Breaking new ground in dessert presentation

Saturday 2nd September - Cheryl, Jason, Amy, Gideon and I convened at Ing Doi (Victoria Pde Collingwood) for some yummy Thai food. All was going swimmingly well until it was time for dessert. A glance at the beautiful pictures on the dessert menu had us thinking we had eaten too much of the good food. The arrival of the desserts confirmed our suspicions.... See for yourself...

No, the dessert did not arrive already eaten, this photo was taken after the banana fritter and icecream was eaten.

Short and Sweet...of course!

CONGRATULATIONS

Huge congrats to Milo on his upcoming debt. The lad has finally gone and got himself a dwelling of his very own. Good stuff Mooch.

DANCEHOLISM - A DREAM COME TRUE

Been dancing lots. Almost 7 straight hours last Saturday. Salsa & Le Bop.

Sadly last Friday was the last weekly Park Hyatt. They will now only be on the last Friday of every month...the next one is the 29th of September for anyone who is up for a bit of a salsa!

Then the Le Bop ball is coming up on the 9th of September. Tickets are only $38 if anyone is interested in coming along (Details www.lebop.com.au). Lots of dancing and performances (Gideon & I are both involved). The theme is DISCO FEVER - it is going to be awesome! I finally get to fulfill my dream to BECOME A DISCO BALL! :D

CELEBRATION ELATION

Hmmmm.... the big 30 is coming up soon. There is a plan in the works to party in true Rainbowg style...I will have details as soon as I can confirm a thing or two. Will be one of the last 3 Saturdays of October.... I know, not very specific.... stay tuned.

PHOTO OF THE BLOG

Little Zoe gives us a smile.
What a heartbreaker!

More soon, I promise!
Love g xoxox

One Day Snow Season

YEAH BABY!

First things first.

CONGRATULATIONS Qwerty on making it to the Grand Final! – only the second time in our long history. And an even bigger congrats to the players on playing so well in the final – losing by only 6 (34-40) in a very aggressive and fast paced game, to the team who was unbeaten all season (pretty much). A big thanks to all our supporters who yelled loudly and waved orange pompoms in the stands… we definitely had the best and loudest fans!

HUBBA HUBBA !!

Can you believe it? It finally dumped all of 20cm in one week! The Victorian snow season has been a big fizzer this year, and the natural snow level finally got up to 40cm the first week of August. Compared to any other year or country, it’s still crap, but Paul, Tania & I decided we would take what we could get, and headed up to Falls Creek for a day of boarding.

On the upside, the weather was sublime – perfect blue skies (something absent last year) – I found myself sweltering in all my layers. The snow was also surprisingly good, dry and relatively even… that is as long as you kept to the main trails where all the man made was.
Perfect for Tania & I, beginner/intermediate boarders… Paul got bored a little more quickly (as you would if you had only just been to the Japanese mountains).

I enjoyed the day, taking it easy, remembering how to board again and practising some switch and 360 turns. Unfortunately the day ended a little more early for Paul & Tania due to a lost strap and twisted knee respectively. Still, we all went home in one piece, more or less and had a little taste of snow to keep us going for maybe a few more months. Here are some happy snaps!

Start of the day.
Look at them blue skies!
Big grin from Paulie.
Anticipation of those oh so sweet turns.

The good stuff... crisp white snow...
good enough to eat. Yum.

View from Drover's Dream.

Paul & Tania - professional boarders!

G&T rev up for some hardcore snow action.

Tania executes some silky smooth turns.

Is ths heaven?

USS Voyager?... no, just a chair lift.

Suspicious black hooded people skiing very close in groups of four.

P&T, get a lift.

Photo of the day:

School Bus in the snow...Cool.
Boarder jumping over bus.... even cooler!
(you can just see him if you look hard).

Snow Angel!
What a lovely day. :)

Blogging at the speed of

Just a very quick entry...
Hopefully tomorrow will bring a bigger and brighter blog entry about our trip to Falls Creek - complete with some pretty pictures. In the meantime....

Here are a couple of random photos and a couple of movie reviews:

Games Night at the Mulbert
Pop Trivial Pursuit in full swing
The Girls kicked arse!
(Although the boys did win Outburst)

Southgate on a beautiful morning.
I love you Melbourne.

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MOVIE REVIEWS

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Miami Vice: 2.75/5

Cast: Colin Farrell (Phone Booth), Jamie Foxx (Ray), Gong Li (Memoirs of a Geisha)

In a nutshell: Testosterone all the way

Brief Synopsis: Based on a 1980’s TV series. After a security breach and a few murders, the FBI recruit Two Miami cops go undercover as drug traffickers to find out who is responsible.

This is one for the boys. Cops, guns, cars, speedboats, gratuitous/graphic violence, and gratuitous (and clumsily done) sex scenes. The movie starts off great, with a very Collateral feel to it, Michael Mann manages to build up the tension and intrigue perfectly with some clever camera work and sound directing. Unfortunately, around 20-30 minutes in, when the romance kicks in, that’s where it loses us girls. That doesn’t seem to make much sense does it? It’s romance done badly – key factor – realistically Collin Farrell as Sonny, could not attract a moth if he was on fire… and yet he is supposedly a chick magnet, plus there just seems to be no chemistry between him and Isabella (Li), which makes quite a large chunk of the movie seem somewhat incredible. Perhaps it was just Colin Farrell, his acting is pretty woeful in this one, but I don’t think he can be blamed for all of it. Jamie Foxx has a smaller part, but he is ok in a part that doesn’t particularly stretch him at all. Sadly, once lost I could not be found, the rest of the movie was a bit of a laugh for me… and yet, I think a large majority of men will like this one.

Hoodwinked: 2.8/5

Cast (voices): Glen Close, Anne Hathaway, James Belushi, Patrick Warburton

In a nutshell: Nice to see a new kid on the block, but needs some more practice.

Brief Synopsis: Fairytale satire – someone is stealing all the recipes from the local food producers, who is the culprit?

This one is a little strange, and yet is very refreshing because it is neither a Pixar or a Dreamworks computer animated feature film. The tone and humour of the film is obviously different from what we are used to seeing in our cartoon diets, perhaps a little more adult, even more so than Shrek. A satire, the premise is clever, and the characters are attractive, in a more intriguing way rather than a cutesy way. However, the pace is not quite as quick and witty as its peers, many of the jokes appear in the trailer and most unfortunately one of the plot twists happens to be exactly the same as one in Over the Hedge which was released a couple of months previously. All in all, not a bad effort, but needs a bit more spit and polish.

Weekends of Indulgence!

Hello there everyone!

Hope you are all well... or at least better than me!

I've been sick for the last week, and it has been driving me mad! Seem to be getting worse too! Too much partying! Perhaps some snow would help!!!!!??

Probably started after drinking too much a couple of Saturday's ago...just like being back at uni... no one to blame but myself :( On the upside, the dinner at Limor's (Lebanese restaurant in North Caulfield) was excellent. $29 for 3 courses - way too much good food - dips, meat & dessert, BYO. Red wine was always going to be a bad start. There's one in Glenferrie too apparently, and it's probably a little more homely and lacking the singer with the very loud tacky backing tracks and a love of his own voice.

The 90's house party after probably tipped the scales... only a couple of drinks - but you know what I'm like with alcohol. Anyway, it was a lot of fun... but what exactly is typical 90's? Unfortunately I didn't take any photos, so I can't show you the Spice Girls, Sister Mary Clarence, the Ab Fab crew, or Gideon as a raver. It was only the next day that I realised that I should have worn my Take That t-shirt. ;P

Despite coughing on people all of this weekend, it one was a great one (apologies to anyone who may get sick.. esp. Gids) ... AND, I got a few photos!

Started off with Friday night drinks at the Balcony to celebrate Daniella's birthday!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DANIELLA! WE LOVE YOU!

Then dinner at the very swanky Radii with Corrie to celebrate a very belated birthday. Renee joined us for a scruptious dessert, followed by some high impact salsa at the usual Friday Night Park Hyatt Session. Question of the night - is duck a red or white meat?

Corrie & Renee - post food, pre dance

Saturday night began with dinner at Cafe La. Yet another swanky venue. Perhaps it's not fair to do comparisons, but I have to admit I enjoyed the food at Cafe La quite a bit more than Radii. Perhaps it was the company ;) hehe, or the views from the top of the Sofitel building.. and being able to see what they were doing in the kitchen was a nice touch.... but, seriously, I think the food was slightly better. And to be completely honest, despite the great chasm in pricing, the food at Limors was probably even more tasty!!

After dinner we headed over to Crown to surprise D with tickets to Floorplay. The show was awesome - well, we thought so. There were grumbles from one or two "dance connoisseurs" from the audience after the show... but I guess there is always someone who is going to complain. The dancing was unbelievably high energy, professional and extremely sexy, the singing good quality (depite the rakey stiff-bodied blonde), and the costumes and choreography bright and colourful. Unfortunately, this weekend was their last in Melbourne, so you missed out if you didn't already go.

Ladies in black - Mel, D & g after the show
(special mention to Tania who was there in spirit for the birthday present, but didn't join us for the show)

Gideon & me

Congratulations to Qwerty to make it though to the semi finals again, despite the weird arse season! Thanks to our few supporters and the cast of a thousand fill-ins we have had.

No movie or DVD reviews this week unfortunately... next time definitely!

Wishing you (& me!) good health and lots of dancing!

Love g

Important Questions That Must Be Answered

Apologies to my few fans… ie. Geordie, who has been eagerly awaiting another update…. Here it is!

What’s going on with M&M’s nowadays?

I have myself here a packet of Peanut M&M’s – Captain’s Gold Edition – Pirates of the Caribbean Dead Man’s Chest (see below for review). There are only 3 colours inside – Canary yellow, Sunflower Yellow and Poo Yellow. There’s something a little screwy going on here… Whoever thought it would be a good idea to have poo-coloured M&M’s thought wrong…. Everyone knows blue ones taste the best!!... that is, unless you are watching your health – as a wise man once said (Matthew McConnaughey in the timeless classic, The Wedding Planner) – the brown ones have the least amount of artificial colouring!

Why is there no snow?

A little piece of my lusciously snowy heart breaks off and melts into nothingness every day that there is still no snow in the Vic mountains. Soon there will be nothing left, but a dark empty cavity that once held my dreams of a better life in a winter wonderland filled with fat flakes (love the fat flakes) and snow angels, where my baby board can run free. Please take pity on my desperate plight and send you positive thoughts to the mountains. Note, all donations of two or more thoughts are tax deductible.

BB – what was the big deal?

I know most of you just think – who cares! So I’ll keep this short. I feel sorry for the two guys who got kicked off Big Brother. A lot of hooha about nothing. It was not shown on TV, it was only shown on-line to subscribers over the age of 18. While what they did was probably going a bit beyond a joke, that is exactly was what it was. In fact, Camilla, “the victim” was the first to suggest it in jest. You can check out the video footage for yourself at http://www.viddy.id.au/stuff/bb6.au.day069.live.feed.incident-korntunes-cut.zip. Why the PM and Opp. Leader chose to comment on it, I don’t know? - case of sticky beaking I say!! Ridiculous!

Breakfast of the week

Corn Fritters at Mart 130, Middle Park Tram Station, 107a Canterbury Road. DIVINE! Best breakfast out I've had all year. Absolutely delicious. Despite the ongoing battle described on my favourite breakfast blog (www.thebreakfastblog.blogspot.com), the Mart130 corn fritters are definitely better than the Replete Providore ones. Oh, the other dishes looked pretty lush too... definitely going back to try them all! Perfect way to spend a rainy Sunday brunch. Warm and cosy. Not to mention the company!

Photo of the week:

Marion’s 40^th B’day - Awww... ain't he cute - Gideon & Marion

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MOVIE REVIEWS
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Pirates of the Caribbean – Dead Man’s Chest: 3.75/5

Cast: Johnny Depp (Edward Scissorhands), Orlando Bloom (Elizabeth Town), Keira Knightly (Bend it like Beckham), Bill Nighy (Love Actually)

In a Nutshell: Slapstick laughs on the seas, ahoy.

Synopsis: This time, Captain Jack Sparrow is in search of the key to open the chest containing the heart of Davy Jones, the monstrous ruler of the seas.

Much of the same sort of thing as the first – but it worked then, and it’s pretty much still working now. It loses points for not being quite as cohesive as the first - the search for laughs seems to have come in at a higher priority than the plot development. This pays dividends in one particularly hilarious scene featuring the one and only Captain Jack Sparrow on an island of cannibals. While very much still the heart of the movie, Johnny Depp’s Captain seems to have turned camp in order to raise a few more laughs, and in the process seems more of a trivial character unfortunately. Also this time round, while evil dude is sufficiently ghastly, unlike Rush’s Barbossa, the character is so overwhelmed with makeup and special effects, Nighy’s Davy Jones ends up being less realistic (as man with an octopus for a head would be) and therefore less chilling. At two and a half hours, it is a touch long, and annoyingly there is no resolution as the money making machine churns towards a sequel. Despite all this, on the whole, it is still very entertaining stuff.

Over the Hedge: 3.25/5

Cast: Bruce Willis (Moonlighting), Garry Shandling (The Garry Shandling Show), Steve Carrell (The Office), William Shatner (Boston Legal), Eugene Levy (American Pie), Avril Lavine (Teen Rocker)

In a Nutshell: Excellent ending makes up for the meandering pace of the rest.

Synopsis: Self serving racoon meets a group of innocent forest foragers and encourages them to go to the other side of the hedge and steal food from the humans.

The premise is not particularly original, and not wholly unpredictable. The two main characters, the racoon and the turtle, are both quite annoying and one dimensional. Hammy the squirrel – played by Carrell is genius, and steals the show by a mile. Some of the other characters are quite cute too – eg. The possums and the porcupines. In the end there are some good laughs, but they are a long time coming. The animation is brilliant though.

Multiple Reasons to Celebrate!

Hello All!

Good News Travels Fast

The BESTEST of news!! Welcome to the world little Zoe… a huge CONGRATULATIONS to Andrew and Katherine, the proud new parents. So much for all those predictions of a boy. Can’t wait to meet the little lass!

Snack of the week

A slice of tasty cheese on a Sun Rice Sea Salt & Balsamic Vinegar flavoured rice cake. Tasty, but not nearly near as good as a square of Cadbury chocolate on a salt and vinegar potato chip.

Legends of the week

Go Socceroos! Love your work!

Hello/Goodbye Timon

Finally, some photos! It was with great excitement that we welcomed Timon back to our bonny shores for a few days last weekend. Dinner to celebrate young Robbie’s 30^th birthday, and everyone (well, almost everyone) was there at our own private room (well, sort of) at The Pier in Port Melbourne! Check it out…

Timon & Rob - The guests of honour

Timon, Sarah, Matt & Vanessa

Tania, Geordie & Sophie

Fiona, Sass & Jase

Soph & Sonia

Frank & D

Suz & g

Old friends catch up - Timon & Paul

Them's a lotta candles buddy

We wanna see you blow hard!

What are these rabbits doing in here?

Rob & Jamie get to know one another

Go on, tell us how it is Paul...

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MOVIE REVIEWS

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Click: 2.5/5

Cast: Adam Sandler (Happy Gilmore, Waterboy), Kate Beckinsale (Underworld, Pearl Harbour), Christopher Walken (Wedding Crashers, Weapon of Choice videoclip), The Hoff (surely he needs no introduction).

In a Nutshell: Bruce Almighty without the annoying actor that overacts.

Synopsis: Michael Newman is frustrated with his life. He wants that promotion to happen now. Then someone hands him a remote control that enables him to fast forward the boring bits. Is it a case of the grass is always greener?

Slight variation on the Bruce Almighty storyline. Nothing much new. Did get a bit teary and emotive in the last minutes though.

Stick It: 2.25/5

Cast: Jeff Bridges (Fisher King), Missy Peregrym (mainly TV appearances)

In a Nutshell: If you are not in the target audience 10-15 year old girls, you may find this a little silly.

Synopsis: Instead of juvenile detention a girl gets sent to gymnastics academy where she has to overcome having choked and let down the American team at world championships a few years back.

The first half of this movie is extremely clumsy and hard to watch. The main character and her voice overs are annoying and alienating, and the supporting characters are unlikeable and ridiculous stereotypes. The move only gets good once they get into the gymnastics action. However the ending, as predicted, is predictable…

Cars: 4.25/5

Cast: Owen Wilson (Shanghai Noon, Zoolander), Paul Newman (Colour of Money)

In a Nutshell: Pixar can do no wrong – gorgeously funny

Synopsis: A successful rookie racing car, on the verge of becoming a champion, gets lost in the middle of nowhere where he meets some of the strange locals.

Ka-Chow!! Having read some reviews I went in with low expectations, I should have known Pixar wouldn’t let me down. It does take a bit to come to terms with the fact that the whole world is populated with talking cars, but the wonder of spectacular animation allows this to be possible. Some of the characters are absolutely gorgeous and hilarious too (we laughed so much louder than everyone else I am surprised we didn’t get kicked out), especially Guido and Mater. However, the love interest is not particularly that interesting unfortunately. I found it more heartfelt than The Incredibles, but not quite as engaging as Nemo – a very high standard to live up to indeed, but it does mostly succeed. Stay through the credits.

Caché (Hidden): 1/5

Cast: Daniel Auteuil (Every French movie that Gerard Depardieu is not in), Juliette Binoche (English Patient, Chocolat)

In a Nutshell: Watching stalactites grow is more interesting

Synopsis: A family begin receiving disturbing video tapes which begins play on their minds and cause rifts in their relationships.

“Suspense”, “Thriller”… sure you didn’t see another movie? I found this movie incredibly boring, and dare I say it? - A pretentious waste of time. I didn’t know suspense could put a person to sleep, I will try it next time I have insomnia. Cath, sitting next to me, got at least a solid 30mins of sleep in. And yet, it has been consistently getting at least 4 stars with the critics… am I that uncultured, did I miss a crucial point in the section where the white subtitles disappeared into the white background? There were some interesting ideas, like the relationship between the family members (none of whom are particularly endearing), and you could see a lot of thought had gone into the artistry, the still shots at the start and the detail of the settings bringing richness to the characters, but it was just sooooo slow. Then after sitting through 2 hours of excruciatingly slow “suspense”, the ending does not make much sense at all – and no, I did not miss the twist, I just thought it was nonsensical and totally incongruent with the rest of the movie. The only good thing about this movie is that it almost forces the audience to gather and drink café’s after in order to untangle the frustrated mess of one’s mind.

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ON DVD
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Just Friends: 2.5/5

Cast: Ryan Reynolds (Blade Trinity, Van Wilder), Amy Smart (Starsky & Hutch), Anna Farris (Scary Movies – no, that is the name of the series of movies), Chris Klein (American Pie)

In a Nutshell: Amusing, great cast, average story/script

Synopsis: Guy who was once a fat kid in love with his best friend returns to his home town as a cynical, good looking womaniser.

Bad news first – once you find out the basic plot, the storyline is so predictable it hurts. Everything happens when and where you expect, and the script is lame. The good news – the cast is a cracker. Anna Farris does a great impression of Ashley Simpson/Britney/white trailer trash. Chris Klein (one very good looking dude) is surprising in a role slightly different to what you would normally see him in - very good support. Finally, Ryan Reynold’s comic timing is spot on perfect, he definitely has talent, it is just a pity he doesn’t have more to work with.

Pet Hate of the Day

When swimming there are several things I hate (from bad to worst):

1. Morons
2. Morons swimming a slow breast stroke in the medium lane
3. Morons swimming a very slow breast stroke in the medium lane that I am swimming in
4. Morons swimming an extremely slow breast stroke in the medium lane that I am swimming in that cause me to have to switch from freestyle to breast stroke because I have caught up with them
5. Morons swimming an excruciatingly slow breast stroke in the medium lane that I am swimming in, causing me to switch from freestyle to breast stroke, that don’t stop to let me pass at the end of the lane even though I am close enough to squeeze their ugly butt by the time we reach the wall. Please refer to Diagram 1 (me in the silver cap!).

Diagram 1

On the up side, I managed to get close to my swimming goal of the year of swimming 3km in an hour. For the first time I made 3km, but it was more like 75mins. I blame it on all the idiots who have the time to swim during the daytime and made me swap lanes 4 times to get away from them...of course that was the reason. ;-)

**MOVIE REVIEW**

Poseidon: 2.5/5

Cast: Josh Lucas (Sweet Home Alabama, Stealth), Kurt Russell (Backdraft, Overboard), Richard Dreyfuss (Mr Holland’s Opus, Jaws)

In a nutshell: Cross between Titanic and Armageddon, neither being truly great movies.

Synopsis: Freak wave causes huge cruise ship to overturn on New Year’s Eve. A small group of survivors try to escape before the ship sinks.

It is passable, however this feels like Titanic but without the mushy love story, or any character development for that matter. Why did they bother? I’m not a feminist, but it annoyed me that all the women were helpless and fragile. Twice I found myself happy that one of the characters died because they were a big pain in the arse. The highlight of the movie for me was the bright blueness of Josh Lucas’ eyes… dreamy… but not the stuff that movies are made of.

Unemployed boring person seeks movie therapy

Hey There!

Highlights/lowlights from last couple of weeks:

1. Quite a few big movie reviews to catch up on – see below.
2. My brand spanking new heart rate monitor finally arrived. A Chilli red Polar F11 - http://www.polarusa.com/products/fseries/f11.asp?cat=consumer. It rocks! Over the lasts 1.5 weeks since getting it, I have exercised off at least 4791 calories. That includes 12kms of running, 12kms more than I’ve run for the rest of the year! Awesome!
3. Baby Shower for Katherine! (See photo) Not long to go now!
4. Stu has finally popped the big question, and Karen & Stu are blissfully engaged – see their blog (http://vamanos2006.blogspot.com/ ). Yay!
5. Found a most bodacious breakfast blog for places around Melbourne: www.thebreakfastblog.blogspot.com (or see link in side bar -->)
6. My very handsome dancing buddy has gone far away for 6 weeks :~ (

Apologies for the lack of exciting blog content, but I keep forgetting to both take my camera places and use it, and not all that much happening right now. Will make a much bigger effort for the next blog entry!

Love g

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COUPLE OF RANDOM PHOTOS

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<>The Mother-to-be-of-honour, Katherine
<>Oh No, not another present!!!
<>

Random coastal photo on a random drive to Mt Eliza :)

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CINEMA REVIEWS

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Take the Lead: 2.75/5

Cast: Antonio Banderas (Mr Melanie Griffiths, Zorro, Desperado)

In a Nutshell: Routine teacher-makes-good-with-problem-students movie. Nothing new here, but takes advantage of the latest craze of ballroom dancing.

Synopsis: Based on the true story of Pierre Duclaine, tells of how a ballroom teacher takes a group of no-hoper students for detention and tries to inspire and teach them the lessons of life.

It’s ok, probably not as inspirational as it could be. We’ve seen it all before… try To Sir with Love, Dead Poet’s Society, Mr Holland’s Opus, Dangerous Minds, The Mighty Ducks (Hey! - That movie rocked!). A lot of resulting corn. Perhaps more should have been made of the dancing (for better dancing movies, refer to Strictly Ballroom or Centre Stage). Having said all that, it was still enjoyable.

X-Men: The Last Stand: 3.5/5

Cast: Hugh Jackman, Famke Janssen, Patrick Stewart, Sir Ian McKellen, Hally Berry, Anna Paquin, Rebecca Romijn, James Marsden (all of them were in the previous X-men instalments), Kelsey Grammar (Frasier), Vinnie Jones (Lock Stock).

In a Nutshell: Entertaining piece of escapism if you can indulge in a little suspension of disbelief at some of the holes in the plot. Good enough, but not quite as tight as the first two.

Synopsis: Humans have discovered a way to “cure” mutants of their affliction. The X-Men must pick sides in the fight between Magneto’s growing army and the ignorant humans.

Being the “last” instalment (Really?? Truly?), the writers have gone to town. The characters are a bit like the yo-yo fad – in one minute, gone the next. Some old characters disappear – the best thing about the 2^nd movie – Night Crawler (Alan Cumming) is nowhere to be seen (I heard he didn’t want to do the movie) and new characters appear from nowhere – the blue man, ie. Beast, debuts as Secretary of Mutant Affairs on the President’s cabinet – surely such an important figure should have rated a mention before? His character doesn’t add all that much and he just reminds me of Teenwolf. It feels like there is too much chopping and changing, and a general lack of a cohesive vision in the storytelling, perhaps this is due to the loss of the director Brian Singer to Superman. The budget seems to have gone to effects rather than the story - Why is there suddenly a mutant rating system? How is it that Wolverine can suddenly regenerate immediately? How does Juggernaut still manage to smash things without momentum? How the hell does a man infinitely produce penis sized thorns which are good for wounding enemies? Etc. Etc. Having said that, it was a fun movie, the last half hour was probably the best bit witg an unexpected solution and some genuine humour thrown in. Vinnie Jones is classic as Juggernaut. Stay for the end of the credits.

The Da Vinci Code: 3.5/5

Cast: Tom Hanks (Castaway, Forrest Gump), Audrey Tatou (Amelie), Sir Ian McKellen (What big budget movie is he not in?), Alfred Molina (Frida, Spiderman 2), Jean Reno (French Kiss, Ronin), Paul Bettany (Wimbledon, A Beautiful Mind)

In a Nutshell: Doesn’t live up to the hype, but entertaining thriller none the less.

Synopsis: Famous symbologist Robert Langdon and cryptographer Sophie Neveu investigate the strange murder of Louvre curator Jacques Sauniere.

As with most adaptations, don’t go and see this if the book is still fresh in your mind, because the book is much better, even if the critics didn’t like it. I also found myself expecting even more plot twists than there were because I was confusing the Da Vinci Code with Angels and Demons. With such wealth of talent – Ron Howard usually does a superb job, and what a stellar cast (some of my favourites) – you wonder why it was a let down. Was the starting material weak to begin with or was there just too much hype? Hanks and Tatou are ok, but don’t exactly make their characters jump of the page. Molina is unusally disappointing, perhaps he had too little air time. Bettany is not as intimidating as I remember Silas being. Reno doesn’t really do that much. Only McKellen really makes something of his character. Your average murder mystery really.

MI:3: 3.5/5

Cast: Tom Cruise (Mr Scientologist), Ving Rhames (Pulp Fiction), Phillip Seymour Hoffman (Capote), Billy Cruddup (Almost Famous), Laurence Fishburne (Matrix), Jonathan Rhys Myers (Bend it like Beckam, Matchpoint)

In a Nutshell: Way better than the second, but nothing particularly new and exciting to make it better than the first.

Synopsis: After a stint in retirement and a foray into romance and engagement, Ethan Hunt is called back to service. However, after messing with the wrong bad guy, he finds himself forced to undergo a new mission impossible in order to save his true love. Awwwwww.

I have to admit to missing the first 15-20mins, but I figured I probably didn’t miss much. Very enjoyable action movie, not completely dumb, but also nothing particularly original about it (Seems to be the theme of this month’s movies). Would have liked to have seen more screen time for PSH and Cruddup, they were somewhat wasted. The highlight of the movie may well have been sitting in the lush beanbags at the Halfpipe at the new Melbourne Central cinemas. You should try it if you haven’t already!

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DVD REVIEWS

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Marilyn Hotchkiss’ Ballroom Dance & Charm School: 2.5/5

Cast: Robert Carlyle (The Full Monty, Trainspotting), Marissa Tomei (famed for accidentally winning an Oscar for My Cousin Vinny), Mark Wahlberg (Marky Mark & the Funky Bunch!), John Goodman (Rosanne), Mary Steenbergen (Parenthood)

In a Nutshell: Offbeat humour with intermittent flashbacks that keep the movie rolling. The characters are not as loveable as they should be, and this keeps you at arms length from the movie.

Synopsis: Man, who is depressed after losing his wife, has a chance meeting with a dying man, leading him to a dance school that may well change his life.

Not a bad movie. Slightly quirky and optimistic. I like the way the flashbacks are worked in. The dance scenes are a little strange, but fun. Robert Carlyle is vaguely endearing... but for some reason overall the movie is missing a spark of some sort. The acting doesn’t seem all that heartfelt.

Mysterious Skin: 3.5/5

Cast: Joseph Goron-Levitt (3^rd Rock from the Sun, 10 Things I hate about you), Brady Corbett (Thirteen), Elizabeth Shue (Leaving Las Vegas)

In a Nutshell: Extremely brave and powerful movie making, dealing with the serious and taboo issue of paedophilia. Well made and acted, but hard to watch in parts, as it should be.

Synopsis: Two teens, one is missing chunks of his memory and is convinced he was abducted by aliens; the other is living destructively and selling his body. Gradually they remember how this came to be and the connection they have.

Extremely brave movie making. Equally brave acting. Very powerful, sad and disturbing. Found it a little difficult to feel as sympathetic towards the main characters as I would have liked, as they become such outcasts and strange characters, but I guess that is the point.

Stay: 2/5

Cast: Ewan McGregor (Trainspotting, SW Eps 1-3), Ryan Gosling (The Notebook), Naomi Watts (King Kong, Mulholland Drive)

In a Nutshell: Arty thriller movie that doesn’t quite work

Synopsis: A psychiatrist (McGregor) treating a disturbed patient (Gosling) who is planning to commit suicide starts to question his own sanity.

The movie is awkward and clinical. It was so exciting that I’ve already forgotten what happened. Oh yeah… uh…probably better that I did forget. Not a particularly watchable movie, gets some points for some effort at being a bit stylised.

BITS & PIECES – a much needed catchup

Apologies for such a long gap between entries. After 4 weeks of intense box office work, I now find myself unemployed again. At least I’ll have more time to update my blog! Here are some photos and reviews which are long overdue – sorry, the festival is over, but enjoy the reviews anyway.

love g

Belated pictures from bowling – Geordie’s birthday

Thanks to Geord for the photos!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY G.
We love you!

Rob goes in for the kill.

Geoff - in deep concentration.
Be one with the boule Geoffrey.

Paul - he's the man!
Anyone who can bowl two shots in a row that touch the jack is a FREAK!


Gluten Free Freak gets stuck into the Gluten Free Food
Sonia - nice going - two glasses at once! Impressive.


When you are close to knocking out your woman with the amount of smoke coming off your birthday cake, it's a sign you are getting old!!!

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COMEDY REVIEWS
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Demetri Martin - Dr Earnest Parrot presents (22/4/2006)

Demetri, Demetri – oh how I love thee. Demetri did two shows this year. This is his story show. He tells us of how his psychiatrist Dr Earnest Parrot diagnoses him with a ‘Brain Nook’ and goes on to explain what events triggered this phenomenon and what is in the ‘Brain Nook’. Demetri ended up winning this year’s Barry award this show. An extremely well prepared show with plenty of slides and music, and yet it never seems contrived. Such a delightful and personal gig, he sucks you in and makes you want to hug him. Awwhhhhh....

(For those unfamilar with his work, check out the poem "Dammit I'm Mad" on his website, www.demetrimartin.com, under the Other Things tab - it is way cool!)

Danny Bhoy (29/4/2006)

Danny Bhoy sold out about 22 shows at the Atheneum theatre, breaking the record for the most tickets sold at a MICF (Ross Noble held the record for his effort last year). Having seen him a few years ago, I wondered what the fuss was about. After seeing the show, my questioned were answered. Not only is he a good looking charming young man with an accent, but he is pretty funny too. His delivery has improved out of sight, and while you know parts of his show are well scripted, it is hard to tell which bits are and which bits aren’t.

Demetri Martin – These are other jokes (3/5/2006)

This was Demetri’s other show, the stand up one. A little disappointing. While some parts of it were very funny – eg. Demetri’s research presented in a series of bar charts (what can I say, deep down I’m still partly actuarial), it felt like much of the show was Demetri trying out new jokes for his next “real” show. Possibly the highlights of the show were when he was adlibbing and interacting with the audience, if but briefly. In particular, there was the woman sitting behind us who seriously had a laugh like Woody Woodpecker.

Sam Simmons – Tales from the Erotic Cat (7/5/2006)

Sam Simmons was one of the quiet achievers of the festival. Not a big name, but got himself a Barry Award nomination and sold out shows. F@#$ this was a weird show. Laughs were borne more out of the ridiculousness of what this strange man was spouting on stage. Still not sure whether I should have been laughing or crying for this man whose best friend is a Ficus plant.

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MOVIE REVIEW
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American Dreamz: 2.5/5

Disappointing. Having seen Mandy Moore in Saved! I thought this would be a similar sort of intelligent satirical conversation. Perhaps that was where the writers started with it, but that is not what happened on screen. Did they dumb it down for the average movie goer or was it beyond my intelligence? I don’t know, but I would like to thing the former. J It feels like they just take the joke too far. Most of the characters are one dimensional with the expections of Mandy Moore who perhaps managers an extra half a character and Dennis Quaid who has successfully managed to create a character with no dimensions. Only Sam Golzari as Omer manages to be somewhat human.