Kaufman & Zach Helm,
the film follows actor Paul Giamatti (playing himself)
as he struggles to seperate himself from the saddened character
of the theatrical play he is preparing for.

While sitting up one night, he is informed of a company that performs
now get this - 'soul extraction and storage'.

I'm in total hysterics as he discovers his soul is a chick pea.
The whole scene played out by Strathairn & Giamatti
has to go down in history as one of films weirdest moments.

The whole premise is just totally nuts and i can't help but giggle and laugh
at every small gesture, twitch, itch, scratch or bitch uttered by Giamatti
- post extraction.
And I can't believe how I never noticed how 'cartoon' his face could be.

**little note**
Right at this moment whilst writing this
an email notification pops up from Itch Records
- and i have another giggle.

Giamatti is one of those underrated actors in Hollywood.
I guess just like Philip Seymour Hoffmann,
lacking the Hollywood chizzled features  of most better known stars
they tend to land these fiendishly brilliant roles.

I can't say more without totally ruining the plot,
but this is along the lines of
Being John Malkovich & Stranger than Fiction.
It's one of those perfect films.
One more added to the few.