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Sorry about my long, unexplained absense, but I must share some books with you that I've read/started reading that would make amazing movies:
Pop 1280
Jim Thompson
A short, sharp and brilliant dark comedy about a small-town sherrif who has a lot to hide. Jim Thompson once famously told a relative that, although there are many different ways to tell a story, "there is only one story- that things are not as they seem". This work shows Thompson on absolute top-form, crafting a simple tale, but working it in such an interesting way that you'll run the full range of emotions. Perfect movie fodder, then, because the story allows for a lot of character exploration and subtle acting. Get the right cast and this would be an amazing film.
A Confederacy of Dunces
John Kennedy Toole
Alright, I'll be honest- I've only read the first 25 pages of this book so far (just started today), but already I can safely call it my new favourite book. The character of Ignatius needs to be brought to screens. Apparently it's been tried many, many times, and failed every single time, but that's no reason to give up. No actors for Ignatius spring to mind, but the comedic style seems perfect for Sasha Baron Cohen to get involved in some capacity.
So, what books would you love to see as films?
Jason Bateman has been talking about the possibility of a movie for a while now, but he seems to be getting more and more definite, with this latest little tidbit- Really Long Link being the most promising.
Make no mistake- if they make an Arrested Development movie, it will be the best movie ever. There, that's my pre-review. Best film ever. Here's hoping, yeah?
I was just down my local Video Ezy and managed to grab the Twin Peaks Definitive Gold Box Edition for $90 (as well as an ex-rental copy of Fire Walk With Me for $6.50, turns out the store owner is a big Lynch fan). It was due out last month but got delayed, with a final release date of Dec. 5 (I got it a day early) finally being announced recently.
This set contains both the amazing Season 1 and the controversial Season 2: all 29 episodes (each episode running for about 45 mins, with the pilot being feature length) over 10 discs. It also has an absolute ton of extras:
* Log Lady Intros
* Alternate European "closed" ending
* Freshly Squeezed
* SNL featuring Kyle MacLachlan
* Deleted Scenes and Out-Takes
* Production Documents
* A Slice of Lynch
* Secrets from Another Place
* Twin Peaks Festival
* Image Gallery
* "Falling" Music Video
* TV Spots
* Georgia Coffee Commercials
* 1-900 Hotline
* Lucy Bumpers
(list from ezydvd.com.au)
So yeah, this is the sort of thing I could definitely reccomend. Amazing show.
I also picked up The Simpsons Movie, which in all honesty I love. What did you guys make of it?
I've come to the conclusion that Jessica Alba is purposely staring in a string of bad movies for the sole purpose of ending my obsession with her.
When I saw Sin Cityp, I was but a 17 year old lad, and couldn't help but find myself smitten by how ridiculously attractive Ms Alba is. And that was a hell of a film, but what has she been in since? She hasn't even made a cameo in a movie that was actually worth paying for! My continued crush has been fostered only by watching annual Nickelodeon Kid's Choice Awards! Let's have a look at her post-Sin career
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This Sunday, I've scored an interview with Dee McLaughlin, director of excellent Australian film The Jammed, for a magazine. The problem is that I've never done an interview before and information about this woman on the internet is incredibly scant. If anyone has seen the movie, what kind of questions would you like to see answered? It's 2:20am Friday and I'm starting to stress about it.
I'm exceptionally busy this week on a number of writing projects, but I still intend to update this thing, so here are some quick thoughts on 10 other movies I've watched this year:
Bubba Ho-Tep
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I meant to do this at least a month ago, but kind of forgot to, so for those interested, here's my top 5 movies, and two or three sentences about them.
Note: I said favourite, not 'best'. I suppose you could say these are the movies I've gotten the most out of. For the record, if I was pushed to give a best movie of all time, it would be the number 2 on this list
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As a disclaimer to start out with, I wouldn't consider myself, strictly, an anime 'fan'. I used to, when I was younger, but over time I came to realise I didn't like to tag myself as a fan of something purely because it's an anime. I like a good anime, in the same way I like a good movie, a good song, a good television show, a good painting, etc. I'm not more likely to go out and watch something purely because it's an anime, I'll watch an anime if I've heard good things about it or it appeals to me. In this sense, I'm no more a fan of anime than I am of most other styles of film or series.
End of Evangelion is the theatrical ending to Hideaki Anno's megahit series, Neon Genesis Evangelion (or Shinseiki Evangelion, if you prefer the proper Japanese name), released a good 16 months after the end of the series. Evangelion was essentially another 'teenagers piloting giant robots and fighting aliens' series, but managed to seperate itself from the pack with its intense imagery, political and religious sub-plots and wonderful (if disturbing) plot, as well as its very well realised setting and compelling characters. It's a very confronting series, dealing with youth issues in a more full-on way than most of these series do, and with some amazingly brutal violence (the Volume 6 DVD has a PG rating, yet the first episode on the disc has entire streets getting soaked in blood- go figure
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Anyone who watches a lot of horror films is familiar with the concepts of the 'spring-loaded cat' and the fake-out scares. Those moments where everything is purposely really calm then suddenly OH MY GOD SOMETHING LEAPS OUT OF THE DARKNESS AND IS REALLY LOUD AND SCARY OH MY GOD WHAT IS THE HERO GOING TO DO?!. Or, worse still, where everything is purposely calm then suddenly OH MY GOD SOMETHING LEAPS OUT OF THE DARKNESS AND IS REALLY LOUD AN- oh, wait, no, it was just a curtain flapping! Haha! That's not really scary at all! Wow, I guess the hero is actually totally sa- no, wait, there's the killer. He was behind her all along!
Why can't horror films do psychological horror anymore? Rosemary's Baby doesn't have a lick of gore in it, yet creeps you out the whole way through. That vomitting moose head in Evil Dead 2 was scary for its entire duration, not for the first two or three seconds when it started up. These days horror films are either generic shock-tactic fests or Saw-style "if this was happening to you, it would be scary" sort of things. Have I mentioned how much I hate Saw II yet? Because I do. So, so much
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Om Shanti Om, a Bollywood film directed by Farah Khan, was released in India last week, and has enjoyed a cinema release here in Adelaide (Hinley Street), as well as a few other locations over the country. I dragged a few film-enthusiast friends along to it tonight, and I have to say it was one of the best cinema experiences I've had in recent memory.
I'm very new to Bollywood. I saw Farah Khan's other film, Main Hoon Na about three weeks ago, but both times I wandered away from the films in a mild state of euphoria, and asked my friends "Why can't all films be like this? Everyone would be so much happier!". The two films I've seen were very superficial and the plots go to great lengths to not make sense, but this works perfectly and seems to make a lot of sense in the context of the style. And they are so, so fun. Even the credits sequences are filled with song, dance and colour. Both this and Main Hoon Rah (I think thats the right spelling) were just a shade under 3 hours, but, woah! I don't think we stopped laughing throughout the entire film, and the (predominantly Indian) audience around us was getting very excited (especially during one dance number that involved no less than 35 major Indian movie stars). The main character is played by Shahrukh Khan, a man of almost unlimited charisma. As for the main actress, Deepika Padukone, I extend to her a sincere invitation to join Jessica Alba in a game of naked Twister in my dreams tonight.. Seriously, Google her. I can't pick a picture
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Comment by Jickle
on Two Books That Desperately Need Movie Adaptations
The only Thompson adaptation I've seen was 'The Grifters', and honestly it didn't do much for me.