Film

Office Christmas Party: Jason Bateman & Jennifer Aniston Interview

Over the past few years, we’ve seen the traditional family comedies, films like National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, replaced with films that have been aimed at a more adult market. The first to be released in Australia this holiday season has been Office Christmas Party from comedy directors Josh Gordon and Will Speck. Together the pair has been able to put together a fantastic ensemble cast consisting of some of the biggest comedy stars of the last few years and it doesn’t take talking to Jason Bateman and Jennifer Aniston very long to see that they enjoyed every minute of making the film.

No stranger to comedy Bateman, who has been in films such as Horrible Bosses and Identity Thief, and Bateman admits that it was who he knew in the comedy world that got him the plum role of playing lovable loser Josh in the film. “Will and Josh and I are very close,” he explains. “We’ve done a film together and we’ve been friends since then so I think that there wasn’t really a big mystery to them of what it is that I do or what I would bring to this so I think that because they had been with the project for so long that they knew exactly what they would be getting with me and if they wanted that or not, so when they asked me to do it they figured ‘oh he will do this thing and that’s what we want so let’s get him to do that.”

Of course, the other person who wasn’t a stranger to Bateman on set was Jennifer Aniston who has now appeared in a number of films including two Horrible Bosses films, and Bateman says that was an advantage when it came to Office Christmas Party. “Jennifer and I have known each other for twenty years now… maybe more. We’re very close, and this is like any profession if you get to work with your friends that is something that you look to do and I hope this certainly isn’t the last time we work together. I think it is five, or maybe fourth or sixth movies that we have done together and hopefully, we are only halfway done.”

When asked about the premise of Office Christmas Party Bateman laughs at how simple it is. “Will and Josh have worked on this project for so long, and they have such a clear idea what they want to bring to the audience with it, right there in the title there’s a promise of an ensemble… Office Christmas Party… it’s basically all you need to know. There’s a Christmas Party happening in an office which implies a number of people and because it is an R-Rated comedy things are going to go sideways pretty quick, and you hope that there is funny people driving that car off the road and that literally happens in this movie. It’s a great group, and my character is Josh and he’s not too dissimilar to characters that I have played in the past. There is a necessary element in every comedy where you need something that blends into an obscure world, so something like a ‘us’ – the normal guy, the every guy, the straight man, the protagonist and that is kind of Josh in this movie. He is somebody that is trying to keep the office running at a good clip, being productive and that everything stays professional. If you don’t have that kind of element then you have Martians on Mars, and there isn’t really anything that special about that, it’s only weird when they come down to Earth. So my character Josh and of course Tracy and Claire are faced with the fact that their branch is going to be shut down or severely downsized by Jennifer Aniston’s character who happens to be the sister of T.J. And so in an attempt to keep the branch open they reach for an account that could save them. They try to close this big account, so in order to court that CEO, this guy Walter Davis, they throw a Christmas Party and invite him to it in a bid to impress him with the way they party, but they try a little bit too hard and things go wrong… it leaves the office after awhile, and we hit the streets of Chicago at night, and things escalate for sure.”

With Jennifer Aniston’s character, Carol, very much being the villain in this piece she admits she had to put a lot of thought into how Carol would relate to many of the other characters in the film. “With Carol and Clay, I had a pretty good idea of who I thought they would be. I thought they would be a grown up Jeanie and Ferris Bueller kind of relationship… that kind of relationship grown up and there’s still that resentment there, but now they are in the professional world but that kind of sibling rivalry still comes out in bad ways and unexpected moments and I thought that would be fun. And she’s not a terrible person she just hasn’t been given anything on an emotional level, so all that she has really trained inside herself is that ‘well I’m going to prove myself, I’m going to the best, and I’m going to be the strongest. So sadly she has never really developed that soft, fuzzy side. Carol is pretty much the Grinch that wants to steal Christmas away from all of these hard working employees who aren’t doing as good of a job as they should be doing and I know that and I’m actually right, but I just don’t go about it the right way and I’m also paying back a childhood vendetta that I have had.”

Like Bateman Aniston also admits that there is a big plus side to working with people that you know. “Will Speck and I and Josh have known each other since The Switch and we became such good friends, and then, of course, Jason and I are like family. There’s definitely a shorthand and a trust that we have with each other. It almost doesn’t feel like work. I joke that with Jason that this is our fifth film together… I think that it is the fifth… and that is really great. Again there becomes this trust with each other, and you know what you are in for and you know that you can go to a place and trust that your partner is going to believe in you, so you feel really lucky. I’m so lucky that they are still allowing this to happen to Hollywood.”

As cinema goers, we should also consider ourselves lucky that Hollywood allows Jason Bateman and Jennifer Aniston to keep working together as well because the result is a film that is as fun as Office Christmas Party.

Office Christmas Party is showing in cinemas now.

December 22, 2016 0 comment

Film Featured Thriller

Black Butler: Book Of Murder (2016) Review

written by David Griffiths

Summary: At the behest of the Queen, Earl Ciel Phantomhive hosts a lavish dinner party attended by several of the finest members of polite society—as well as struggling author, Arthur. But as the party reaches its high, a terrible murder takes place and none other than the Earl himself is suspected of the crime.

As a violent storm rages on outside, the death count continues to climb. The Phantomhive household and their eminent guests find they must cooperate in order to solve this mystery before they too fall prey to the mysterious murderer. However, it seems that not even the perfect butler, Sebastian Michaelis, is safe from this horror.

Year: 2014

Australian Cinema Release Date: N/A

Australian DVD Release Date: 6th July 2016

Country: Japan

Director: Noriyuki Abe

Screenwriter: Yana Taboso

Cast: Shintaro Asanuma (Arthur (voice)), Yuki Kaji (Finnian (voice)), Emri Kato (Mey-Rin (voice)), Ryohei Kimura (Charles Grey (voice)), Jamie Marchi (Irene Diaz (voice)), Mana Miyamoto (Irene Diaz (voice)), Daisuke Ono (Sebastian Michaelis (voice)), Maaya Sakamoto (Ciel Phantomhive (voice)), Shinnosuke Tachibana (Soma), Eiichiro Tokumoto (Grimsby (voice)), Hiroki Yasumoto (Agni (voice)), Koji Yusa (Lau (voice)),

Runtime: 58 mins per ep

Classification: M

OUR BLACK BUTLER: BOOK OF MURDER REVIEWS & RATINGS:

Harley Woods:

Black Butler: Book Of Murder is a 2 part miniseries, originally shown in Japanese cinemas, which acts as the fourth instalment of the ‘Black Butler’ anime franchise. It is released on DVD and BluRay in Australia by MadMan Entertainment.

The story revolves around a dinner party at the Phantomhive manour, as ordered by the Queen. Ciel Phantomhive is the Queen’s ‘watchdog’ and although just a boy he always carries out his orders and protects her majesty with the aid of his demonic butler, Sebastian.

In this instalment his loyalty is under scrutiny so the Queen order Ciel to host a dinner for her cousin, where trouble is expected. The trouble in question takes the form of an old-style murder mystery, of the kind seen in classic British mystery novels of Sir Arthur Conan-Doyle and Agatha Christie. This genre has been recreated particularly well, with the added twist of grand scheming and devilry that one expects from the Black Butler series.

Although this very genre-specific story is a slight departure from the usual style of the series, it is a faithful follow-on to the previous 3 instalments. A few inferences in the plot do incorporate details from the previous chapters, so knowledge of these makes for a more rewarding viewing. I found the story to be highly engaging with plot developments that keep you on the edge of your seat to discover the resolution.

Great characters fill this tale with most development being given to the guest cast, being that this is a finite miniseries. The regular cast have already been well developed so it is more important in this instance to get the bit-players across in a way that rounds their characters enough to understand their reactions and behaviours in the context of the narrative. That said, there does seem to be a little more impetus for Ciel to function on his own without relying on Sebastian.

I think the only loss in this regard is not seeing more of the Phantomhive staff have their unique character moments which usually come out more towards the end of each series as a bit of a surprise twist, but this time is incorporated from the start in more subtle ways. However, this leaves little wastage and things proceed naturally toward the ultimate resolution.

The Japanese voice cast are always impeccable and this is how I choose to view my anime. However, I did take the take to check out the American dub for the sake of this review. I don’t think a lot of the voices fit the characters too well – Sebastian for example sounds a little too old and less smooth as his character is often revealed to be.

However, props should be given to the American cast for taking the time and effort to provide suitable accents for each character and their background (predominantly British, with Chinese and Germanic characters). I appreciate that level of effort as it would be otherwise jarring to the audience who are supposed to be immersed in a drama in old England.

The art and animate was brilliant as usual, and the creators have successfully made reference to past elements and tied loose ends. This allows the series to move forward in a new chapter where they can, perhaps, create a new feel or a new beginning.

The characters are unique and their styles and those of Victorian London have been well presented and recreated, with a little bit of ‘anime flair’ to spice it up.

The settings are interesting and beautiful and help to immerse the audience in the world being presented. Action and animation are top quality and always a joy to watch. It’s always hard to look away, especially when Sebastian and the Phantomhive staff get into action.

The DVD is lite on special features, being more of a ‘special miniseries / movie collection’ rather than a full series in its own right. Included on this DVD release are the US trailer and Feature commentary on the second instalment by members of the US voice cast.

The commentary is good for those who watch the dubbed version and enjoy these performers, but for someone like me who enjoys the original soundtrack and the production as a whole it might have been nice to have a featurette or something.

On the whole, this is a very enjoyable anime, and I give it 4 out of 5.

Average Buzz Rating (out of 5):

July 28, 2016 0 comment

Film Interviews

The Great Wall: Matt Damon, Tian Jing and Willem Dafoe Interview

written by David Griffiths

One of the most surprising films in cinemas at the moment has to be The Great Wall. When you consider that a studio took amazing director Yimou Zhang, who brought the world films like House Of Flying Daggers and Curse Of The Golden Flowers and then gave the reigns to direct what is pretty much a big action monster film with a cast featuring Oscar winner Matt Damon, the Oscar-nominated Willem Dafoe and Asian actress Tian Jing who has recently made the cross into Hollywood films like Pacific Rim: Uprising and Kong: Skull Island.

With so many haters on the Internet asking how Western characters get caught up in a world of Asian battles Matt Damon is quick to explain. “We have heard about gunpowder, so we go in to try and steal it, but suddenly we arrive, and we see that there is this incredible army. We see that is extraordinary disciplined and they fight in a way that we have never seen before and we get swept up in the defence of the wall. My character was captured and raised in the Army at a very early age, and he knows nothing but war. He has fought for everybody, he doesn’t really fight for a flag he will fight for anybody that pays him, and he has a very cynical view of the world. He is an extremely capable fighter, as is his best friend Tovar (Pedro Pascal). Together they are a two-man wrecking crew. He and Tovar are pretty comfortable using any type of weapon. They have been in thousands of battles together, but William does prefer the bow. He has a bow that he uses, and he is a speed archer so he can fire multiple arrows very quickly basically from anywhere. So he is most comfortable with a bow in his hand. Tovar, his best friend, has two swords that he has collected in his travels and he is most comfortable fighting with a weapon in each hand, so they are pretty versatile fighters, that is what their deal is. When they get to the Wall, they’ve heard of it but never seen it before, but they see that it is above any feat of engineering that they could ever have imagined and on top of the Wall and protecting the Wall is this army called The Nameless Order, this mythical Chinese Army that essentially lives and dies to defend the Wall. Eventually as they start to see the defence of the wall and they start to understand what is happening and why Tovar remains committed to our original plot to steal the black powder he thinks these people are crazy and they are all going to die so let’s take the gun powder, whereas William for the first time sees that they may be something bigger than his own personal gain to fight for and he admires them in a way that he can’t even articulate.”

With the hater’s comments put to bed with that explanation, Damon turns to talking about just how impressed he was with the film’s director. “Yimou Zhang is one of the greatest filmmakers on the planet, and I have wanted to work with him for a long time and everything aligned. The stars aligned this time and I finally got a chance to work with him. It has been a real privilege for me and for all the actors, we all talk about that and even the crew members… we were all there for him. He paints on this extremely large canvas, and he does it in such a way that nobody ever has before or can. He uses cover and this sweeping scale of what he does. There are very few people who can do it and do do it.”

Appearing in the movie as Damon’s love interest is Tian Jing who plays Commander Lin Mae, and she is very quick, to sum up, her character. “ She is the Commander of the Army, and she is a woman of many virtues,” Jing explains. “She is strong, brave, reliable, determined and very daring. She has all the talent and wisdom needed to lead the entire Army. As the female General, she is the girl-power in the film which is dominated by male characters – she is the balance in this film. Lin Mae is part of this secret organisation that nobody knows about except for the Emperor. The duty of every soldier is to protect country’s people and to defend the Wall.”

Jing spends part of the movie hanging off the wall as director Yimou Zhang introduces a new form of acrobatic fighting to Hollywood so how hard was it for Jing to prepare for the role? “When I got the call to do this role production sent me to L.A. for training. I spent half a year training and studying including dialogue classes, stunt training, horse riding and physical training. It was a tough but memorable experience to prepare for this role. And then every day on set was like taking more acting classes, so I learned so much working with the director. He is a director that I ahve wanted to work with for so long, so it has been like a dream come true. I think that he is the pride of the Chinese film industry.”

Directors aside what was it like to work with such a talented cast? “It has been a pleasure to work with this cast,” she says. “It was great to work with Matt, Pedro and Willem, but especially Matt because we have a lot of scenes opposite each other. Over the months I learnt so much from him as we worked side-by-side. He is a true professional and a dedicated actor.”

The last piece of the puzzle is award winning actor Willem Dafoe who also loved working on the film. “Ballard is a character who has found himself trapped,” he says explaining his character. “He has been trapped with this military group in China on the Great Wall for twenty-five years. He arrived there with a caravan pretty much to do business, things didn’t work out, and he got stranded there. His colleagues didn’t make themselves as useful as he made himself, he made himself because he is a clever guy. So he’s found a way to survive among this Chinese cultural… this military culture.”

Despite working on big blockbusters previously, films like Spider-Man, Dafoe says he was blown way by the scale of The Great Wall. “They actually rebuilt a part of the wall,” he says wide-eyed. “To scale and study enough to hold a thousand people plus horses. It really was an amazing site to work on. I don’t think I have ever been on a production this grand before… the scale is enormous. The degree of detail is just fantastic and I think what’s nice about that is that it gives you the opportunity to… I guess it frees you up because it is a complete world. SO when you get on the set, there is none of this ‘oh you can’t go over there because that’s not really dressed properly.” You would go into a huge room to knock out a scene, and you could go anywhere. Ultimately it is a beautiful match of Chinese sensibility and Western sensibility, and that was the other really important thing about this film, that we made it in China, it’s a Chinese production with Westerners, and that is very exciting to me.”

The Great Wall is currently showing in cinemas

March 4, 2017 0 comment

Film Featured

Buzz Top Ten Mothers Day Movie Icons

written by Peter Sutton

Mother’s Day 2016 is looming and with it comes all the hype about “How Best to Treat Your Mother.” After all mothers have treated you the best haven’t they? You could treat your mum to a weekend away, take her out for a lovely meal or even surprise her something a little more special such as a canvas print from Photobox. To celebrate this special day Buzz Mag has decided to take a long look at Movies/TV Shows you could watch with mum. Just be glad you haven’t got some of these mothers?

1. The Goonies. (1985)
Hats off to Anne Ramsay who plays Mama Fratelli, mother to Sloth, Jake and Francis. Sure, she’s a rough diamond, but she does care about Jake and Francis (and Sloth), urging them on to achieve the better things in life (like diamonds, jewels and “neat stuff”.) Without her they would still be fighting under that derelict house. Who else could have driven the get away car with such skill? Those bozos would have been caught with their fingers burned, in the first five minutes of the movie. In fact without Mama Fratelli, there would have been no “Goonies.”

2 Home Alone (1990)
My vote goes to Catherine O’Hara playing Kevin’s mum Heather McAllistair. With all those kids, including the bratty Kevin, she does her best in a difficult situation. Haven’t we all faced a crisis moment in airports? It’s her sheer determination that creates one of the more enjoyable moments in the film when she is stuck with John Candy (Gus Polinski) and his Polka Band in trying to get back home. Mother’s can identify with this sort of determination.

3 Mrs Doubtfire (1993)
I am sure that they dragged Robin Williams “Granny” character out of the imagination of so many people. Would we all want a Grandma like this? That soft lilting Irish accent, the well padded, cuddly, security “blankie” type grandma.

4 The Addams Family TV Series (1964)
Mortica Addams portrayed by Carolyn Jones had many a 60’s teen wishing he too could be part of the Addams family. Cool headed to hot headed Gomez, unflappable in a crisis, able to deal with small children (Wednesday and Pugsley) and ’looney’ Uncle Fester, plus that classic cool unfazed expression and a belief in humanity that really wasn’t deserved.

5 The Munsters (1964)
Come on, haven’t you been Herman Munster?” This 60’s comic TV classic, was a cooky copy of The Addams Family, and you just had to love them. Lily Minster (Yvonne De Carlo) presided over Herman an accident prone Frankenstein look-a-like, Grandpa Dracula, and kids Eddie (Wolfman) and Marilyn (the unfortunate good-looking blonde). Lily and the Munster clan were incredibly middle class normal people whose suburban lifestyle was constantly interrupted by a wild assortment of ‘weirdos.’ Lily was unflappable as Herman and Grandpa lurched from one catastrophe to the next.

6 Forest Gump (1994)
Sally Field played “Mrs Gump,” whose death scene brought a “choking feeling” to the old heart strings. You get the feeling that Forrest would not have amounted to anything without the love and devotion that “Mrs Gump” brought to the upbringing of Forrest in his life prior to the storyline. Not a major role, but if you think about, Forrest Gump as a movie would not have been made without her pivotal role in raising young Gump to the movie.

7 Miracle of 34^th Street (1947)
Maureen O’Hara as Doris Walker features with a young Natalie Wood (Susan Walker) in this 1947 Christmas Classic. That’s right Christmas and Mothers seem to be a nice combination in this classic comedy about a man who believes he is Santa Claus. Maureen O’Hara is the mother with the disbelieving little girl, whois actually won over to the idea, a new beau in her life and changed little girl who eblieves (rightly so) in Santa Claus. She could have called the cops, got Santa thrown in jail and kicked out the beau Fred, but she didn’t, so she makes my list of worthwhile screen mothers

8 Cheaper By The Dozen (1950)
This 1950 feature about a family with a dozen children and an eccentric father was made into a modern awful remake we won’t mention. But have a look at this classic for a mother who held it together and raised 12 children and overcame tragedy to make a life for herself. Inspirational stuff, plus I like Clifton Webb and I like Myrna Loy more.

9. Gypsy (1964)
Rose Hovick is the mum behind Stripper Gyspy Rose Lee in this 1962 version of the Broadway musicl. You feel the need to burst out in song with “Let Me Entertain You” or just a switch from the dramatic nature of too many mother movies. Of course Natalie Wood my favourite 60’s female lead plays the role of Stripper Gypsy Rose Lee and Rosalind Russell her dominating mother. Just for comparison but more of a sub-catergory in a more comic performance check out “Bye Bye Birdie” and the role of Dick Van Dyke As Albert and his mother Mamma Mae Peterson. Both mothers are sadly all too real.

10 Game of Thrones (2014)
Take your pick, which mother is the one least likely to get a rose on Mother’s Day? I think I will go forDaenerys Targaryven as she has the title of “Mother of Dragons,” and has potentially the chance of being a gamer change and aren’t most mothers game changers? Would you cross your mother?

April 23, 2016 0 comment

Film News Featured

Oz Comic-Con Calls All Cosplayers

written by David Griffiths

Oz Comic Con

If you live and breathe cosplay, there’s no need to look further than Oz Comic-Con Sydney and Brisbane for the ultimate cosplay experiences. With something for cosplayers of all ages and stages, including the state and national finals of the Australian Championships of Cosplay, it’s time to put the finishing touches on your costumes and get ready for two weekends of fun at Australia’s premier pop-culture event.

Oz Comic-Con’s Australian Championships of Cosplay will be holding state finals on Sunday 11th September in Sydney, and Sunday 18th September in Brisbane. Following the Queensland state finals, the national final will also be held at the Brisbane event.

The winner of the Australian Championships of Cosplay will have the opportunity to represent Australia at the C2E2 Crown Championships of Cosplay in Chicago in 2017. Australia will be defending their crown in 2017, after 2015 Australian Champion Major Sam took out the top prize at C2E2 earlier this year.

Hosted by renowned Australian cosplayer Rae Johnston and judged by a panel of experts including Mandy Nichols (costumer for films such as The Great Gatsby), the Australian Championships of Cosplay are an amazing chance for Australian cosplayers to compete against some of the best cosplayers in the world, as well as to be in the running for some excellent prizes.

Before the national finals, cosplay fans in Brisbane will have the opportunity to hear the 2016 state finalists discuss their experiences in a special Championship panel. Joined by Major Sam, this is your chance to listen to the best cosplayers from around Australia talk about their cosplay journeys.

The championships are just the tip of the cosplay iceberg at Oz Comic-Con Sydney and Brisbane. Cosplay Central will feature exciting local and international cosplay talent, as well as photo walls and a cosplay repair station. Sydney fans will also have the opportunity to take cosplay shots with a picturesque Harbour background – just follow the signs at the event!

If you’re a cosplayer who wants to show off your creations, but don’t feel quite ready to compete in the championships, never fear! On Saturday afternoon in both Sydney and Brisbane, a general cosplay parade will be held, as well as Cosplay Active, an intermediate step where you can talk about your cosplay or take part in a skit! Oz Comic-Con’s littlest fans don’t miss out either, with a kids cosplay parade held on the Sunday afternoon of each event.

Oz Comic-Con will be held in Sydney at the Sydney Exhibition Centre @ Glebe Island on September 10-11 and in Brisbane at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre on September 17-18.

For more information on Cosplay at Oz Comic-Con, please visit www.ozcomiccon.com

August 31, 2016 0 comment

Film

Justice League

written by Lloyd Marken

It feels unfair to review Justice League, a troubled production beset by personal tragedy with extensive re-shoots that were done so recently it would be difficult to get the effects just right. Too big to fail and too rushed to deliver the film still manages to…yes have its moments. The first may sum up both everything wrong and right with it; a tape by two kids interviewing Superman when he was alive opens the film. Henry Cavill is charming and perfect as Superman in this scene talking to the kids and emanating hope and inspiration. Long term fans of the character will love this scene because in it they will recognise the Superman they love but they will also wonder why it is Superman’s upper lip looks a bit weird and they may also reflect that Cavill’s Superman has rarely acted like this previously on screen. Therein lies the rub, this is a sequel in a way to a film that doesn’t exist. With the shift in tone they can acknowledge the past movies but not build upon them and there’s something inconsistent in how some of these characters changed behaviours that just come across as non-authentic. Batman vs. Superman also suffered from feeling like it was too many movies in one but at the least tone and the look of the world was consistent.

One way it is improved is in its relentless efficiency, some subplots are even dropped to make sure the film runs less than 2 hours. Almost all scenes are just to introduce characters to one another and move onto the next obligatory action scene, the bad guy is nothing more than a computer generated villain sprouting some lines about collecting boxes and taking over. Each of the new heroes is given one set-up scene, one scene where they introduced to Batman (Ben Affleck) and/or Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) and then they all join together to fight…you know I kind of forget his name but don’t worry it doesn’t matter. They’re defeated so they then decide to spoiler but seriously you knew they were gonna get spoiler and spoiler so that spoiler by the end of the movie. In some ways it’s nice to not have an unnecessarily convoluted story but Cyborg (Ray Fisher) for example seems to have an interesting sub plot that does not really go anywhere. Most of the cast does well to sell you on the idea of them being in their own movie; Gal Gadot fared better under the direction of Zack Snyder and Patty Jenkins but is still great even if having the camera make her skirt seem shorter in this film. Aquaman (Jason Momoa) is hot and the Flash (Ezra Miller) is funny, there’s a nice scene where he and Cyborg share they’re the accidents. A nice idea toyed with is that Batman truly is the more vulnerable hero in the group without any superpowers and is needed more for his ideas and direction than muscle and he’s also feeling his age more in this one. Remember when his portrayal was met with so much acclaim 20 months ago and now they’re already talking about how he may retire from the role?! I have no idea why J.K. Simmons had to hit the gym like a beast to appear on a rooftop in a trench coat for two scenes as Commissioner Gordon but hey that’s Hollywood for you. Amy Adams and Diane Lane are both back too as Lois Lane and Martha Wayne, completely being wasted in a movie that does not deserve them as the human face of what was lost when Superman died.

Despite a second director coming through half way through production the tone and visuals are relatively consistent but the props, costumes and locations were originally intended for different lighting and as a result don’t look as good with the revised palette. With rushed re-shoots and CGI augmentation this movie which comes with a reported budget of $300 million looks remarkably cheap too. Most of the action is boring, nothing on par with that sequence involving Batman rescuing Marthaaaaa! in the last film. There are flourishes of humour throughout that are classic Joss Whedon and given his track record it would really be interesting to see what he would do with a Justice League 2 with time to write a proper script and shoot Henry Cavill without having to CGI out his moustache from a Mission: Impossible movie.

As a comic book fan there are moments in this movie that will make your heart soar and others that will make you so mad at wasted opportunities. This is a film caught between two moments, neither the Zack Snyder film originally envisioned nor a Joss Whedon film built from the ground up. Both probably would have been better films but this is the one we got and under the circumstances it could have been a lot worse. Yet it could have been a lot better too.

Directors: Zack Snyder

Screenwriter: Chris Terrio, Joss Whedon

Cast: Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot, Jason Momoa, Ezra Miller, Ray Fisher, Amy Adams, Jeremy Irons, Diane Lane, J.K. Simmons and Henry Cavi

July 2, 2018 0 comment

Film Interviews Featured

Blue – Karina Holden Interview

written by David Griffiths

Dave Griffiths sits down and has a chat with the director of a hard hitting new documentary called Blue. Karina Holden talks to us about how this documentary came together and what the average Australian can learn from watching it.

Blue is in Australian cinemas on the 12th October.

You can listen to or download our Karina Holden interview right here.

October 9, 2017 0 comment

Film Books Uncategorized

Ray Feist: King of Ashes

written by Peter Sutton

Ray Feist has begun a new series! ‘King of Ashes’ makes a triumphant return for one of the world’s most loved sci-fi writers. But it is a different read for fans used to the style of novels such as ‘Magician.’

Buzz Mag caught up with Ray Feist in San Diego prior to an extensive Australian and South African tour.

At 72 years of age Raymond Feist comes from a family of Hollywood Royalty. His mother was a Big Band singer in World War 2, his father (Felix Feist) was a respected and well known director, many of the Stars of the 50’s including Kirk Douglas, Joan Crawford, Nancy Reagan, Lee J. Cobb, Robert Taylor and many a party was held and many a movie plot sold and discussed in the Feist home.

In the Feist household young Ray grew up in a world where story telling was held in really high regard. “I read all the time, my father read all the time. We had some great discussions. I grew up around writers. I used to sit in the living room and listen to my father and his buddies yack about stuff.”

“One of the “guys” arguing in the Feist living room was Gene Coon, is well known by sci-fi fans as the writer who created Khan, in the Star Trek series.”He and my father would argue about stuff for ages. My father knew some great writers F. Scott Fitzgerald, Dorothy Parker. For me being a writer was normal, it wasn’t a weird thing. I was brought up to believe I could write and there was no doubt in my mind I wouldn’t be making a living out of writing.”

In fact the ‘Empire’ Series had its origins in a Lawrence Durrell’s four books “Alexandria Quartet,” a series suggested to the young Ray by his father Felix.

“Under such illustrious circumstances is was perhaps inevitable that the young Raymond Feist would grow up to be one of the giants of the Fantasy World.

“I would have argued with you about that till I was in my mid thirties,” he admonishes. ‘It never crossed my mind that one day I would be a novelist. Yet here we are!”

Are you a bit like your father or would they be “fighting words?”

“Actually not. My father and I are very different personalities. The one thing we have in common is that my father loved to tell stories. But when it came to telling about his own life, he was very close to the chest. When he was around he would tell me these great stories, but never about himself.

“I remember my father saying to me once ‘If you’re not writing action, you’re writing talking heads, if you’re writing talking heads, they had better be saying something important.” It’s something that has guided me through my entire life.’

“King of Ashes” was interesting to me because for the first time, there was no hint of mythical creatures until half way through the book. I was wondering how limited some of the creatures are going to be in future novels.

“I wanted a very different world to Midkemia, Garn is a very different world. It has a few ‘fantastic creatures,’ but that is not a focus. In Midkemia, everyone knows someone who has had a run in with the Gods, in Garn there are people of faith who believe in divine power, magic here will be very, very different. The difference will be that only women can manipulate magic, there are males who are repositories of power, but you’re not going to see thunderbolts, alien planets, magic will continue to be subtle for the most part.

“King of Ashes” actually follows a different writing style. I was used to the classic one liners opening a chapter. Not to see here.

‘That was actually one of my editors,’ explains Ray. “He hated those one liners. I was halfway through ‘Magician’ before I realized I had turned it into a pattern. It’s a different way of communicating to the reader, this is a different narrative. It’s a bit more dull, it’s a bit more timely. I think I wave evolved a bit as a writer, but the readers have really evolved in almost forty years,

“With this book we start with Hatushaly which is a lot of man against himself, With his other main character Declan it’s man against man, and we twist that, there will be conflict. Declan and Hatushaly are very different potentially and they have different skill sets. In the course of the series there will be some serious changes. Hatushaly is a character in turmoil from childhood, Declan on the other hand has two feet in the ground, life is pretty ideal, but of course I am not going to let that hang around for too long. Characters have to change otherwise it is a really boring narrative.”

I thought that Hatu and Declan would meet up at the end of Book 1?

“Oh their paths will cross many times before the series concludes,” admits Ray.

“Most of Hatu’s problems are internal while most of Declan’s problems are external. I am going to put them through a lot.”

‘Then there’s Hava, who is taking over the book despite what I thought I was going to do. She keeps insisting on a bigger role, the next book in the series is “Queen of Storms,” and she is a major, major character! They all get back together in the third book which I hope is a satisfying dramatic climax.

I wondered about Dante, last seen as a slave to the evil supernatural ‘Sisters of the Deep.’

“He is going to be interesting,” explains Ray. “A real wildcard!”

People will be saying “What? How can you do that to them?” The first books lays down some characters that come into their own later on. ‘The Church Of The One’ will play a much bigger role as will those mysterious protectors, seen meeting in the dim recesses of the church by Hatu.

“I am trying to get a story going here on multiple levels. I am trying to get characters whose behaviour is understandable, in the context of basic human behaviour. The consequences of what happens when you have people with impulse control over real power. It’s a pretty timely story in America right now.

I was thankful that this series doesn’t hold too much in the way of “horrific,” but Ray tells me otherwise.

“In terms of the Supernatural stuff, yes, but in terms of horrific human behaviour I won’t be holding back. That’s the thing about drama. All drama is conflict.”

Feist explains hat this series will be different to the past series. “It is at the tale end of magic, the tale end of the the supernatural, which is slowly going away.”

Finally I wanted to know why we hadn’t seen Peter Jackson directing a version of “”The Magician?”

“He is very busy, explains Ray, “Besides he’s not the only talented person in the business. I get this question all the time “When are the going to make a movie. My answer is when I get the right film! I have made some serious money for “Fairytale” and “Magician.” I don’t really take the deal seriously until the production company says “We’re going public!”

“I had a deal with Columbia Pictures years ago for ‘Fairytale.”

‘I don’t want to name names, it didn’t happen. But I have made serious money on movies and television shows that have never been shot. I’ve had Producers come to me and say “I want to do a film about “Magician” or “Daughter of Empire,” you don’t get that for free. You get a year or eighteen months and you’re going to pay me a decent five figures to get that option. You get a year to put together your production, get a director attached stars, serious money. After a year we get together and if it hasn’t progressed I get the option back and I keep the money! That’s been going on since 1991!

I used to hang out with a guy that rote “Lucifer’s Hammer” and he would say to me “I hope we never make the movie, I’ve had six options on this book!”

I suggested it was pure Hollywood and Ray laughed. I suggested that maybe we make a movie about him. They might provide some more options. Ray laughed louder. “I doubt that.”

I doubted that!

June 26, 2018 0 comment

Film Featured Drama

Demolition (2015) Review

written by David Griffiths

Summary: A successful investment banker struggles after losing his wife in a tragic car crash. With the help of a customer service rep and her young son, he starts to rebuild, beginning with the demolition of the life he once knew.

Year: 2015

Australian Cinema Release Date: 14th July 2016

Australian DVD Release Date: TBA

Country: USA

Director: Jean-Marc Vallee

Screenwriter: Bryan Sipe

Cast: Madison Arnold (Ray), Stephen Badlamenti (Mickey), B Bastian (Jennifer), Blaire Brooks (Amy), James Colby (John), Ben Cole (Steven), Chris Cooper (Phil), Polly Draper (Margot), Brendan Drooling (Todd), Jake Gyllenhaal (Davis), Royce Johnson (Secuirty Marty), Tom Kemp (Dr. Brodkey), Judah Lewis (Chris), Heather Lind (Julia), Alfredo Narcisco (Michael), Wass Stevens (Jimmy), Naomi Watts (Karen),C.J. Wilson (Carl), James Young (Ahmed)

Runtime: 101 mins

Classification: M

OUR DEMOLITION REVIEWS & RATINGS:

David Griffiths:

For me as a critic ‘Demolition’ is like a five star explosion. The director, Jean-Marc Vallee, received five stars from me for his last two films – the heart-gripping drama ‘Dallas Buyers Club’ and the visually spectacular ‘Wild’, while leading man Jake Gyllenhaal has garnished the same scores for his recent films – ‘Prisoners,’ ‘Nightcrawler’ and ‘Southpaw.’ I would be lying if I said I was expecting something brilliant from ‘Demolition’ and this time I was disappointed.

‘Demolition’ is the story of a broken man. To the outside world Davis (Jake Gyllenhaal –‘Nightcrawler’) is a man who has everything. He has an amazing looking home, a successful career in finance and the perfect marriage to Julia (Heather Lind – ‘Mistress America’). But then when Julia is killed in a car accident he re-accesses his life through a series of letters to a convenience machine company and soon he finds himself wondering whether or not he really loved Julia and also suddenly discovering a need to want to demolish everything. These letters also bring him into contact with the emotionally damaged Karen (Naomi Watts – ‘The Ring’) and her troubled young son, Chris (Judah Lewis – ‘Deliverance Creek’)… something that causes an even big rift between Davis and his father-in-law, Phil (Chris Cooper – ‘American Beauty’).

It’s not a cliché that I normally like to use but ‘Demolition’ really is one of the movies of the year, in fact it is a lesson in filmmaking (from the screenwriting up) to any young filmmaker out there. Screenwriter, Brian Sipe (‘The Choice’) doesn’t waste a single second of screen time. He sets up the relationship between Davis and Julia in less than a minute and as the film delves into the life of a man falling apart the audience are kept guessing exactly what is going to happen next in that special form of character driven suspense… something that we previously have only got to experience in special films like ‘The Safety Of Objects.’

‘Demolition’ is one of those amazing films were the director really understood what the screenwriter was trying to do and captures the vibe from the page and brings it to the screen in a remarkable way. So many lesser directors would have taken Sipe’s script and tried to make everything painfully obvious to the audience but here Vallee keeps his audience guessing. There are a tonne of questions that need to be asked about the brilliantly written and edgy character of Chris while the will they/won’t they tension between Davis and Karen is ever present without ever becoming clichéd or cheesy. That also leads to a second level of suspense as the audience waits to see what happens with Karen’s ‘boyfriend’ Carl (C.J. Wilson – ‘The Intern’).

Sipe’s screenplay also allows the cast to put in some amazing performances that are deserved of any awards that they should pick up. As we saw in ‘Nightcrawler’ and ‘Southpaw’ Jake Gyllenhaal’s performance goes to a whole new level when he is asked to play a character who is falling apart and here Gyllenhaal certainly brings his A-Game. Whether it be a scene where he is mentally breaking down while demolishing his home with a sledgehammer or sharing a touching emotion scene with Judah Lewis… his performance is truly captivating.

Follow in Gyllenhaal’s footsteps in Naomi Watts who has sadly been wasted in woeful films like‘Allegiant’ and ‘Diana’ recently. But here as Watts is given a meatier script and able to play the drug affected Karen she really comes to the fore and reminds audiences just what a fine actress then she really is. Then there is the arrival of Judah Lewis. This young actor seems to relish playing a young character struggling to cope with his sexuality and the fact that his drug addicted mother is not paying enough attention to him. Lewis breezes through even some of the more difficult scenes and he really announces himself as a young actor to watch in the future.

In a cinematic world where bigger is considered better and every film released seems to what to out do it’s predecessor’s special effects it is a real relief to be able to sit down and watch a film like‘Demolition’ – a film that relies on the fact that it has a brilliant screenplay and actors who are at the top of their game to pull it off. ‘Demolition’ is one of the films of the year and also shows why Jake Gyllenhaal now has to be considered one of the best actors of our generation.

Greg King:

Davis Mitchell (Jake Gyllenhaal) is a hot shot financier whose wife is killed in a car crash. He goes into denial and his life goes into melt down and he begins to alienate everyone around him. Including his father-in-law Phil (Chris Cooper), who also happens to be his boss.
A minor incident involving a vending machine in the hospital though is the real catalyst for his frustration. He writes complaint letters to the company, which attract the attention of Karen Moreno (Naomi Watts), the sympathetic customer service representative. She finds something about the personal revelations in his letters of complaint that intrigues her. An unlikely relationship slowly develops. But it is his relationship with her troubled delinquent son Chris (newcomer Judah Lewis), who is struggling with his own sexuality and identity, that really starts the healing process. Davis becomes something of a surrogate father figure for the wayward adolescent.
Davis also finds release through demolishing things, from household appliances up to his own house. Wrecking his own beautiful, architecturally designed house with a sledgehammer proves cathartic, but it is also a heavy handed metaphor for leaving his old life behind and moving on. Ironically, in one of his letters Davis writes: “For some reason, everything has become a metaphor.”
Written by Bryan Sipe (who also penned the recent adaptation of Nicholas Sparks’ The Choice), this is a rather downbeat and unpredictable drama dealing with death, grief, and the process of moving on.Demolition has been directed by French-Canadian filmmaker Jean-Marc Vallee, who directed Matthew McConaughey to an Oscar in Dallas Buyers Club. Demolition is full of some of his trademark stylish flourishes – such as dreamlike shots, slow motion flashbacks and looped images – that give parts of the film a similar surreal quality to his enigmatic Cafe de Flore. Music has also been an important element in Vallee’s films beginning with the coming of age tale CRAZY, and here he has compiled a great soundtrack that mixes older acts like Heart and Free with indie bands like Cave and Half Moon Run, and some classical music.
Demolition has been shot by his regular cinematographer Yves Belanger, and there are some crisp and striking images. But this vaguely disappointing tale attempts to explore similar territory to that Vallee essayed in the more successful Wild, starring Reese Witherspoon as a woman trying to find herself through an arduous physical experience.
There are solid performances all round, particularly from the charismatic young Lewis who brings a spark of energy to the film that contrasts with Gyllenhaal’s downbeat and quietly compelling reading of his grieving character. The always reliable Gyllenhaal appears in virtually every scene, and he anchors this quirky but ultimately flawed drama, delivering another of his intense, edgy performances as the self destructive and emotionally stunted Davis. Cooper brings his usual stoic, gruff and world weary persona to an underwritten role, while Watts delivers another strong performance as a woman who is also dealing with her own emotional issues.
But despite the emotional content and late bursts of sentimentality, Demolition is a film that will not have broad appeal. However, it should do well on the festival circuit and in art house cinemas.