The Successful Veil

I confess to being interested in box office. I really shouldn't, I know this, but I find it intricately fascinating. $100million worth of people went to see Iron Man in three days? You're kidding!? But I'm always fascinated by the smaller end of the scene. The movies box office commentators don't talk about for fear of readers clicking away "this movie didn't premier in 3000 plus screens so why should I care?" ya know?

One of the films I have been following very closely at the Australian box office is The Painted Veil. The film directed by Aussie John Curren (Praise, We Don't Live Here Anymore) and starring Ed Norton and Naomi Watts that was released a year and a half ago in America. Australia was only deemed worthy to see this acclaimed Somerset adaptation three weeks ago. It reminds me of how the UK had to wait two years for The Upside of Anger for reasons I'll never know. In the time since The Painted Veil, however, was released in American the following things have happened:

• Co-Stars Naomi Watts and Liev Shreiber have had a year-long relationship and had a child who is now ten months old,
  
  
• Watts, Shreiber and Norton have completed eleven films combined from summer blockbusters like The Incredible Hulk (Norton) and Wolverine (Shreiber) to arthouse films like Funny Games U.S. (Watts),



• The film won a Golden Globe and LAFCA Critics Award for Alexandre Desplat's score (below), as well as a Best Adapted Score win from the National Board of Review and two Independent Spirit Award nominations,



• Two films (The Departed and No Country For Old Men) have won Best Picture Academy Awards,



• Australia has had an election and change of Government, America has had seemingly year-long Democratic Party elections and Zimbabwe's President Mugabe has been voted out of office (or has he?),



• Angelina Jolie has adopted 294 babies and 13 African nations.

So it is with amusement that I see how well The Painted Veil has done at the Australian box office. In it's first week of release it was the second highest new entry on the chart, after Deception with Hugh Jackman. It debuted at #7 with takings of just under $530,000 and a per theatre average of nearly double it's nearest rival ($10,800 versus Forgetting Sarah Marshall's $6,000 at #1).

In it's second week it rose up the chart to number four, behind only Iron Man, Made of Honour (both debuts) and Forgetting Sarah Marshall. It grossed $340,500, experiencing the smallest drop of any film in the top ten. And this past weekend Veil grossed $294,000 for a number five position on the chart. So far it has grossed over $1.1mil, which equates to roughly $11million in American terms. An obvious success, I can't help but be a little bit disappointed.

If Australians - ney, anybody of any nation outside of America - make movies like this successes that's not going to stop them being released a year and a half after they premiere in the States. The Internet buzz has long gone from The Painted Veil, yet the movie is a smash hit so what's to stop the distributors just pussyfooting around release dates until they find out three years down the track that suits them? I'm still not entirely sure why we have to wait an extra month for Speed Racer.

And then Americans complain about having to wait for international movies and I just laugh myself silly.

100 Greatest Movie Posters: #20 - Suburban Mayhem

#20
Suburban Mayhem (2006)
Directed by Paul Goldman
Poster Designed by Jeremy Saunders
Film Nationality - Australia
Poster Nationality - Australia


[click to enlarge]
I've previously discussed by undying love for this poster for Paul Goldman's Aussie flick Suburban Mayhem. It's brilliant and I love it and it's amazing and perfect and stunning and just seriously great. The designer is Jeremy Saunders and he is probably my favourite poster designer at the moment. Even his rejected designs are flat out stunning (click his name at the top to have a peak). I keep meaning to devote an entry to this guy cause his designs are so fantastic.

Everything about this poster works. The movie is like an absurd pulp cartoon and the image shows it off to a tee. At Jeremy's website there is a tutorial of sorts on how he created the poster. It's really quite fascinating.

A Tale of Two Music Clips

I'm heading out soon - Mother's Day and all - so I'm not sure if I'll have time later to post anything, but I wanted to make mention of these two clips.

Clip #1
The first clip is the Romain-Gavras directed clip for French dance outfit Justice's "Stress". The song, from their album † (#6 Album of 2007). It has sparked controversy all over the world (apparently) and is one of the most viewed clips of the year on YouTube and DailyMotion. Watch it below.


I'm not going to discuss is much, except that I think it's a very good clip. It's very Romper Stomper meets La Haine, which, if you've seen those Australian and French films, you know is a frightening prospect indeed. But, the issue still rages that people will just copy the horrific acts in the clip into real life. I can't explain it much better than Adem with an E, who has written an eloquent and thought-provoking piece about it. He references Irreversible, Madonna and Aphex Twin, so right off the bat you know it's a good read. As he writes towards the end of his piece "It’s also very hard to watch; but it’s the first video clip in a very, very long time which has made me snap my back into an upright position and pay serious attention", and I couldn't agree more. 99% of video clips these days are just nothing (see the video clip of any decent pop song from last year), but "Stress"... "Stress" is good.

Clip #2
For a lighter change of pace, here is Swedish pop superstar (SHE IS, DAMMIT!) performing "Cobrastyle" on The Late Show with David Letterman. The lyrics have now been altered and it's called "Girliestyle". Or something. Enjoy.

From Great to Shit in One Easy Step

Let's look at the original theatrical poster for Ben Affleck's Oscar-nominated crime flick Gone Baby Gone:



Ooh, moody. Looks really good, love the lighting and Casey Affleck's pose feels like it mirrors the tagline "Everyone wants the truth... Until they find it." Especially having seen the movie just yesterday that line and the image ring true.

Now, let's take a look at the DVD artwork:


Say wha...?

Starfucking is one thing, but dayum! And not even one single solitary mention of the fact that the movie received a freakin' Academy Award nomination or any of the other 16 wins/nominations that supporting actress Amy Ryan received! And the change of taglines to "Hope begins where the secrets end"? What does that even mean? If you've seen the movie then you know hope most certainly does not begin when the secrets end. They've also brightened the sunset in the background so now it's more pretty than mournful atmospherics.

And do you notice that the buildings in the distance are different in the poster and the DVD? Really, what is the point of editing Casey Affleck onto a different skyline? Is there something offputting about the skyline from the poster? Something as offputting as Ben Affleck's name, which doesn't appear on either the poster or the DVD art?

Coming Soon to a Sofia Coppola Soundtrack Near You!

I just saw this video clip for M83's "Graveyard Girl" on Video Hits First and doesn't it sound exactly like the sort of music Sofia Coppola includes on her soundtracks? I was surprised to discover that the producer of their new album Saturdays = Youth also produced for the Cocteau Twins, Sigur Ros and Seude.

UMA Award Preview: Best Actor

Casey Affleck Josh Brolin George Clooney Chris Cooper Brendan Cowell Daniel Day-Lewis Johnny Depp Romain Duris Samuel L Jackson James McAvoy Ulrich Mühe Matthew Newton Simon Pegg Gordon Pinsent Sam Riley Thomas Turgoose

WHO WILL BE NOMINATED

WHO WILL WIN

...coming soon...

Exploiting Oz

With the Sydney Film Festival announcing their line up it's time for the Melbourne International Film Festival to start whispering about what they're going to be programming. I went last year and had a blast seeing movies like David Lynch's INLAND EMPIRE and Zhang Ke Jia's Still Life amongst others.

In yesterday's The Age I came across this delightful piece of information:

Complimenting the premiere of Not Quite Hollywood will be a season of "Ozploitation" films, which includes a rare screening of Brian Trenchard-Smith's Dead End Drive-In, hailed as one of the greats by Ozploitation aficionado Quentin Tarantino (whose invitation to participate in the festival is in the mail, we are told).

Many months ago whilst researching the 100 Greatest Film Posters of All Time countdown I came across the poster for Dead End Drive-In (below) and fell in love with it. Ever since then I have wanted to see this flick, but the only method of doing so was by purchasing it off of eBay.

Guess what I did just last week?

Yeah, you guessed right. I had purchased it just last week!

Thankfully it was only $11 (inc. postage) so even if it's bad I won't lose out too much. But, I guess, if it is really good then maybe I should try and see it on the big screen of the Melbourne International Film Festival with, hopefully, Quentin Tarantino on hand.


Fun Fact - Dead End Drive-In stars Lyn Collingwood. LYN COLLINGWOOD, people! She's Colleen! COLLEEN, people! COLLEEN!!!!

100 Greatest Movie Posters: #21 - Attack of the 50ft Woman

#21
Attack of the 50ft Woman (1958)
Directed by Nathan Juran
Unknown Designer
Film Nationality - USA
Poster Nationality - USA


[click to enlarge]
As if a movie with the title ATTACK OF THE 50ft WOMAN needed anything else to entice would-be audience members, I think this classic poster seals the deal. It is routinely named on the greatest posters ever and for good reason. It follows the one and only rule of disaster movie posters: SHOW THE DISASTER! If you do that then people will show up. Hell, it's a fundamental rule of any poster, really! Show off what you got. And in the case of this classic sci-fi paranoia b-movie from the '50s, what they got is a giant woman reeking hell and destruction.

Really, I don't know how this poster could have failed. I also don't know how it could be any better.

UMA Award Preview: Best Actress

Amy Adams Brenda Blethyn Nikki Blonsky Joan Chen Julie Christie Laura Dern Kate Dickie Carice von Houten Angelina Jolie Ashley Judd Nicole Kidman Keira Knightley Ellen Page Christina Ricci Molly Shannon

WHO WILL BE NOMINATED?

WHO WILL WIN?

...coming soon...

Sydney Film Fest Announces Line-Up

I don't live in Sydney, y'all know that, but I thought I'd mention this anyway. Organisers for the 55th Annual Sydney Film Festival announced their lineup and, interestingly, they have decided to create a competition field like Cannes or Berlin, just... ya know, not as prestigious (although that's the aim, apparently, to make the fest more world recognisable and such.)

The $60,000 prize is up for grabs between 12 films:

Happy-Go-Lucky (UK) - The fest's opening night film is this Mike Leigh (Secrets & Lies, Topsy Turvy) comedy, which has already garnered praise and Oscar buzz. It screens June 4 (7.30pm) and June 5 (10.00am)

Hunger (UK) - The debut film by British artist Steve McQueen focuses on the last six weeks of a jailed IRA member who went on a hunger strike. It screens June 7 (9.15pm) and June 9 (10.00am)

In Bruges (UK) - The acclaimed crime comedy by Oscar-winning short director Martin McDonagh (Six Shooter) and starring Colin Farrell and Ralph Fiennes. It screens June 14 (6.30pm) and June 15 (10.00am)

Lake Tahoe (Mexico) - The second film by Mexican director Fernando Eimbcke (Duck Season) has already won prizes at Berlin. It follows a boy who wanders the streets of his small town after he crashes the family car. It screens June 12 (6.30pm) and June 14 (10.00am)

My Winnipeg (Canada) - A Canadian film God, Guy Maddin (Dracula: Pages from a Virgin's Diary) presents his vision of his hometown of Winnipeg. I have heard nothing but superlative things about this film and I'd definitely try and check it out if it screens at the Melbourne Film Festival. It screens June 10 (7.30pm) and June 11 (10.00am)

Quiet Chaos (Italy) - Italian TV director Antonio Luigi Grimaldi directs this romantic drama. It won a couple of awards for it's music at David di Donatello awards earlier this year as well as playing at Berlin. It screens June 6 (6.30pm) and June (10.30am)

Rain of the Children (New Zealand) - New Zealand filmmaker Vincent Ward (Map of the Human Heart, River Queen < < teehee) directs this docu-drama that follows the life of an elderly Tuhoe woman while also reimagining what her life may have been like since Ward first documented her in 1978's In Spring One Plants Alone. It screens June 7 (6.30pm) and June 8 (10.30am)

Silent Light (France/The Netherlands/Germany/Mexico) - This film by Mexican director Carlos Reygadas (Japón) has won many awards from festivals all over the world (Cannes, Chicago, Rio, etc) and is about a man's challenged faith. It screens June 5 (6.30pm) and June 6 (10.00am)

The Square (Australia) - The first of two Australian competition titles comes from prolific short director Nash Edgerton and is written by and stars his brother Joel (still carrying goodwill from the amazing Secret Life of Us). It also stars Anthony Hayes, Peter Phelps, Keiren Darcy-Smith and rising actress Claire van der Boom. The Square is described as a "suburban noir" and is a crime thriller. It screens June 15 (6.30pm) and June 16 (10.00am)

I really like this artwork from the film's official site, too, for some reason.


Stop-Loss (USA) - Kimberley Pierce's followup to Boys Don't Cry comes some nine years after that shot the likes of Hilary Swank and Chloe Sevigny to stardom and Oscar nods. Stop-Loss stars Ryan Phillippe, Channing Tatum, Abbie Cornish, Victor Rasuk and Joseph Gordon-Levitt in a drama about the after-effects of the Iraq war on a group of men from Small Town, USA. It screens June 13 (6.30pm) and June 14 (11.50am)

Three Blind Mice (Australia) - *note, this film doesn't have an IMDb page yet* - The second Aussie entry is another Iraq-themed "psychological drama", directed and written by Matthew Newton, who also has a supporting role. It deals with three men (Ewen Leslie, Toby Schmitz and Newton) on the night before they get shipped off to war. It screens June 8 (6.30pm) and June 10 (10.00am)

Tôkyô Sonata (Japan) - The director of films like the original Pulse and the Palme d'Or-nominated Bright Future Kiyoshi Kurosawa returns with this homage to not only '60s Japanese film, but also - apparently - Jacques Tati. It has been selected for the Un Certain Regard field at this year's upcoming Cannes Film Fest. It stars Koji Yakusho who may recognise as the father of Rinko Kikuchi in Babel. It screens June 11 (6.30pm) and June 12 (10.00am)

If you live in NSW and want to know more, Click on over to the official site.

This Week on Australian Screens

Cinema Releases for the 08/05/08
Captivity - This is the infamous Roland Joffe-directed horror torture porn flick starring Elisha Cuthbert. I'm not sure what's more disturbing: those horrible termination billboards or the fact that the movie's IMDb profile page suggests that if you like Captivity you should also check out

The Godfather Part II

Pan's Labyrinth

The Basketball Diaries

Christ on a bike!


The Counterfeiters - It won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, yet somehow I doubt it's as good as The Lives of Others, which will feature prominently in the upcoming UMA Awards.

Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day - How much does this movie scream "DVD!"? Answer: A lot!

Smother - A "comedy" starring Diane Keaton, Liv Tyler and Dax Sheperd (who I am still clueless about). It looks truly awful. Even worse than the movie below. Previously discussed here.

What Happens in Vegas... - There are no words to describe how badly I do not want to see this movie.

DVD Releases for the Week 08/05/08
27 Dresses - This rom-com starring Katherine Heigl, which I very much liked. Fun fact, that entry that I just linked to ("27 Reasons to see 27 Dresses") was the most viewed entry in the history of Stale Popcorn. Bizarre.

The Ex - Zach Braff battles with a wheelchair-bound Jason Bateman for the love of Amanda Peet. Or something. Sounds shithouse.

I Am Legend - Yeah whatever, this movie sorta sucked.

PS I Love You - The promise of Lisa Kudrow and Gina Gershon in the same movie is ever so tempting, but... but... Hilary Swank! Dead Husband! Love Letters! etc!

Waitress - I can't recall ever discussing this flick by the late Adrienne Shelley. My main issue with the film was that it was really awkwardly done. Like, it would go from a deeply dramatic scene about domestic violence and then a second later we're meant to be giggling about this pregnent woman having an affair. SO FUNNY! :/

Linday Lohan is "Bossy"

Part of my love for Lindsay Lohan (which, I'm sad to say, still flutters) is because of her music career. Granted, calling it a career is a bit of a stretch, but Speak was a great pop album and A Little More Personal (Raw) was surprisingly effective. So when news spread that she was planning on making a "comeback" to music I was quietly excited. Rumours that she wanted to work with Timbaland were worrisome, but now a new song has leaked (!!!) and, wait for it, it's sort of awesome!

Listen to it below with a hilarious fan-made illustration in the background!



Did you love it? DID YOU LOVE IT? Cause I did. This goes back to the Speak vibe, but a bit more clubby, which considering where she used to spend most of her time (er, clubs) it surprised me she'd never really gone there before. This is just the perfect sort of song for Lindsay. It's got a great hook, it's fun, it's mainstream enough to get her some attention, a little bit "urban" but very dancey so you know it could work in the clubs. And, to top it all off, it's cheeky.

Bring on album number three, I say!

Great Moments in Television History #72

Watching At the Movies last night allowed me to bare witness to one of the greatest and most hilarious moments in the history of television. EVER! In David and Margaret's one star review of What Happens in Vegas (that dreadful looking Ashton Kutcher/Cameron Diaz movie out this week) there was this glorious exchange between the two:

DAVID: What happened to Cameron Diaz?

MARGARET: I don't know, but Ashton Kutcher is really unimpressive...

DAVID: Tell me about Ashton Kutcher? What do we know about him?

MARGARET: Well, I don't know except that I think some people might think he's good looking.

DAVID: Oh, okay.

MARGARET: And hence...

DAVID: He's married to somebody, isn't he?

MARGARET: I don't read the gossip columns, David, I'm sorry.

DAVID: Okay. All right. Nor do I.
Love has a name and it is David Stratton and Margaret Pomeranz.

When Bad Posters Strike: Sex & the City: The Movie [German Version]

I feel that I should preface this entry with a note. I am dying to see Sex & the City: The Movie. I have wanted to see it for ages. Watching all the repeats just gets me more psyched. I loved the show. I loved the four ladies. I love the four ladies solo and together. I don't care if they not-so-secretly hate each other, whether it be behind their backs or to their faces.

Which brings me, funnily enough, to their actual faces...

[click to enlarge... if you dare!]
...those are some majorly photoshopped heads! Do any of those faces belong the bodies below them? Kim Cattrall's head just looks so completely and utterly disembodied that it appears to just be floating a few inches away from her shoulders. Notice, she has no neck. And what is up with that hair? Is that hair tied in a scrunchy at the back, cause it's totally a grade five "I'm gonna grow my hair til it reaches my knees" sorta 'do.

Cynthia Nixon (*sigh* we love Cynthia Nixon, she's our favourite) on the other hand looks like they extended her next by a few inches. It makes her look vaguely alien-ish, no? And, in case they didn't get the memo, Nixon is only gay in her real life. Her character Miranda is straight and married with a child so why is the body beneath that strange head so mannishly posed?

Sarah Jessica Parker is... well... umm... er... HOLYMOTHERFUCKINGHELL!!!WHATISSHEWEARING???! It's like a mother of pearl threw up on her through a stained glass window. Is she wearing a sleeved cape?

A SLEEVED CAPE?!?
And then we get to the lovely Kristen Davis who, let's face it, is the only normal looking one on this god forsaken poster. She looks pretty and that dress is smokin'. However, the one issue I have with her is that she appears to be looking directly into SJP's giant national security level hairdo. How can she see through that thick mop?

And then you have Sarah looking at street level to the right, while Kim Cattrall is looking vaguely forward and up, yet Cynthia Nixon is starring at something else entirely in the right side of a sky. Maybe she saw the mothership arriving in New York City to return Ms Nixon, aka Queen of the Four Planet Alliance, to her rightful home in the universe (Saturn, naturally). Her face is whiter than the others, maybe her intergalactic spaceship is using it's high beams?

via via.

100 Greatest Movie Posters: #22 - Amator

#22
Amator aka Camera Buff
Directed by Krysztof Kieslowski
Poster Designed by Andrzej Krauze
Film Nationality - Poland
Poster Nationality - Poland


Talk about attention grabbing design! The man has a camera lens for a face! In case you didn't quite get that, let me say it again:

THE MAN HAS A CAMERA LENS FOR A FACE!!
I am not exactly a fan of Polish or Czech poster work. I tend to find it is messy and absurd in all the wrong ways, not to even mention they have nothing to do with the movie and just look like grade two art projects. I think there's been one or two on the countdown so far and there's one more to come, but, yeah, generally all the acclaim the posters from those countries get is lost on me.

This one, however, I think is great. It takes the central theme of the movie - cameras etc - and transplants it into a breathtakingly original, daring and amazing poster. I really can't say it enough, but the man has a camera lens for a face. If I didn't know better I'd think Amator (or Camera Buff as it's commonly known in English speaking countries), by legendary director Krysztof Kieslowski, was actually a Peeping Tom style thriller. But, really, what it all comes down to in the end is that the man has a camera lens for a face and that is brilliant.

Thank God for SAW

No, not the nihilistic torture movie franchise, but music producers Stock, Aitken and Waterhouse. During their peak of the mid-to-late '80s and early '90s they were unstopple hit making machines. They had many protege's over the time - most famously Kylie Minogue - but one of my personal faves is Hazell Dean. She probably didn't need SAW to make her hits, her voice was so good anyway, but once she ventured away from that territory the hits vanished. The HiNRG genre tended to do that to a lot of performers during its hey day.

My absolutely favourite Dean track is "Whatever I Do (Wherever I Go)", but it does not appear to be anywhere on YouTube (!) so instead here's the clip for the also awesome "Who's Leaving Who?" Love the houseparty towards the end. An '80s dance cures all the world's ills, I am sure of it!

100 Greatest Movie Posters: #23 - Aelita: Queen of Mars

#23
Aelita: Queen of Mars (1924)
Directed by Yakov Protazanov
Poster Designed by Borisov
Film Nationality - Soviet Union
Poster Nationality - Soviet Union


You know, I looked at many many posters in the research for this project and one thing that I routinely came across were posters for science fiction films that didn't take advantage of the fact that their movie was set in space. And then came along this poster - although at the time I thought it was for a movie called Journey to Mars, yet no movie by that title seems to exist and this Aelita title was the closest to it - which, even though the film it represents is hardly even set in space, still feels grand and epic in it's space-aginess (new word!)

Sure, I'm not expecting movies like Contact or the like to be all space age, but could it hurt Lost in Space (and it's ilk) to throw in some colour? Ya know? Meh, whatever, I still have this beautiful futuristic image to satisfy.

Dannii's Xanadu

Here is a clip I meant to post about last week. It's international music sensation Kylie's sister Dannii Minogue performing the Olivia Newton-John classic "Xanadu" on the finale of that awful It Takes Two "talent" show. Now, Dannii has actually recorded a version of this track for her Club Disco album, which got a digital release last year and is now getting a physical release here in Australia. It features all her singles since 2003's Neon Nights (stuff like "Perfection", "You Won't Forget About Me" and her best song ever, give or take "Disrememberance", "So Under Pressure") as well as a bunch of new stuff. The version of "Xanadu" on Club Disco, however, is much more... erotic. Yes, that's a good way of describing it. All sensual and slow-burn.

Anyway, watch it and enjoy the universe implode in a ball of gayness. Hazaa!

Sparro Break

Because I'm really digging this new song by Sam Sparro - I suppose it helps that it sounds like he has borrowed the bassline of Goldfrapp's classic "Ooh La La" as well as Madonna's "Like it or Not" - here's the clip. We need more clips where men wear dapper tops 'n' tails and do choreographed routines. Really, we do.



Considering this guy was born in Australia I'm surprised the Aussie media haven't already tagged him as "Our Sam" or "Our Sparro". They do it with people who weren't even born here, let alone those who were. And this guy has a #2 hit song in the UK. He's practically a awesome-mega-superstar.

And I may be assuming too much here, but it's nice to have a gay pop singer who isn't Will Young.

100 Greatest Movie Posters: #24 - The Italian Job

#24
The Italian Job (1969)
Directed by Peter Collinson
Unknown Designer
Film Nationality - UK
Poster Nationality - UK


[click to enlarge]
Not only is this poster for the 1969 original The Italian Job effortlessly cool - much like the movie itself - what with star Michael Caine sitting in a leather chair wearing a fashionable (Italian, I presume?) suit with shiny black boots and leather gloves holding a cup of coffee and a big gun. And then you throw in the topless girl that hints to you about the "sexy thrills" that will follow.

I just love the idea of using a woman's bare back to show the audience what "the italian job" exactly is (aka, a heist) and I think it's a really original method of doing so. Michael Caine sitting with his gun and coffee is great, but sitting alongside a naked map? Classic.

All That Glitters etc

Santogold
Santogold
*****
The cover of Santogold's debut self-titled album features the American singer-songwriter literally vomiting gold glitter. If you're going to use an image to introduce yourself to the listening public then why not that? I make mention of the fact that Santogold is indeed American because upon first listen to her album I thought for sure this girl was British. Or at least European. Or, hell, considering the presense of bhagra beats, maybe Indian?

The sounds that Santogold (aka Santi White) surrounds herself with on the album is the polar opposite of what is "hot" in American right now, but no matter where she is from Santogold is - for this listener, anyway - bound to go down as one of the greatest albums of the last ten years. Yes, it's that good.

Early singles "Creator" and "L.E.S. Artistes" are decent indicators of where the album will take the listener. The former with it's epic tribal beats and the latter with it's stripped back hip-hop. "Creator" is very much in the M.I.A. vein of things, a comparison that was bound to surface with her use of dancefloor beats and underground hip-hop. But the album is more than just another M.I.A. record. There are influences by the likes of The Pixies, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The Cure and Bjork. Santogold is one of the rare albums that takes the influences and actually twists them into something altogether new, and doesn't just copy.

When Santogold isn't imploding the dancefloor on tracks like "Shove It" (with it's repeated hook of "we think you're a joke / shove your hope it don't shine") or with the Switch and Senden remix of "You'll Find a Way" (turning an already five-star track into a, i dunno, 7.5 star song?) White is churning out stunning rock pieces.

"I'm a Lady" sounds like The Pixies as fronted by Karen O and you know you've imagined what that would sound like at some point - okay, so maybe you hadn't, but you have now - and the eerie "Anne" ("My name is Anne / I got a plan") with it's werewolf howls (literally, she HOWLS!!) recalls The Cure circa "All Cats Are Grey". "My Superman" is another stellar track, with it's hard dark beats and chorus vocals that glide. Amazing stuff.

The album's major highlight - the jewel in the crown if you will - is the mindblowing "Lights Out". Three minutes of literal perfection. A chorus that sounds like honey over a riff that recalls the greatest moments of '90s indie rock. It's surprising how simply gorgeous "Lights Out" is. In fact, it's surprising how gorgeous the whole album is. For an album that starts it's relationship with the buying public with the image of throwing up glitter it sounds immaculately beautiful, yet Santogold knows when to shed the beauty and just go hell for leather. Santogold is an amazing debut achievement and one I won't soon forget.

The Greatest Clip Known To Mankind

Okay, I say that a lot, but this clip is really really really great. I've been watching the first two seasons of How I Met Your Mother on DVD this past week. I've grown to love it, it's very very funny. I mean, really? The Cockamouse? Swarley? Very genius. However, nothing (and I repeat NOTHING) could have prepared me for this. Robin Sparkles' "Let's Go To The Mall".

Let's go to the mall everybody /
Come on Jessica /
Come on Tori /
Let's go to the mall /
You won't be sorry /
Put on your jelly bracelets /
And your cool graffiti coat /
At the mall having fun /
Is what it's all aboot

GENIUSetc!

I seriously haven't laughed this hard in aaages. "I'm gonna rock your body 'til Canada Day." And that ROBOT! Just... wow. Brilliant.

100 Greatest Movie Posters: #25 - The Stepford Wives

#25
The Stepford Wives (1975)
Directed by Bryan Forbes
Unknown Designer
Film Nationality - USA
Poster Nationality - USA


[click to enlarge]
Yet again, as I've said will be a recurring theme as we get towards the top of the countdown, the poster for Bryan Forbes' original The Stepford Wives features a totally eye-catching central image to which the poster is merely a canvas to show off. It's an eerie thought-inducing image that sells the movie's central mystery.

The theme was reused several years ago for the poster of Adaptation.


And, not surprisingly, that poster was one of the best of it's year too.

The Hair That's Taking Over The Nation

So, you know how there's that bit in Margaret Cho's hilarious I'm the One that I Want where she's talking about how the ABC network told her her face was too big to be on American TV? Yeah, remember that? And she was all "I had no idea I was this GIANT FACE TAKING OVER AMERICA!!!!HERECOMESTHEFAAAAACE!!!"

Yeah?

Well, that's what I thought about this new poster for Sex and the City, except instead of Sarah Jessica Parker's face, it's her hair. HER GIANT HAIR!!!HERECOMESTHEHAAAIR!!! I imagine the States will just be a big giant mass of hair by the end of next week.


It's called a salon, love.

At least this confirms though that Sex and the City: The Movie is rated R in America - for "STRONG SEXUAL CONTENT, GRAPHIC NUDITY AND LANGUAGE". If it were to be PG-13 I think I'd shoot someone.

This Week on Australian Screens

I, for whatever reasons I had at the time, didn't do this for the past few weeks. Some of the more high profile releases (for better or worse) have been Black Water, Deception, The Edge of Heaven, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Gone Baby Gone, Horton Hears a Who, How She Move, Lars and the Real Girl, Nim's Island, The Painted Veil, Paris, Prom Night, Semi-Pro, Smart People, Street Kings, U2: 3D and Untraceable

Cinema Releases for the Week 01/05/08
Cactus - A new aussie flick from first time writer-director Jasmine Yuen Carrucan (fun fact - she worked on Kill Bill, Vol. 1!omg). The word "cactus" in the setting of this movie is actually a piece of aussie slang. If you're "cactus" then you're dead. And considering this movie is about a botched kidnapping in the desert, that title seems quite apt. Features Bryan Brown and Shane Jacobson (Kenny!) in small roles.

Iron Man - Hopefully this is a good omen for the "summer" to come, with Iron Man getting a release here the same week as America. Of course, I speak and the bad luck begins - a quick check of Speed Racer's IMDb page shows me that that movie isn't out until June 12 even though it's out next week in America. Goodo.

Made of Honour - Oh god, I saw the trailer for this at Forgetting Sarah Marshall and it looked aaaawful. Like, I'd rather see What Happens in Vegas before Made of Honour. Although kudos on changing to the correct way of spelling "honour" for the Australian/UK release.

Moliere - I'm going to use this opportunity to post some picture of Romain Duris. Purely because he's dreamy and he stars is this sort of French Shakespeare in Love (apparently).





Just... but... umm... SERIOUSLY! I love this man.

Silk - I love me some Keira Knightley but daaamn! And, really? Michael Pitt? Why does he still get cast in, like anything?

To the Limit - A sport documentary, also known as Am Limit.

DVD Releases for the Week 01/05/08
Again, some of the high profile DVD releases of the last few weeks are 1408, Away from Her, Bee Movie, Beowulf, Death at a Funeral and No Country for Old Men.

Atonement - I very much want to see this Oscar-winner again to see whether the misgivings I have towards the middle act of the film in retrospect are real or nothing more than my own silly "well, if so many people are ragging on this movie maybe they're right?" peer pressure habits. We'll see.

Caracombs - Some sort of horror movie. Sure to be claustrophobic. It does, however, Star P!nk, which could make it hilarious.

The Golden Compass - I just wanna see the sequels!

The Last Legion - I'd never heard of this movie before (and if I had I'd forgotten) and then I saw the cast and it stars Ben Kingsley. That's really all there is to be said, really. Unless he's in an Oscar prestige movie, he's more of a curse than Jackie O.

Southland Tales - Let me just say that again: SOUTHLAND TALES!!!!! I have been waiting for far too long to see this and it's going direct-to-DVD, but I don't care. Bring it on!

Scottish Vacuum of Charm

I just found this clip from several months ago on YouTube. It's of James McAvoy guesting on Craig Ferguson's chat show. So much accent! I also like that James called out Americans on how they actually pronounce "Craig". I've always wondering why they say "Creg".

The Progression of The Strangers

The upcoming horror flick The Strangers, starring Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman (and, oddly, Australian model/actress Gemma Ward as one of the masked villains), has had a long road to it's release. It's been pushed back so many times you would think the Weinstein brothers had a hand it it's release. One aspect of the film's journey to the screen, however, that has been anything but frustrating is the marketing campaign. There have been three entirely differing posters released as well as several trailers.


This was the first poster released and it follows in the popular trend of making your theatrical poster look like one that's been locked away in a vault for 20 years with the fold creases and the faded look. The border, too, is a great touch as posters back then used to have borders all the time (for whatever reason). I really like this poster. It's very unsettling, I just think that the mask to the left is far scarier than the one they've focused on in the centre. The trailer focuses more on the baghead mask, so I think they realised that it was scarier than this old porcelain like mask. Still, it's very creepy.

Am I the only one freaked out when horror movies use "BASED ON TRUE EVENTS" in their marketing? Even if, like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, it's a stretch to make such claims, it's just bound to rattle people (myself included, obviously).


This design if probably the weakest of the three, but I like what they were going for. Trying to show that this is like a moment from some old snuff film or something like that. This is the design that what probably created to get the gore crowd interested (those who only go to the movies to see the blood pour)


I have complained about movie posters before that simply use a movie still and throw on a title and call it a poster, but as I commented about David Lynch's Eraserhead poster (#31 Greatest Movie Poster of All Time) I don't mind as much when the still you are using is so strong, and that's what they've done on this third (and, I imagine, final) poster for The Strangers. They have taken the strongest moment from the trailer (below) of Liv Tyler standing in her home looking confused when suddenly a white ghost-like figure emerges from behind her, and have used it as the poster. It totally works because it sells the movie. This one image tells you so much about the film. Unlike so many, which just show you the film's star and are done with it.

It's perhaps even too subtle for some people. Not even everyone will notice the hooded man in the background. Some people I have read are even preoccupied with wondering why Liv Tyler is pointing downwards. They want the blood and the terror, but I think something as real as this doesn't need embellishment. That's why there's no retro detailings or big red text. Simply, but frightening.

The trailer is another story altogether.



That's not simple, that's not subtle. It's just downright terrifying. Definitely one of the best trailers of the year, and perhaps the best horror trailer since The Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake of '03 (y'all remember that trailer, surely). This trailer definitely makes me think those early rumours that The Strangers is actually a remake of the French horror flick Ils look quite founded, but it seems the villains (the "strangers" of the title) are much more in the forefront of this American film. In Ils you barely even saw the house invaders, this time they seem to be quite prominent.

In this trailer there are, what I like to call, "movie making moments". Moments in a trailer that sell the movie without a shadow of a doubt. This trailer has several! First is, of course, the moment immortalised on the third poster at 0:53 when the stranger appears behind Liv Tyler. The next is at 1:26 when Liv Tyler gets to absolutely scream her lungs out to the tune of a skipping record player and an axe-swinging psychopath. And then lastly is the haunting dialogue exchange at 1:48.

"Why are you doing this to us?"
"Because you were home."
And that is why I am sold on this movie. Now to just find someone willing enough to see it with me...

The Strangers is out May 30 in America and has a tentative July date in Australia. Click here for the official website.