news hound

My fiance recently got a job as a flight attendant so we are spending more time apart (at least that’s where she says she’s taking off all the time!)

As much as I enjoy reading, I would much rather be mashing buttons and smashing soccer balls into the back of the onion bag on FIFA 2006. Only one problem … I don’t have a console, controllers, memory card nor any games. I have a tellie though, so that’s a start, right?

Anyone looking to offload their PS2, controllers, memory card and games (I would prefer a chipped version that plays copied games as I’m off to Thailand in a few weeks), give me a call on 0438 562 088 and we’ll talk business.

I hear the PS3 is coming out soon so, gamers, don’t feel the need to cling onto you old hardware.

Calling all fans of indie music …

I stumbled upon a new website that looks like it has real potential.

It’s called Wireless Bollinger (I know, weird name) but has an in-depth interview with James Mercer from The Shins and some cool reviews, too.

Check it out at www.wirelessbollinger.com

It’s Day 4 in the Pura Cup match between Victoria and South Australia. After a sporting declaration by the Redbacks, who claimed first-innings points, it’s game-on with the Bushrangers requiring 322 off 89 overs.

A short time ago, Victoria was 1/41 off 19 overs after losing opener Lloyd Mash for 24.

Follow the scores live on www.cricket.com.au

I love holidays. Sleep-ins, staying up late and laziness.

I ventured to my local Video Ezy in the hope of unearthing a gem. I returned with Capote, Tempted, Hard Rain and My Summer of Love.

While Capote and My Summer of Love were good, I switched off Tempted and Hard Rain after about half an hour. Video Ezy is currently giving out scratchies with each DVD hired and I’ve won free rentals each time. So, I got another one. I haven’t watched it yet, but after looking up the film (Envy) on imdb.com, it rated less than five out of ten. Hardly inspiring!

This begged the question: what’s with all the crappy movies out there.

I mean, movies are big business and for a script to materialise to a 90 minute plus feature film, it has to be approved by lots people who are investing lots of money into it. Are some films approved simply on a whim, in the hope it will succeed? Do some actors, such as Jack Black and Ben Stiller, accept a dud role because there is nothing better going at the time? Aren’t they concerned about their reputations?

Sandy George summed up the state of current films well, recently, when she wrote:

“Is it possible to say whether filmmaking standards, overall, have improved? How many times were there last year when you pored over the cinema advertisements, the phone pressed to your ear while a friend did the same, only to decide there was nothing worth seeing and you’d go out to dinner instead?

There is an enormous amount of disappointment and mediocrity in the more than 300 films that are now released in Australia annually. And yet there are still many admirable films. Last year, particularly, the range and meaningful nature of the subjects was impressive, as was the strength and originality of the storytelling.”

For the full story, click here. 

I’m going to see Babel tonight at Nova. Hopefully I get my money’s worth.

Australia is home to some brilliant films.
Sadly, Suburban Mayhem is not one of them.

A self-professed black comedy (ie it encourages you to laugh in parts that would normally be deemed too politically incorrect), this is an absurd look at the world through the eyes of mixed up teenager Katrina (played by Emily Barclay).

The film opens with the funeral of Katrina’s father, John, and then back-tracks to fill in the gaps of how the plot arrived at that point.

In the 95 minutes minutes that follow, I witness:
*a decapitation
*a dog beaten to death
*a murder
*drugs consumed - in the presence of a baby
*obscene language (probably a tad mundane to be listed with the aforementioned).

These plot devices are clearly deliberately provocative. But, where films like Chopper succeed because viewers can relate the embellished tale to a real-life person, in Suburban Mayhem we have no reference point on which we can base the film.

Although, a Sydney Morning Herald report alleges the film “bears an uncanny similarity” to the notorious Van Krevel murder saga, in which New South Wales teenager was found to be the mastermind of her father’s murder. These claims were denied by the film’s producer.

Wikipedia defines black comedy as a sub-genre of comedy and satire where topics and events that are usually treated seriously – death, mass murder, sickness, madness, terror, drug abuse, rape, war etc. – are treated in a humorous or satirical manner. Wikipedia continues: most of the humor comes from shock and revulsion; black humor usually includes an element of irony, or even fatalism. This particular brand of humor can be exemplified by a scene in the play Waiting for Godot: A man takes off his belt to hang himself, and his trousers fall down.

I guess Suburban Mayhem presents similar scenarios, for example, when Kenny (a disabled character who is enticed by Katrina to do “run errands” in the hope he will receive sexual favours in return) is knocked back by Katrina when he comes onto her on the bonnet of her car parked in an outer suburb, he runs in the opposite direction, declaring he will find “another root”. But he runs straight into a injuring, injuring himself, causing the cinema to erupt with laughter (bringing to an end the tension created around the a dog beaten to death moments before). But the laughter is shortlived; most of the film is littered with reactions ranging from disbelief to shock at the nerve of where the writer/director dare to take viewers.

I was commenting to my friend with whom I saw this film that seeing an arthouse movie can be an activity fraught with trepidation and apprehension. That is, you just don’t know what you’re gonna get. Some films I have seen at Nova, like 25th hour, Enduring love and In America are very good and left a lasting impression for all the right reasons.
Others, like Punch Drunk Love and Suburban Mayhem left a sour taste.

But, that’s the beauty of art, I suppose. What I dislike, somebody else might enjoy (afterall, it has won a stack of awards!)

Suburban Mayhem is now showing. I gave it 1/10.

Anyone with anything resembling cricketing ability will be considered for a game this weekend with the Parkville District Cricket Club.

The team fields five teams each weekend in the Victorian Turf Cricket Association but this week only has 36 players to choose from.

Anyone interested in playing with a friendly bunch of blokes in the Fifth XI can call Lee on 0438 562 088. A six pack of Carlton Draught will be your reward.

The match is being played at Parkville, right next to the Zoo.

One of the unfortunate consequences of Australia getting up on the final day of the Adelaide Test is that the Boxing Day Test might now be a dead rubber.If the Aussies go to Perth next week and trounce the Poms, they will re-gain the Ashes with and go 3-0.

That will make the Melbourne Test meaningless. One half of me wants the Aussies to win in Perth (firstly because I put $10 on a 5-0 series result at 6-1 odds and secondly for patriotic reasons). The other half wants England to win, or better, a draw, so that the Boxing Day Test will be more exciting.

Imagine a packed MCG on a sunny Boxing Day with nothing to play for? Australian crowds are used to dead rubbers - that’s the downside of our boys being so good - but we expected the Poms would be right in this series after what happened last time.

What do others think? Will the Ashes still be up for grabs come Boxing Day?

My fiance and I were looking for a cruisy place to eat lunch on a Sunday afternoon and opted for Spudatos at 104 High St, Northcote.

We have been curious about this place for some time. It is quite a bright-looking place, laid-back and colourful. But, we had noticed it was a little bit overpriced for what it offered.

Its staple is baked potatoes, as the name Spudatos suggests, but it has clearly expanded over time to provide fresh fruit juice, nachos and other light lunch snacks.

We went for the bacon spud and a bowl of nachos. To wash it down, we asked for a juice. No juice - all out. The best they could do was a mango smoothie. I’m not usually a smoothie person but thought I’d give it a go.

The results: the nachos were sloppy and the tomato salsa resembled tomato paste. The corn chips were tasteless and bland. The spud was burnt, meaning its outer skin was inedible. The smoothie justified why I am not usually a smoothie person as it was so thick it was almost impossible to suck any of the goodness up the straw without vacuum-like suction.

To top it off, the assistant asked us again what we ordered (and there was only one other couple in the store during the whole time we were there so they weren’t exactly run off their feet) and proceeded to charge us $24.50.

Spudatos

104 High Street, Northcote

Ph (03) 9489 7222

Rating: * / * * * * *