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20/20 Filmsight - January 2009

Win a DVD of Will Ferrell's Step Brothers!

January 30th 2009 03:13
Step Brothers Will Ferrell John C Reilly

20/20 Filmsight and Sony Pictures Home Entertainment have come together to offer Australian film fans a chance to win one of two DVDs of the Will Ferrell comedy "Step Brothers"!

It's curly-haired, silly man-boy entertainment at its finest, with Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly playing step brothers that fluctuate between hating each other and loving each other, as brothers sometimes do. They also wear vests and pose for pictures like they're filling in picture frames at Walmart.

The trailer speaks loudly enough for all to hear:

Really Long Link name="allowFullScreen" value="true">Really Long Link type="application/x-shockwave -flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344">

Yes! People getting kicked out of boats and having beds fall on them - that's all I need to see...

To win a copy of "Step Brothers", send an email to cibbuano@orble.com with your description of the funniest prank you've ever pulled on a brother or sister. I've got a younger brother, so you know I tormented him as a kid, from shaking his Coke before he opened it, to arranging for buckets of water to fall on him.

Please include your address and telephone number with your entry!

Competition closes February 5th, 2009.




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Posted By: Cibbuano - Category: Preview
   


My Horny Girlfriend

January 29th 2009 22:03
My Horny Girlfriend Grace Lam and Eddie eating dinner

The ridiculous name of this Hong Kong Category III movie is diminished by the spectacularly poor production and acting, so awful that it manages to reach a level of simple enjoyment.

This is Cat III and "My Horny Girlfriend" goes for the below-the-belt shot - Grace Lam is the lead actress, who, after sleeping with her vile and cretinous boss, is given one week's vacation and a promotion. She uses her vacation to sit at a beach, where she almost drowns, is saved by a lifeguard, then trains to be a lifeguard with a flock of bikini'd babes.

It couldn't be more confusing, yet there's a sense of comical delight in the proceedings. The lifeguard, a rather effeminate-looking man, is lusted after by all the girls, including Pamila, played by busty and frequently nude Japanese actress, Yumi Hirono.

Most reviews, such as on Hong Kong Digital and The Illuminated Lantern, dismiss the movie as 'poor' or 'not recommended', but, here on Filthy Fridays at 20/20 Filmsight, we mine the rare and forgettable pieces of pure gold amidst all this detritus.

"My Horny Girlfriend" is a poorly made film, yes, but there is something intriguing about it. Grace is pawed at by her boss, and she dislikes it, but she acquiesces - she then benefits from this bit of immoral play, which the film does not dwell on.

At the beach, she lusts after the head lifeguard, even going as far as to expose herself to him, but he brushes her off. In fact, Grace never gets what she wants: to engage is a feverish coupling with him, though she tries to catch his eye.

Similarly, Eddie, a friend of the lifeguards, falls in love with Grace, but she refuses him as well, though they have a threesome with busty Pamila. This decoupling of sex and romance is strange to watch, as it's not what we'd label as 'normal', but, actually, may be fairly representational of modern views. How many people do you know that have had sex without being emotionally involved?

In fact, "My Horny Girlfriend" almost reaches a level of serene discomfort as it purports to give us a world where no one gets what they want, even the beach bar owner, who watches the sea everyday, waiting for her boyfriend to come back. Unfortunately, this hauntingly compelling theme is ruined by the end, where Grace and Eddie get together in soft lovemaking, shot in soft lighting, accompanied with predictable music.

No one gets what they want, but that doesn't stop them from trying to get it... even as the most ludicrous, poorly written elements of "My Horny Girlfriend" burn themselves onscreen, I must admit that I appreciate the film for its depiction of longing, the atmosphere of fantasy and the idea of pleasurable pleasure.


I say: I wouldn't recommend it to you, but I definitely recommend the film to sexploitation fans.

See it for: It's shot on digital video and looks terrible, but, surprisingly, the erotic scenes are rather well done.
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Posted By: Cibbuano - Category: Asian
   


New Fanboys clip threatens Millenium Falcon

January 29th 2009 01:55
Fanboys Star Wars geek movie
There's a lot of confusing news about "Fanboys", a comedy that's set to come out this year about a group of Star Wars fanboys who have some kind of minor adventure...

The movie was meant to come out a long time ago, with the preview screenings being quite favourable. Some unusual decisions by the studio changed the plot and tone of the movie, trying to cash in on the vulgar wave of comedy in 2006/7. Wikipedia says it all
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Before the Rains

January 27th 2009 23:10
Before the Rains Kerala film love story
Set in 1930s Kerala, the southernmost province in India and the homeland of my family, "Before the Rains" attempts to capture the magic and fertility of the landscapes of this hidden paradise, using it as a backdrop for a tragic love story.

The above image tells the audience all we need to know: a rich British colonialist falls in love with a local girl, despite the tensions between the two cultures and the forbidden nature of the tryst; sadly, though, there's not much else required, as the film is maddeningly predictable, the love story despicably lacking in passion


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Posted By: Cibbuano - Category: Asian
   


2009 Alliance Francaise French Film Festival arriving in Australia in March

January 27th 2009 06:14
Paris 36 yellow dress
After the beer-fueled mayhem of Australia Day, and all the chaos that comes with it, the summer settles down into a pleasant aftermath, with Sydneysiders looking forward to the local events that light up the calendar.

Nothing is more exciting to cinema lovers than a good film festival, and the Sydney French Film Festival - or, to be completely accurate, the 20th Alliance Francaise French 2009 Film Festival, is just around the corner, waiting to fill cinemas with cooing crowds of lovers of European cinema


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Sa Dingding sings Alive

January 26th 2009 00:37
Sa Dingding painting Tibetan Buddhist poster

Sa Dingding is a young Chinese singer that has cracked open the Western world, garnering excellent reviews and packing stadiums with huge crowds of fans.

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Posted By: Cibbuano - Category: Short Films
   


Letterman says farewell to George Bush

January 23rd 2009 21:01
George Bush blowing cheeks silly

Not in person, of course - no. David Letterman actually looks a little downcast at the idea that George Bush is leaving office.

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Posted By: Cibbuano - Category: Short Films
   


The Forbidden Legend: Sex and Chopsticks

January 22nd 2009 22:16
Forbidden Sex and Chopsticks
In the 90s, Hong Kong came out with several Category III films featuring softcore erotics - Cat III films are as racy as they get, showing violence and sexual scenarios with delicate glee.

Really, though, these movies are no worse than American rated 'R' films, though the difference is that these films are Chinese, and often led to scandals with the actresses. These scandals would, naturally, help the careers of some actresses, most notably Shu Qi, who is now a talented, popular actress in China, having starred in "If You Are the One" in 2009


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Posted By: Cibbuano - Category: Filthy Friday
   


Summertime Bloodbath at the Chauvel Cinema

January 21st 2009 22:04
Fist Full of Dollars Clint Eastwood

As January rolls to a yawning end, Sydneysiders can feel the heat released from the streets. It's the middle of summer, your sheets are hot and your body covered in sticky sweat.

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Beijing Bicycle

January 21st 2009 00:08
Beijing Bicycle
"Beijing Bicycle" was heavily applauded when it premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival; director Wang Xiaoshuai released it to the festival without permission from the Chinese government, causing the censor board to ban it in Mainland China.

It would be banned until 2004, meaning that the film served well abroad, depicting life in real China, as opposed to some of the more mainstream Chinese films... "Beijing Bicycle" is rooted deep in the traditions of Neorealism and is obviously influenced by De Sica's "Bicycle Thieves" and the rest of those groundbreaking Italian directors


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Posted By: Cibbuano - Category: Asian
   


A.I.

January 20th 2009 06:30
Artificial Intelligence AI Jude Law robot plastic face
It must have seemed like the most fitting tribute - after Stanley Kubrick died, his friend and colleague Steven Spielberg opened up the dusty envelope given to him in earlier days.

In this envelope would be a treatment for a movie about the reluctant future, where intelligent, humanlike robots are commonplace, but are looked down upon by their human masters. Kubrick also included some concept art and ideas, but no actual script - at least, not one that he was happy with


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Posted By: Cibbuano - Category: Americanas
   


Dumb and Dumber

January 19th 2009 02:32
Dumb and Dumber orange and blue tuxedos

There's a moment in the Farrelly Bros film "Dumb and Dumber" where Jeff Daniel's character, Harry, hands a beer bottle full of urine to an unsuspecting police officer, causing my girlfriend to laugh hysterically in terrified disgust, retching and squirming.

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Star Wars described by someone that has never seen the movies

January 16th 2009 04:50
Star Wars Lunchbox!


This is making waves all over the net, and it's a moment of cackling joy: Joe Nicolosi wanted his friend Amanda to watch the original Star Wars trilogy with him, since she had never seen it


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Posted By: Cibbuano - Category: Short Films
   


Wall-E

January 14th 2009 23:13
Wall-E robot playing with a Rubik cube
"Wall-E" manages to accomplish something that has been a long time coming in an animated children's movie: it's a devilishly entertaining movie for the kids, but, for adults, it's haunting, a bleak, dismal view of the future.

It's the future of the planet Earth, 700 years later, that the film opens on, the planet overflowing with garbage and discarded machinery. The only animated object is Wall-E, a sun-powered robot whose purpose is to compact garbage into hardened cubes, then stack them in huge skyscrapers, thus digging the planet out


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Posted By: Cibbuano - Category: Americanas
   


What movie posters would look like if they were totally honest...

January 14th 2009 00:41
Bill Murray Life Aquatic honest movie poster
Holy Taco posted a series of photoshopped movie posters, like the one above, that purport to show what the poster would say if they were totally honest.

Like "The Life Aquatic", a Wes Anderson film starring Bill Murray. For a lot of people, that was good enough, that Murray was in another quirky movie. It wasn't really good enough for me, as I just didn't think it was a great film. Certainly, it had its moments, and Anderson's mise-en-scene is always interesting to watch, but the film felt flat and striving to reach something that it missed completely


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Posted By: Cibbuano - Category: Bizarre
   


Back from China and loving it

January 13th 2009 06:46
Sydney Opera House at night with beautiful colours
Ah, Sydney... emerging from the cloudline, our aircraft descended peacefully over the Inner West, giving us a clear view of the Harbour, the Bridge and the Opera House.

It's only when you've been away that you can really appreciate just how beautiful this place is - after one month in China, I've been inundated with the grim, dusty brown scenery of winter in the Northeast - but the return to Sydney was spectacular


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


Red Cliff (Chi Bi) Part II

January 12th 2009 08:23
Cavalry charge in Red Cliff War movie

Last week's review of the blockbuster war epic "Red Cliff" was gushing with enthusiasm about the film, a bloody chapter in Chinese history, full of sneaky counterattacks and famous war heroes. The second chapter of the film opened up yesterday in Chinese cinemas and I raced to get tickets, cheering and clutching them with glee.

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Und So Weite: If You Are the One

January 10th 2009 07:38
Warning! Films on Und So Weite contain spoilers!

Shu Qi white collared shirt blind date

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Posted By: Cibbuano - Category: Und so weite
   


If You Are the One (Fei Cheng Wu Rao)

January 9th 2009 07:11
If You Are the One Ge You blind date

Every year, before Spring Festival, Chinese director Feng Xiaogong comes out with a comedy to whet the vacationing appetites of the country. The film for 2008, "If You Are the One", stars Feng's longtime collaborator, Ge You, as a man in his 40s, newly rich, looking to settle down and start a family.

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Posted By: Cibbuano - Category: Asian
   


Red Cliff

January 6th 2009 08:27
Red Cliff army training Chinese

"Red Cliff" is the most expensive Chinese movie made to date, a two-part film depicting the famous battle at Red Cliff, when the Han Dynasty general from North China, Cao Cao, sails a massive fleet down the Yangtze River to invade the lands of Liu Bei and Sun Quan in the South.

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Sullivan's Travels

January 5th 2009 08:25
Sullivan's Travels

"Sullivan's Travels" is one of Preston Sturges' most loved comedies and, indeed, the plot has been recycled again and again, in different guises. The beauty of Sturges' film is the snarky tone it keeps throughout, the sarcastic laugh at the attempt of the rich to understand the poor.

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Posted By: Cibbuano - Category: Americanas
   


Bicycle Thieves

January 2nd 2009 05:24
Bicycle Thieves 1948 de Sica
This 1948 Italian Neorealist film from Vittorio De Sica is one of the most loved, most admired Italian films in cinema history. Though the Italians floored the world in the 50s with their gritty edge, it's "Bicycle Thieves" that features at the top of critics' lists of great movies.

What's to love about this film? As the review from No Rip Cord astutely points out, "Bicycle Thieves" may lack the wit of Woody Allen films, the depth of Bergman classics or the style and flourish of Stanley Kubrick, but it's no less a monument to the triumph of cinema as an artform


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Posted By: Cibbuano - Category: European
   


Lesbian Vampire Killers Trailer

January 1st 2009 07:06
The three sets of movies featuring lesbians, movies featuring vampires and movies featuring killers independently sell a lot of movies.

The intersection of 'lesbian' and 'vampire' has been done before and is now almost cliche... I mean, the teenage dude demographic will never tire of lesbian vampires, but throwing them into the mix with 'killers' mean that the Buffy crowd will be tempted as well


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