What's On @ the Movies 2013 - The Call {PREVIEW}

- 16 May 2013

Coming to a cinema near you is a generic thriller that has so much promise, that yes it's hard to deliver and poor Halle Berry has another flop on her hands.

I saw the trailer for this movie countless times in the US when I was there earlier this year. To say I was excited was an understatement. This is the second movie in this vein, Olympus has Fallen looked awesome but it turned out to be utter and I mean utter shit.

The Call showed promise, it was tense, exciting and a fun joy ride (well not for the kid nap victim), however it took a woeful turn for the worst.

Cinema can be a good place to relax and unwind but when you find yourself going from tense moments to laughing out loud at moments which should be taken seriously.

Poor Halle you have to feel sorry for her, after that horrid (yes the critics were right) red hot mess Movie 43, she was globally bagged for her role in Catwoman (I actually liked this film) & everyone I talked to other than me hated New Years Eve.

So after sitting through 96 minutes of this the credits rolled and the whole audience laughed at a SUPER lame ending. Oh boy, it's made over 50 million in the US but here I think it will be lucky to get two weeks at the cinema.

So The Call, it's a call you would avoid kinda like a call from Manila or Mumbai, it rates 1 star cause I feel sorry for Halle.



Don't let the preview excite you too much.

6 days till the first album of the year nomination

Only 6 more sleeps on Flashing off the Record until the first Album of the Year for 2013 nomination is announced. And let me tell you there has been some ace records this year....

MAJOR LAZER - FREE THE UNIVERSE



PHOENIX - BANKRUPT!



FOALS - HOLY FIRE



RUDIMENTAL - HOME



BIRDS OF TOKYO - MARCH FIRES



HUNGRY KIDS OF HUNGARY - YOU'RE A SHADOW



So out of these who will be the first of the year's nominations? Tough to pick but one of these albums will take the spotlight as the first album of the year nomination over @

Also on Flashing off the Record:

Monday - My full Tame Impala review and if that wasn't enough they were my Saturday Soundtrack
Sundays - Countdowns ahoy! And very soon a full countdown of the best songs over Autumn, stay tuned.

See you round...

The Best Australian TV Series in Years (well since East West 101)

But of course it's on FOXTEL. Yeah why would the commercial networks bother with gritty, hard hitting TV? It's too hard, it's hard to market, it's bold, it's challenging, something Channel 10, 9 & 7 would clearly struggle with.

I'm talking about the new SOHO show Wentworth, the series based around the original Prisoner series which was a cult favourite in the 80's and I think Wentworth is headed in the same direction.

Danielle Cormack is outstanding as the lead and the supporting cast are all wonderful, I won't do a spoiler alert but the conclusion of the first episode leaves a great mystery to be solved.

I was super excited by the ending and the prospect of a decent Australian drama the first in a long while. Whilst America is churning out great shows left right and centre, FX, HBO, Showtime, Netflix, all killing it.

So if you have a Foxtel subscription I strongly urge you check out this great new drama, if not you can stream the first episode for free, how cool is that? Click here to watch some all female action.

For a little look into the show let's have a peek below:



Wentworth screens Wednesday nights @ 8:30pm, so basically you could watch quality local drama or Celebrity Splash? The choice is yours, it doesn't matter what you choose just know I will be judging you....

What's On @ the Movies 2013 - The Other Son

- Actual Film Release 2012

A small film but a beautiful film of family and issues in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, and how two families come to terms with their boys swapped at birth due to an evacuate after bombings on the night of their birth.

The film is in French (predominately) with some English and Hebrew & Arabic, thank god for SBS style subtitles.

The session I went to was a private screening as it seemed others were either enjoying the nice day or catching up on Celebrity Splash all over my Voice.

I really enjoyed this film, in two days I have seen two dramas and both are well done and have their strong points. this film helps bridge the gap between these war torn parts of the world.

If you are in the mood for some drama then this and The Place Beyond the Pines are definitely worth a look in.



Until next time I am sure a big Blockbuster is due to be review soon :)

The Other Son rates 3.5 so Frenchy so Chic Stars.

What's On @ the Movies 2013 - The Place Beyond the Pines

- Film also released September 2012 as part of the Toronto Film Festival.


This indie movie has a bumper cast and a big (long) story to tell. It's almost like two movies in one as you go from one story to a total different tale.

It was a deep movie for a Friday night but with outstanding performances by Ryan Gosling & Bradley Cooper & the supporting cast are terrific too.

Rose Byrne and Ben Mendelsohn fly the Aussie flag for good measure (man has Ben done well for a former junkie) and readers all know how much I love me some Rose Byrne. It's been hard without her on the TV now Damages is done and dusted.

It is a good movie to fill a few hours this weekend as there seems to be a real shortage of decent films that don't happen to be monster blockbusters. That said I am still desperate to see Iron Man 3.

Check out the trailer below of The Place beyond the Pines:



How can Ryan Gosling pull off that horrid bleached blonde look? He can do no wrong really can he?

So after a long absence from the cinema it was good to be back and I rated this drama highly, quality acting, great story (stories) and it is always good to see realistic dramas are still out there.

3.75 Stars.

Triple Treat Thursday

Theatre, Comedy and Music all in this BUMPER review of Thursday May 2nd 2013.

First up THEATRE: A Clockwork Orange


So what happens when an overly gay production of a classic cult film takes the stage? Basically there was a moment while I was watching this and I decided I really prefer live music, comedy or film, this questioned my ability to sit through a 90 minute one act piece.

It has had great reviews, the mostly schools performance I saw seemed to enjoy it but for me it was lacking something, the dance pieces to classic indie songs like "Standing in the Way of Control" by the Gossip and The Scissor Sisters awesome cover of "Comfortably Numb".

The more of these songs coming over the top of the production the more of a red hot mess it became. The characters and supporting characters to the main Alex were so camp it was hard to believe that a man was upset to be raped when he was shimming around not two minutes earlier.  Maybe it's just I am not high brow enough but I know this was definitely not my cup of tea and with a few hours to spare it was off to Ronny Chieng.

COMEDY: Ronny Chieng - Can You Do This, No You Can't


Ronny Chieng is great his last show I saw at the Comedy Store was so much fun, he seems to have a lot of anger but then seeing him off stage he was totally shy and adorable. But I can't give that away you need to experience this for yourself.

And you must see Ronny Chieng, he is set for big things and he continues to build his following. I think personally he was has wide appeal, he gets in the Chinese, the young Uni crowd, the crowd that enjoys listening to a well educated dude. And to be honest he doesn't just use swears for a laugh.

His new show is well presented and in my mind should have been in a bigger venue, this dude seems to be building a loyal fan-base and I am sure he will be back in a bigger space next time.

Ronny has the goods and he also tells a damn good story and I truly think he is one of Australia's next greatest comedians.

MUSIC: Tame Impala - The Hordern Pavilion


Oh the stoners and hipsters were out in force and so was the weed trade. During one song I kid you not this massive puff of smoke went up in the air and I almost got stoned just at the sigh and smell. I think if there were drug sniffers dogs there they would have earn their keep for like the next six months.

The crowd was mostly trendy and clearly loved the fact Triple J continue to crown them Australian Albums of the Year.  Don't get me wrong their last album "Lonerism" was great, it had some great tracks on it, and seeing these live was a real treat.

Their seemed to be some technically issues going on but the band from Perth powered through and delivered some awesome garage rock that makes these guys famous across the world.  Tame Impala have played festivals across the globe and they always deliver a strong performance back home.  They played their hits "Elephant" & "Feel Like We Only Go Backwards" back to back. Very impressive, they also played my personal favourite "Solitude is Bliss" from their debut "Innerspeaker" early on to.

I left mid set as all the entertainment in one day was a little too much and it was cold and by looking at the set list other than "Mind Mischief" I caught all my favourites.

I will post a more comprehensive review of the gig over HERE


Until tomorrow, will we will look t my other favourite art form, Film, so BOOKMARK now!

The Best TV Finale in years (if not this decade)

I have focused on the horrific TV formats lately but today I want to focus on



Kevin Bacon and co as part of The Following have wrapped up series one in the US and my god, what a finale. It was a flawless piece of television, it was no Olympus has Fallen with the good guys coming up trumps when there was no way in hell this would happen in real life. There was tension, there was drama, there was a great lead into to the already renewed second season.

I am so happy with this show, it has definitely been the pick of the new shows in the US 2012-2013 season.  Channel Ten claims Elementary is but other than Lucy Liu being shit hot the show is just another procedural police drama, BORING.

The Following has been a violent and interesting look at society and how one man can create such terror. With good twists and turns the Following is one of those shows that has lived up to all it's hype, rated well throughout the season and continued to out do itself.

Here's hoping series two will continue to be so fab!

And all eyes and minds continue to be focusing on the upcoming American Horror Story - Coven. Thank god for people like Ryan Murphy and Kevin Bacon, please don't sign up for Celebrity Splash or Celebrity Apprentice anytime soon you guys.