Harry Brown Review

Directed by	Daniel Barber
Produced by	Matthew Vaughn Kris Thykier Matthew Brown Keith Bell
Written by	Gary Young
Starring	Michael Caine Emily Mortimer Ben Drew Charlie Creed-Miles David Bradley Jack O'Connell and Liam Cunningham

To view the trailer; HARRY BROWN (FULL TRAILER)


Former British marine, now pensioner, Harry Brown (Caine), resides in the projects of outer-London. A suburb entrenched in brutal teenage gang & drug warfare, lawless violence, and a youth revolution that is disputed by none - left to fester in the aftermath of heroine hits, rape, and bloody beat-downs. 
A widower, Brown, pisses away his time observing the modern world from his local, dilapidated pub. A world where brutality is a past-time and packing-heat just adds another inch to your dick. But when the gang viciously, stabs, pisses, and beats there way into Harry's chess match - civil Harry, turns just a little dirty. 


***plot spoiler - wouldn't read on if you... really, (*repeat for effect) really, want to see it. 


Let's not skip around the obvious, this is undeniably a British version of Clint Eastwood's, Gran Torino. A retired, medal soldier and ex-militant, cleans up the streets of their local dive, inevitably taking the bullet for 'the modern day' in the final acts. Their last, 'stand of glory', so to speak. Though what does this say about the modern day world? That we see violence as a means of pastime? As opposed to war, violence through honour, grandeur, and backed by the belief that you're fighting for your country. I couldn't help but revert to the quote from Franklin J. Schaffner's 'Patton' (1970) whilst thinking about this.


"Now I want you to remember that no bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country."


Thus alluding to the fact, possibly director Daniel Barber conceived the notion; War, that was once fought on the great battlefields of the past, has regressed to the slums & ghettos of our cities - what dumb bastard would die for that? 


Michael Caine is superbly cast for his role, with Emily Mortimer supporting as the appointed detective investigating the murders within the projects. Mortimer, though also giving an outstanding performance, seems lost within her character, D.I Alice Frampton. There is something overly intriguing about her, but Barber does not once detail her past; why a woman of her statue would purposely ask to investigate the slums, why she has such a fascination with Harry, and her motive for 'cleaning up the slums', one example of useless 'character development' among many. 


It seems the use of squibs in film making, is about as archaic as a bayonet in modern warfare. The post FX blood shot squirts, stab sprays (really anything to do with blood) was highly disappointing. This seems to be the case with many films made in 2009; let's skip out on the money here, as the audience surely won't notice the split second of digital add-in blood, that looks as bad as it did in Duke Nukem back on Windows 95. It is truly a shame that this is the case, and hopefully films currently in production are altering this paradigm, or else I just may continue to whine. 


Ultimately, Harry Brown, is a well-made British slum film - leaving you wanting to avoid tunnels, gangs of youths, and walking alone at night, down that one street you always avoid (unless you're packing some serious firepower). Go on, jump down the rabbit hole - check it out! 


Benjamin. 

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The Expendables Review

With the recent DVD release of quite possibly the greatest film of this year, attached below is the review that took place pre-cinema release mid-August! This film deserves a place in your DVD cabinet! Check it! 

The Expendables

Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Steve Austin, Terry Crews, Mickey Rourke

Directed/Starring Sylvester Stallone

To view the; TRAILER

If Rambo and the entire Rocky series gave birth to a child, ‘The Expendables’ would kick that kid’s arse!

With more ink than a fountain pen factory and more muscle than a Mr Universe contest, ‘The Expendables’ kept my jaw hanging past its ending and well into the car trip home! Starring every major action actor for the last thirty years (unfortunately, no Van Damme) the film is ripe with corny one-liners, big guns and bigger explosions, a dirty 80’s pub rock soundtrack, and a sweaty humid setting in Central America. It is a film that well and truly ticks all the action genre boxes. Puff your cigar proudly, Sylvester, I will be in the gym.

Benjamin. 


Written & Published for Scene Magazine, QLD 
To visit the website; www.scenemagazine.com.au

Fishing with Alexandre Aja

Piranha 3D 

Interview; Alexandre Aja

Frenchman Alexandre Aja is all about the guts, gore, and gorgeous girls in his latest Spring break splatter fish flick ‘Piranha 3D’.

Splatter flicks are few and far between in modern cinema. A popular horror sub-genre in the late 70s, early 80s, bloodshed and carnage are a plenty, so much so the films become more laughable than horrific.

“The 80s had a very specific ideology of shifting from one tone to the next. The ability to go from laughing to utter horrified, from sexy to stripper gore. I grew up watching these movies and loving them. This has been completely lost in modern horror films, where you have to stay in the tone you establish from the opening scene. I just wanted to screw all those conventions and do something very free.” Aja said.

“The film might be the most gory movie I have made so far, but it is definitely not as intense or traumatising as ‘The Hills have Eyes’, absolutely not, that is not the tone. The main goal was to entertain. Making this movie was like drawing the blue print of a roller coaster. I wanted to make something that is purely fun from beginning to end, with different visual emotions. An action adventure ride, not necessarily story or character driven. The film is about the experience, enjoying the ride!”

Possibly, one for the boys, the film revolves around thousands of perky adolescents soaking up Spring break, with boobs, bikinis, and well…more boobs.

“It is all my fault. I wanted to make a guilty pleasure, the movie I would have loved to see when I was fifteen. That includes naked girls when they are not justified.” Aja jokes

“Spring break is such an interesting phenomenon, there is so much nudity all the time. It is such a nice metaphor for ‘the American society’, with profanities, truths and evils.  Spring break allows people to be completely free for one week. I wanted the girls to look like they’re from MTV and have the Piranha really attack this world”

“We were like a big family of a thousand people shooting this film. It was really fun and very hard to focus at times, but we are shooting the Spring break, not living the Spring break.”

*Written and Published for Scene Magazine, QLD 

To visit the website; www.scenemagazine.com.au

Piranha 3D Review

Piranha 3D

Richard Dreyfuss, Ving Rhames, Elisabeth Shue, Christopher Lloyd, Eli Roth

Directed by: Alexandre Aja

On the menu tonight is beaches, blood, and boobs, in Alexandre Aja’s fish special, ‘Piranha 3D’. 

With more blood than Peter Jackson’s ‘Brain Dead’, more full-frontal nudity than ‘Cruel Intentions 3’ (if anyone has seen that), and more fish than ‘Finding Nemo’, this 3D epic truly brings back the essence of 80s splatter flicks, lots of gore and little story.

With a surprising appearance from Christopher Lloyd (the crazy professor from ‘Back to The Future’), the cast hold up well, the 3D is great, and the handpicked extras are slaughtered convincingly in the most original of ways - a guilty pleasure, from start to finish. 

*Written and Published in Scene Magazine, QLD. 

*To visit Scene Mag - www.scenemagazine.com.au 

Benjamin. 

Piranha 3D - Interview; Alexandre Aja

Piranha 3D

Interview with Alexandre Aja

Earlier this year I had a chat to the very French mastermind behind Piranha 3D, Alexandre Aja!

 

What inspired you to jump on-board the project and make the film? Who approached you to join the project?

I received the script, the premise, the beginning of the Piranha story, after I had just moved to Hollywood looking for a project to do in English. The story was really interesting because it was not written as a straight horror movie; it was much more like ‘Porkies’ or ‘American Pie’, than a monster movie. And I thought it had such an interesting tone, and then I went to do ‘The Hills have Eyes’, but I kept that script in mind, and I was always coming back to; “that would be soo fun for me to do a ‘real horror’ movie, but more in the tone of ‘The Gremlins’. More like a comedy.

What sort of splatter flicks are you into?

The latest movie that really referenced this was Peter Jackson, with ‘Brain Dead’, where it is a horror movie but the gore is really funny and never really scary. I love that, I grew up watching these movies and loving them. So, after ‘The Hills have eyes’, I was thinking about the script again and somehow, someone heard me, and came back and said; “aye, are you still interested in the Piranha film?” and I said yes, let me go back to that script that I read a couple of years before. And I want to take, the same story as written, with Piranha at Spring Break, but I wanted to develop the characters, bringing more fun, Bikinis, a tone of gore, and a tone of over the top, like an adult version of The Gremlins. The 80’s had specific ideology of shifting from one tone to the next, the ability to go from laughing to utter horrified, to sexy to stripper gore, this has been completely lost in the modern horror genre, where you have to stay in one direction, you have to stay in the tone you establish from the very beginning, and I just wanted to fuck all those conventions, and just do something very free where you can go from ‘The Grinch’, to the laugh, to the ‘OMG’. You know, a whole lot of emotions that you have and that we are playing with.

On the genre, the film is definitely a modern take on the ‘splatter film’ with

‘Wild Wild Girls’, the nudity, and the dancing, did you feel that the 80’s gore & Blood, is not enough for a modern audience?

It is all my fault. I am guilty as charged. I wanted to make a guilty pleasure, the movie I would have loved to see when I was fifteen, and that includes naked girls when they are not justified. Spring break is such an interesting time, it is such a specific phenomenon that only exists in the US, where there is soo much of that nudity all the time. If you’re are a girl and a guy gives you a big necklace then you have to flash your tits, it is like an unwritten law. It was very coherent with the world of showing this, and the idea of having some subtext of being more on the side of the Piranha, as once again, the Spring break is such a nice metaphor for ‘The American Society’, with profanities, and truth and evils, and Spring Break allows them to be completely free for one week, before going back to the everyday lives. And there is something very critical about that, that all the women are like consumption, and I wanted the girls to look like they’re from MTV and have the Piranha really attack this world. Sometimes I think we are also on the side of the Piranha which is very enjoyable, and sometimes we are on the side of the people from the town, I very much like that sort of multiple POV story telling.

Inspiration films?

For this film ‘The Gremlin’s was my first real emotion, because Gremlins is the dark side of Steven Spielberg, it is like jaws is a masterpiece. It started as a very nice family movie, and it gets into very dark places afterwards, and when I first read the script for Piranha I wanted to take that feeling that I first had as a kid, and just bring it into a more adult world. The idea for this one was to also go back to the super gore of the early Peter Jackson & Sam Rammy works, ‘Brain Dead’, were gore was dark humour and so laughable, not only scary.

Goal of the Film?

The film might be the most bloody and gory movie I have made so far, but it is definitely not as intense or traumatising like ‘The Chainsaw Massacre’ or ‘The Hills’ absolutely not, it is not the tone here, the main goal was to entertain, making this movie was like drawing the blue print of a rolla coaster, it was really creating a theme park attraction, not in a commercial way like ‘yo I want you to be happy’, I wanted to make something that is just fun from beginning to end with different visual emotions, grossed out, to being very very amused, to laughing to feeling suspense, and just to create an adventure action ride, not necessarily doing something that was story of character driven. It was really about the ride, and a fun experience!

It is the first film you have shot in 3D? How was it?

3D becomes an obvious choice for the movie during the writing process. Where we are talking about entertaining and creating that roller coaster and theme park attraction, 3D was like an extra layer to go in that direction and to create the best experience possible for the audience, so that they can be in the middle of that lake with all the bikinis, and limbs, and body parts, flying at you as you are in the massacre, but then I release that I couldn’t shoot the real 3D technology because of reasons like shooting underwater, the sun reflects differently on the surface of the water creating different lighting in both eyes, so we had to do a conversion for post production.

Everything was thought about the 3D, but then it was quite a surprise to have a conversion process that took another 6months, a freedom with creating the space and creating the depth, all the different layers, where it is an endless field. And I think it is definitely good technology, but it is such an amazing technology.

The set was a bit of a party environment?

It was a very good vibe because we had the chance to have amazing extras, selected one by one, and cast one by one, because I wanted to make sure that they’d be able to die in a believable way, screaming in a believable way, not stupid, silly extras, doing something really wrong on the background of the image. They were very involved and we were like a big family of a thousand people, and it was really fun, very hard to focus at times, but we are shooting the spring break, we are not living the spring break, not go and join the party?

Casting?

The studio and the producer thought it was completely crazy to cast every extra, but I said you know what you are going to receive extras one by one, dance, ask them to do crazy things. We had all these different Bra sets left from spring break, when you go to spring break you have all these different bra sets for different parties, so we decided to use these bra sets as a code, to say, the black bra set means you know to die, the red means you know how to dance, so that is was very easy to organise the set. We were very scared about that, and today I am very happy with the result. 

To refresh anyone's minds; here is the trailer link: PIRANHA 3D

MTV's Freshwater Blue

MTV’s - Freshwater Blue

Interview with Nicola Johnson and Luke Scott

Published in Scene Magazine, QLD; Issue #876 

Check out Scene Mag; www.scenemagazine.com.au

“Lugana Beach is about rich kids getting around in their daddy’s 200thousand dollar Merc. This is something people can actually relate to.”

Straight from Sydney’s, Northern Beaches, MTV’s newest teen, reality drama, ‘Freshwater Blue’, is undoubtedly Australian. Two thousand miles east of ‘The Jersey Shore’ or ‘Lugana Beach’, the show documents the blood and sweat of twelve adolescents, contemplating love, careers, and alcoholism…one Jägerbomb at a time!

“We’re just normal people. Everyone has their own story, their own little characteristics, past, and aspirations. It’s hard to relate yourself to Whitney or Lauren. We all have normal jobs, half of us are still living at home, and no one works at Teen Vogue!” Nicola jokes, briefly adding she wouldn’t turn it down for a season two.

Centred on Nicola, your typical ‘girl next door’, Luke, her ‘best-friend’, at 25years is much more the veteran, mentor figure, of the group. 

“The show touches heavily on life after school. It’s amazing how much has happened over the time we’ve been filming. Everyone started with a boyfriend/girlfriend; friends have changed, people have moved on. It’s not tainted and it’s rough in places, people will love it!”

Produced by Toby Yoshimura, NBC America’s, go-to ‘reality auteur’, the eight episodes cut together an entire year of filming and microphones – all the good, the bad, and the drunken moments. Filmed predominantly in Sydney, but breaching the sunny state for a Surfer’s Paradise, schoolies week, it is evident both Luke and Nicola are still adjusting to the non-presence of cameras.

“I’ve learnt so much from Toby, the way his mind works. You’re not protected against him. You don’t have your guard up. You’ll be talking to him and then, shit, a camera comes out of nowhere and it’s been shooting the whole time.” Nicola laughs. “You end up trusting Toby soo much that you pour your heart out to him.” She said.

“You become friends with all the cameramen and all the audio guys, they’re like our counsellors. So, it’s like your just hanging out really. They’re obviously living this experience alongside you. They all know what’s going on.” Luke said.

Targeted for a younger audience, the 4:30pm time-slot won’t be the most practical for those working nine to five. Even so, MTV forecasts an audience of thirteen to thirty for the teen drama! But be warned, there are down sides to reality TV stardom; attending the 2010 Arias, dates with Jason Derulo, and super slick parties with Ruby Rose is cutting the decks… sign me up for season two!

Benjamin

MTV's Freshwater Blue - Interview; Nicola Johnson & Luke Scott

MTV’s - Freshwater Blue

I have a chat to leads Nicola Johnson and Luke Scott about the hot, new reality, party series cruising around the Northern beaches for Scene Magazine, QLD. 

So, you’re fresh out of high school as of last year?

Luke: No, not for me, I’m well out. Five years out to be exact. I’m the old one, the wise one of the bunch!

Nicola: He’s the veteran!

Let’s get straight to the gossip (Luke), I’ve been reading you’ve been hooking up with Annika Tyr-Egge, the resident bad girl of the show?

Luke: I don’t know where this has come from, that there’s been something allegedly between Annika, and me. I think Kyle & Jackie-O where trying to push this pretty heavily, apparently she had a secret crush.

Supposedly (Nicola), as it goes you were a little jealous of this crush?

Nicola (laughing): Hugely jealous (sarcasm), I don’t even know if it’s true. Is it true?

Luke: You’ll just have to watch?

Nicola: (a little shaken by this), did you really?

Luke: No…. but apparently she has a crush on me.

Where about are you guys from in Sydney?

Nicola: I’m from Manly; I went to Stella Marris with about six of the other girls. Then I left in year ten and went to a performing arts school to dance.

How were you approached for the show?

Nicola: I was sent for a casting by one of my agents who did dance gigs, she said it was a bit leftfield, a documentary on kids who leave school, a cattle call gig, so I called up the girls and managed to get them all to turn up. We didn’t even know what was going on. We met another group of girls (Annika and her friends) who it turned out we knew through mutual friends.

Luke: Everyone from the North beaches knows each other no matter what.

Nicola: Then Luke came into it at New Years; he came and partied with us!

You guys obviously knew each other before hand?

Luke: I was really good mates with her ex-boyfriend, so, it’s a little twisted.

Nicola: (laughing), it’s really not so funny.

It was originally going to be a youtube streaming, how’d MTV get involved?

Luke: From what I understand it’s really hard to get shows picked up here in Aust, so originally it was going to be played out in a series for online, through youtube or for websites or so… so they trailed this, but then it was almost immediately pulled down and MTV were onboard! I couldn’t think of a better network, or demographic, for the show as well, it’s just perfect they got involved.

I’ve read its Lugana Beach meets Sydney. How’ve you been reacting to the criticism?

Luke: Lugana Beach is about rich kids getting around in their daddy’s 200thousand dollar Merc. This is something people can actually relate to

Nicola: Half of us are still living at home, we all have normal jobs, no one works at Teen Vogue!

Teen Vogue for season two?

Nicola: Maybe…

Luke: I don’t think anyone would turn that down.

Nicola: I’m in!

What makes the show special, why should we watch your lives unfold?

Nicola: We’re just normal people. Everyone has their own story, their own little characteristics, past, and aspirations. It’s hard to relate yourself to Whitney or Lauren. We all have normal jobs, half of us are still living at home, and no one works at Teen Vogue!

What sort of audience is the show aiming for?

Luke: It’s a 4:30pm time slot, so, kids coming home from school. But we’ve had interested from people all the way up to thirty, thirty to forty. So, I guess somewhere between 10yrs and thirty.

Nicola: I was walking past the beach yesterday and these three old men drove past the beach and where like “Freshy Blue!”… So, yeah, it’s getting some hype.

What sort of character would you be; the bitch, the heartbreaker, the skanky chick (Nicola)?

Nicola: I’d be the girl next door, and that’s what I’m sure people are going to relate me to be. And then Luke is ‘the boy next door’.

Luke: I’m the nice guy, but then later on in the series things get a little more hectic.

Nicola: No one is a constant character; everyone has a little blow up moment where they loose the plot.

Examples… do tell?

Luke: Oh. You might have to wait and see. But I have an alteration with one of the Nic’s schoolies boys.

What sort of message is the show trying to push?

Luke: The show touches heavily on life after school. It’s amazing how much has happened over the time we’ve been filming. Everyone started with a boyfriend/girlfriend; friends have changed, people have moved on. It’s not tainted and it’s rough in places, people will love it!

Nicola: Everything has changed so much when you think about the year that has just past. Before MTV bought the show, the original doco was about ‘life after school’; they’ve caught this 100% in the show now. You leave the comforts of high school behind.

How has this changed for you?

Luke: I now do fashion design - I’ve got a pretty good job, I’m pretty set. I think people put too much pressure on the HSC, you find your feet and you make it for yourself.

What have you learnt about TV, the celebrity game?

Nicola: I’ve learnt so much from Toby, the way his mind works. You’re not protected against him. You don’t have your guard up. You’ll be talking to him and then, shit, a camera comes out of nowhere and it’s been shooting the whole time. You end up trusting Toby soo much that you pour your heart out to him.

Luke: You become friends with all the cameramen and all the audio guys, they’re like our counsellors. So, it’s like your just hanging out really. They’re obviously living this experience alongside you. They all know what’s going on.

Do you sometimes seek them for advice? Like, Billy (camera 2), should I hook up with this guy?

Nicola: Don’t laugh we had this conversation.  But they don’t want to be bias, or anything.

Luke: They’re good at capturing the drunken moments.

Have you been attending any sweet parties recently due to the show?

Luke: Yeah, we went to the FOXTEL 100days of summer party recently, everyone was there. Ruby Rose on the decks, Erin Mcnaught, the top model girls, the FOXTEL faces. I didn’t run in with anyone, no altercations.

I read this morning about Jason Derulo?

Nicola:  I met him at the Arias. We got chatting and we hung out a bit after the Arias, which was a Sunday. Then we spent the Monday, went to his concert on Tuesday.

Is there a season two in the making?

Luke: The whole of season 1 I think people are going to want to see what happens next. I think people will love it, it’s not tainted, rough at places.

Nicola: Season 1 doesn’t even touch the surface, eight 22minute episodes, to cover an entire year… I think people are going to be holding out to see the next season.

*Following article to be posted.. incredibly soon! 

To visit the website; check out: www.mtv.com.au/shows/freshwater-blue/

To visit scene Magazine, QLD; check out: www.scenemagazine.com.au/

Sarah's Key Review

Sarah’s Key

Starring: Kristen Scott Thomas, Melusine Mayance, Niels Arestrup, Frederic Pierrot

Directed By: Gilles Paquet-Brenner 

Official Website - Sarah's Key

Official Trailer - Sarah's Key Trailer

Sometimes the key to the past is better left unturned.

Journalist, Julia Jarmond, is a New Yorker at heart, though relocated to Paris for love. She is commissioned to write a feature story on the notorious Vel' d'Hiv Roundup, the mass arrest of nearly 14,000 Jews in occupied France during WWII. Though, whilst delving deeper for the forgotten truth, Julia further unravels the connection her married French family has to the event, and in particular, a deceased Jewish girl, Sarah. Gradually, we race to uncover the mystery of Sarah, through past recollections of distant relatives, achieved through a successful use of crosscutting between war stricken Paris, to present day. This is a gutsy film of an era in French history that, President Jacques Chirac, only apologised for in 1995. Sarah’s story is undoubtedly one of courage within a time of extreme turmoil and pain. 

'Sarah's Key' opens nationally from the 23rd of December 
Published in Scenemagazine QLD