Two years removed from what can be called as the single greatest, most manliest, movie experience in cinema history, we have had to endure two new Twilight movies and not one, not two, but three Nicholas Sparks film adaptations. This ends in August. Not one to rest of his laurels, Sylvester Stallone gets the band back together for round two of the 1980's taking back what is rightfully theirs. The Expendables 2 is much like The Expendables; except with added Jean-Claude Van Damme and Chuck Norris. And while the latter has been a bit of a downer with his insistence the film be toned down to PG-13, we are still expecting the highly explosive macho bravado we saw in the first. So until August 17th rolls around, we will toast our large steins of beer to Stallone and crew once again- re-running our special Expendables article below from2010. Until it is time...
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I did not anticipate that I would attempt to write a review after seeing one of comedy’s legends. I intended to enjoy the show, be captivated in the moment and simply bask in the glory that is John Cleese. How could anyone do otherwise? The wonderful side effect of close proximity to truly talented individuals is that their fire and spark for life is infectious. People whose creativity and imagination have taken them to such heights are like a drug for the rest of us. The synapses start firing and the mind cannot rest until it finds a way to release the excitement. So here is my ode to Mr Cleese. The Comedy Club Melbourne was a perfectly intimate venue for the occasion. Even those of us in the ‘nosebleed’ section could make out the finer details of the now seventy-two year old performer. 774 ABC radio host Richard Stubbs played...
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As I settled in to watch the Michel Hazanavicius’s new movie, The Artist, the cinema ran an advertisement for the Australian multicultural television channel, SBS. A small seed, maybe a sperm, rushed through dark channels with thousands of others, pulsing with light it rose to the top and swung round hairpin bends, through obstacles higher it lifted in a roar, breaking through the surface of a sphere and transforming the darkness into a planet of flowers, like a purple hydrangea. The voice over was a warm foreign sounding voice and told us that “some ideas are too good to die”. Maybe The Artist, a silent black and white movie, is one of those ideas that is just too good to die? Warwick Thornton hinted at it a few years ago in his remarkable Samson and Delilah. The surprising part about that film was not that there was little dialogue but that...
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What did I just listen to? It’s not too often I spend an hour trying to engross myself in a record and walk away from it feeling completely blank and scratching my head about what I’d just put myself through. Tunnel Blanket by This Will Destroy You can only be summed up in one word: Non-descript. Tunnel Blanket will neither destroy you nor reinvigorate you, it will only leave you frustrated that such a talented band could produce such a bland piece of work. It shouldn’t have been this way. TWDY have long since been regarded as heavyweights of the post-rock genre with one superb debut record, Young Mountain, and a worthy self titled follow up. What made those records so good was the scope and emotional depth that was harvested from atmospheric and morose guitars that were spliced with ambience and distortion. The problem with Tunnel Blanket is that the balance...
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January 10th 2012- The day rock and roll mattered once again for the first time in a long time. The pleas have been heard. Prayers have been answered. Forlorn and desperate dreams have become reality. The gods of rock have smiled upon us. El Paso’s At the Drive In and Sweden’s Refused, two of the most influential rock bands of the last fifteen years, have announced their respective reformations. On the same day. In the early days of a new year. On the same day that the legendary Thierry Henry made his triumphant comeback for Arsenal and singlehandedly shot the Gunners through to the next round of the FA Cup. The symmetry is almost too perfect for words. You could almost say it was fate. Two bands that have done more to shape modern rock than most but were cut down in their primes by internal bickering. Take a look at the footage of At...
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The lockout is over. The NBA season for 2011/12 has been saved and come Christmas Day we can look forward to a condensed 66 game sprint to the finish line. How will the teams cope with a rushed training camp and free agency period not to mention a shortened season that contains more back to back games than ever before? The Marshalltown casts its eye over the forthcoming season and tells you who will be challenging, who will slip and who has no prayer. In this second installment The Marshalltown breaks down the Eastern Conference. To read the Marshalltown's preview of the Western Conference in Part 1 click here The Contenders Boston Does anyone know what’s happening in Boston? A team with an ageing squad that was run ragged by an athletic Miami Heat decides to put its most exciting young player and future team leader on the trading block? You read that right. Boston put...
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The lockout is over. The NBA season for 2011/12 has been saved and come Christmas Day we can look forward to a condensed 66 game sprint to the finish line. How will the teams cope with a rushed training camp and free agency period not to mention a shortened season that contains more back to back games than ever before? The Marshalltown casts its eye over the forthcoming season and tells you who will be challenging, who will slip and who has no prayer. In this first installment The Marshalltown breaks down the Western Conference. The Contenders Los Angeles Lakers Last season was a humbling experience for the Lakers. Legendary coach Phil Jackson retired after seeing his Lakers swept in the second round of the playoffs by eventual champions, Dallas, while the growing knee problems of Kobe Bryant compounded the feeling that the curtain was closing on this current Lakers squad. Sadly for Lakers fans...
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Melancholia represents notorious director Lars Von Trier’s latest attempt at messing with his audience’s minds. Von Trier; equally adored and loathed across the globe has a knack for getting under peoples skin. His films, like 2009’s confronting Antichrist and the divisive Dogville, are as loved and praised as they are hated and criticized. I struggle to think of a current filmmaker who polarizes moviegoers as much as the controversial Danish director. Melancholia however is Von Trier’s most accessible film to date, beautifully shot, superbly acted and containing some of the most powerful scenes and images this year. It is the perfect film for Von Trier skeptics to revisit his work. Even so, it just might be a little too dumbed down for his supporters while still not accessible enough for detractors. The opening minutes of Melancholia are some of the most memorable of 2011 and are almost gripping enough to sustain its audience for the remaining two hours. Visceral,...
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The Marshalltown continues its retrospective series looking back at the year that was 2011. In this edition we count down the Top 5 stories in the wide world of sport.
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The Marshalltown reviews the year that was in movies and picks out the five best films of 2011.
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