Scream 4

I'm a huge fan of the original Scream trilogy and it was with some excitement, and a little nervousness, that I approached Scream 4 . But I had nothing to be concerned about. With Kevin Williamson and Wes Craven involved and the stars of the franchise returning this is a winner. It's 10 years since Scream 3 and Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) has moved on from the events in Woodsboro and is the author of a book detailing how she came 'out of the darkness'.

She's back in town touring with the book when two teenagers are knocked off by the ghostfaced killer. We learn that Dewey Riley (David Arquette) is now the sheriff and is married to Gale Weathers (Courtney Cox - talk about art imitating life) who is no longer a reporter and is struggling to write a new book. There's a host of teenage characters here and it really is an interesting mix. Neve Campbell looks sensational while age has caught up with her Scream regular co-stars quite noticeably. This all doesn't matter. While Scream poked fun at the horror genre, Scream 4 now has a crack at the remake, or reboot, as we are seeing these days and it is done very cleverly. There is no way you can't enjoy Scream 4 if you were a fan of the original and its sequels. There's also a few cool cameos for good measure. Very well made, witty and funny - and easily an 8 out of 10 - and a nice way to bring an end to the series.

Something special

I was fortunate enough to be at Randwick today to see a truly super racehorse, Black Caviar, make a very good field of sprinters look second rate. 12 starts for 12 wins, unbelievable. It was a very special day. There have been some awesome moments at Randwick over the years I have been going there - Octagonal in 1996, Lonhro's farewell, Takeover Target's big wins including the TJ Smith. It's hard to say whether Black Caviar tops those moments, which were all special in their own times, but she is nothing short of a champion.

The Girl Who Kicked The Hornets' Nest

One thing was clear when watching The Girl Who Kicked The Hornets' Nest and that was the fact that if there was an editor of this film he was clearly not doing his job. What should have been a fast-paced, dramatic conclusion to the Millennium Trilogy was a slow, though at times compelling, limp to an ending that you could see coming a mile off. (I haven't read the books.) Not that every movie needs to have a shocking end, or anything like that, but it was so obvious where things were going. It's a shame really because The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo was simply outstanding, and the sequel The Girl Who Played With Fire was solid without being particularly awesome. I was expecting a lift from the second film, but what you get is a movie that is far, far too long, especially when you have to contend with subtitles. That wasn't as much of an issue in the first two movies but it was noticeable here. The second half of the movie was excellent but you have to wait about an hour to 90 minutes before things get going. This is not acceptable, and I don't care how acclaimed the first movie was. That gripe aside, I think the series was a good one. However, I see it as a waste of time for Hollywood to me remaking this series. It's far too controversial in parts for mainstream Hollywood and having it in English won't really change an awful lot. Noomi Rapace was excellent as Lisbeth Salander and Michael Nyqvist equally good as journalist Mikael Blomkvist. A 6.5 out of 10 for the final film in the series, though, and that's disappointing given the first one was easily an 8.

Red Riding Hood

Hats off to the people who made the trailer for Red Riding Hood because they made something that was pretty average look really good.

It's a shame, actually, because this could have been a decent film but it suffered from trying far too hard to be Twilight.

Probably shouldn't be surprised at that given it has the same director.
The casting people must also have been Twilight fans because they found two so impossibly good looking guys they are kind of distracting who also look just enough like Robert Pattinson to be Edward Cullen-like.

Then there is Valerie (Amanda Seyfried). She lives in a small village that has been terrorised by a wolf for many years. When her sister is killed by the wolf the townspeople decide to hunt it down once and for all, without success and with a further casualty.
Enter Father Soloman (Gary Oldman) who arrives promising to rid the village of the wolf.

To further complicate things, Valerie is in love with Peter (Shiloh Fernandez) but is promised by her parents to marry Henry (Max Irons).

When the wolf attacks and confronts Valerie, urging her to run away with him, the number of possible suspects narrows pretty quickly. Who is the wolf?
It couldn't be Red Riding Hood without a trip to grandmother's house, and it is her grandma (Julie Christie) who gives Valerie the red outfit.

I have to say this fell into the 'so bad it is almost kinda good' category of films. As I said, it suffers from wanting to be Twilight, right down to the way Peter strokes Valerie's face, just as Edward does to Bella.

A 5 out of 10, not a complete stinker but not overly brilliant either. But it might keep those tween girls who can't wait for Breaking Dawn busy for a while.

Limitless

Limitless is one of those 'what if' movies and it certainly does a very good job of getting you thinking.
Bradley Cooper plays Eddie, a writer who hasn't been able to write a line despite somehow being given a book contract. He looks pretty much homeless, has just lost his girlfriend and is going nowhere.
By chance, as you do, he runs into his ex-brother in law who gives him a taste of a new drug that promises to blow his mind.
Basically, it opens up the parts of the brain you aren't using and you become a highly intelligent, focused and driven person able to achieve anything.
When Vern is killed, obviously by someone looking for the drug, Eddie finds his stash and goes about changing his life.
He wins back his girlfriend Lindy (Abbie Cornish) and goes about earning money in record time - he finishes his book in a matter of days and becomes a stock market player.
He attracts the attention of Carl van Loon (Robert de Niro), a business mogul, who employs Eddie and watches him climb the ladder in amazement.
Pretty soon other people who have tried the drug, which is horribly addictive and potentially fatal, circle Eddie in order to get their hands on it.
Limitless is a very good idea - what if you could reach your full potential by popping a pill?
Even better is when Lindy tries it she decides she doesn't want the tunnel vision it can give you - namely a distance from your own feelings.

It's very well made, and there are a few scenes that are quite a spin out to watch as Eddie gets hooked on both the feeling of clarity and the life it is giving him.

There are better movies out there but Limitless is interesting, has a largely likeable cast and isn't too long either. A 7.5 out of 10.

Positives

I had a pretty big week, work wise, this week - so much so that I was really feeling it come Thursday afternoon. I think I did a good job of recovering that evening, with a lot of relaxation happening.
It is a real positive that I can come through something like that in good shape, similar to the week where I travelled interstate three times in six days.
The next big positive I am after is the results of my latest tests later next week. They've never been overly alarming but I have noticed a few different things this time around. Perhaps they are insignificant and can be explained simply.
There is always the lingering fear that there is something really serious (that I don't already know about) lying undiscovered and that fear is screwing my head up something royal.
My exercise plans have so far been unrealised, I do sporadic bouts but nothing as consistent as I had hoped - and that is to my own detriment. I really must do more things that are good for me in general, like going for walks, instead of things that feel good in theory but in practice just make you feel worse.
Committing to being good to yourself shouldn't be so hard, should it?

Adelaide for a day

A couple of weeks back I took a day trip to Adelaide.
Yes, Adelaide is a bit far to go just for one day but there was a purpose and after that purpose was taken care of I had a few hours to wander around and check out the city.
They say Adelaide is a bit like a big country town. That may be underestimating it a bit but from what I saw it is a very pretty city, especially when the weather is perfect.
Among my meanderings I took in some of the cultural activities going on, checked out (and thought about crashing) the uni o-week stuff which included a large sized chess game (which I kinda always wanted to play), walked along the Torrens River and saw some cricket at the Adelaide Oval.
It'd be interesting to see what the city has to offer when you have more than three hours.

How to take control

Something has to change and it has to start changing now.
I have a lack of control, a lack of focus and a lack of stability and that has to stop and stop now.
It all sounds so easy to turn things around in theory - I know that it is far from easy in practice.
I believe I have to take a few small steps in order to regain some stability and some control over life (well the things I can control anyway).

This is what I have in mind.
1. practice some form of relaxation or meditation daily. Doesn't have to be hours but at least 10 minutes of reflection and calming.
2. exercise daily, a 30 minute walk at the least.
3. make sure I get enough sleep, 7 hours would be ideal as a base.
4. rein in the unhelpful thoughts. Replace with more logical or positive thought patterns.
5. stop having unrealistic expectations about myself.
6. have some fun and try to enjoy things more.
7. stretch daily.

Habits are hard to break but they are harder to form. Hopefully I can get into some if not all of these good habits fairly quickly. Wish me luck.

Conviction

The fact that Conviction is based on a true story helps it get across the line as far as watchability goes.
Hilary Swank plays Betty Ann Waters, a divorced mother of two who devotes 20 years of her life to proving her brother Kenny (Sam Rockwell) was wrongfully convicted of murder.
In what can be described as one of the dodgiest trials I've ever seen, Kenny is found guilty of murder through largely circumstantial evidence that would be laughable at the very least today.
It is made pretty obvious that he has been framed and Betty Ann vows to get justice served. So she goes back to school to become a lawyer in order to take the case that no-one else will.
The key point in her investigation comes when she discovers the use of DNA technology that wasn't available when Kenny was tried to clear people wrongfully convicted.
So Betty Ann sets out to find the old evidence so she can have him cleared. Naturally she comes across more than a few roadblocks.
It's a well named movie about loyalty and can be filed in the Erin Brockovich section of movies. Swank puts in her usual strong performance, Rockwell is odd as ever (his character was really stretching it on the likability scale though) and there is good support from Minnie Driver and Melissa Leo among others.
My problem with Conviction is that it is a very good story but not an overly brilliant movie. It felt disjointed and there was very little opportunity to empathise with Kenny. Maybe that was true to life, I don't know.
Anyway, a 7 out of 10 and I'd have to say I'm a bit disappointed because there could have been a cracking movie in this story.

Black Swan

It was definitely disturbing, Natalie Portman was excellent but was Black Swan a good movie?
Portman, who won an Oscar for Best Actress for this role, plays Nina Sayers, a ballet dancer who is cast as the lead in a production of Swan Lake.
She's described by her director Thomas Leroy (Vincent Cassel) as the perfect White Swan but wants her to embrace the Black Swan to really shine in the role.
Enter the competition - the perfect Black Swan Lily (Mila Kunis), the anti-Nina as such, threatens to win the role through Nina's difficulty in letting go of the White Swan inside her.
Adding to Nina's complicated situation is her mother Erica (Barbara Hershey) who still treats her like a 12-year-old wannabe ballerina with chilling effect.
As the pressure builds with the announcement that Nina will replace the company's prima ballerina Beth (Winona Ryder) she, to use a Star Wars phrase, begins turning to the dark side.

She tries so hard to embody the black swan she begins to lose grip on what is real and what isn't.
As I said, I'm not sure how to react to this film.
Portman certainly excelled herself in getting into what was effectively a dual role and probably did deserve the Oscar.
Overall, though, it is a very disturbing movie with a few scenes that are sure to shock some viewers. What I will say is that the music was outstanding, it made me a bit uncomfortable, it dazzled me and it fit so well with the story (and so it should given the Swan Lake focus).
I expected to be blown away, but I wasn't so I'm going 7.5 out of 10.
Make up your own mind!

Charm School

Reviewing a new Roxette CD isn't something I expected to be doing again but here we go.
Charm School is Roxette's first new album since Room Service in 2001 (an album that had some awesome songs but was overall disappointing) and as a long time fan approached it more hopeful than anything else.
It does take a few listens, and is very much stuck in the early 90s, but I have to say I like it - so much so that I can happily listen to the entire CD straight through (though there is one track I don't particularly care for and occasionally skip it).
The catch with Charm School is I think you need to be a fan. I don't see any 18 year olds picking this up and loving it.
Unlike most Roxette albums this one seems to be fairly evenly split between Per and Marie for lead vocals.
The opening song Way Out got stuck in my head there for a while and that's a great sign. The album is also a fairly even mix of up tempo and slow songs with Per specialising on the up tempo and Marie the ballads. And that's the way it has always been, pretty much.
Top five songs on the album are as follows: Only When I Dream (a sort of Coldplay-esqe feel), Speak To Me (a rare slowish song led by Per), Way Out, Dream On (whimsical sound) and Sitting On Top Of The World (a bittersweet closer sung by Marie).
It's great to have a new bunch of Roxette songs, particularly since it looked like there would only ever be repackaged hits albums for a while. They aren't as great as the classics but, in a way, Charm School is a throw back to the late 80s-early 90s when you could have a bit of fun.

If you liked them don't be afraid to try this one out.

Talk hard

Communication isn't as easy for some people as it is for others.
Unfortunately, despite the fact that is the industry I work in, outside of work I find communication to be very difficult.
I don't know whether it is that I think I have nothing to say, or whether I don't know how to express it, or if I'm too concerned about what's going on inside my head to be able to articulate it.
Sometimes talking is just not that simple.
I know people who can just talk to anyone. I don't know if it is an innate confidence thing, a personality thing or what it is. Whatever it is it seems I don't have it. Or at least I'm not willing to see if I have it.
There's a move from 1990 called Pump Up The Volume, it stars Christian Slater as a teenager (who looks well and truly in his 20s) who has moved to a new town and has no friends, finds it hard to connect with people and comes across to his parents and depressed and detached.
He starts broadcasting on short wave radio and his on air persona builds up quite a following.
It's easy to talk when you think nobody is listening.
I think this quote from the movie sums up a lot of us:
''We are all really scared to show who we really are. I am not perfect, I have just been going through the motions of being perfect, and inside I am screaming.''

The problem for me is that I'm not a teenager struggling to fit in.
It's true, though, it is the fact that I'm scared that is holding me back. Scared of all sorts of things that make seemingly simple things that much harder.
Talking is hard, even when I try to explain how I am feeling. Even when I am comfortable with the person I am talking with.
It has occurred to me that it might not be external things that are holding me back, but rather an internal fear that changing something is a bad thing. I don't know exactly.
Talk hard. It's a phrase used in the movie that I think is meant to say that you have to just get it out. Here goes.....

Unscheduled outage

I had intended to do this regularly but have been side tracked for one reason or another.
Will get back to it shortly, in the meantime enjoy some valuable silence for at least a few days.

127 Hours

There has been a lot of attention on the gore on screen in the scene where Aron Ralston cuts his arm off to save his life. Yes, we all know this is central to 127 Hours but it is in no way the whole story.
I became aware of Ralston's tale a few years back when he was a guest on Andrew Denton's Enough Rope (easily one of the best interview shows ever made in Australia).
It's not a surprise in the least that it has been made into a feature.
Ralston (James Franco) is your typical carefree soul who heads out for a weekend of adventures canyoning in Utah.
Of course we all know the story - he slips and his arm is wedged tight by a boulder and it isn't budging.
As the realisation sets in that he is going to die in this remote canyon Ralston uses his video camera to record his thoughts, some of which are a hilarious attempt to make light of his situation but also give an insight into the man.

He tries to chip away at the boulder crushing his arm and eventually comes to a gruesome conclusion.
James Franco is absolutely amazing as Ralston. Much like Ryan Reynolds in Buried, he has to carry the film, you have to sympathise (well you don't have to) with him, you have to believe in what he is going through.
OK, some of the setting does look a bit fake and constructed - but this isn't a major surprise. And in the end 127 Hours is not a story about a guy who cuts his arm off. It's a story about the human condition, the human spirit, and the precious nature of life. It's about people and it is bloody good.
Yes, you have to stomach a bit of blood and watch a guy sever his arm. That isn't easy. But it is in no way gratuitous and every bit vital to Ralston's character.
If you can handle it this is a must see. Brilliant, gripping, funny at times and very moving. A 9 out of 10 and take a bow James Franco.

Thoughts for the day

I'm not very good at helping myself out when it comes to thinking constructively.
On and off over the last few days I have had some odd stomach aches, not pains and not sharp ones and maybe it is some bloating. That's the best I can come up with. I'm not sure exactly how to describe it.
When it comes to tummy issues I am super-hyper-sensitive and it really screws with my thoughts. As a regular thing I will jump to the worst possible conclusion first.
Like a lot of people the thought of any type of cancer is a scary one.
However, I have no symptoms of anything even remotely like that yet it still crosses my mind a few times a day at least.
By worrying about that at times it can do my head right in for a while.
What I have felt this week is not unlike something that occurred about five months ago and it came and went after a time. There is nothing to suggest that this isn't similar.
I have little tolerance for illness - it's like I think that I am not supposed to be unwell at all ever. I'm no different to anyone else, and will contract bugs and colds etc from time to time. Maybe it is all compounded by being a guy - we're apparently sooks when we get sick.
So instead of dealing with the minor issue at hand I seem to have to try and deal with a major issue that is a distant, remote possibility at the very, very worst.
How is this helping me? It isn't. Changing the way you think is not an easy one - I have been trying for a few years now and am obviously going to have to work harder and be much more vigilant.
It's like that add that describes building willpower as being like building muscles. The more you exercise them the stronger they get. I must exercise correct and more positive thoughts if I am to get any stronger.

Willpower

I've recently demonstrated to myself a high level of willpower in one aspect of life but now I am failing in a related area.
So now it's up to me again to refocus that willpower and rectify a potentially harmful trend that is occurring. The good thing is, having already won a battle I can move on to this one knowing it can be done.
Challenge extended....

How Do You Know

Expectations weren't super high for How Do You Know but thanks to a largely likable cast it is definitely above average.

Reece Witherspoon plays Lisa, a pro-softballer who finds herself in unfamiliar territory when she is cut from the team. She's casually seeing Matty (Owen Wilson), a baseballer, who is self centred but fun.

Not far away George (Paul Rudd) discovers he is the centre of a federal legal case into fraudulent activity within his firm - while he is calling Lisa to organise a blind date after being given her number.
George's dad Charles (Jack Nicholson) attempts to control the situation and protect his own interests at the same time.

It turns out that Charles and Matty live in the same building and Lisa and George meet following a disastrous first date and he starts to fall for her.
Thus begins a love triangle.
The story isn't a new one really but it is the cast that brings it to life. Witherspoon and Rudd are very likable while Wilson is a bit annoying and may be miscast. Nicholson, as always, commands your attention and steals every scene.
Rudd is the centre of the movie and his character is perfect for him, and you've really got to feel for him at times.

A couple of the side characters are fun and add to the light hearted moments.
This is probably more of the sort of film you'd watch at home rather than in the cinema, it's not a must see but I enjoyed it. A 7 out of 10.

The sum of my fears

I got to thinking that in order to overcome some, if not all, of my fears a good start would be to write them down.
While it is an obvious thing, it was only when reading Adam's blog (where he wrote his down) that it occurred to me to do it.
I'm going to be as specific as I can but in no way graphic.

1. Like a lot of people - death.
I guess it isn't so much dying, as that's out of our control, but it is the not existing, the missing out on all the wonderful things that life allows. There's also the lack of closure and I also wonder how I will be remembered. As a kid I was afraid of death, I used to get nightmares and get quite worked up about it even though at the time I had never experienced anything more than a pet passing away (and we had hundreds of cats who didn't realise that living on a busy street could cost them more than nine lives).
2. Illness
Since being diagnosed with a chronic illness some six years ago I have developed a fear of illness - both the chronic illness in question and also of feeling unwell. I got it into my head that if I felt a little sick that it meant something massive, like a recurrence, was going to happen. I became intensely afraid of losing weight to the point where now I actually need to lose some because I never considered what putting it on would do. I'm now essentially living in fear of illness, even though for the last four years I haven't had any major (or even minor) anomaly in any of my tests aside from one thing that is being treated.
3. Love
I try my best to let the people I love know it, and that's in a 'I care about you' way not an 'I'm in love with you' way. And while I'd like a few more people in my life to be the same way the bigger issue is when it comes to letting down your guard and opening up to the possibility that someone can love me. That sounds silly I know. I'm not sure how it got to this point but I'm almost oblivious to it and if someone has come along in the past few years I haven't noticed. It's so far off the radar I wonder if it has been put there on purpose by my subconscious. We all want to feel loved and I am no different but sometimes I wonder if I can feel it at all. And that's something to fear.
4. Magpies
This is an irrational fear, or phobia, but it is one that has stuck with me for a while despite the fact I haven't been a victim for more than a decade at least. This fear tends to keep me indoors a bit in spring. I really need to beat this fear.

Funnily enough, aside from the need for self preservation, most of the things I fear are internal issues. I'm not saying I'm comfortable strolling the streets of Redfern at midnight but few things out in the world scare me. It's all internal, unknown, things that cause the most anxiety. I'm my own worst enemy and this really needs to change.
Now I just have to have the courage to change the things that I can change.

The consistency paradox

Consistency is something I find appealing in a person.
In general, I think consistency in other aspects of life can be dangerous or at least counter productive.
If you're careful you become too comfortable and then resistant to change. Especially when there are areas that need a change, or at least a shake up.
A friend of mine made a comment to me last week, and it wasn't the first time he's said it, that there is a lot of same-ness in my life and it would do me good to change things.
In a way this is very wise. For me, the most important change would be if I can mentally toughen up and resist the negative and worrisome thoughts that come along now and then.
Mental exercise is a lot harder than physical exercise because it is so easy to let a thought run away with you.
As much as physical fitness appeals to me, and I'm not overly good at that, I reckon mental fitness is far more important. That's not to say you shouldn't practice both, because you should and I definitely should.

The Fighter

Yet another film that universal praise had made difficult to approach but thankfully The Fighter gets pretty close to living up to the hype.
Based on the life of 'Irish' Micky Ward (Mark Wahlberg) and his rise to world light welterweight champion.
Ward has always lived in the shadow of his half-brother Dicky Eckland (Christian Bale) who was a successful boxer before his life deteriorated through drug use.
Eckland took on the role of Ward's trainer but he never realised his potential under his brother's guidance and his mother Alice's (Melisso Leo) management.
When Dicky is thrown in jail and publicly embarrassed through a documentary, Micky is given the chance to sever ties with his family's management and take the shot at a title before it is too late.
Good performances from Wahlberg and Bale, and Amy Adams as Ward's love interest Charlene help keep The Fighter's early documentary-style from completely annoying you until they get into the nitty-gritty of the story.
I have to say Bale was very good in the role that has so far won him a Golden Globe but his character is almost unbearable at times - he never shuts up, is all over the place physically and you just want to belt him. That's probably the point and aside from the fact that Bale has again lost a heap of weight to get into a role (as he did with The Machinist prior to his Batman days) all this will probably win him an Oscar.

Wahlberg was always made to play a boxer - his body has hardly looked any different since his Marky Mark days so it wasn't a real stretch for him to get the physical side convincing. He is an under rated actor at times and while some of his roles are a bit puzzling (e.g. The Happening) he's a pretty solid performer these days.
The Fighter is a very good film, overall. There were things that didn't sit well with me but it is apparently an authentic look at living in a place like Boston and the extended Ward family will both amuse and frighten you.
An 8 out of 10, I don't think it was nearly as good as The King's Speech but, having said that, they were different types of movies. Well worth seeing.