Linksville, Pop. 5

I loved Jindabyne, y'all know that (it may or may not be up for an obscene 9 UMA awards in the major categories alone, *looks around with shifty eyes*) and I love this interview with Ray Lawrence from the LA Weekly. He's such an intelligent man and he gives great interview.

L.A. WEEKLY: Even though you once nearly made a film about a woman crossing the Australian outback by camel, the three films you’ve directed are all group portraits and ensemble pieces.

RAY LAWRENCE: I do seem to like the ensemble thing. I guess I might get bored [working] with just one or two people for eight weeks. Somebody said that the films are a trilogy on death and family, and you could also look at it that way, I suppose.

Here's hoping that the "Australian Terrence Malick" works again quickly. I need his movies to feed my desire for good mature drama, which is increasingly rare, unfortunately. Even if nobody outside of Australia seemingly wants to go see them. Except Ja. I love Ja for loving Ray.

Speaking of Ja, his Pic of the Day (not the one to the right) is from another horror film (surely you remember the last one) but this time I am not objecting. I am quietly agreeing. Quietly? I don't do anything quietly. But I am here because as much as the idea of a remake of Halloween fills me with equal parts bile and hilarity (the minds of those Hollywood folk) I am an unabashed fan of the previously most maligned horror remake, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Still, I don't really have faith for this Halloween remake after all the stuff we've heard about it. And I adored Rob Zombie's Devil's Rejects (a grindhouse homage if ever I saw one.)

Have you seen the trailer for Day Watch. It looks absolutely bonkers and I love it. There's a horse charging through a brick wall, there's the wheel sequence from Pirates of the Caribbean 2 en masse, there's vertical car chases and there appears to be ample melodrama, nudity and quirkiness. I haven't seen Night Watch, but maybe I should.

This picture of Mark Wahlberg certainly amused me, alright. But one of the comments really bugged me. "Poor guy didn't age very well." Ugh. I'm assuming this person (and the other 40-year-old fat men/twentysomething size queens just like him) are of the "if he isn't a 21-year-old muscle queen then he ain't hot" or whatever. If Mark Wahlberg ain't sexy then I don't know who is. Did these people see him during the awards season. He was damn fine. Ugh. Gay people annoy me so much sometimes. Lord knows what would happen if it turned out Wahlberg was actually gay. He'd probably be seen as ancient. Don't people realise men (and women!) get better looking as they age. It's the reason why so many of my celebrity crushes are actually men who, if in real life, would be way too inappropraitely aged for me. Anyway. People are stupid.

Have y'all heard Rihanna's follow-up to "Umbrella"? To quote music bible PopJustice, "With 'Shut Up And Drive' she has already equaled the previous Rihanna record - two listenable songs on one album". So way to go Rihanna. Your last two albums weren't worth the dog shit they were covered it, but with the amazing "Umbrella" and the not-as-amazing-but-amazing-all-the-same "Shut Up and Drive" you're on your way to making me care. Listen to it over yonder.

And lastly, can I just give out a reminded to all Aussies, Brits and Europeans (not sure about elsewhere) but Groove Armada's Soundboy Rock album was released this week. It's a pretty great album, but you should check it out for the most amazing super-dooper terrific amazing amazing amazing thrilling amazing song of the year. I made a passing reference (yeah, as if) to it earlier in the year. If you are as-of-the-moment unaware of how flatout genius "Song 4 Mutya (Out of Control)" -featuring the divine Mutya Beuna- is, just wait a month for when the single is released and it, by all deserved rights, explodes and becomes the song of the UK/European summer. I still stand by my below quote. It's brilliant.

It's like they took everything that was great about Annie's "Chewing Gun", Space Cowboy's "My Egyptian Lover" and Basement Jaxx's "Good Luck" and then injected the unreleased techno soundtrack of a futuristic sci-fi rip-off of Kill Bill!