March 2010 - 1 For The Road

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Cate Blanchett steals the show in this haunting thriller about Anne Wilson, a compassionate intriguing woman with extra sensory perception. She sees the future, yes and dead people.

In a mix of psychotic characters blended into one town, you've got the wife beater, the junkie looking wife who can't live without him, the widow, the slut, the successful man, and the mental patient all rolled into one town. It's so intriguing and twisted and even has an unexpected ending thrown into the works. There's an array of familiar faces including, Keanu Reeves, Katie Holmes and Giovanni Ribisi to name a few, but it's Cate who pulls the film together and makes it well worth watching.

Basically Anne Wilson has a 'gift'. She sees visions of things that are going to happen. Her husband died in an explosion at his work so she's left to bring up her three sons and survives off social security money and telling people their fortunes using cards with little symbols on them.

Suddenly there is a death in the town and Mrs Wilson is called upon to help the police determine the murderer using her psychic ability as a last resort. It leads her on a dangerous path. The wife beater played by Keanu Reeves becomes the number one suspect after the body is found in a pond at his home and he is consequently sent to jail after his violent history is revealed. Mrs Wilson continues to see visions of the victim, Katie Holmes, and knows the case is far from over and the wrong man has been sent to prison and the killer is still out there...

If you haven't seen The Gift, grab it on DVD, in my opinion you won't be disappointed.

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Posted By: Blondini - Category: Entertainment

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Old Party Girl

March 28th 2010 10:22

She’s an old party girl
Who misses the scene.
She’s longing for short thrills
At hot spots she’s been.

She squeezes into a short dress,
and covers herself in fake tan
She stares at herself in the mirror
wondering why she still hasn't found a real man.

She rocks up at the club
And walks straight up the line
But she's made to go to the back
She's not hot enough this time.

She searches for familiar faces
But she’s an alien in a place she once ‘owned’
Strangers surround her
She’s now an unknown.

She was big in her day
Photos flashing here and there
Now a new generation has moved in
No one who looks at her cares.

She’s a party animal,
Trying to hold onto her youth
Now she just looks pathetic
She’s denying the truth.

Frozen in the past,
Dressing too young for her age
Her soul is empty and hurting
That no one remembers her name.

She used to get free shots from the bar
Laughing with friends
Now she’s reaching for her wallet
Longing for the attention that’s now come to an end.

She hangs around the bar
Pouting at men who just look the other way
They move towards the new crowd
The new girls they can play.

The party girl only has memories
of a pointless nights fun,
She’s trying to re-live the good times
The times that are done.

Over the years she’s filled up her loneliness,
With friendships all fake
Craving for attention
Putting her health at stake

She’s now invisible
And it hurts deep inside
Taken over with self infatuation and insecurity
That’s taking away her pride.

Downing drink after drink
And trying to have good time
She went out looking classy,
Now she isn’t worth a dime.

She’s stumbles out of that old place
Feeling betrayed
All the years that she went there
All the hours she stayed.

She’s tripping over her own feet now,
And scraping her knees….
She’s a crying mess in the gutter
People walk by and tease.

Mascara is running down her wrinkled face
as she slurs abuse at the guards
She thought she still owned the place
Now "the drunk" is barred.

What happened to the socialite,
the star of the night?
She needs to let go now
And turn off that light.

image: smh.com.au

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Posted By: Blondini - Category: About

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Balibo 5

March 26th 2010 09:41

Sometimes, as an Australian, you think you’re invincible overseas. Sometimes as a journalist you forget that you’re not. Sometimes you become ignorant and desensitised to the realities and fragility of life. This is the case of the Balibo 5, a group of young, ambitious male journalists with the hunger to go above and beyond their role and risk their lives to get the story to the world. They lost their lives trying, but in doing so highlighted a significant event that had been overlooked and is still under investigation.

The film is based on true events. Set in 1975 in East Timor (Portuguese Timor back then), 50-year-old Australian Roger East, also known as the sixth Balibo journalist, is called upon by a free press organization to help cover an imminent invasion by Indonesia and the atrocities that are to come. After finding out 5 Australian journalists have gone missing he agrees to investigate.

He follows the deadly path of the five enthusiastic young men aged from 21 to 29 sent to Timor by rival stations Channel 7 and 9. As East searches for answers the Indonesians slowly move into Timor and begin seemingly killing everyone in their path. After talking to the Timorese, including one soldier who sacrifices his life in vain for East’s quest to uncover the truth, East is finally led to a place known as the Chinese house, a supposed safe haven for the Balibo five which they nicknamed the Australian Embassy. A place they thought they were invincible. The walls are stained with blood when East arrives and he quickly learns of their deadly fate.

The deaths of the Balibo Five are played out in a flashback sequence. As the Chinese house is surrounded by Indonesian soldiers the journalists give themselves up unarmed, “I’m Australian, I’m Australian!” they plead, but the soldiers show them no mercy, stabbing them and shooting them in a deadly bloodbath before burning the bodies and all their film.

The Indonesians move deeper into the country and catch up to East. East, while trying to report everything he has seen, is dragged out of the office and is killed in the streets, once again pleading "I'm Australian, I'm Australian!" Hundreds more Timorese are executed around him in the take over.

Based on the facts available to the filmmakers, I found the Balibo 5 a very real portrayal of what is perceived to have happened. I liked the subtle touches of Australian culture at the beginning of the film; fishing, drinking beer and swimming in a back yard pool, because it made the Australian audience feel very ‘at home’ with the characters.

It’s an interesting story as the Indonesian Government say the Balibo 5 were killed in cross fire, while in 2007 an Australian coroner ruled they were killed deliberately.

To this day no one has been brought to justice for their deaths. If you're into history and current affairs, a great watch.

BALIBO 5
Greg Shackleton, 27 – reporter, Seven Network
Tony Stewart, 21 – sound recordist, Seven Network
Gary Cunningham, 27 – Seven Network
Brian Peters, 29 – Cameraman, Nine Network
Malcolm Rennie, 28 – Reporter, Nine Network

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Dying to Eat

March 25th 2010 01:17

She has her sights set on becoming the fattest woman in the world and one things for sure, 42-year-old Donna Simpson has already nabbed the award for one of the stupidest

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Posted By: Blondini - Category: People

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Mao's Last Dancer

March 24th 2010 22:53

I came out of my room with puffy red eyes. My housemate looked at me shocked, like I’d just suffered a loss in the family.
“What’s wrong?” she asked with concern on her face.
When I explained to her I had just watched Mao’s Last Dancer her concern turned to laughter. “God he’s an arrogant prick

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Tiger's Wood

March 23rd 2010 07:26

Tiger Woods is making a comeback to golf only a few months after he stuck his dirty driver into at least 12 other women who weren’t his wife, and they all screamed in joy knowing that he had a family back home, who were completely unsuspecting of his infidelity. Shame on you, you, you, yes and you, and you too, and you and you and you and you and you oh and how can I forget, you, you and you.

“I tried to stop and I couldn’t stop, it was horrific.’ Tiger said recently of the great sex he had with twelve hot women. You’re an idiot Tiger, honestly. Your fancy phrases which you conjured up to try help prove your regret have only been created because you got caught. You had heaps of fun, admit it. This guy’s a douchebag, let’s not forget it. I really don’t care how good he is at putting a ball in a hole. He had a stunning wife, two children and lots of cash – if he wasn't happy he should have ended the marriage. There is no excuse. He’s not a man, he’s a pig. Pig Woods

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Become Human Again.

March 23rd 2010 04:06

A few things have annoyed me in the past few days.

1. The wrong spelling in texts - it confuses me

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Alice in Wonderland - fail!

March 17th 2010 04:02

Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland is a hollow, emotionless and disjointed journey full of highly predictable events. It’s a try hard sequel that completely failed to impress. The film added nothing new to the original and touched very poorly on what has happened in ‘Wonderland’ since Alice has been away.

It begins with the typical scene of Alice falling down a hole where she is presented with the ‘drink me’ ‘eat me’ scenario and a tiny door. She gets confused, leaving the key behind on a table out of reach. A voice whispers ‘you’d think she’d remember from the first time’. And it’s right- why doesn’t she remember? The audience is instantly disappointed to realise that she doesn’t remember anything. Upon entering the world, she doesn’t seem to remember any of the characters. You’d expect her to embrace them with open arms and show in more depth what they had been up to in the last decade she had been away and what happened to the once cheery scene which has turned to darkness, but she continues to reject the world she is in as just a dream, and despite dreaming about the characters her whole life has no connection with them. Even they don’t know if she’s the real deal – the real ‘Alice’. There is also that annoying lack of consistency over her dress size. She keeps shrinking and growing throughout the film and sometimes she needs a new dress and other times the dress grows or shrinks with her.
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Praise for Avatar

March 16th 2010 00:06

Well I just saw Avatar for the second time and let’s face it, Avatar is a masterpiece. From the core of one man’s wild imagination to our blaring cinema screen comes a unique creation, splashed with neon colours and futuristic ideologies that deserve much praise. Avatar encapsulates a beautiful peaceful world that is under threat from money hungry earthlings that make you almost ashamed to be human. You suddenly find yourself in hippie mode cursing the human race and perhaps wishing everyone around you in the cinema join you in the fight against capitalism and conformity – bring back the forest! It delves into the politics behind indigenous cultures and the seemingly unstoppable power of America - out to get what they want at any cost. It’s a visual feast of bright colours and interesting creations such as flying lizards, colourful dragon-like birds, horses with multiple legs, demon dogs with no fur and other fauna, that form the world of Pandora, the fictitious creation of James Cameron. It’s easy to see similarities in Cameron’s made-up world and of indigenous communities in the real. It sends messages to the audience of what is really important in life and how superficial and materialistic our world has become that we would buy a mineral at the cost of a once happy community and the slaughter of their loved ones. The film sends messages about the abuse of power, the strength of love and the perils of war.

I must admit, the first time I saw the film I thought it was too long however I appreciated it much more in the second viewing. I particularly liked how each character's life came to an end. Let's start with the fall of the villan, Colonel Miles Quaritch played by Stephen Lang, head of the mining operation’s security. He is protected by high tech machinery for most of the film, giving orders and killing innocent people, however his life comes to a spectacular end by the people who’s lives he destroyed - shot in the heart by the Na’vi with a mere wooden arrow. Another death to note was the warrior Tsu'tey, betrayed by his lover who falls for the hero of the movie Jake, played by Sam Worthington. He is disliked for most of the movie due to his disapproval of Jake, but the audience’s view of him changes in his dying moments and respect is restored. The courageous warrior joins forces with Jake and dies in battle after bravely jumping onto a platform holding a group of soldiers and goes on a mass killing spree until he is shot in the chest.. falling to his death with dignity. I also thought the father of the clan’s death was symbolic. Stabbed in the heart by a splinter of hometree, the safehaven he would have helped create.
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