Lana Del Rey
Live @ Enmore Theatre, Sydney
Thursday 27/7/12

Lana's stage, laced with countless plants, a string quartet band and a giant projector screen showcasing vintage video montages on loop was the perfect setting for Lana to make her first Sydney concert entrance.
Starting the show off with 'Blue Jeans', Lana walked her way directly into the crowd as she greeted fans and sang the opening track amidst a sea of ecstatic arms grabbing at her. She even took a couple opportunities to stand on some strategically placed platforms to get a better birds eye view of the crowd from the front row, that in turn only made the crowd even more excited to finally see her, which made the smile on her face obviously hard to hide.
Although she didn't talk a lot to the audience outside of a few "thank you" moments, she did get very up close and physical a few times during the concert, which well and truly made up for the lack of dialog. She seemed at ease with her fans, and received a few nice gifts every time she ventured into the crowd, it was cute.

Her venue gigs, away from the eyes of awkward live TV, have always been her comfort zone as far as performing goes. She's able to kick back and just enjoy the moment.
Vocally she sounded great, with her best delivery on a jazzed up version of 'Million Dollar Man', definitely a show highlight. 'Without You' was also surprisingly nicely sung, as well as 'Carmen'.
The haunting, 'I Sing The Body Electric' was one of her best performances of the night, but my personal favourite from the show was her newly added cover of Nirvana's 'Heart Shaped Box'. It completely came out of nowhere and was a nice surprise for the audience. Hopefully we see it on a future release by her.
Although it was sad to see a few great tracks not performed from her debut album, like 'Lolita' and 'Dark Paradise', there was still enough on offer from the record like, 'Radio', 'Summertime Sadness' and the epic final track of the night, 'National Anthem', which Lana performed draped in an Australian flag handed to her by a fan in the audience.

My only minor complaint was that the show was a bit short, it would have been nice to see her utilize a few more of her songs to give the crowd a fuller experience, however to be fair, for a show of it's size, it was paced fairly well and by the end of it, it still felt like a well rounded enough concert.
My only regret is that i didn't get tickets to see her again on the following Friday. Guess i'll just have to wait till the next time she visits, which i'm sure won't be too long away.

The Dark Knight Rises
Starring: Christian Bale, Anne Hathaway, Tom Hardy
Directed by: Christopher Nolan
4.5/5

Eight years on, a new terrorist leader, Bane, overwhelms Gotham's finest, and the Dark Knight resurfaces to protect a city that has branded him an enemy. 

 Much like the previous installments in Nolan's Batman series, The Dark Knight Rises provides another tense and complicated storyline that weaves itself together with the last two films to wrap up the trilogy with a fitting and complete finish. Once you get to the end of the film, it's amazing to piece together everything you've seen from the trilogy over the years and be impressed by the sheer scope of everything. The movies are huge and i imagine watching them back to back would be exhausting, in a good way of course.
Rises is the grittiest out of all the Nolan films, everything is multiplied by 10. The stakes are at their highest,  the emotional scope of the story is at it's most moving and Bruce's journey feels very much like it's coming to a proper closing as the film unfolds. The twists and turns Rises takes are also massive, with a few major surprises popping up within the story [mostly toward the end] that i didn't see coming.

As usual with these Batman films, the cast do a fantastic job of portraying their characters. The original cast are all solid, with Bale giving his best performance yet as Wayne, taking his journey full circle as he revisits his past and tries to get himself back onto the road of redemption to save Gotham City. Cain as Alfred and Oldman as Gordan give Bruce's story the emotional depth it needed between all the tense storytelling and brutal action.
The real standouts in Rises however are the newcomers to the cast. Levitt is very likeable as a young Detective working alongside Bruce and Gordon, his character played a much bigger role than i expected, Hardy is brooding and scary as the muscled and menacing, Bane, and last but not least, Hathaway as Selina Kyle, who received the biggest eyebrow raise by fans when she was cast actually does a really fantastic job of playing her iconic character. She has the sex appeal and mischievous nature of the Selina on point, and her character is given a well written and layered story which i wish we saw more of [she's never actually refereed to as Catwoman]. Her chemistry with Bruce is also natural and believable.

There's very little to fault with this film, aside from some minor pacing issues [it moves a little too fast at times], the movie was pretty much flaw free. I remember not being overly blown away by Batman Begins, i thought it was enjoyable, but it didn't leave any sort of lasting impression on me. The Dark Knight was something i went into with very low expectations and came out of it completely blown away by how incredible it was. Rises certainly had a lot to live up to when it came to not only being anywhere near as good as Dark Knight, but also finishing off the trilogy strong enough. The Dark Knight probably has the extra edge thanks to Ledger as The Joker, who is still my favourite villain from these films, but Rises is much grander, and the fact that Nolan has been able to maintain such a high standard of quality over three films is impressive to see when you sit each movie side by side. Rises doesn't have a villain as perfect as The Joker, but it does have enough twists, turns and a moving ending to really give The Dark Knight a run for it's money.

Overall, Rises won't disappoint. In fact, it not only makes the Nolan films one of the best trilogies we've ever seen, but it also makes Rises one of, if not THE BEST 3rd film from a trilogy i have ever come across. The only other film i can think of that comes close as far as quality goes is The Return of The King.

 Snow White and the Huntsman
Starring: Charlize Theron, Kristen Stewart, Chris Hemsworth
Directed by: Rupert Sanders
3/5


In a twist to the fairy tale, the Huntsman ordered to take Snow White into the woods to be killed winds up becoming her protector and mentor in a quest to vanquish the Evil Queen.

Snow White and the Huntsman shows a lot of promise when it first starts. In fact, the entire first act of the film unfolds perfectly with the introduction of the Evil Queen and how she quickly takes over the Kingdom after she murders the King and imprisons his daughter. Knights, swords, magic, it's all rolled out "old skool" style like those fantasy films from the 80's that i used to enjoy so much growing up as a kid.
That's what i loved most about Huntsman, it completely indulges in the fact that it's a fantasy film. The design team must have had a ball bringing it to life, it looks amazing on screen. Sadly, the amazing visuals aren't strong enough to hide some under-developed characters and an unevenly paced storyline.

After an initial promising beginning, Huntsman slowly starts to become a little boring as we hit the middle mark of the film. As we are introduced to the dwarves and the blossoming romance between Snow White and the Huntsman, i noticed that i started to not care about what was happening in the story.
The main issue with the dwarves is that they weren't as interesting as they should have been. Sure they looked the part, and made some slightly amusing jokes every now and again, but overall, the history and depth the writers attempted to add into Snow White's mission of revenge via the dwarves and their "wisdom" felt flat and uninspired.
Speaking of uninspired, the romance between the Huntsman and Snow White had zero chemistry and i had no idea why either of them were attracted to each other. It was an addition to the story that felt forced, like the makers felt like it HAD to have a romance otherwise it would be missing something. To be honest, i thought Snow White's childhood relationship with the Prince showed more potential as a future romance than with the Huntsman, they at least shared a history.
The middle section of the film also brings the fast pace of the beginning of the story to a sudden halt. Had the new characters introduced to us during this time been more interesting, this wouldn't have been an issue, but since i didn't care about most of them, it all just felt a bit dull. Thankfully, one of the best moments in the film occurs during these parts which brings the stories excitement level up again as Snow White enters the Fairy Forest. It's a beautifully created scene that brings the story back to Snow White herself and leaves the boring new characters on the sidelines where they deserve to be. This is followed by the poison apple scene and Snow White's "death", which were also both nicely done.

As we near the end of the film, and as things start to pick up again in the story, we are left with a build up to what feels like a possibly epic final confrontation between the Queen and Snow White. Once both woman are finally face to face ready to slug it out though, we unfortunately get a very quick and anti climatic battle that should have been so much bigger than what was presented to us.
The Queen was supposed to be very powerful and dangerous, and she seems like a pretty easy kill at the end of the day. I know she was weak by the time we reach the ending, but still, she was so desperate to live forever and so willing to showcase that throughout the whole film, i expected her to put up a bit more of a fight.

Casting wise they did a decent job. Much has been debated about Kristen Stewart in this role, people don't seem to think she looks the part of "fairest of them all" when compared to Charlise Theron's obvious stronger beauty, however, i still think Stewart brought her own sort of beauty to the role of Snow White. Her big beautiful green eyes, her long dark hair, it suited the character well and she played the part believably.
Chris Hemsworth is decent as the Huntsman, however he does look a little bored at times since he really isn't given anything challenging to do other than act like a poor mans Thor.
The real winner of the piece however is Charlize as the Queen. She's a very dark character, Charlize merges psychotic and beautiful successfully. She did at times scream a little too much, but i guess that added to the melodrama of the character anyway.

Overall, Snow White and the Huntsman is an enjoyable enough film if you like fairytales for adults. Had it executed pacing more evenly and had a stronger finale, i would have loved it. As it stands though, Huntsman is a pretty looking, but flawed movie. Decent enough for a watch certainly, but it could have been so much more with some tweaking.

Prometheus
Starring: Michael Fassbender, Charlize Theron, Noomi Rapace
Directed by: Ridley Scott
4/5

A team of explorers discover a clue to the origins of mankind on Earth, leading them on a journey to the darkest corners of the universe.

In case you've been living under a rock for the last year, Prometheus has been hinted at being a very loosely based prequel to the Alien franchise. Because of that, Alien fans are very curious as to how much both films are linked together.
In Prometheus, any links to Alien are fairly low key. Essentially what we are given are two different teams from two different franchises existing in the same universe, but having two different storylines beginning from the same source material".
The tone and feel of Prometheus borrows very heavily from Alien. Giger's artistic creations take center stage once again, which gives the movie a great nostalgic throwback feel to the Alien series.
Seeing the film on IMAX really gave the visuals of the movie a spotlight to shine under. Every sweeping landscape was beautifully showcased, and Ridley's always slick direction looked amazing on the big screen. When it comes to aesthetics, Prometheus gets everything right.

Story wise, every character follows a similar pattern to a lot of these sorts of sci-fi films with characters being a good mix of curious doctors, captains, hard arsed corporate big wigs and assorted angry and wild crew members being thrown into random events throughout the course of the film.
Nothing new is brought in as far as character development is concerned, although it wasn't really an issue since the characters are likeable enough and cast well. Stand outs are Charlize Theron as the cold Meredith Vickers, and Michael Fassbender as the intelligent robot, David.

Much like Alien, the pacing is slow and steady with some great tension as the drama starts to kick into gear. Anything Prometheus lacks in mildly under-developed characters gets made up for with an entertaining story.
My only small gripe with the film was that it didn't actually answer the two big questions the movie was asking of the audience to actually stick around for. I would have been happy to have at least one answered, but the answers to "why were we made" and "why are we being destroyed" don't actually come to any sort of resolution. Of course that would be something that could be explored in a sequel, however, i still think the movie felt too open ended. Sure the characters discover where we came from, but it wasn't enough for me to really feel like i got as much as i needed from the story as a pay off.
The one thing that made up for that was the one and only moment of the film that really tied a strong link to Alien, and that was a scene that pops up right at the end. I won't go into detail about what it was, but it certainly put a smile on my face as a fan of the Alien series. It was a good fan finish.

Overall, Prometheus was a solid film. It feels completely unfinished in many ways, and i guess we'll see more of it once the next movie comes along. For now though, Alien fans will get a lot out of it, and non fans will be in for a well directed and tense sci-fi drama. 

 

Gossip
A Joyful Noise
5/5

I'm guessing the days of Gossip sounding like a straight up grimy punk band are over. Their last album was disco infused rock, and i wondered whether it was a one off change of direction. Now with the release of A Joyful Noise, i think Gossip has finally found it's signature niche with another collection of danceable rock infused songs that you can either bang out on a guitar to or dance your ass off under a mirror ball.

Beth Ditto's solo dance EP that was released in 2011 has had a strong influence on the bands new album, with even more disco inspired beats sharing the stage with thrashing rock band production thanks to UK album producer, Xenomania.
You'll find specks of their previous album, Music For Men, throughout the new record. The track, Get A Job, could have easily been been part of their previous albums track listing. A Joyful Noise feels very much like a continuation of their last album, while still taking the production a little bit further.
Some of the melodies feel very old skool, they feature the types of hooks you'd hear in tracks from the late 70's/ early 80s, songs like Perfect World and Casualties of War showcase how much listening to ABBA over the last couple years has rubbed off on Beth, and the band has never gone more 70's disco than they have on stompers like Get Lost and Love In A Foreign Place.

On first listen, the album may take a few plays to sink in, but once it does, it quickly starts to come together. A Joyful Noise isn't as instant or obviously hit filled as their last album, but it's probably overall slightly more cohesive, for me anyway. Personally, there were a couple of songs on Music For Men that i never warmed up to, A Joyful Noise however doesn't have one track that i haven't grown to enjoy, so for that, i'm labeling this as their easiest album to fall in love with. Not sure if it's necessarily their best, but it could grow to become that over time.

Best Movie Strippers!
Pull out your dollar notes! it's time to pay your pussy bill!

Jessica Alba as Nancy Callahan in "Sin City"
You won't get to see her in colour, or fully nude [Alba didn't want to go topless like her character in the comic book], however, she does do a nice little bar dance for us, topped off with a rope and wind machine.

 Demi Moore as Erin Grant in "Striptease"
The Motherly hairdo doesn't do a lot for her sex appeal, but Demi has a bangin' body and actually does some great dancing. She showcases her new silicone chesticles as well!.

 Jennifer Beals as Alex Owens in "Flashdance"
Welder by day, club dancer by night! Alex doesn't dance at a regular strip club though, this is a "clothes on" type of job! Still, she removes most of her clothes, and even though it's obviously NOT Beals doing the dancing, she's still sexy when they do her facial zoom ins. J.Lo loves it!

 Natalie Portman as Alice in "Closer"
We only see a small glimpse of Alice dancing, she's more of a talker, and what a talker she is!.






 

 Elizabeth Berkley as Nomi Malone in "Showgirls"
Nomi Malone doesn't like to be called a stripper! she's a dancer!!!!! even though she gets the most naked out of EVERYONE on this list. She shows it all, top bottom, front, back, it's all there on show, so are the high kicks, pole twirls, lesbian strip teases, flailing arms in the air dance moves and painted nipples.

 Daryl Hannah as Angel in "Dancing at the Blue Iguana"
 Angel isn't the sharpest tool in the shed, she'll mistake someone elses pregnancy test as her own even though she hasn't had sex in months, she'll put a photo of Adam West in her house and pretend it's her Father and expect nobody to notice, but she's still very sweet!. There's other assorted strippers in this one too, Jennifer Tilly as a dominatrix, Sandra Oh as a dancing poet, lovely.

 Rose McGowen as Cherry Darling in "Planet Terror"
She does a sexy dance for us during the opening credits, but the rest of the film is Cherry trying to comes to terms with having her leg ripped off while a zombie apocalypse is going down. Her solution? substitute a leg with a machine gun and shoot the crap out of everything! fantastic!.

 Holli Would in "Cool World"
Jessica Rabbit may be considered the sexiest cartoon ever, but Holli is the dirtiest! [and imo hotter than Jessica]. If she isn't dancing her ass off at her local club, than she's having cartoon sex with Gabriel Byrne. She was voiced by Kim Basinger.

 Salma Hayek as Santanico Pandemonium in "From Dusk Till Dawn"
Sadly, Salma doesn't take it all off in this role, but it's not needed really. She exudes enough sex to melt your TV during her snake dance number, you might want to enjoy it while it lasts though, because soon after its finished, she turns a bit.....ugly.

 Pamela Anderson as Barb Wire in "Barb Wire"
It's Pamela Anderson, so naturally she goes all out with her opening credits dance, tight dress, swinging from the ceiling, water spraying all over her, Pammy knows how to do it all!

 The Avengers
Starring: Robert Downey Jnr, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johannson
Directed by: Joss Whedon
4/5

Nick Fury of S.H.I.E.L.D. brings together a team of super humans to form The Avengers to help save the Earth from an intergalactic army.

As a film, The Avengers had the potential to become a huge mess if not approached in the right way. You have a big cast all vying for the same amount of screen time, characters who are from different stories needing to come together to create one believable world, and a scope that's so big that it seems almost impossible to write a story with enough character development to make it more than just a pointless action film.
The best man to go to for this sort of job is, Joss Whedon. The majority of his past work has focused on vast stories and ensemble casts, Buffy, Firefly, Toy Story, Cabin in the Woods ect. so it's no surprise that he was able to take something as varied as Avengers and make it work, it's perfectly suited to his style of directing and writing.
It's almost amazing how easily everything flows throughout Avengers, from the introduction to the cast, to the ease of the unfolding story. Joss gets a huge thumbs up for making such a daunting project look so easy.

The Avengers strongest point is it's script, which has been injected with Joss's signature sense of humor, giving the story some hilarious laugh out loud moments, while still keeping the action coming in my the bucket loads. Joss's ability to toggle drama, comedy and action has always been his strongest asset, and it gives The Avengers some much needed personality.
Speaking of action, there's A LOT of it to get through, and all of it is fantastic from start to finish. Nothing will prepare you for the eye melting scope of the last 30 minute battle of the film. It's almost as if the creators thought they may never have a chance for a sequel, so they wanted to go out with the biggest bang they could possibly bang out. Everything is thrown at us during that section of the film, i almost felt tired by the time it was over, it was an impressive spectacle.

Casting wise, everyone is on point and no one gets left behind. They all get gags, all get big action set pieces and all get enough screen time. All of the actors did a great job, with the highlights being Downey Jnr as Iron Man, Hiddleston as Loki and Ruffalo as Hulk.

You don't need to have seen the films these characters come from to have a full understanding of what's going on within the story, however, it does help you understand a few small references here and there if you have seen them. An instant appreciation for some of the characters due to back story knowledge from other films does make it all feel a bit more well rounded, although as i said, it's not essential.

The Avengers is an unapologetic comic film from top to bottom, which makes it stand out amongst other darker and more realistic films coming out this year like The Dark Knight Rises and Spider Man. It's colourful, entertaining and very hard to not like. It took a lot of balls to take it down the route Joss did, this style of more "cartoony" comic book films has produced some very average results over the past few years, but Joss was able to nail with smarts and lots of heart.