Sydney Film Festival Ignites a Feeling Frenzy
'Feeling Frenzy' is not a typo. The #s I'm likely to use a lot during the SFF 2019 are #primal #astounding and #OMGoddess. The trailers for some of the evocative films screening generated a swirl of feelings: surprise - willing discomfort - shock - and I'm not easily...
Getting Gigs Is Easy with G.E.T.
I just had my first MC gig using the Global Event Talent platform and wow. It’s a game-changer. G.E.T. is an online platform that directly connects clients with talent and it’s free to have your profile on it. Deal Direct with the Client – No Middle Person On...
Just Not Cricket – Was It Ever?
In 2015, I witnessed some kiddy cricketers hurling insults at each other about their mothers and sisters so I wrote an op-ed piece for SBS News Online about the notion of sledging as a tactical skill in winning a game of bat and ball. It was a clear-cut case of the...
Slicing & Dicing My Feet
Foot surgery aka Bilateral Excision of Morton's Neuroma IE a big fat tumour on a nerve in each foot. Two years later, I still have pain and cannot wear high heels for longer than a couple of hours. The pain is nerve damage - twitches - cramps - electrical impulses...
A Room Full of LEGO doco WIN + laurels
This wonderful short documentary explores the world of adult LEGO - director Daniel Bourke. Ages 4-99 is not hyperbole. In the 24 hour Bad / Fake news environment, it is a pertinent reminder that to build something physical and stay connected creatively to your inner...
Eating Cake in the Front Row at the Guillotine
Being GenX, I didn’t think I’d see this monumental change in my lifetime: so many brave women standing up and saying #MeToo in our own version of ‘I’m Spartacus!’Â …
Red Handed Rests On Laurels
Red Handed made it into: 17th Shriekfest Horror Film Festival – Official Selection 13th Halloween Horror Picture Show – Official Laurels Melbourne Underground Film Festival – Officia…
T2 in 3D
Terminator 2 Judgement Day has a rare status of immunity to sequelitis. There aren’t many sequels that are as good as the original – T2 surpasses T1 on every front – narrative, chara…
Favourite Films
This is the shortlist.I have seen all of these movies, some several times over and I love each of them for various reasons. THE LION KING …
Red Handed short film scripted by RB wins Silver Remi Award in USA
May 2017 I scripted a short film based on a stalker incident in the 1990s before Australia anti-stalking legislation was passed (I reported the first Australian conviction under the new laws for 7 Nightly News). I turned the film script into a play script that was...
Production Slate Underway
The genre project has grown teeth and claws - I'm up to act 3 of the script. Every Monday, I wake up and kill someone before breakfast. It's a great way to start the week. Of the 13 characters who 'agreed' to be on board, only 3 are left. 1 character is a bit of a...
Latest Articles Op Ed And Commentary By Renée Brack
This page is updated with links to some of my articles.Ocean Media – Sails and Offshore Magazine: ‘Home & Away’ 7 Star Luxury Catamarans With Ever-Changing Stunning ViewsI was happy to write the…
Skunkmonk by offis
I MC-d their quarterly event that explores a high end tech topic with partner business showcases on the night along plus food and drinks. It's a great networking event for digital agencies with panel discussions recorded and available on youtube.
Is It What You Say Or The Way You Say It?
A client of BlackBox Voice Productions had audio-visual segments with non-professional narration and wanted to refresh the content with a professionally produced, polished voiceover. I was rapt my voi…
Connecting Artists With Albums To Market & Management
Late last century, I had the privilege of working with the Yoram Gross Studio doing professional PR and personal PR for this internationally renowned creative family. It was wonderful to return to the studio and see how Yoram's son Guy turned it into Church St...
It will be the biggest short film festival on the planet in 4 years time
A brave statement from a humble man who does what he says he will do. Mark Cleary started S+S early this century and made it into the world's largest short play festival with the mantra of 'making the world a more creative place 10 minutes at a time . We've talked...
How The Professional Becomes Personal & Rewarding
We work, we make money then there are all the bigger and better reasons for doing anything. I was reminded of that when I received this email:
Just Noticed 1 Million+ Views Of My Channel
Lessons Of War From The Vietnam Cuchi Tunnels
It’s the 50 year ‘anniversary’ of The Battle Of Long Tan that happened in August 1966 during The Vietnam War aka The 2nd Indochina War aka The Resistance War Against America aka The …
Hollywood Wants You To Join A Silly Sexy Suicide Squad
Suicide Squad has some great lines, production design, costumes and 2 engrossing characters – Harley Quinn & The Joker. Their Bonnie-&-Clyde relationship is the heart and soul …
Tarzan Is A Sophisticated Neanderthal
Tarzan is still portrayed as an oxy moronic ‘sophisticated Neanderthal’.He’s an educated, urbane aristocrat who can get all physically Philistine in a loincloth and speak another lan…
Ghostbusters – More Hollywood Pro-Gun Propaganda
I was an innocent bystander to Ghostbusters.Now I am an eye witness to a crime against cinema. Who is the audience for this?Kids under 10 who love the sliming of stars at the Nickelodeon Awards? …
To Walk Again
Here is a snapshot of the Australian stats for spinal cord injury (SCI).Mostly young people, mostly car accidents and the fiscal cost is $4b but on a personal level, the true cost is too immense to me…
Must-See Movies At The Astonishing Sydney Film Festival 2016
Festival director Nashen Moodley continues to evolve the SFF into the most intriguing and beguiling international cinematic experience. The 2016 slate of screenings is astounding with too many highlig…
The Jungle Book 3D Live Action CGI And Bill Murray
I chatted with director Jon Favreau in Sydney about his CGI 3D masterpiece The Jungle Book for Disney with the only live action from Neel Sethi – the actor playing Mowgli.Here are the trailers s…
April Fools’ Day Shame
On April Fool’s Day, private health cover premiums rose again – this time 5-6%. BUPA shafted me with my annual price gouge – this time 7.2% – with a healthy dose of ‘put up and …
White Sunsets Over Samoa
A Belgian, a Persian, a Maori, an American, a Samoan and I walk into a bar… It’s called The Ugly Mermaid (yep)… At Le Vasa on Upolu Island, Samoa, the chairs, roof and all fittings…
Shout-Out To All The Talented People I Worked With This Year
Big thanks to the creative people and agencies I worked with in 2015.It’s been a great year full of inspiring and fun productions and I’m available for more work from Feb 1st 2016.I a…
The Revenant Might Get Leonardo Di Caprio His Oscar
The Revenant is a beautiful, brutal revenge masterpiece that will attract awards attention for many of the cast and crew, particularly the talented trio who gave us the awards-magnet, Birdman: I&ntild…
Cows Pose Threat To National Security – The 2015 Palestinian Film Festival
Declaring a herd of cows as a national threat sounds like an absurdist notion from Stanley Kubrick’s classic Dr Strangelove or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Love The Bomb (1964) but i…
This Is Why Seeing Spectre Is Like Eating Your Favourite Fast Food
You know what to expect. It’ll be served up the way you like. And after you’ve consumed it, there’ll be some satisfaction. Then you’ll forget about it until the next time a pro…
A Tale Of Two Crime Films – Legend VS Black Mass – Which Won?
I’ve seen both these real life stories dramatized for the big screen. Both have hard-working lead actors: Tom Hardy plays twins Ronnie and Reggie and uses bad English false teeth as an essential…
Gone To Gowings Bar & Grill & The BFFs Are Going Back
Some Australian business names are so beloved by the public, they become part of our everyday language. Boldness in a person is described as ‘more front than Myer’. ‘Gone…
Messing About In Boats
“Believe me, my young friend, there is nothing – absolutely nothing – half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats.” Kenneth Grahame, The Wind…
Mad Maxine Furiosa Road
Mad Max Fury Road is the most-anticipated movie of the year so far – more than Avengers Age Of Ultron – because it has a deeper, richer cinematic ancestry dating back to 1979 – …
Misfired Mercy Shoots Anti Death Penalty Campaign In The Foot
The people calling for Abbott to ‘bring our boys home’ from the firing squad in Indonesia remind me of the rabble calling for the freeing of Barabbas from the death penalty over some compa…
Adaline VS Avengers – Battle Of The Ages
Who will win? Adaline VS Avengers – scientific guff Vibranium? I thought they were calling it Fibranium which weirdly made sense to me because I ass-umed it was a nuclear-strength version …
What’s Good About The Bad & The Ugly – The Hobbit: The Battle Of The 5 Armies
There’s plenty written, said, recorded and read about all of Tolkien’s work as seen through the eyes of Oscar-winning director Peter Jackson. So I’ll cut to the chase. I went to the …
Looking For A Rare, Rewarding, Rollicking Holiday Experience? Head To Bliss Sanctuary
The Bliss Series – The Long Tail Of The Zoe Effect After five days at Bliss Sanctuary for women in Canggu, Bali, I felt the long tail of benefits in all areas of my life.I had new meditative tools fo…
What Is The Magic Touch Of Bliss Sanctuary?
The Bliss Series – Daily Treatments Instantly Change Everything After having Balinese Customs officers go through all my belongings, ask me about the three boxes in my luggage (which did not exist) t…
drinking a catPOOcino
The Bliss Series – Stepping Outside Your Comfort ZoneBliss Sanctuary for women creates a wonderful comfort zone for guests and also offers opportunities to step outside that comfort zone too. I opted…
Getting Rubbed Up The Right Way
The Bliss Series – Stepping Into A Comfort Zone. Just days before heading to Bliss, my life was turned inside out with a monumental legal battle that involved a sudden expensive lawyer, an 11t…
Why The Water Diviner™ Won’t Get Russell Crowe A Best Director AACTA Award
Russell Crowe has knocked it out of the ballpark with his directorial feature debut The Water Diviner. The film deserves the 8 AATCA nominations it earned and I predict Oscar buzz too. Ye…
Pop Art Got More Than 15 Minutes Of Fame
Pop Art was a frivolous flash in cultural pan – until it wasn’t. Not ahead of its time but it did predict that the mundane and lightweight would be revered. It was summed up b…
Myer TVC Is Phallus In Blunderland
What an enormous cock up. And I don’t mean the good kind 😉 I’m talking about the latest Myer TVC. My brother Chris and I were chatting about weak ads today. The Myer ‘Wonderland&r…
Just Let Us Live 2014 Palestinian Film Festival
Run by volunteers, supported by some precious sponsors, the Palestinian Film Festival launched in in Sydney last night with passion and a powerfully moving augmented reality app. Download it th…
The Upside Of V.D.
Every now and again I like to take a risk and subject myself to a piece of art about which I know nothing. It’s hit and miss. But that’s the spirit of adventure. Don&rsq…
The Show I Never Missed I will Now Miss Forever
Without Boardwalk Empire, TV just became a bored walk. This is how I feel about it coming to an end. A favourite way to unwind is to time travel IE immerse myself in period d…
Directing A Short+Sweet Play
Very excited to be selected as a Short+Sweet director for the 2015 theatre season! Short+Sweet is the world’s largest short play festival – home grown here in Australia and now in countries a…
Secret Artist – Finding Vivian Maier – Doco Review
It’s not often a film gets a Tomatometer rating of 95%. Finding Vivian Maier is a documentary that feels like a quirky portrait of a humorless Mary Poppins-type character then it evolves into a…
All Families Are Nuts – Film Review – This Is Where I Leave You
This Is Where I Leave You is a comedy about adullt kids who join their mum for a week of enforced family time after the death of their father. It has a considerable Hollywood pedigree starring: …
8 Ways To Stop Leaky Nude Pix & Your Bits Going All Viral Jennifer Lawrence
So Jennifer Lawrence’s bits are displayed on small screens instead of her talents on the big screen. The media goes into a Fukushima-sized meltdown. Can everyone just cut the dispr…
Real Magic In The Moonlight
Lots of people and film critics bag Woody Allen movies. Sure, some of his 40+ features are better than others. The ones I enjoy most are his fantasy films because they bridge a gap …
Does The 2015 Mad Max Have The Heart Of The 1979 Mad Max?
Mad Max was made in 1979 (my favourite year of the 20th century as it was the end of a global innocence) – now he’s getting the 21st century franchise makeover. The internationally recogni…
A Most Wanted Man – Philip Seymour Hoffman’s War
A Most Wanted Man, the film adaptation of a John Le Carre spy thriller might be the finest of Hoffman’s final films. Complex human emotions and dramas are played out at an A grade level -…
How To Start A War
Will the MH17 disaster put powerful fingers on big triggers? Events around the MH17 disaster are starting to resemble the triggers of war we’ve seen before. Look at the hist…
Best Foodie Friends Find Cho Cho San Is Casual Class & Superb Style
The #BFFs squeezed into Cho Cho San about as hungry as we could bare so we could sample as much as we could of their re-imagined Japanese cuisine. It’s the new hip and happe…
Why Porridge Gets You More Love Than Oatmeal
I laugh at TV commercials trying to sell ‘oatmeal’ with a hero shot of a bowl of gruel the colour of a sick baby’s poo. Not even Oliver Twist would ask for more. …
Riley St Garage – Park Your Butt At The Bar
Lots of eateries invite you to have a drink at the bar while you wait for a table. At Riley St Garage, the place to be is at the bar. The BFFs [Best Foodie Friends photographer Bel…
Chatty Chimps With Guns Can Rule Us All
Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes sounds better than Revenge Of The Chimps. Glad they ditched the latter title. Ever since I snuck into an R rated screening of George A Romero’s Dawn O…
Shitbox Rally – Mufflers Are Like Showers
500 people in 250 cars worth less than $1000 each drove Perth to Darwin via the Kimberlies to raise money for Cancer Council in June 2014. $1.4m was the target – $1.5m was reached. …
In Defence Of Family Tradition – The 300 Year Old Soup
I make a Soup that tastes like it’s not from now but another time long ago. It’s a hearty broth verging on a casserole. People come to my home, consume it then struggle t…
BUDGETZILLA A $7 Co Payment For Political Assassination
#juxnews #storiestheywontpublish #BudgieThugglers The 2014 Australian Budget and a fictional monster movie were both released in the same week on a public who was fully expecting them. The…
We Are The Ones We’ve Been Waiting For – Alice Walker
I took myself along to see and hear Alice Walker at the Sydney Opera House as part of the Sydney Writers’ Festival. Only single seats were left and I got one of the last tickets. Th…
MmmmMojo The Cheers Of Waterloo
There was a wildly successful TV show last century called Cheers – the bar where everyone knew your name. The bar in the show was a hit because of the intimacy. Customers got w…
Godzilla Is Goodzilla
DISCLAIMER If you need a spoiler alert for Godzilla, don’t read on and don’t blame me if you do. I love seeing films with my movie-literate brother Chris aka Boonta. He’s a monster movi…
2JJ Welcome Back – You Are Rangoon To Me
Radio station Double J is back. I have missed you so much. What’s Rangoon To You Is Grafton To Me is still one of the greatest examples of creative radio ever made. Rangoon V …
Can A Stalker Be Guilty Of Improper Use Of A Nursery Rhyme?
** WARNING ** explicit language | sexual references | poor singing | improper use of a nursery rhyme | violent threats | repeated sexism | vile racism At the end of this blog are the ravi…
Bear Care In Cambodia
I went to Cambodia to visit my favourite charity – Free The Bears – and wrote a story about it for Get Up And Go Magazine. Free The Bears is an Australian organisation that resc…
Tom The Transformer Takes Us To The Edge Of Tomorrow
I’ve seen some footage of the new Tom Cruise big budget blockbuster Edge Of Tomorrow (EOT) and yes – there is a Groundhog Day element. But EOT is not a comedy. Neither does it star a grou…
OMGodzilla – Wow
I’ve seen some preview footage of the 2014 Godzilla movie and it is great! It hasn’t been turned into something stupid that Michael Bay would make with a title like Revenge Of The Atomic Dinos…
From Alice In Wonderland To Robyn In Gondwanaland
This week, I went along to the AFI AACTA Members screening of Tracks starring Mia Wasikowska directed by John Curran who kicked off his career with the screen adaptation of a book I liked called Prais…
The Other Woman – Women Are Not The Enemy
The Other Woman looks great – kinda like The First Wives Club but more like The First, Second & Third Mistresses Club. Cameron Diaz is right at home in this …
George Clooney’s Monuments Men Is Good But Not Monumental
George Clooney can act and can direct and The Monuments Men is probably his most competent work to date. This is tricky because he’s bagged a couple of Oscars so I guess I expected more than a …
is The Grand Budapest Hotel a perfect film?
I think I may have seen a perfect film. The Grand Budapest Hotel is the latest from Wes Anderson who seems to have hit a career high with this period caper comedy. I now regard him as my g…
Ban Ads From Narrative TV & Make Money
If Free-To-Air (F2A) tv channels want to at least pretend they are having a serious go at moving with the times and if they value shareholders’ investment, they need to ban ads during narrative TV co…
Plonk – A Pisstake
“if you make a funny show about the making of a crappy show, you might just have a hit show. Plonk is the latest in that proud pedigree of pisstake.” renée brack Josh Tyler |…
Philip Seymour Hoffman – An Authentic Talent
When I saw Philip Seymour Hoffman in Boogie Nights, I was astonished at his ability to perfectly realise an unpopular, tortured character on screen. I loved his work in The Talented Mr Ripley. &…
Already A Guilty Pleasure – New Seth MacFarlane Film
Family Guy and Ted creator Seth MacFarlane has a comedy western coming out called A Million Ways To Die In The West. Good title. When you think about it, it’s a wonder anyone survived the…
Sun Bear Cub Finds Sanctuary & Avoids Being Bear Paw Soup
My love of bears is finding its natural direction.This is a short bit of vision of a recently rescued cub. She was taken away too soon from her mum and will stay with another two cubs so they ca…
Photo Bombing & The Russian Invasion Of Nha Trang
Nha Trang is overloaded with overweight, joyless Russians. They look like extras from the movie Wall-E. Despite communism teaching generations to queue for food, they don’t want to d…
Boats That Do Donuts & Meditating With Buddha
Riding pushbikes around Hoi An is the best. It’s 100% fun and only unsafe if you’re a bit of an idiot. They don’t legislate against stupidity in Vietnam so common sense i…
Hide From The World & Discover It At The Same Time In Halong Bay
On the way from Hanoi to Halong Bay, I stopped at a stoneworks. They turn rough boulders into artful statues all on the same premises. Once on the waters of Halong Bay, I saw some …
What Gives Hanoi It’s Calm Chaos?
GETTING TRAFFICKEDGetting around Hanoi has all the fun of any big city but without all the regulations and rules. People are polite but assertive. All kinds of vehicles share the entire ro…
Salo – An Essay On The Most Banned Film Ever
You”re damned if you see Salo and damned if you don”t. In 2010 I was given a collector”s dvd edition legally, after decades of a worldwide ban. But first, let”s set the scene of censor…
Bring Out The Chimp – Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes
‘Bring out the chimp.”The chimp’s sleepin’.”Well, I guess you better go wake him up then.’ Being an animal lover, I enjoy seeing other primates get armed and put the wind up the domina…
Peter O’Toole RIP & the Ex Who Introduced Me
Every now and again, you get a partner in life for a period of time who gives you gifts that echo into your future and shape who you are. Already an avid movie buff since childhood, at age 25 I …
Xmas Lights Winner 2013
Everyone else can unplug their blinking fairy lights and pack ’em up for next year. This guy synced a xmas light show to his daughter’s favourite song and nailed it. The song is mildly a…
Vagabonding – less about travel more about time
A different education for a different way to view the world. Not a holiday but an adventure. Voiceover to text is below. Enjoy 🙂 Excerpt from the audiobook version of:Vagabond…
The Hunger Games Catching Fire Is Survivor Meets Schoolies Week With Weaponry
Every time Katniss cried on screen, two girls behind us began to cry. And Katniss cries a lot in this movie. She cries about people she doesn’t really know getting killed then kills peopl…
A Blockhead Saves The World – The Lego Movie Is Being Assembled For You
When I first heard of The Lego Movie, I thought – meh. Another toy cashing in on the big screen. But the story idea rumoured in 2012 had legs. It sounded kinda good. I’m …
Wes Anderson – The Grand Budapest Hotel Preview
Have you ever been so in love with a person’s art that you almost cannot stand it? Have a look below at the preview of Wes Anderson’s new film The Grand Budapest Hotel. I love this filmm…
James Gandolfini – Enough Said
There is bittersweet poignancy in this Gen X romantic comedy called Enough Said starring James Gandolfini in one of his final big screen performances. There wasn’t enough said by this man on sc…
Winter’s Tale – movie preview – Russell Crowe Colin Farrell
Russell Crowe, Jennifer Connelly, Colin Farrell in a lavish love story that really does transcend time. …
Banksy’s Moving Installation Art ‘Sirens Of The Lambs’
Stunning, provocative piece that gets an appropriate reaction at the end. From one of the most influential living artists today. …
The End Of Chopper Read – Obituary For SBS News
I was asked by SBS News to comment about Chopper when he died recently. This is what I wrote. And here’s the original interview.…
See Doco Blackfish And Ask Yourself About The Imprisonment Of Polar Bears On The Gold Coast
This makes my blood boil. Humans put animals in zoos [prison] and charge money for us to view them and be amused. We are a repulsive species at times. And I have little sympathy when…
What Does Tony Abbott Have In Common With Colonel Sanders?
The same branding?I love election graffiti and posters. Insightful opinions of the people. Fingers crossed we get more of this kind of provocative stuff to think about before voting Septem…
Can Diana Win Naomi An Oscar?
Twice nommed for an Oscar, Naomi Watts might get a third in 2014 if the Academy keeps awarding actors and actresses who portray real life people. Helen Mirren won an Oscar for playing the queen.…
Watching Red Obsession Is Like Drinking A Great Wine
Red Obsession sounds like a cryptic crossword clue for which the answer might be Kim Jong-un. It’s the name of a superbly engrossing documentary about red wine – in particular, Bordeaux. …
Art & Heart – The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty
Every now and again – maybe a few times in any era or generation – a movie comes along that uses the technology of the day in a way that is insightful, human and prophetic. The trailer for Ben S…
Trends Now – EG Iron Man Iron – Irony Not Included
Wear your favourite famous face – just like Buffalo Bill wanted to do with his victims’ skin in Silence Of The Lambs. Hyperflesh Masks are ultra-realistic masks of celebrities who look lik…
Have You Ever Sneezed So Hard This Has Happened…
Okay while I’m here, I may as well include this classic: …
Serious Monkey Business & More Olympic Sideburns & Peter Dinklage At ComicCon
Seen at Comic Con talking up future films – Tyrian of Game of Thrones aka Peter Dinklage. The actor who looks a lot like Clive Owen’s brother if you put a photo of each of them side by side and…
This Might Be The Best Women’s Prison Show Ever – Orange Is The New Black
We can’t see it [legally] in Australia as it’s a Netflix property but love will find a way – and I would love to see Orange Is The New Black. Black humour, pathos, guts and insights without ch…
5 Good Reasons To See Behind The Candelabra
Over a year ago, I was reporting on radio that an Oscar winning team of Michael Douglas, Matt Damon and director Steven Soderbergh couldn’t use their combined weight to get an incredible movie releas…
Bale Affleck Harrelson Dafoe – In The Same Movie!
Lucky me. Four of my favouite actors happen to be cast in the same movie – Out Of The Furnace. Christian Bale Woody Harrelson Casey Affleck Willem Dafoe Woody…
30 Beauty Queens – Only 1 Crown
Beauty Brains Bodies and (am)Bition. 30 finalists in the DMK Miss Universe Australia Pageant need all four elements in just the right amounts in the hope to snatch the sash and land the crown.La…
Star Testimonials for producer Renee Brack
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James Gandolfini On Sesame Street Talks About What Scares Him
If you think Tony Soprano was a vicious mafia figure – check out the role Gandolfini plays in True Romance. I have a strong stomach for scripted screen violence because it isn’t real. But…
The True Story Of Formula 1’s Niki Lauda & James Hunt – The Movie
Formula 1 racing’s Golden Age – Brit playboy James Hunt (Chris Hemsworth) competed with Niki Lauda (Daniel Bruhl) for the #1 crown.Check out this behind-the-scenes featurette of Rush the movie due in…
Scorsese’s Wolf Of Wall St Looks Great
Martin Scorsese looks to have upadated his cinematic look with his new film The Wolf Of Wall Street. Leonardo di Caprio, Jonah Hill, Matthew McConaughey and assorted others look like they are ha…
We Steal Secrets: The Story Of Wikileaks – The Organization Forced To Eat Itself
This is a compelling view of the ascent of lofty idealism proving the law of gravity. What goes up must come down. And it’s a tragic reality that entities inevitably face the problem of e…
The Hobbit Desolation Of Smaug trailer is here
Penguins were the darlings of the screen a few years back – March Of The Penguins won an Oscar for combining chilly, white antarctic life with the warm choccy caramel voice of Morgan Freeman. &nb…
I Want A Venezuelan Poodle Moth
I love art. I love nature. I love art more. I love nature more. It’s like cheese-in-spray-a-can OR the ozone layer…Don’t make me choose!Check these out – and especially the…
Are Your Fave TV Shows In The Top 101?
The first thing that makes a TV show great is the writing. The script is the only original creative part of the process – every other step in the process is an interpretation of the script. …
Bum Slap Deserves One Back
When Beyonce stood up for her own butt being her own private property [despite exploiting it regularly as a marketing tool] and got a bumslapping fan ejected far away from her, I cheered and understoo…
What Do You Make Of This?
Every now and again, my eyes wander and I see… stuff. I try to figure out the story behind it. I know one thing – it’s a nice tub.Better to sit in that – than in a barrel of toxic waste…
Re-Defining Rape As A Struggle Snuggle
I saw on the www a re-working of the word ‘rape’ into ‘struggle snuggle’.[…] Quite a euphemism, huh. Fingers crossed it doesn’t translate into legislated language: ‘On…
Banning Something Makes It Popular
You don’t need a university degree to know that banning something makes it popular. It puts it on the public radar. It puts it into the consciousness of the people who are not supposed to…
Does It Take A Genius To Know The Plural Of Genius?
Well, kind of. There is the colloquial word ‘geniuses’ or the proper word ‘genii’ which just looks like an autcorrect fail. I wanted to find out because my next question is: How …
Angelina’s Organ Donation Before She’s Dead Trumps Jenny Aniston’s Engagement Rock
If Angelina goes ahead with the removal of her ovaries, she will become the most famous organ donor on the planet – if she donates them. After all, that gorgeous DNA is worth a motza. …
Budget Bones Baby Bonus – Booyah!
It’s about time. If there’s was one ‘incentive’ that made my blood boil, it was this bloated piece of draining, sucky legislation that rewarded people for putting a bigge…
Angelina Jolie – A Powerful Act of Non-Vanity
Angelina Jolie has written an eloquent op-ed piece for the New York Times. It’s about losing her own mother to cancer and how she did not want her children to be at the same risk of losing thei…
Matt Lucas Kills Landlord In Small Apartments
‘Quirky Comedy’ gets bandied around a fair bit – then along comes a movie that fits that description but not in equal measures. There’s more quirk than comedy. Small Apartments celebrat…
The Timing Of Olympus Has Fallen And Boston Is Bombed
Last night I saw Olympus Has Fallen then this morning I woke up to see Boston bombed. (PIC – Boston bombing)It’s not that the events are in any way connected – it’s the timing of them for me h…
Margaret Thatcher Hated Strikes – Struck Down By Stroke
This makes her less of The Iron Lady and more like The Ironic Lady. Ex-PM John Howard was heard to say on radio today that Margaret Thatcher was the greatest Brit PM since Winston Churchil…
Matt Damon And Michael Douglas – Together At Last!
Liberace was a legendary entertainer – a piano-playing performer whose dress sense and flair for the extravagant costume was bigger and better than almost anyone else – ever. He literally wore h…
The Great Gatsby – 3rd Trailer + Track List Here
The Great Gatsby – 3rd Trailer – makes this look like The Greatest Gatsby. I loved the 1974 version with Robert Redford and Mia Farrow and the lessons about life and seeing the truth in human be…
Beiber + Primate = Michael Jackson + Bubbles
Headlines read ‘The World Mocks Beiber & His Pet Monkey’ and commentators crack jokes. How soon we forget. Can anyone else see any parallels between a [terminally] young Michael Jack…
Want To Fly? Pay Your Weight
Airline tickets sold by the kilo. I have been wishing for this day. When my 58 kilogram body and my luggage are added together to determine my true and accurate ticket price, then sanity w…
Julian Assange Needs A Spartacus Moment
To save himself from Guantanamo Bay and a hell life in the hands of the US, Julian Assange might need a lot of people willing to stand up and claim ‘I’m Julian!’ We know John Inman who played…
Clever Country – Stupid City #3 – Stop Signs In A No Stopping Zone
Sydney has a bunch of ‘stop’ signs dotted among a bunch of ‘no stopping’ signs. I was a passenger in a car with a recently arrived international visitor who was faced with contradictory sign…
Australia Has Lost Its Sense Of Humour
‘We are not an easy-going nation anymore. There are laws for everything – over-ruling common sense.’ When I posted this on social media a little while ago – it sparked spirited commentar…
Extreme Survivalism – Doomsday Preppers On Crack
Money + Fear = Hilarious Stupidity If you have enough cash and are terrified of a global catastrophe, you can invest in: A Floating Disaster Shelter An Emergency Disaster Pod Take a road trip aroun…
Yippee Ki Yay Mother Russia
How does Bruce Willis do it? The 4th in a film franchise usually stinks. So one would expect the 5th installment would have a tatty red carpet rolled out at Blockbuster [assuming there’s …
This Gatsby Looks Great
Seeing the latest trailer for Baz Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby I can say – all is forgiven [for Australia!].While I didn’t enjoy Australia! starring Hugh Jackman, Nicole Kidman and Jack Thompson (who…
You Can Point A Piece – But Not A Piece Of Pastry
As an adult in the US it’s legal to carry guns, a gun license, buy toy guns for kids, have kids play-act murder with guns in the playground and video games – but it is not okay to point a Danish at a…
Clever Country ~ Stupid City #2
Art is in the eye of the beholder. And I despise censorship. But it must have been very funny sitting in on the committee meetings ticking off the go-ahead for this sculpture to be install…
The Only Decent Use Of Gunpowder Is Fireworks
If you don’t have access to a loaded gun as a way to solve a problem, you won’t use a loaded gun as a way to solve a problem.Make some of these fatal conflict resolution options unavailable, then pe…
Ted The VFX Swear Bear Was The Most Successful Oscars Presenter
The 2013 Oscar presenters came and went in a pretty ho-hum way – until Ted appeared onstage with Mark Wahlberg. What was so fascinatiing was how the CGI had him interacting seamlessly with every…
Famous And Fatuous Tweet About Oscars Host Seth MacFarlane
Some great compliments from some great talents.Seth did an ok job.But will they have him back for another year?Not a Billy Crystal hope in hell.But he did pull in the younger viewers.And that is a plu…
Sex TVs At The Vatican
The ad for these sex TVs was cleverly disguised as Latin. I knew the 2 weeks at high school studying that pretty much dead language would serve me some day.Also seen at the Vatican – a sign that…
Djesus Unchained starring Cristoph Waltz
He’s one of those rare performers who owns and nails every role – even in a spoof. Now you can see Cristoph Waltz as Djesus.If the biggest story of the bible got the Tarantino treatment – it mi…
Clever Country ~ Stupid City #1
For every stroke of genius, there is some monumental idiocy.The Art Gallery in Sydney is host to a heap of tourists every year.They advertise great artist’s names all around the impressive building:Y…
Redd Inc – Your Boss Will Kill You
When Nicholas Hope appeared on the big screen with a demonic smile that would rival Jack Nicholson in The Shining, the cinema audience went nuts. It brought back memories of a lovable disturbed man-bo…
Slavery Themed Oscar Noms Biggest Snub Of All
How could the 2013 Academy Award Nominations ignore James Gandolfini in Andrew Dominik’s Killing Them Softly? He was stunning as Mickey – the washed-up hitman with a chip on each sho…
Killing Them Softly – Seducing Us Definitely
Every now and again, a movie comes along that comes as close to movie perfection as you can get. Killing Them Softly is about the GFC hitting the US criminal underworld. Funds for hits are trick…
The Batman Rises And Falls And..?
The rising of the Dark Knight is more plausible than that old superstition of Jesus rising from the dead.Director Christopher Nolan has given us an epic end to the story of a broody billionaire’…
TED review Get Ready For A Talking Teddy
Yay – it’s MA!If anything was going to kill the Family Guy wicked fun and laughs I love so much in the work of Seth McFarlane, it would have been Hollywood dumbing down a sharp, slapstick, bad taste,…
Movie Juice Season 3 ep 22 Prometheus Great Gatsby Friends With Kids
The entire ep is here to see:…
The Promise Of Prometheus
Prometheus – the second most keenly anticipated follow-up film to Ridley Scott’s 1979 classic, Alien – the first being of course that other Ridley Scott classic, Blade Runner.The reason Al…
Mel Gibson Wants Us To Get The Gringo Joke
If you want to work, give yourself a job – that’s what Mel Gibson has done by writing, producing and starring in Get The Gringo.This is a great genre flick – action + revenge with a mild love sub plo…
Men In Black 3 D
The first rule of MIB3D is: Don’t Talk About The EndingThe second rule of MIB3D is: Don’t Talk About The EndingThe other rule I like to follow is: Don’t reveal what happens in a m…
The Dictator Dominates And Desecrates The Screen
I loved the satire of Da Ali G Show – nomintaed for 6 primetime Emmys. Most exciting were the segs of reportage on UK life from [the then] little known TV reporter, Borat. And it was great…
Zooby Zooby Zingers In Mad Men Season 5
Here is the cool song and the best insults from eps 1 and 2 of the 4 time 4 Emmy Best Drama winner Mad Men. You can only see it on Movie Extra channel 417 8.30 Thursday nights. I’ve …
The Best Things About THE AVENGERS
Nick Fury’s leather coat making him look a lot like an African-American Neo from The Matrix.Nick Fury’s eye patch. Scarlett Johansson in one of her better roles but still not as good …
Battleship Is Worth Every Cent
Some people are bagging the hell out of Battleship which is kinda sad, really. Not since Will Smith in Independence Day punched that alien and said ‘welcome to Earth’ have so many depended…
Mad Men Season 5 – Prepare Yourself With 4 Seasons In 8 Minutes
If you put all 4 Emmy winning seasons of Mad Men into a microwave, you could see all 50-odd hours in 8 minutes by watching Mad Menology – each season summed up in 120 seconds. Mad Men Season 5 s…
Mirror Mirror Is A Perfect Reflection
I think I just saw the most perfectly crafted film of the year [so far]. This kind of synergy doesn’t come along very often. But Mirror Mirror has cracked it. Every element of …
The Hunger Games Movie Creates Feeding Frenzy
Let’s get one thing straight – The Hunger Games has only one thing in common with Twilight – and that is 2 guys and a girl. No pizza place. Katniss could wop Bella’s lazy ass i…
The Rum Diary: Funniest Comedy This Year
I’ll say this right from the beginning – I really liked The Rum Diary – starring Johnny Depp, Aaron Eckhart, Richard Jenkins, Michael Rispoli, Giovanni Ribisi and Amber Heard. For a start – it’s dir…
Killer Elite is a Fairytale for Big Boys
Just like Sex & The City movies and most romantic comedies are fairytales for grown-up girls, action movies like Killer Elite are fairytales for grown-up boys. Even though I’m not a boy nor compl…
My Week With Marilyn In 100 Minutes
A feature-length film shows us the real power of Marilyn Monroe through the eyes of a 23 year old guy who spent one week with her in his first job as a 3rd assistant director on The Prince & The S…
Buck The Original Horse Whisperer
This is a documentary called Buck, about Buck and narrated by Buck. The trailer alone is so deeply moving, I called the distributor immedately and said I have to interview this man. When I…
Any Questions For Ben? A Review
This movie has achieved something elusive and so far impossible within romantic comedy – it asks a bigger question than other examples in its genre and answers it better than anything made in Ho…
Who Should Win The 2012 Best Actress Oscar
As much as Meryl Streep’s 17 Oscar nominations for Best Actress with two wins is an astonishing achievement in itself and her performance as Margaret Thatcher in The Iron Lady is superb and faul…
Flickerfest 2012: Blown Away By Talent and Entertainment
Flickerfest is one of those enduring extraordinary unique film festival events that is worth taking leave from your life to attend – because you’ll understand and love your life even more profou…
Real Steel: Can Dad and Son Find Peace and Love in a Warring World of Boxing Robots
When I interviewed Hugh Jackman this week about his superbly CGI-ed movie Real Steel, I kicked off with ‘boxing robots. How could it fail?’ Watching this movie presents us with a prospect …
Euro Adventure: Roaming Rome (Funny Signs)
Gettting shots of unique signs that make me scratch my head or laugh is a lot of fun.Here are two I found in Rome.This first one makes it clear you cannot bring your wolf to the Pantheon with you.But …
The Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes: The Simianshank Redemption
Another possible title could be Apewakenings or even Primatenormal Activity. In a nutshell, this is a movie that illustrates how hideous it is to be a lab rat – to be experimented on &nda…
A Movie With Heart About A Dog With Soul
Everyone will want – but no one can have – Red Dog. It’s one of the most beautiful things about him. And that kind of exclusivity is priceless. This is the Australi…
Hanna Is Alice In Asunderland
Forget the trouble you think you might have with a teenage daughter who smokes, drinks, swears and gets contraception from her friends in the playground then doesn’t use it anyway. Teenage girls…
Captain America: From Zero to Hero After a Lunchtime Procedure
Captain America huh. What a good ol’ boy. A 95 pound weakling is delivered his ultimate fantasy of being a superhero. I’ll talk about Captain America: The First Avenger without spoilers so…
Vince Vaughan and Jason Bateman on the Jaws War and Couples Retreat
I love these 2 very smart and funny actors. Here’s a highlight of my interview with them.…
Bad Teacher: When Cameron Diaz Is Good She Is Very Very Good But When She Is Bad…
…she’s better. Some people / reviewers/ critics are saying Cameron Diaz’s latest character Elizabeth Halsey is selfish and unlikable. Who cares? We don’t go to the movies to like eve…
Bridesmaids: The Truth About Movie Spew
Bridesmaids is a celebration of female friendship and also falls into the neo-genre called the Vom Com. It’s defined by gross-out humour films and it’s greatest modern example is probably The …
Paunch of Po Packs a Punch: Jack Black in Kung Fu Panda
Jack Black has always been a puddin’.And his Kung Fu Panda character Po is packin’ quite a paunch in the sequel too.The story of this instalment is Po’s search for his identity – who his real fathe…
Why Pirates 4 On Stranger Tides and Snowtown Might Make A Great Double Feature
The US has the Deep South. We have Deep South Australia.The US has the hillbilly. We have the ocker. We even name our scary films after places in South Australia – or make the f…
JJ Abrams Gives Us A Preview of Super 8
SUPER 8 is the new movie from JJ Abrams that stars 5 Tween boys and a Tween girl in the movie that looks to have the best explosive train wreck of all time. It makes the plane crash at the end o…
BILL HICKS AT POPCORN TAXI
When I was first introduced to the mind, wit and commentary of stand-up comedian Bill Hicks in the mid-90s, I immediately felt my soul recognise a kindred spirit.Then I found out he was dead.It was co…
ITS REBEL WILSON NOT JONAH HILL IN DRAG IN BRIDESMAIDS TRAILER 2
There’s a bit of a debate online and this might clear it up: 15 seconds into the 2nd BRIDESMAIDS trailer is a great Aussie award-winning actress Rebel Wilson NOT Jonah Hill in drag. Matt …
THOR HAD TO BE AN AUSSIE BLOKE
Thor is a hell of an attractive entity. He’s not really a superhero despite finding himself in the Marvel stable of comic book personnel. He’s a well-travelled god – kind…
How To Make The Next Batman Movie Good
The problem with Batman is the same problem I have with [ugh] Superman – he’s far too ‘Mr Goody Two Shoes’. Of course, this is true of Batman to a lesser extent – but bot…
IS RUSSELL BRAND AS ARTHUR BACH BETTER THAN DUDLEY MOORE
It was always going to be a tough call to convince lovers of the 1981 classic Arthur starring Dudley Moore – that anyone else could re-make this movie and get it right. But out of all the Brit a…
8 REASONS TO SEE SUCKER PUNCH
This is what happens when The Spice Girls get militant. Nah, it’s better than that but Zack Snyder is on a razor sharp fence here. Falling to either side would save his arse – but lo…
JUST GO WITH IT Is Too Much To Ask
Walked out of JUST GO WITH IT starring Jen Aniston after 73 minutes.Worst movie so far this year.Worst rom com so far this year.Worst on screen couple so far this year.Worst kid actors in a movie so f…
8 REASONS TO SEE HOP Russell Brand Breathes Life Into A Shy Icon
Santa Claus has a heap of movies made about him and his life – the least cheesy and most outstanding would have to be Billy Bob Thornton in BAD SANTA and lots of people are very excited he&rsquo…
JASON STATHAM VERSUS CHARLES BRONSON IN THE MECHANIC
Who is the better mechanic? The 1972 original film called The Mechanic starring Charles Bronson and the Brad-Pitt-of-his-day Jan Michael Vincent (who’s rumoured to have lost his way to Hollywood…
8 REASONS TO SEE LIMITLESS NOW WE CAN ALL BE ON THE DRUG THAT IS CHARLIE SHEEN
I’ve been busting to bust out a review of this film but an embargo forced me to keep my fingers away from the ‘upload’ function of the keyboard. Now The Great Wall Of The Embargo has…
MY NICOLE KIDMAN INTERVIEW – RABBIT HOLE
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8 REASONS TO SEE CATFISH
THE FACTS Director – Ariel Schulman & Henry JoostStars – Yaniv Schulman [you’ll have to see it to find out who else is in it]THE GIST I don’t want to say for fear I may spoil the exp…
8 REASONS TO SEE THE GREEN HORNET 3D
THE FACTS Director – Michel GondryStars – Seth Rogan, Jay Chou, Christoph Waltz, Tom Wilkinson, Cameron Diaz, Edward Furlong THE GIST Britt Reid is a rich brat. His mean ol’ dad die…
ROBERT DE NIRO'S SPEECH MADE THE GLOBES GOLDEN
At 9 mins 40 seconds in he says about movies:’It’s up to the audiences to decide if it’s entertainment, the critics to decide if it’s good and ultimately, posterity to decide if it’s art.’Here’…
FLICKERFEST IS THE BOMB AND TOUR INFO
It was a great thing to be a juror for the 20th Flickerfest at Bondi Pavillion. The films have screened, the awards have been won and now groups of entries will tour Australia so everyone can ge…
TRUE GRIT – A COEN WESTERN
The Coen Bros have done a re-make of True Grit – the 1969 John Wayne classic western about an alcoholic, world-weary lawman who helps a teenage girl avenge her father’s murder. The o…
THE MOVIE NETWORK OUTTAKES REEL
memories……
My Top 10 Movies Of 2010
There are in no particular order. 1 Kick Ass – well shot actioner with a tough aspirational pre-pubescent role model for women of all ages 2 The Kings Speech &ndash…
Ben Mendelsohn wins AFI Best Actor for Animal Kingdom
And here he is backstage at the AFIs with me straight after the win – in the Star Pics Star Suite.I was personally thrilled to bits for him.It was an astonishing performance from an actor who is more …
AUSTRALIAN ACTORS WHO LOOK LIKE COLONEL SANDERS
While doing a fun and informative interview with RED HILL writer/director Patrick Hughes along with lead actor Ryan Kwanten (True Blood), I wanted to find an interesting way to get into talking about …