Cannes Film Festival 2010 – Review

18 05 2010

So i didnt have a chance to do a day by day post on it all like I thought I would, you can check out my DAY 1 post here. But I am back now and can say that Cannes was one hell of a fucking experience. I went to the Australian welcome drinks which was awesome, I met a lot of directors and producers and made a lot of contacts. I ended up talking a lot to one who had entered a short film into Cannes called TRIGGER which I was then invited to the premier of and it was a really really incredible short film for its shoe string budget.

I watched a whole bunch of other really shitty films, and i ended up going to see THE HUMAN CENTIPEDE. It was amazing to see the premier of this movie that had been pushed aside to this crummy 36 seat cinema (possibly the smallest i had been in) for a film that I thought had so much hype. The turn out was huge and a little unexpected, luckily I had got their early and managed to get a prime spot but the buyers had priority and the film had 9 of these potential buyers seeing the movie, this was the only film i had seen a buyer even enter and their was 9 of them on this one! The 36 seats were all full and their was plenty of people waiting outside for someone to leave so they could take the spot. and yes.. a few did leave, not because they thought it was bad.. but because I think it is the most fucked up movie i have ever seen. The basic synopsis is that this mad scientist wants to make  a 3 person symese twin like a centipede. So that when the person at the front of the centipede eats it is excreeted out of the ass of the last person in line. This is done by some really messed up stuff of sewing the ass and mouth of some of the people together.. takes the genre to a whole new level, but I really enjoyed it, it was extremely tense and reminded me a lot of WOLF CREEK as the killer is the real star of the show and in some ways kind of funny in a fucked up way.

Its like the TWO GIRLS ONE CUP of horror movies!

I also ended up doing one of the red carpet, main cinema premiers for the Greg Araki film KABOOM, It was honestly nuts walking up the red carpet for this screening at 12:45 at night. It was late but it didn’t stop it from getting a hell of a lot of attention. The paparazzi were everywhere awaiting the director and casts arrival. At first I wasn’t sure if I would get in wearing my shirt (which was the most formal dress I had) as all of the other premiers required wearing suites. But in the end they were a lot more lenient on the midnight events. The energy in the cinema was incredible when Greg Araki showed up with his cast, the audience applauded his arrival for about ten minuets before sitting. The atmosphere in their made it a really amazing experience, however this blinded me  from being able to tell if I actually liked this movie or not, I think I would have to watch it in a “normal” setting to give my true opinion. But you can check out my full review of the flick HERE!

Me on the red carpet at Kaboom

I also went to the South African party which was pretty wiled from 9pm to 2 am and met this guy with a south african film being made called MAD COW which reminded me a lot  of a film i did when I was a kid of the same name also about a dual weilding chainsaw crazed cow, check out my film here. and see the similarity below:

This is the South Afircan one

And this is the one I made in 2005

Kind of funny really, I was shocked at how similar they were, but Im all for it really. Just kind of annoyed that I left on the day of its premier so had to miss it.

The short film corner is also a really awsome part of Cannes fest with the network booths where you can easily watch thousands of shorts. A highlight for me was the short by Bobby Miller – TUB about a guy who jerks off in the shower and his spoof goes down the plug hole, inpregnating his bath… you can guess the rest.

Cannes 2010 was an incredible experience that I will most definantly do again, next time for the whole 2 weeks because their is just too much to do! Hopefully with a film to enter into the short film corner.

Now my scoring for Cannes 2010 on the whole

SCORE:


People –
9/10

if your interested in film then the people dont get any better then this, directors, producers, writers, editors everywhere and so much networking to be done! If your not into film ect. It might not be your cup of tea.

Party’s - 7/10

The partys are one of the best part of this festival, if you can manage to get invited, I was lucky as my mum provided a gateway for this, however was still denied for a couple :(

Celeb Factor - 7/10

To be honest I was expecting to be coming across a lot more celebrities due to lots of people providing false expectations, I wouldnt say its likely for anyone to bump into Quinten Tarintino or Tim Burton at Cannes. I did come across Andy Serkis due to a talk he did at the British Pavilion but thats as far as it went really other then walking amongst Gregg Araki and cast at the KABOOM screening.

Prices – 5/10

This is expected I guess, but Cannes is super expensive during this time (up to $13 AUD for a beer). I guess its because theirs no tourism at any other time of the year so they have to be extreme jews then.

TOTAL – 9.5/10*

*If your interested in film






Review: KABOOM by Gregg Arkai

17 05 2010

I saw this film on saturday night at its midnight premier for the Cannes Film Festival and it is one hell of a wild ride.The movie is basicly about this gay guy (above) as he explores his sexuality, along  with his best friend who is a lesbian. After countless scenes of fucking and numerous satirical gags the film starts to get interesting as the lesbians girlfriend turns out to be a witch with supernatural powers that has a motive to make her life hell and the gay guy (above again) walks home from a “orgasm session” (with a girl this time) comes across a lady running from masked killers that stab her in the face and knock her out. The rest follows on his uncovery of the conspiracy that is occuring as quirky twists and turns are constantly deployed.

If you have seen some of Arakai’s previous films then you know that he has a very very unique style that makes everything very fresh and unexpected, especially the ending but I wont ruine that for you :)

The direction of the film is steller with some really well done cuts and a soundtrack that keeps you jumping about the place from its sharp cuts in crescendo’s. The acting is also very good… but (and this is probably the only critiscism I have about it) towards the end when everything comes to gether and the past is put on steroids the acting for some of the cast  falls apart a bit in all of the excitment, however this is forgivable because of the pace of the final climax shadowing this issue.

This movie is seriously awsome, with a crazy start and insane finish. A must see.

SCORE

Direction: 9/10

Script: 8/10

Acting: 8/10

Originality: 8.5/10

Effects: 8.5/10

Gore: N/A

Music: 9.5/10

TOTAL: 8.5/10






Hospitality at Matter ~ Drum and Bass Night – Review

11 05 2010

On the 7th of May 2010 I went to the Hospital night at the club Matter in the O2 arena London. If you are familiar with the dj’s associated with Hospital Records you would know that this was a pretty crazy night!

As you can see in the video below of the Hospital night previous to this one, it is a pretty insane night!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAgNuLHkMok

The line up for this night included -

Room 1:
HIGH CONTRAST
MARKY
LONDON ELEKTRICITY
CYANTIFIC
NETSKY
CAMO & KROOKED
B- COMPLEX
MRSA
WREC
DYNAMITE MC
SP:MC
AD

Room 2:
DAVID RODIGAN
MJ COLE
KUTZ
THE UPBEATS
KROMESTAR
RANDOMER
MC SEROCEE
LOWQUI
DREAD MC

If you know anything about Hospital Records it was a big suprise and awsome suprise to have the Fabric signed David Rodigan playing at a Hospitality Night! He was insane when I first saw him at the Fabric so I had high expectations. He was great for getting everyone in the mood and really got the party started, this wasn’t so much the case here, however was still a good effort. I can understand that maybe he probably puts more effort into the Fabric nights..

The main dj’s I was their to see were B-Complex, High Contrast, David Rodigan, The Upbeats, London Elektricity, Netsky, Cyantific and Camo + Krooked. As with a lot of these nights you never end up seeing everyone you want as with this many big names under the one night theirs always mix ups.

I ended up getting their at about 11 pm from Kings Cross at a crappy £20 hotel (which is well worth it, we stayed at the Globe which is recommended for the price), we got a taxi their which cost us £40 which is massive bullshit so next time get a train their and get a taxi back. By the time we got their we had missed B-Complex, I still have no idea why they put such a big name on so early. Then DJ Marky was on so watched him for a bit, he was alright.

The drinks were cheaper this night, a Becks Beer was only £3.50 compared to the usual £5, not that i drank any alcohole any way. The water is £2.5o here like it is everywhere but the gay thing with Matter is that they make it a lot more difficult to refill your bottles, this is because for some reason the water from the taps in the toilet is warm (where as at clubs like Fabric its cold so everyone can just refill their) so the only other option is to go up to the bar which is never practicle as the lines are long and they cant hear what you say half the time so think you want to buy another one. Matter also has the cool thing where they have lasses walking around with a bottle of vodka and shot glasses, I didnt want to see how much they cost (im sure it wouldn’t be cheap) but its a cool extra.

The next one I was super keen on was High Contrast who I sad to say was kind of a dissapointment. He even pulled out one of Camo + Krooked’s track the History of the Future which im sure they didn’t like. I saw a bit of Netsky which was good and spent some time with the Upbeats. But the one that stole the show for me was MJ Cole who I hadnt listened to much before but was very impressed with and pulled out a massive mix of TC’s Wheres my Money! Also the banger Inocence by Nero was pulled out by him which was epic.

I ended up leaving kind of early due to some contraband fucking SWIM over and making his legs feel like they were falling off. I went back with another £40 taxi ride, but this was cheap considering the drivers usually charge you twice the normal amount when its that late. Matter sets a standard rate for the taxis that they difinantly have to do and accompany you to a taxi. This was impressive.

I have a couple of complaints about the club too. They over sell the tickets a bit much, when it gets to prime time theirs just no where to dance. But to be honest I would say that the Hospitality night is by far the least effected by this i have experienced, RAM and DUBPOLICE get so over crowded you literally cant get any where near the dance floor let alone have your own space to dance, I think they sell less tickets for this night with this intention in mind as room 2 was always plenty of room to dance which is good for a mix up. Even though Fabric has 3 rooms all up (compared to Matters 2 rooms) it still gets completly packed like a can of sardines in each room. So this wasn’t bad.

Also (im pretty sure) that Camo + Krooked never even ended up playing even though they were on the line up I couldnt see them on the agenda once inside. Massive let down for some people Im sure.

Another complaint I have with Matter (but this happens to most others like Fabric) is they have these really annoying cleaners going around with a flash light collecting glasses from the ground and tables that really get in your way of dancing, and this club is packed enough!

SCORE:

Prices: 7.5/10

Cheap drinks on the night and a massive line up for only £15 is unbeatable

Venue: 8/10

Matter is just an awsome club and has a really good atmosphere

Line Up: 8/10

A unheard of Line up with Rodigan made this night special, However the next one in July looks even better with the dubstep scene fully covered by Nero, 16 Bit and Bar 9. Just a shame I leave for aus by then :(

Accessability: 6.5/10

Matter being at the O2 arena definantly doesnt make it the easiest place to get to, its a expensive area and far from anything.

Sound System: 9/10

The Matter sound system is one of the best in the world and wont dissapoint. Even in Room 2 they have a descent one and considering the room is tighter it makes for a lot bassier sounds!

Total: 8.5/10

Hospitality at matter is a night everyone has to do at least once, I wish I could do it twice!






Review: Kick Ass – From a not reading the comic perspective!

19 04 2010

So I gave that flick Kick-ass a go earlier with high expectations considerin all of its hype but was some what worried about hearing it is better reading the comic first and I wasn’t let down im glad to say.

This movie has it all, character development, gore, little girls saying “cunt” and awsome action scenes and effects. The acting was great on the whole and the story developed in suprising and non-cleshayed way. That mclovin dude as Red Mist was funny and fit the role well and Nic Cage is the best he has been in a while. However the thing I liked most about it was the realism of it, it really was what a super hero’s life would be like in reality.

The effects were suprisingly good considering it was slighty the lack of studio funding for the project. The film has genuine laughs that made me actually “LOL”. The violence was suprisingly hectic at some parts and quite brutal which is a up or down depending who you are i guess, a up for me! The music was a huge success for me, loved the use of prodigy throughout and some emotive music during certain parts as well (not to ruine anything), however one complaint with the music is that they used the 28 days Later theme music at one point which i think of as being something that should be exclusivly used in that.

The only negative thing about it I can really think of (which is really knit picking) is that they make a big joke about how the kick ass loves to bat off and has the hots for his english teacher which is an obvious attempt to get teenagers to think to themselves “oh i can relate to that, i like this film now”…

SCORE

Direction: 8.5/10

Script: 8.5/10

Acting: 8.5/10

Originality: 8.5/10

Effects: 7/10

Gore: 7.5/10

Music: 8/10

TOTAL: 8/10





Review/Rant: The Final Destination 3D and how much it sucked!

16 04 2010

This review starts off with a big context setting for my feelings behind the review and kind of aimed at people that know the franchise to some degree. Enjoy!

The Final Destination franchise is one of my fave horror franchises out their, hell i’d even say fave’s in any genre! The idea was so original for a horror movie! Pure genious not even having a killer in it and employing the audience as a surrogate investigator as you try and work out how the next victim dies to see them get completly messed up in some way completley different! I would even go as far as making a series of short films because of how much I like this franchise except maybe mix it up a bit by adding a elements of the Ring in their or something… oh wait i already did that (the Face).

In Final Destination 2 I was extremly impressed when they managed to extend the story even further by making the people that become the victims in that caused by the events of the first ones, i.e. the first one called an outward ripple effecting how other people were meant to die (the film explains it better). Not only that they even brought back two of the character from the first one. They then even came up with the great idea that New Life Will Stop Death i.e. a pregaz chick giving birth when she was meant to die giving birth f’s up the whole design (and they even put a twist on that later in it), this in the end stops the death. Going back to Final Destination 1 the way that they think they can stop it is by saving someone screwing up deaths design but later work out this doesnt work so they get killed. Which is what made it even smarter in the second one because they worked their way around this.

Moving onto Final Destination 3 (dont worry their is eventually my review for the 4th one, just gotta set the context of this rant for ya). Story-wise they really screwed this up, not only did they not extend or continue the story like the second one did, but they didnt even bring back any of the characters (lyk the Candy Man guy that knows how to stop death somehow) and they even went back to  “The Way to stop deaths design is to save someone next in line”, this is stupid because we already know this doesnt work from the first one!! Why would it work now??! Also Two people survived in the second one! couldnt they have brought them back!!!! Any way this film made up for it with awsome vfx’s, deaths, some solid acting and ofcourse the unforgettable roller coaster disaster which ever1 has to admit is a great idea that everyone is scared of to some degree!

Finally moving onto the 4th installment, or The Final Destination 3D as its known. My first complaint I came across (as i saw this on dvd) was that the film didnt even give you the option for it to be in 3D, even though the cover said FINAL DESTIATION 3-Fu**ing-D! So i soldiered on as i love this franchise and saw this worst opening death sequence from all of them continued with more shit deaths all of which were spoiled by the fuc#n movie trailer anyway! and i really do mean all of them! All of the effects in this film looked so cheezy as well, cant understand how they thought they were acceptable!

More over, after all the shitty deaths and visuals, they also added terrible acting and even added the most “original” idea yet for them to escape death…. stop the next person in line!! which we have known doesnt work in the last 3 movies!! who do they think we are! It didnt add anything original to the franchise and soley relied on the fact it was in 3D which isnt even offered on the dvd i watched! terrible!

So not only am I pissed off it was so shit but also the film has ruined the franchise and obviously their is no way another one will ever be made again because of its epic faliure both critically and commercially! So thank you very much who ever the director and writer is of this film! you officially fucked up my fave franchise in film!! ..but this made me think, who is the director behind the chronic dissapointment… I was suprised to find that the director was in fact the very same director of…. Final Destination 2! can this be possible! my fave one of them all was directed by the worst of them all as well, where did he go wrong? it must be the writer… the studio fucking it up right? or am i just being overprotective of this “great” director.

Moving on, I honestly reckon that this franchise could still have hope if ithey actually got some good writers onto it that could write a script for one with a completly fresh and different take on it all! I can think of a few just off the top of my head:

  • Make one set a few centuries ago.. in cowboy times or some shit
  • Make on set a few centuries in the future… in space or some shit
  • Make one that goes more into detail of what the premonitions are and explain it a bit.. lyk they have something religious about it lyk they are prophits or some shit!

I Dont know! but their are so many better ideas then the shit i got, so i hope to god it continues but maybe get some one hectic lyk Zac Snyder (300, Watchmen), or Tim Burton or that dude that rebooted batman to do it… joking i know that would never ever happen, but you know what i mean, i will still hold my breath for another Final Destination 2…….

SCORE

Direction: 4/10

Script: 4/10

Acting: 4/10

Originality: 3.5/10

Effects: 6/10

Gore: 6.5/10

Music: 6/10

TOTAL: 5.5/10










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