another look back at 2009 in film

ben's top ten movies of 2009 (part two)

6) A Serious Man

after winning an academy award and making universal a solid all star comedy, the coen brothers decided to make this film- a low key, personal story apparently about their upbringing.. anyways, this film was so depressingly funny and poetic and posed some really solid questions about faith and ... well, basically... WHY???

beautifully photographed by their regular collaborator roger deakins, this film is an endearing and at times testing film that demands (i believe) multiple viewings! the acting is all top class by a bunch of relative unknowns but you know you're in capable hands with the coens! and talk about an ending!! phew!

7) District 9

based on the short film - "alive in joburg" - district 9 is the first feature film from director neil blomkamp! made on a budget for next to nothing, this film looks amazing! set amongst the slums of south africa when aliens have landed on earth and become stranded, therefore becoming refugees!

this movie was such a ride and it started off with a slightly unlikable main character but by the end of the film i was crying over an alien!!! it was ridiculous! and the soundtrack is tops too! i love the way the african vocals combine with frenetic bourne ultimatum-esque action music!! twists and turns and turbulent triumphs, district 9 is so, so so much fun!!!

ok, i cannot finish this list at the moment and may have to post a part 3! i am seriously struggling to make 10 films... looking at the list of films that have been released this year it is going to be tough!!!

anyways, talk soon kids!!! xox

some of my favourite songs of the decade!

i thought i'd compile a list of top songs from the decade that had a little effect on me... i won't write much about them but the songs speak for themselves!!!

THE EDITORS - AN END HAS A START!

YEAH YEAH YEAHS - MAPS!



BLOC PARTY - FLUX



SIA - BREATHE ME (spoilers for six feet under in the following clip)



BAT FOR LASHES - DANIEL

2009 - cinema in retrospect

top ten films of 2009 (part one)

yes, it's that time of the year when losers/geeks/fanboys all around the world take time out from waiting in line for avatar or downloading bootleg copies of sherlock holmes to write a top ten films of the year! so, without any further adieu ... let's count down (in no particular order) ben's top films from 2009!!!

1) UP

pixar delivered yet another amazing film with the tale of carl fredrickson and his little asian boy scout companion - russell! the only movie i have ever seen that was able to combine talking dogs with a miscarriage montage! had me crying within the first 10 minutes and pretty much every half hour after that!

incredible animation and a storyline that is tight as a tin drum made up not just a kids movie, instead, a beautiful nod to the ups and downs of life and the experiences we have and the people we become when life perhaps doesn't go the way we planned. there is seriously something for everyone in this film!!!

2) Let The Right One In

this swedish little vampire flick but twilight to shame! but hardly anyone saw it! from it's opening frame i could tell what i was about to watch would be something truly beautiful and haunting! oscar, a 7 yr old boy who is bullied at school meets eli - a new girl in town - who seems to display some strange characteristics! SHE'S A VAMPIRE!!!!

but this story deals with the two falling in love amongst a town terrorised by strange killings and demon cats! the score to this movie by Johan Söderqvist is so moving and sad it gives me chills everytime i listen to it! the two leads are also amazing and their talent is totally on display. i only hope that the american remake from the director of cloverfield turns out to be alright, or at least brings attention to one of the most original takes on the vampire genre in a very very long time!

3) Inglourious Basterds

oh what a movie!!! a 3 hour epic about a plot to kill hitler? yes please!!! quentin delivers his tribute to cinema with this fine film that is about as full of rich dialogue as bruce bogtrotters cake was filled with chocolate! i was not expecting this film to be mostly in subtitles and i was not expecting to see an incredible performance from Christoph Waltz ! the man was unstoppable!

this movie was so much fun and the attention to detail was phenomenal! i can admit the film was a little indulgent but who cares! the finale is soooooo much fun i remember cracking up in laughter when "the shit hits the fan" !!!

4) Avatar

not by any means a well scripted story, the first flaw about this film that some of the dialogue and scenarios are absolutely horrendous.. but i was able to look past this!!! this film is the very reason you go to the movies! what an experience! i haven't seen this film in IMAX 3D but i cannot wait! james cameron created cinema history with this film and i was so happy to sit there for 3 hours! it could've been 30 minutes longer and i wouldn't have cared one bit!!

the technology of this film was so breathtaking i seriously think my jaw was on the floor the whole time! arghhh i don't know how to keep raving about this film.... it truly is unbelievable!

5) The Wrestler

i nearly forgot this film was released in 2009 (jan 15th to be precise) !!! the first heart breaking film of 2009 and a magnificent start to the year! darren aronofsky brought out a truly incredible performance from mickey rourke and in true fashion- made an ultra violent yet very humane story about a wrestler trying to fit into his life and reconnect with his daughter!

a beautiful film with some great 80's rock!!!

hello blogger my old friend

https://vr.shapeservices.com/play.php?hash=cdb1d12d9fc40ecc187cd85536bb42af0a365cf020d14b153

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Recorded on iPhone and posted with VR+ Lite.
http://vr.shapeservices.com

WOW - literally!

i thought that my fits of hunger were bad... but this is nothing compared to the kid that got his world of warcraft subscripton cancelled!!

mmm but it's gotta be a joke right?

people power

talented mofo!

The Lego Ultimatum from Keshen on Vimeo.

mother at the movies

so mum, what movie did you see?

oh, the one with that kid with cancer cameron diaz

deal or no deal or how i learnt to stop worrying about the state of australian cinema and love the bomb

hello dearest readers, how are we all going? well, it seems apparent now that everyone has completely abandoned their blogs as there hasn't been much movement around these here parts for weeks now... or in some cases, months!

i thought maybe the fact that everyone moved further away would make us update the blogs more and keep everyone in touch with what we were all up to! but yeh, doesnt look like it.

well, a little less than 6 weeks until carol goes overseas to europe and already slightly maybe starting to panic. who's going to eat asian food with me in the city, and who am i going to go to the movies with like 3 times a week?

hmmm so much going on.. but yes, the title of this blog post is the what i am here to talk about and if you've been following me on facebook you've probably seen that i had another yes, another audition for australia's favourite game show with everyones favourite drunk host, andrew okeefe!

so attended the audition with a friend of mine, and filled out the usual questions about what you'd do with the money and blah blah and your biggest fears and shit like that! it was about an hour of my life i'll never get back, but fingers crossed that i'll get chosen and win some money. because if you've been having to listen to me complain about the fact that i lent a certain individual money and havent gotten anything back, you'll certainly agree that i need some extra dollars!

after the audition, carol and i headed to nova where we got caught in the freak freakin' rain storm that nearly carried me into the sewers with its severity. no good. anyways, we arrive to see "last ride" the new australian drama with hugo weaving. i had some free tickets and had to use them up, so we rushed into the cinema to discover it pretty much empty except for the cliche oldies and gays... there were a couple of asians in there that i wasnt expecting...

but, 2 hours later!! fuck's sake! yeh, sure it was well acted and semi-beautifully shot, but fucking hell. do we need another depressing aussie drama dealing with father son relations?

omg... i had to get onto my high horse! but seriously.. why cant we make a good romantic comedy or an action movie or a musical or anything else!!!

where are the days of priscilla?? fucking hell, there's an odd movie... a bunch of queers on a bus to central australia! and it was amazing! hmmm i was so enraged and out of my mind that i actually gave up my seat to a senior citizen!

something was definately wrong. anyways, that is all.

p.s - studio execs and producers please get some balls and take some risks!!!!

politics and censorship

it seems the powers that be are trying to bring the man down. and than man is me.

i head into work for what should be another day another dollar and the moment a step into the store i hear over the loud speaker.. "ben to the managers desk.." my immediate thought was.. ohhh maybe my mac has arrived.. and i was wrong! once again it seems my reviews for movies have gotten me into trouble!

horton hears a who

"this anti-abortion film has its message cleverly hidden beneath the brilliant animation and hilarious jokes about an elephant with a mission" 4 1/2 stars

now i thought this was a positive review, and with the trouble i got into last time about bad-mouthing two and a half men, surely this was a glowing review about a product i liked!

NOOOOO

shit no... this was SO unacceptable and totally inappropriate for work! seriously? have a fucking laugh.. i guess putting in the kids section was a bit risky, but i could've just moved it to the a-z wall where all the other dvds are!

then came my review for crash- the 2007 film that beat brokeback mountain and won the oscar.

"this oscar winner delivers drama in tonnes as its all star cast delivers some racially profiling cliches and great performances"

doubt

"any actors wet dream, doubt stars meryl and phillip seymour hoffman as they go head to head in the catholic church. great performances and an ending that will leave you floored"

anyways... basically i had to go around the store and pick up any other reviews that might be considered "risky" or whatever! so, i took a quick trip around the store and took down any reviews that some loser might take offense to. it turns out that there were quite a few, maybe 20 or so that were deemed NSFW.

cut to:

2 months later?

i'm on the floor putting out stock and my software manager approaches me and asks to talk. oh, here we go.. he pulls out a review; twilight

"any young girl or gay guys fantasy, twilight might not have the best story but it does have a hot leading man that will have you glued to your seats." 3 1/2 stars

fucking hell! i cant write anything... i'm being censored at work and it's fucking pathetic.

and what shits me the most is that i was warned that next time it would be a written warning and there are people at work who do shit all and treat other staff members like shit and just fly under the fucking radar!

where is the justice? so apparently i cannot have any sexual references or jokes or anything remotely funny in these reviews! grrr it gets me so angry that in this day and age, and in a store like blah blah hi-fi i am being refused my right to express my opinions and thoughts?

the funny this is, that when i was taking some of my reviews down, a customer actually asked me why i was doing it. i told her why and she expressed her views on how pathetic and sad it was that i had to remove my reviews.

what a world we live in!

posters

touch okay?

this priceless video was on one of my film websites. she is the winner of a competition to meet the harry potter cast. out of 10,000 people who entered, she was chosen because she was the craziest and nuttiest person. and you can see why below!

dinner

meeting carol after work we decided to get some dinner in the city that was NOT asian... yes, it was a difficult mission and we gave up after about 2 minutes of trying!

we ended up at a new asian restaurant that was on la trobe st, above the hobby shop. we walked up the stairs to reveal a massive maroon room packed with asians of all levels of coolness. and carol was the one of 2 white people inside...

anyways the waitress hands us the menus and it wasnt soon after that we learnt that all the pictures on the front door that lured us in were nowhere to be seen!

so we quickly chose something off the menu to keep our stomachs at peace!

we ordered chicken and peanut with some black sauce and a cold dish of garlic cucumbers!

what a mistake! mmm it was very average, i mean, im sure it was good food but we weren't feeling it! in the words of larry david...

waaaaay too saucy! so we quickly finished our waters and beers which were the only thing worthy of completing and got outta there... not before paying a crazy price tag and digging into our bags and pockets to only just cover the cost of the meal...

cut to: hungry jacks to get a whopper meal to make us feel better! fatty fat fat!

what i will say is that i should've known better than to get the m&m storm! it was a horrible evening that not even hungry jacks could fix up! 2 and a half stars!