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20/20 Filmsight - October 2007

Rudd vs. Howard '08 election rap battle

October 30th 2007 03:17
Sydney comedy outfit, Axis of Awesome, put this brilliant satirical video, a mock-rap battle between prime-minister hopeful, Kevin Rudd', and wannabe Commonwealthy kingpin, John Howard.

Most white-boy comedy rap is irritating to watch, and worse to listen to, but the lyrics combined with the bad-ass video make this just delightful.

Faux-Howard drops the first verse:

"My fellow Australians, I got something to say,
Im the man for the job, come election day.
I'll hit Rudd for six, I got all the tricks,
I'm the primest minister in Aussie politics.

I've been here since '96, and im doing swell,
I take care of the young, and the old as well,
From the city to the surf, to the R.S.L.
What up my Diggers?"

But when Rudd rolls in, the beat slips into a little West Coast G-Funk:

"Now make way for me, I'm the R-U-double-D,
I'm the flyest mother-rudder that you ever did see.
I listen to your voices, you making all them noises,
You say you didn't like it, so I'm rolling back Work Choices.
(Is it power you'll seize?)
I'll crush Howard with ease.
Now sit back, relax, while i speak Chinese."

What up, my diggers?




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Posted By: Cibbuano - Category: Short Films
   


Coming to America

October 29th 2007 22:53
Coming to America Eddie Murphy
Another John Landis comedy, complete with bankable comedian-turned-actor (Eddie Murphy), a predictable plot and a hilarious slice of 80's pop culture. It's got bad acting, worse dialogue and a plot that is hardly believable.

Why, then, did I love it?

Coming to America is one of those movies. One of those movies that I watched when I was in primary school, laughed about it on the schoolyard, and it's held a tiny piece of my wistful childhood memories every since.

Eddie Murphy is the prince of a fictional country in Africa, leading a life so decadent that he has servants to do everything, including a number of stunningly beautiful women to clean 'the Royal Penis'.

Naturally, he fights the idea of marrying a woman that his parents have picked and goes to America to find a wife. Predictably, he lands in New York (where 50% of all 'Foreigners in America' movies are shot, the other half in LA), and lives in a rundown slum apartment in Queens.

It's also one of Samuel L. Jackson's earliest roles:



It's a well-remembered movie by audiences, though the critics lambasted it when it came out, like in this NY Times review:

"Though ''Coming to America'' is a romantic comedy, John Landis, the director, and David Sheffield and Barry W. Blaustein, the writers, steer the film more often toward quick, in-and-out comic situations and gags that are only mildly funny. In part this is due to the fact that Mr. Murphy plays the prince with cheerful, low-keyed innocence that is completely legitimate, but is not supported by the short attention span of the screenplay. The romance is tepid."

Landis tries to bring off the romantic comedy, but it's so lukewarm and forces that Murphy and his co-star look like they can't believe it themselves.

It's hard to watch it now and find it funny, as the jokes have been recycled so many times that it's pretty easy to see it all coming. After all, we had the TV series Perfect Stranger (a Greek in America), Crocodile Dundee (an Aussie in America), Rumble in the Bronx (a Chinese Kung Fu Master in America), and so on.

The point is, movie producers are telling us, that immigrants are funny as hell. Just throw a foreigner in downtown Manhattan and film him trying to catch a cab or take the subway (Borat). It just writes itself.

The appeal of Coming to America, I suppose, is in its sincerity. The opening scenes, when Murphy is being tended to by his servants in his lavish palace are fantastic, with little touches, like baby elephants crossing the lawn and a dance number that'll knock the rocks off your socks.

It reminds us of a time when our established comedians were still young, and television was still funny. Murphy, Arsenio Hall, the cast of SNL - they could do no wrong in '88, putting out half-written comedies and making up the rest.

Soon after, though, they'd be rolling around in their piles of money, snorting cocaine and accepting scripts without reading them. It'd be only a matter of time before they'd be making buddy-cop flicks with an orangutan or a wisecracking dog.


I say: Not really watchable except as a throwback to the 80's. The club scene is particularly haunting.

See it for: Most of the cast is black, and they've just picked out the most incredibly beautiful women on the planet. It's a wonderful world.




*this image is from Filmcritic.com
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Posted By: Cibbuano - Category: Americanas
   


Blue Velvet matinee at the Chauvel

October 28th 2007 21:23
Well, I'm finally back from my vacation, which was still exhausting, somehow.

I haven't been able to watch ANYTHING for a week, and I'm eager to bite into something... over at moviereviews.net.au, Jickle posted a review of Blue Velvet, which reminded me that the Chauvel would be screening it next Sunday


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Posted By: Cibbuano - Category: Preview
   


Posters on Horrorphile

October 25th 2007 06:20
We've all got a fascination for the macabre, and horror films do their best to bring that part of our collective dementia onto the screen. Making a horror film would be too much fun, revelling in the gore and suspense - but it's an art that's not taken seriously sometimes.

Another facet of the horror movie is the poster for the movie... while all genres benefit from an excellent poster, horror film posters can be absolutely brilliant, conveying the sense of dread from a simple image


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On Fifty Film Frustrations

October 23rd 2007 05:58
Michaelie on FlickWit posted a snappy article about 50 film 'frustrations', facets of the movie business that are obvious cop-outs when it comes to the art of cinema.

She's quick and to the point, with no examples, but the list is comprised of common complaints that we can all identify. Some that I can identify with


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Posted By: Cibbuano - Category: C'est la vie!
   


On vacation

October 21st 2007 06:14
I'll be on vacation this week, so be aware that all the cinemas and video stores in NSW will be closed. Many theatre owners have approached me and stated that there was no point for them to show movies if '[Cibbuano's] golden hand isn't there to guide the masses'. I blessed them with 30 pieces of silver, which they used to buy snowcones.

Without access to a computer, I'll be unable to leave mildly amusing retorts to your faithful digital applause. I recommend that you use this week to fast and think of all the good times we've had


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Posted By: Cibbuano - Category: C'est la vie!
   


100 Numbers quoted from 100 Movies

October 18th 2007 22:53
This YouTube is death-defyingly awesome in its suggestion of massive movie knowledge.

The creator of this clip spliced together 100 quotes from 100 different movies, each containing the numbers from 100 to 1


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Posted By: Cibbuano - Category: Short Films
   


Sony Bravia Claymation commercial

October 18th 2007 00:45
Ah, this just makes me feel good all over.

Tired of CGI? Me too. What better way to exercise your imagination than by using the plasticine world of claymation


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Posted By: Cibbuano - Category: Short Films
   


Blood in the streets of the town of Toronto

October 17th 2007 07:29
Blair Prentice Sinner Exhibition
Ah, rage. A friend of mine from Canada, an artist with a wild imagination and no fear of brash colours and feverish lines, was punched in the face last week.

Punched in the face? Clocked by a fist with a ring on it - the ring tearing a chunk of his face out


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Posted By: Cibbuano - Category: C'est la vie!
   


Saw V and Saw VI being shot simulataneously

October 16th 2007 23:08
Saw IV movie poster
This Halloween, we'll have the next chapter in the Saw series, a highly profitable horror series that has been churning out increasingly poorer sequels since the unique original.

And why not? As Wikipedia says: "The current Saw trilogy is one of very few film series where each new film has earned more than its predecessor


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Family Guy Star Wars Special

October 15th 2007 21:51
Ah, will Star Wars fever ever die down? Probably not... with the Robot Chicken Star Wars special coming out this year, fans of the sci-fi epic are getting primed for even more fanboy love.

Combining The Family Guy and Star Wars into one hour long special is like a geeky wet dream. Is it real? Are you dreaming


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Posted By: Cibbuano - Category: Short Films
   


SNL Digital Short: People Getting Punched Just Before Eating

October 14th 2007 23:34
I don't know how funny I think the Lonely Island guys are (the dudes behind Lazy Sunday and Hot Rod), since their style of humour seems to be vulgar lunacy with 8-bit music and funny dancing.

Still, the SNL Digital Shorts have been pretty entertaining. It's hard to feel bad after watching this short, called People Getting Punched Just Before Eating. It made me smile and then chuckle


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Posted By: Cibbuano - Category: Short Films
   


Simon Pegg to play Scotty in Star Trek Prequel

October 14th 2007 23:01
Scotty Simon Pegg Star Trek prequel

Sneaky director J.J. Abrams is working on a Star Trek prequel, one that's drawing a lot of interest in the nearly forgotten series. Trekkies were killed off by the oversaturation of mediocre television series, while the massive Star Wars prequels brought another generation into geekdom. Then, enter Femtroopers.

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Posted By: Cibbuano - Category: Preview
   


Trying to hook up with Tila Tequila

October 12th 2007 03:53
Tila Tequila in a bikini
To me, Tila Tequila represents the waste that flows and ebbs through the mangled lines of the Internet. She's one of the 'celebs' of the new Internet, having made a name for herself by having the most popular MySpace page back in 2004 (2003? 2005?).

Having the most popular MySpace page is like being the sluttiest cheerleader. Of course you're popular - but that don't mean you're any good


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Posted By: Cibbuano - Category: C'est la vie!
   


George Bush Interview on Irish TV

October 11th 2007 01:20
This is an interesting interview conducted by Irish journalist, Carol Coleman. It's a rare look at George Bush... without his pre-written speeches, without the fumbling and incoherence.

He's surprisingly lucid and aggressive, which is a quality I haven't seen in Bush for a long time. Many bloggers are denouncing the video, calling Bush 'arrogant' and 'condescending


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Posted By: Cibbuano - Category: C'est la vie!
   


A Mighty Heart Charity Screening

October 10th 2007 22:32
Earlier this week, I attended a preview screening of the new Angeline Jolie movie, A Mighty Heart. The movie will be released in Australia on Oct. 18, but there will be another preview screening on Oct. 15, with the proceeds from the ticket sale going to UNHCR (The United Nations Refugee Agency).

Monday 15 October, 6.45 pm (ticket collection at 6.15pm)
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Posted By: Cibbuano - Category: Australasian
   


Hot Rod

October 10th 2007 00:49
Hot Rod Andy Samberg

If you haven't been keeping your nose in the internet recently, you might not have heard about this lunatic comedy called Hot Rod from Andy Samberg and his buddy, director Akiva Schaffer.

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Posted By: Cibbuano - Category: Americanas
   


A Mighty Heart

October 8th 2007 21:56
A Mighty Heart Angelina Jolie
A Mighty Heart is the film adaptation of the book with the same name, a book written by Mariane Pearl, widow of Daniel Pearl, a journalist killed in Pakistan in 2002.

Her husband was kidnapped en route to an interview with an underground figure; a pregnant Pearl pushed aside her grief and fear to collect a group of international experts to try and find Daniel Pearl before it was too late. As we all know, though, it was too late


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Posted By: Cibbuano - Category: Americanas
   


Bender's Big Score - Futurama Feature Length DVD

October 7th 2007 22:20
Bender's Big Score Futurama DVD
Futurama fans can finally stop squealing themselves to sleep. Though the show was cancelled by Fox, legions of fans howling for more Futurama compelled Comedy Central to buy the series.

And even more: they're putting out a feature length DVD called Bender's Big Score. And then three more features after that


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The Ear

October 5th 2007 03:41
Ucho
It was good timing that got me to the Chauvel Cinema for the opening of the Czech festival last night... invited by furious pizza-maker Vlad Blazek to see a rare treat from the Czech New Wave, I managed to scrounge up enough pennies to pass the troll at the gate.

The Ear (Ucho) is a fantastically well-crafted film, using one setting and raw camera techniques to create an unsettling feeling of dread


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Posted By: Cibbuano - Category: European
   


Astroboy Preview

October 3rd 2007 21:09
Astroboy.... the very name of the hit Japanese cartoon brings back painful memories to me. Painful because I wasn't a boy robot with super-strength and lasers in my ass (seriously!).

I loved the show. I even had a crush on one of Astroboy's classmates. Hey, she was hot, and I was only 8


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This Is England

October 2nd 2007 22:52
This is England

I don't know much about England. I've only been there once, for about five hours, in between a connecting flight.

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The Ambiguously Gay Duo and the Larry Craig Scandel

October 2nd 2007 18:04
The original Ambiguously Gay Duo was voiced by Stephen Colbert and Stephen Carell, as one Digg commenter noticed.

To think, two of America's most visible comedy icons were once just the voices behind two superheroes that were too fabulous to be straight


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Posted By: Cibbuano - Category: Short Films
   


Jackie Chan doesn't think Rush Hour 3 is awesome

October 1st 2007 23:02
Ah, Jackie. Millions of Americans know you as the guy from the Rush Hour series, which had the latest installment this month in Australia, Rush Hour 3.

The Rush Hour movies are basically a modern version of the Lethal Weapon movies, but with the hilarious spin of ethnicity added to the mix. A black cop and a Chinese cop! Outrageous


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