27/09/2008 
Update for 27 September...
It's that time of the year again when I start to slow down with the update because I simply can't be bothered (it gets worse in October...). Of course things picks up in November/December. But, I've gotten around to doing something, although I'm already a couple of weeks behind on Johnny Moronic Television, we need some barren weeks, but the new show, The Strip, is basically Baywatch Nights: Gold Coast, with mandatory bikini action and similar quality storylines.
Everything is brand new off the fryer, no older stuff. First up is Three and Out, an odd and very British comedy about a train driver who has killed (accidently) two people and is promised 10 years salary if he kills a third within a month, so he finds a suicidal man to go through with the deal. But of course, he befriends him. The British do these films well, but this film is nothing special, just an OK time waster. Flashbacks of a Fool stars Daniel Craig as a Hollywood star on the decline who remembers back to his youth when his best friend Boots dies. This is a solid and very watchable drama with a pretty decent British cast, even if it has problems with time periods. Plus, I like Jodhi May and this is probably the best she has ever looked. Damn...
Normal is a ensemble drama about a group of people who were involved in an incident and how they are coping with it. I've got to admit, I'm getting a little tired of these ernest films that like to bash us over the head about how things are like Babel and Crash, and Normal gets a bit too much very quickly. Some nice nudity though. Then there's Itty Bitty Titty Committee which is about a lesbian (Melonie Diaz) who is not handling a break up well who meets a girl (Nicole Vicius) vandalising her workplace, a plastic surgery clinic. The vandal invites the lesbian to a meeting of her group, a low rung feminist revolutionary group and she takes a shine to the 'revolutionary'. Basically, this film is a lesbian romantic comedy with a feminist political bent, and in case you haven't realised this, romantic comedies are pretty much all the same, straight or gay, although there's a nice lesbian sex scene in this film, which gives it a few extra points :)
To finish up, a couple of Australian films, both starring Toni Collette (who seems to be copping a barrage of insults for some strange reason, at least she's working in the Australian film industry unlike a number of others who will remain nameless, but you know who they are...). First up is Hey Hey It's Esther Blueberger, which has copped the brunt of the abuse this year (there's always one). And well, this film is a strange one, about a 14 year old Jewish girl who meets an older girl and becomes friends, then joins her at her public school without telling her parents. Oh, this one isn't for the kiddies or the tweens and hell, I don't know who it is for. The film has many strange moments (including references to a 14 year old performing oral sex!). This film is one part Ferris Bueller, one part Kids, which is a strange mix for a light comedy. I really don't know how to recommend this one. The Black Balloon is a very good coming of age film about a teenage boy dealing with his autistic brother and a new school. Model Gemma Ward appears as the love interest and well she sure is pretty to look at. Worth a look if you can find it.
And that just about sums up Australian films this year 'if you can find them'. Saw The Tender Hook on the weekend (me and a couple of other people...) which flopped miserably at the box office, even with two big Australian actors (Hugo Weaving and Rose Byrne). Personally I thought the film was a mess which just adds to the problems. For the rest of Australian films I recommend Cactus (a solid genre two hander) and The Square (another solid genre effort), but there are no standouts this year. And then you've got to find them...
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Gemma Arterton in Three and Out (with 1 video)
Jodhi May in Flashbacks of a Fool (with 4 videos)
Camille Sullivan in Normal (with 1 video)
Lauren Lee Smith in Normal (with 1 video)
Melonie Diaz (with Nicole Vicius) in Itty Bitty Titty Committee (with 3 videos)
Nicole Vicius (with Melonie Diaz) in Itty Bitty Titty Committee (with 3 videos)
Daniela Sea and Carly Pope in Itty Bitty Titty Committee (with 1 video)
Toni Collette in Hey Hey It's Esther Blueberger (with 1 video)
Gemma Ward in The Black Balloon (with 2 videos)
