The Hurt Locker

I've got to start with this, I can't wait until the end - I'll be very disappointed if The Hurt Locker wins Best Picture at the Oscars.

It's not that it isn't a good movie - it is a good one - but it's just not 'Best Picture' good in my opinion.

Having said that I'm not sure Avatar is worthy of the gong either and I wonder if this is the one that has been picked to prevent the over-hyped film from winning the award (much like Crash in Brokeback Mountain's year).

That rant aside, The Hurt Locker is an interesting look into the lives and minds of men sent to war in Iraq.

After a cameo from Guy Pearce at the start we focus on Sergeant William James (Jeremy Renner). On the surface he is a cavalier bomb defuser who seems unaffected by the trauma of going to war and the fact that he's risking his life every day.

His team members JT Sanborn (Anthony Mackie) and Owen Eldridge (Brian Geraghty) are acutely aware of the dangers involved, particularly Eldridge who is suffering severe emotional strain and wants to give in more than once.

This is a war film but above all else it is a film about human emotions, how we deal with extreme situations and the different ways we deal with them.

The two standouts are Renner and Geraghty. They have very polarised takes on their jobs with James not really affected by war, in fact he's hooked on it, until faced with a tragedy that is a little personal while Eldridge falls apart a number of times but dusts himself off when he's called on.

I must admit The Hurt Locker was a bit slow to begin but once the characters were given time to develop it really picked up. There are a number of disturbing scenes and a number of very powerful scenes and there is a level of tension at times though not a consistent one.

I am not a film maker, certainly not a director, so I don't want to knock anyone's achievement in making the film but I don't see what is so exceptional about this that warrants the hype (again, I say the same about Avatar aside from the groundbreaking effects and use of 3D - the story was very pedestrian) for both director and the overall film.

If that sounds negative towards the movie I don't mean it - I'm merely pointing out that, away from all the hype there is a good film in there with some excellent performances. But's that's all it is, a good film, a 7.5 out of 10 for me.

It's not a film you can say you 'enjoyed' but it is worthwhile, though I don't need to see it again.

The week that was

Where to start....

My first week back at work after holidays went pretty well, aided in part by starting the week on a Tuesday, and it was good to be back.

It was a pretty standard first couple of days then things got interesting (outside of work that is).

On Thursday evening I ventured up to Akuna Bay in Sydney's north for a boat ride.

Now I had been hesitant at times about heading out on the water, for reasons I don't need to go into, but it was an awesome time. While I didn't venture into the water it was just great cruising around and doing something that is out of the normal routine.

After a couple of hours we had to stop play because of bad light and headed in for a barbecue. One thing that was lacking was lighting but we made do. After a while we had a few visitors, some very cute possums came to check out what we were up to. If it weren't for the sharp claws I'd have wanted to grab one and pat him.

Anway, Friday arrived and I was invited to a special luncheon at Luna Park (pictured). A number of well known sporting stars were there and it's nice to see them in a different light.

Cricketer Stuart Clark was most impressive, his affable personality is something we don't see so much when the cameras are rolling.

There were plenty of stories told and I'll leave it at that - what happens at Luna Park stays at Luna Park!

Saturday I went to the races and today I enjoyed the day hanging out with a friend near the city.

We watched a movie, had some interesting and at times animated discussion and were rained on while walking back from the cinema. This friend has fast become a very good mate, and I feel fortunate to have met them.

So it's been a top week, and with a trip to Melbourne on the horizon for later this week there's plenty to look forward to.

Howzat

With a lacklustre cricket season out of the way I have to say I am looking forward to the start of the footy competitions.
While I follow rugby league more than AFL I do enjoy seeing how Victorians really love their game. Next weekend I'm heading to Melbourne (for the races) but the AFL's pre-season competition will be nearing its end and I remember last year being amazed at seeing the semi-finals of a pre-season comp airing on prime time TV.
That's how much they love it.
I think that the people who run cricket really ought to look at rugby league, and AFL to a lesser extent, and see that people enjoy a competition. Sure, some people go to or watch the cricket because they love it but, really, nobody enjoys a one sided game and that's what we have had this summer aside from one test match that Pakistan somehow managed to lose when they had it in the bag.
So, bring on the footy!

Holding The Man

A couple of weeks ago I came across a book that really floored me.
I don't recall being as engrossed and as traumatised by something since I saw the film 2:37 a few years back.
The book is Holding The Man by Timothy Conigrave. It was released back in 1995, not long after he died from AIDS related illness some three years after his partner John Caleo also succumbed and the book is the story of their relationship.
I guess it's a touchy subject with some and I've found it tough to discuss.
In one way it is a very easy read, I love things written in the first person because it's more like someone is telling you a story rather than you reading it. (I think that makes sense).
But in another way it is incredibly difficult. It's a bit on the graphic side at times describing Tim's journey of self discovery and, even worse, it's pretty graphic when it comes to charting John's deterioration.
Holding The Man begins in the 70s and we meet Tim in grade four. He's your average Catholic kid growing up in Melbourne, he doesn't stand out and he's trying to work out where he stands in the world.
A few years later, in an all-boys Catholic senior school, he meets John, the captain of the footy team and seemingly your everyday jock. By this point Tim has realised that he's gay and, to his surprise, he strikes up a friendship with John that, to the casual observer, is a very odd one.
And I think that characterises their 15 year relationship that would follow.
It's as if Tim went his whole life thinking he either wasn't good enough or wasn't experienced enough for John. Sadly, it is this insecurity that ultimately led him to contract HIV (in my opinion) at a time when the disease was really only becoming known.
I won't go further into the book's story, you know where it heads.
It didn't take me long to read, partly because I couldn't put it down plus it's just under 300 pages.
Holding The Man is heartbreaking.
That's the main emotion I came away with. I was shattered, even though you knew exactly what was going to happen (hey, it's a true story), and I still really don't know how to process it.
One thing really stood out. Tim was the type of person who needed validation, whereas John was someone whose actions did the talking. He describes a conversation with his counsellor about it.

'' I wish John would tell me he loved me. 'Have you discussed it with him?. I said I had. 'And what does he say?' 'Words are cheap. Can't you see I love you?' I told him it'd be nice to hear it now and then. Mark (the counsellor) smiled. 'It's a classic case of different communication systems. You use lots of auditory words. 'Tell me. Nice to hear it'. John says 'Can't you see?'. He processes things differently. No doubt he shows he loves you. Maybe all you need to do is look around and see what kinds of things he does'.''

It got me thinking that I'm a bit on the auditory side. I believe it is nice to say things like I love you or I think you're awesome but it really hit me that at times I don't notice, and give enough credence to, the things that my friends do that show they care.
The devastating thing about Holding The Man is the realisation that Tim comes to once John has died.

'I guess the hardest thing is having so much love for you and it somehow not being returned. I develop crushes all the time but that is just misdirected need for you. You are a hole in my life, a black hole. Anything I place there cannot be returned. I miss you terribly.'

Genders aside, I can't imagine what that feels like. Just reading about it was hard enough, let alone having to go through watching the person you love fade away in front of you.
Sure, we only get to hear Tim's perspective and because of that it may be a somewhat romanticised version of what happened (in some aspects). It would be interesting to have heard some of the story from John's side but that will never happen.
Still, it's a story that's going to stay with me for a while.

One Hit Wonders

Craig's list got me thinking about my favourite one hit wonders - we all have them.
They are the songs that, for the most part, are a shade on the embarrassing side and normally hail from the late 70s to the 80s.
So, while I'll probably look back in a month and wonder how I forgot certain songs, here goes:

10. Sunglasses At Night (Corey Hart)
9. Come On Eileen (Dexys Midnight Runners)
8. Tainted Love (Soft Cell)
7. I Can Dream About You (Dan Hartman)
6. No Myth (Michael Penn)
5. Walking On Sunshine (Katrina & The Waves)
4. Video Killed The Radio Star (The Buggles)
3. Believe It Or Not (Joey Scarbury)
2. Take On Me (a-ha)
1. Break My Stride (Matthew Wilder)

Shutter Island

I have to admit I didn't get what I was expecting from Shutter Island.

That can be a good thing in a movie and one thing I could say is that it wasn't predictable (at least from where I was sitting, a few others thought otherwise).

Set in 1954, US Marshal Teddy Daniels (Leonardo DiCaprio) arrives at Shutter Island, a mental hospital for the criminally insane, to investigate the disappearance of a patient.

His arrival, along with fellow Marshal Chuck Aule (Mark Ruffalo), is met with a rather frosty reception from those in charge on the island.

On the surface they are pleasant enough but once Daniels starts asking questions they shut him down fast, particularly the leading physician Dr John Cawley (Ben Kingsley) who is very reluctant to pass on information.

As he investigates the facilities Daniels is haunted by dreams of his dead wife (Michelle Williams) and suffers debilitating headaches.

Things take a turn when he discovers a note that asks 'Who is number 67', referring to the fact there are 66 patients on the island but an extra, secret, patient is suspected.

Overall, the feel of the film is tense and no doubt Martin Scorsese put a lot of effort into creating that feel. I must add thought that a few scenes were pretty poorly shot, particularly involving the scenery behind the conversations during car travel.

The actors are solid and I thought Leo held the film together pretty well (I'm not a massive fan).

As I said I left having seen something I didn't really expect.

It was a shade slow to start off but once the film hit its straps it was very engaging but I can't go any higher than 7 out of 10. It was interesting but could have been a bit better.

Road's end

Just 19 episodes were made of October Road and I finally got around to finishing off this hugely promising series that was cut down before it could get going.

What keeps me coming back to a TV show are the characters. If the characters are interesting and ones you can relate to (in some ways) it's a huge start.

October Road, set in a town in Massachusetts, was filled with 'people' you cared about and a few you despised (there always has to be villains!).

The basic plot is that Nick Garrett (Bryan Greenberg) returns to Knights Ridge 10 years after leaving town to go backpacking for six weeks. He left behind his girlfriend Hannah (Laura Prepon), his dad (Tom Berenger), brother Ronnie (Jonathan Murphy) and his friends.

In the 10 years since he left he has written a book, basically fictionalising his friends and family in less than a positive light.

Upon returning the reception is cold from his best friend Eddie (Geoff Stults) and he discovers that Hannah has a 10 year old son called Sam. So, the show delves into Nick's readjustment and the lingering question - is he Sam's father?

As I said the great thing about October Road is its characters. There's Physical Phil, who hasn't left his home for five years and has become the town 'crazy man' (according to the kids), the barman Rooster, the insecure Janet and the under-rated Ronnie Garrett.

I enjoyed every minute of the 13 episodes in series 2 that I watched this week and it's just sad that the show had to end abruptly. Fortunately, among the special features is a 10 minute series wrap up where we find out what happened to the characters and the identity of Sam's father.

October Road is just another example of a fine show that was well written but not given enough time to find its audience. I'm just happy that I saw it.

Valentine's Day

It's a case of too many stars and not enough character development in the Love Actually clone Valentine's Day .

There's so much going on and so many characters to acquaint yourself with in the end you don't really care. What the film is trying to show, and it succeeds in some areas, is that Valentine's Day is experienced in many different ways.

Some people adore it and revel in the sending and receiving of flowers and valentines while others, quite hilariously, despise the day.

A Who's Who of Hollywood's B-List (with a few notable A Listers) line up in Valentine's Day to bring us stories of a guy who proposes to his girlfriend (who says yes, sort of)only to have her leave him, of teenage love, of love lost and love remembered, of boyhood crushes, infidelity, of anti-love, the obligatory gay storyline (between two very mismatched actors I must say) and of finding true love.

Without going through everyone's storylines, the ones I liked were as follows.

Ashton Kutcher, who played flower salesman Reed, seemed to hold the film together and I have to say he was very solid.

I enjoyed the story around Kara (Jessica Biel), a sports agent who loathes Valentine's Day and holds her own I Hate Valentine's Day party each year. The smashing of the pinata was a highlight for me.

Queen Latifah was quite funny as powerbroker Paula and her storyline intertwining with Anne Hathaway's Liz, who moonlights as a 'phone entertainment worker' was great. And I liked Topher Grace's character Jason.

I didn't think much of the teenagers, particularly the Taylor Swift-Taylor Lautner segments.

I have to say this was pretty poor when you consider that the likes of Julia Roberts (who had a great role and a bit surprising), Shirley MacLaine and Kathy Bates were involved.

Despite liking parts I can only give a 5.5 out of 10 and say that if you're going to do a romantic comedy then try not to stack the deck too much, because it doesn't work.

That, and Love Actually did it better.

Daybreakers

I read somewhere that Daybreakers is the vampire movie that we had to have to counter all the Twilight romanticising of the genre.

And, happily, it isn't bad.

Set in 2019 in a world where vampires are the dominant species and the human population is down to 5 per cent. This means there is a blood shortage and the vamps are getting desperate.

Charles Bromley (Sam Neill) is the boss of the world blood suppliers and his team, led by Edward Dalton (Ethan Hawke), is working on finding a blood substitute.

Dalton is something of a vegetarian (in the Twilight sense) vampire in that he doesn't feed on human blood and he is sought out by a small group of humans looking for a sympathetic vampire to help their cause.

The group's leader Audrey (Claudia Karvan) takes Dalton to meet Lionel (Willem Defoe), a man who claims to be a 'cured' vampire.

So you can see where this is heading.

In the first few scenes it leaves you in no doubt that this is not one of the vampire stories we are fed these days. It's brutal, there's a lot of things jumping out. And then there are the underlings, vampires starved of blood that go feral.

I'd say about 95 per cent of this film is excellent as far as the genre is concerned but the writers did sell out a little toward the end with a bit of gratuitous gore. I enjoyed the largely Australian cast though it is disappointing that they had to put on American accents - the always excellent Claudia Karvan tended to struggle at times with that.

Overall it is well worth seeing, and while I'm only going 6.5 out of 10 I did enjoy it and hopefully it can signal a return to the classic depiction of vampires. But with two more Twilight films to come I highly doubt it.

A story worth hearing

When someone who has battled cancer for their entire life says there's no point in being unhappy then you should listen.
When they are just 18 you can't help but pay attention.
I have to say I was taken aback by the story of Samuel Symons, which was told tonight on Australian Story on the ABC.
The story told by the teenage son of well known musician and TV personality Red Symons should serve as a wake up call to us all. Don't take life for granted and enjoy what you are given.
He said he has no time for death and never will and added that by being unhappy you are preventing yourself from living.
I won't go into his details, I'm sure they'll be well published in the coming days - if they haven't already.
But I will say that I did get a little teary-eyed near the end, such was the power of his story, his words, his courage and his outlook.
We all see Red Symons as a funny, if brutally abrupt, person largely from his years on Hey Hey It's Saturday. It's amazing that he was able to perform a comedy show while his son was battling cancers at such a young age (Hey Hey finished in 1999 or thereabouts).
If you missed this episode of Australian Story try and catch a repeat. It's worth 30 minutes of your time, believe me.

Up In The Air

If you take the time to sit back and watch a film that is high on dialogue and low on effects every now and then you can find a masterpiece. (Possible spoilers)

Well, Up In The Air is one such film. Make no mistake, this is one outstanding example of movie making and how a story can move you without having to resort to CGI or other technology.

Ryan Bingham (George Clooney) is the man companies hire 'when they don't have the balls' to fire their employees. He lives his life out of a suitcase and revels in the lifestyle of no commitment and high privilege.

When the company he works for decides to embrace new technology to fire people by video hookup Bingham, the expert and not getting personal, goes into bat for the people who need the personal touch when being told they are out of a job.

The ripples are caused by Natalie Keener (Anna Kendrick), a naive young woman whose ideals clash with Bingham's comfortable life. When Bingham goes on a crusade to prove that people shouldn't be fired by video link, Keener's eyes are opened to the real world and how you can't simply treat people like cattle.

Complicating matters is Alex (Vera Farmiga), a beautiful executive who seems to be the female version of Bingham. And they hook up whenever they can.

The irony of these characters is magnificent. Bingham, who gives what amount to be anti-motivational speeches about how we all carry too much stuff in our backpacks, thrives on the personal touch his job allow yet is happy living in his own little world. Natalie's irony is brilliant, here's a woman who champions the human touch, the need to have people around you, yet she is masterminding the very non-personal method of doing her job. And Alex, the woman who maybe without knowing it drags Bingham into considering a normal life and not one devoted to frequent flyer miles, before she cruelly crushes him.

There are two endings to this film and I think Jason Reitman has done this so well. We're given our Hollywood ending in the shape of Natalie's character but Ryan Bingham's fate is not according to the way we'd all like to see things end. (Don't worry he doesn't die).

We're all afraid of change in some way and we're all naive when it comes down to it. Some people just hide it better. Clooney proves this through his character, a man who on the surface has the world worked out but in reality is just as confused as everyone else.

I could go on and on. This is one of the best films I have seen in a long time, it's funny at times and it is a story that will affect you long after you've seen it - if you really think about it. Clooney is excellent, best performance from him since Good Night And Good Luck and I thought Kendrick was a revelation here.

She's known to most as Jessica in the Twilight series and her fellow castmates should take plenty of note of her performance here. She can act and if she takes more roles like this in the future we'll be talking about her long after the Robert Pattinsons and Kristen Stewarts are reduced to typecasting.

A very solid 9 out of 10 and early contender for film of the year.

The decade the music died

I've been trying to come up with the number of CDs I bought last year and I can think of a total of seven.
They are Mariah Carey's Memoirs Of An Imperfect Angel, John Mayer's Battle Studies, Rascal Flatts' Unstoppable, The Script's self-titled album and U2's No Line On The Horizon. Plus two CDs by Ryan Adams that were released in 2001 and 2004.
Probably as recently as five years ago I'd buy maybe 20 CD's a year but I think it's a reflection of the lack of really great music around these days that I haven't bought much at all.
I have got the odd free one from work here and there and there has been the occasional surprise but on the whole, unless it is a new CD from an artist I already like and have a collection of, music has entered a new decade for the worst.
I'm convinced that the 2000s, the Noughties as some call them, was the decade the music died.
We've been over run by dance and hip-hop crap which all sounds the same, nonsensical lyrics and forgettable songs.
When I look at the top 50 singles, which I used to do on a regular basis, I see few songs that I like and quite a lot that I've never heard of (and when the artist has dollar signs or exclamation marks in their name that doesn't attract me to listen).
The sad thing is that some of the better music I have heard lately has been country music and that's scary because I've spent more than half my life declaring I hate it so either I'm getting old and soft or country is getting better (therefore pop/rock is getting worse).
So far in 2010 I'm looking forward to getting the new Lifehouse album Smoke & Mirrors which comes out in March. And Mariah is releasing a remix album of her last CD and given its pedestrian nature (aside from a few crackers) I don't hold out much hope for it.
By the way, I'm not saying there hasn't been great music in the 2000s because there has been a heap of it. I'm arguing that in the last few years the quality has dropped off alarmingly and if it wasn't for Pink, who continues to surprise me, pop/rock music would hardly get a look in.