Australian Penthouse

Director: Bennett Miller

Stars: Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Robin Wright

SONY PICTURES

BASED on Michael Lewis’s 2003 non-fiction book of the same name, Moneyball is a baseball movie with a difference.

Brad Pitt stars as Oakland Athletics General Manager Billy Beane, who controversially embraces a mathematics-based system to put together a cost-effective line-up for the 2002 Major League Baseball season. Aided by Assistant General Manager Peter Brand (Hill), ballsy Beane ignores players’ personalities and perceived  ‘marketability’ to create a winning formula that sees his squad make history and change the face of the game.

Beautifully directed by Bennett Miller (Capote), the film focuses on Beane’s unwavering determination to make the most of what he has in a very hostile environment. Jonah Hill is excellent as the conservative Brand – the brains behind the operation – and Pitt delivers a fantastic, subdued performance as the constantly under-siege Beane.

The story primarily unfolds in the backrooms of stadiums, so there’s not a lot of baseball on show, and you certainly don’t need to know much about the sport to enjoy the movie. It’s a classic David vs Goliath battle that could easily have fallen flat, particularly with non-US audiences, but the skills of the people involved elevate it to a higher level. We wouldn’t be surprised if Moneyball becomes a modern American classic.

THE WHISTLEBLOWER

Director: Larysa Kondracki

Stars: Rachel Weisz, Vanessa Redgrave, Monica Bellucci, David Strathairn, Nikolaj Lie Kaas, Roxana Condurache, David Hewlett

HOPSCOTCH

BASED on a true story, The Whistleblower is a powerful thriller about one woman’s quest for justice in the face of overwhelming odds.

Rachel Weisz (The Mummy, The Constant Gardener, The Fountain) plays Kathryn Bolkovac, a cash-strapped American cop who takes on a lucrative short-term contract as a peacekeeper in post-war Bosnia. Aligned with the United Nations but working for a private US company, she rises quickly through the ranks and ends up as head of the UN’s Gender Office, which deals with investigations into crimes against women.

As Bolkovac digs deeper, she comes to the shocking realisation that members of the UN and the international peacekeeping force are complicit in widespread illegal prostitution and sex trafficking. The men buy and sell kidnapped girls for sport, safe in the knowledge they can’t be prosecuted because they have diplomatic immunity.

With help from the head of the UN Human Rights Commission (Redgrave) and a senior Internal Affairs officer (Strathairn), Bolkovac does everything she can to expose the evil practice and the high-level corruption facilitating it.

Weisz shines in perhaps her grittiest role yet, and first-time director Larysa Kondracki doesn’t let the story drag at all. The Whistleblower is a confronting film that delivers an important message better than any dry documentary ever could.

Director: Rob Marshall

Stars: Johnny Depp, Penélope Cruz, Geoffrey Rush, Ian McShane

WALT DISNEY PICTURES

WHEN we found out that Keira Knightley and Orlando Bloom had refused to reprise their roles in Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, we were a bit concerned. Did the world really need another Pirates movie or was Disney just flogging a dead horse with a cat-o’nine-tails? Well, we’re happy to report that there’s plenty of life in the old girl yet.

On Stranger Tides sees a ship-less Captain Jack Sparrow (Depp) reluctantly embarking on a quest to find the fabled Fountain of Youth. After an encounter with a fiery former girlfriend (Cruz), he finds himself aboard the Queen Anne’s Revenge, the flagship of the infamous pirate Blackbeard (McShane), who’s in a race to find the life-giving spring before the Spanish and the enigmatic Captain Barbossa (Rush). Blackbeard forces Sparrow to navigate the treacherous waters en route to the Fountain and the action doesn’t let up from that point on.

Penélope Cruz is excellent – not to mention incredibly sexy – as the scheming Angelica and Deadwood’s Ian McShane is perfect as Blackbeard. Plot-wise, the film is less muddled than 2007’s At World’s End and, as always, the visual effects are top-drawer.

Having successfully reinvented the franchise, Disney obviously has plans to make more sequels, and as long as Johnny Depp’s keen to wear the captain’s hat, we can’t see them failing to attract an audience.

CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR WINNERS:

M. Poecher, Narre Warren, Vic

J. Archer, Douglas, Qld

S. Taylor, Slade Point, Qld

S. Saxon, Earlwood, NSW

A. Ellis, Geelong, Vic

S. Hurst, Cairns, Qld

D. Willanski, West Lakes Shore, SA

M. Bowdler, Gin Gin, Qld

M. Bouw, Mooroolbark, Vic

A. Richards, Shellharbour, NSW

Thanks to Universal Music Australia, we have 10 copies of Jasmine Rae’s brand-new CD, Listen Here, to give away.

THE ALBUM

In 2008, Melbourne-based country singer Jasmine Rae won the prestigious Telstra Road to Tamworth competition, and her career’s been on the rise ever since. Her debut album, Look It Up, yielded an ARIA nomination and two number-one singles, and she’s since supported international superstars such as Brooks & Dunn, Tim McGraw and, most recently, Alan Jackson. Listen Here reflects the self-confidence and sex appeal that sets Rae apart from most of her contemporaries. The record opens with a bang with ‘Hunky Country Boys’, but it’s not all beer and bravado. ‘I’ll Try Anything’, which features US star Joe Nichols, is a classic country lament and ‘Too Much’ is simply a pretty song. Armed with genuine talent and bags of attitude, Jasmine Rae is here to stay.

THE COMPETITION
To be in the running to win one of 10 CDs, simply answer the following question in 25 words or less: “Who is your favourite country singer of all time, and why?”

Competition commences at 4:30pm on 12/05/10 and concludes on 09/06/11 at 12:00pm. Entry is open to all residents of Australia, but excludes all employees of Australian Penthouse. Entrants must provide their contact details and an answer to the question, “Who is your favourite country singer of all time, and why?” in 25 words or less. This is a Game of Skill which contains no element of chance, and which will be judged by members of the Australian Penthouse staff on 09/06/11. Ten winners will receive one Listen Here CD , as detailed above. Prizes will be mailed to winners at the address nominated in their entries. The promoters take no responsibility for lost or misdirected entries, and no correspondence will be entered into.

Director: Zack Snyder

Stars: Emily Browning, Abbie Cornish, Jena Malone, Vanessa Hudgens, Jamie Chung, Carla Cugino, Oscar Isaac, John Hamm

ROADSHOW

SUCKER PUNCH defies categorisation. Equal parts drama, action thriller and fantasy, it’s a little jarring at first, but only because it’s like nothing you’ve ever seen before.

For such a multi-layered film, the storyline is devastatingly simple. Sent to a corrupt mental institution by her evil stepfather and threatened with a lobotomy, Baby Doll (Browning) plots her escape with some of the other female inmates.

However, before she can actually get out of the asylum, the tiny blonde must first escape the bleak reality she’s facing.

To do this, she creates an alternate universe that transforms the asylum into a ritzy brothel where the girls live in fear of a brutal man named Blue (a dodgy doctor in the real world).

With the help of Sweet Pea (Cornish), Rocket (Malone), Blondie (Hudgens) and Amber (Chung), Baby Doll concocts a plan that involves her doing a series of mesmerising erotic dances to distract her captors. Sadly, we never see the dances, but what we get in their place might be even better. Whenever she prepares to bust a move, BD imagines herself and her fellow hotties fighting visually stunning battles against incredible enemies, such as robots, dragons and, our personal favourite, clockwork WWI zombies!

It’s great to see writer-director Zack Snyder (300, Watchmen) challenging the Hollywood status quo and trying something different. It doesn’t always work, but for the most part Sucker Punch is terrific entertainment with a positive message of self-empowerment at its core. Plus it features sexy women – two of them proud Aussies in Emily Browning and Abbie Cornish – kicking arse, and we’re always fans of that.

Director: Colin Barr

Stars: Michelle Fairley, Tom Payne, Laura Donnelly, Lisa Hogg, Lorcan Cranitch

ROADSHOW/ABC DVD

WHEN George Best left Northern Ireland to play for English football giants Manchester United in the early 1960s, nobody was prepared for the level of fame he would achieve. Factual drama His Mother’s Son focuses on the effect it had on George’s mum Ann.

Already struggling to cope with three children aged under five, Ann (Fairley) begins to feel disconnected from the world around her and can’t quite understand the intense press interest in George (Payne) as he leads United to one stunning success after another, becoming the world’s first soccer celebrity in the process. A tee-totaller until the age of 40, Ann starts drinking and quickly spirals into alcoholism. Tragically, George is on a parallel path of booze-fuelled self-destruction and it doesn’t end well for either of them.

His Mother’s Son presents a side to the George Best story that’s rarely been explored in film and the acting is excellent, particularly from Michelle Fairley, whose transformation from loving matriarch to alcoholic zombie is as startling as it is unsettling. A cautionary tale if ever there was one.

American adult movie star and “CE-Ho” of porn studio BurningAngel, Joanna Angel talks to us about her recent visit to Australia, her most memorable bonk, and a fantasy threesome with Iggy Pop and David Bowie

Hey, Joanna! What are your stats?
I am five feet tall, I have C-cup boobs, a 61cm waist, pink and black completely unnatural hair, brown eyes, a big smile and a big nose!

Did you enjoy your visit to Sydney for Sexpo?
I had a great time in Australia, and I’m not just saying that because I’m trying to impress you. Sydney is a beautiful city, with lots of good food and fun places to go shopping. I also went to the zoo and took a picture with a koala, and I look at that photo at least once a day and think about how incredibly adorable he was. I miss him. We really had something special.

What do you think of Aussie guys?
I think Aussie men are sexy and, in general, really buff, really polite, and very funny. A great combination.

Is it tough to operate BurningAngel in an industry that’s dominated by men and big studios such as Vivid and Digital Playground?
I think the big studio aspect is more of a challenge than the male-dominated aspect. The best way to fight a male-dominated industry is to just not be dominated. If you act like a businesswoman, people treat you like a businesswoman. I carry myself pretty well and, as a result, I rarely feel disrespected by anyone. Being around the big studios is tough sometimes. I find myself getting jealous and frustrated by the amount of money they all seem to have. I really hope we have a fancy office one day and can put out hundreds of movies a year where people jump out of helicopters and light buildings on fire and stuff, but I try not to focus too much on what other people are doing and just try to be the best at what I’m doing.

Where do you see BurningAngel going in the next five years?
I think we’ll be doing everything we’re currently doing, just on a bigger and better scale. I hope we can put out more movies, update all of our websites more often and add a whole lot more community features to the main site so everyone can just live on BurningAngel.com and be addicted to it the way I’m addicted to Twitter (@JoannaAngel)!

What does a typical day involve for you?
My days are always different! Some days I do a lot of interviews, some days I’m on set directing or performing or both, and some days – like today – I sit in my pyjamas at my computer answering the never-ending sea of emails.

Do you prefer acting, directing or scriptwriting?
My favourite movies are the ones where I’ve done all three, like my latest feature, Joanna’s Angels 3. I spent about a month writing the script, then I spent another month putting everything together – booking talent, organising sets, shopping for wardrobe, etc. On set, I switched back and forth from being in front to behind the camera. It’s exhausting but so exciting, and I wouldn’t be able to pull it off if I didn’t have such an amazing crew working for me.

Where do you find your sexy starlets? Could an Aussie girl become one?
We have a model application on BurningAngel.com, so it’s just like any other job. We pick our girls based on their looks and personalities. If someone is super hot but sucks as a person, chances are I won’t be hiring them. An Aussie girl can apply to be on BurningAngel.com, however, we would have to physically go to Australia to shoot her. Who knows, if a whole bunch of hot Australians apply, we could make a trip over there and shoot them all at once – you never know!

You like humour in your movies. Do you think laughter and sex naturally go together?
I think porn makes a lot of people uncomfortable, so I try to make them feel more comfortable with laughter. It’s a good way to ease people in who either haven’t watched porn before or have watched in the past but were turned off by it for some reason. Plus I like to watch my own movies and I love comedies, so if I can’t entertain myself, then what the hell is the point of all this!

What’s been your proudest moment so far?
I was so incredibly happy when I won my first AVN Award in 2005 for Most Outrageous Sex Scene in the movie Re-Penetrator. We were such a small company back then, and we had produced only two movies ourselves. I was so amazed we won and it was the greatest feeling ever.

Your website features band interviews and album reviews. Do you see porn and music as complementary forms of entertainment?
I think most people who like BurningAngel porn are also into music. I really love music, and the fact that I have a website showing a bunch of people banging is a good way for me to get people’s attention!

Do you have a favourite tattoo? If so, why?
I have a zombie-looking stiletto heel on my back with teeth and claws. Right now, that’s my favourite. It’s unique and colourful, and sexy and scary at the same time. It’s like all the different elements of myself are in that tattoo!

Tell us about your most memorable fuck, either on film or in your personal life.
Me, another porn star who shall remain nameless, James Deen and Steve Holmes had a little orgy in my hotel room during the AVN Adult Entertainment Expo in Las Vegas. It was one of the few times I’ve been DPd that had nothing to do with a movie, and the other girl involved tried it for the first time. It was like doing a porn scene without all the make-up, high heels and hot lights.

If you could pick any two people, living or dead, for a fantasy three-way, who would you choose and why?
Iggy Pop and David Bowie… but they have to be resurrected from the late ’70s, with the same outfits, the same make-up, and the same drug problems. I’m just assuming it would be a lot of fun, and I would feel like I’m banging guys and girls at the same time! Either that or a three-way with Barack Obama and Lady Gaga that’s secretly being filmed on my phone. I’m pretty sure they’re the two most famous people in the world right now, so I could live off that celebrity sex tape for the rest of my life… and so could my kids… and my grandkids. Hey, I’m a businesswoman – I have to incorporate business into my fantasy threesome, right? I have no doubt that Lady Gaga is really good in the sack. I’m not so sure about Barack Obama, but I’m sure Gaga and I could think of some fun things to do to him…

FIVE FAVOURITES
Animal: KOALA!
Fast food: Egg McMuffin
Sex toy: Hitachi Magic Wand
Band: Fugazi
Fictional character: Lolita

Directors: Paul Crowder & John Dower
Stars: Franz Beckenbauer, Johan Cruyff, Giorgio Chinaglia, Rodney Marsh, Carlos Alberto,
Ahmet Ertegün

NARRATED by actor Matt Dillon, Once in a Lifetime is a fascinating documentary about the epic rise and fall of US soccer club the New York Cosmos.
Set up by Ahmet Ertegün (co-founder of Atlantic Records), his brother Nesuhi and powerful Warner Communications President Steve Ross, the Cosmos joined the struggling North American Soccer League (NASL) in 1971 and quickly rose to the top.

Looking to take the sport to new heights in America – despite opposition from traditionalists who thought of soccer as a “foreigners’ game” – the Cosmos persuaded Brazilian superstar Pelé to join the club in 1975. Lured by big money and the glamour of New York in the ’70s, other famous players, including German maestro Franz Beckenbauer, followed and crowds of more than 70,000 were soon piling in to Giants Stadium for home games. Not to be outdone, the stands were often packed with celebrities and politicians, and the legendary Studio 54 became the Cosmos’s unofficial clubhouse.

Unfortunately, mismanagement and infighting ultimately caused the club and the entire NASL to collapse in the mid-1980s. But in a postscript to the twisted tale that’s not included in the doco, the New York Cosmos is back! A new team with Pelé as its honorary president plans to join the successful Major League Soccer competition in the next couple of years.

Once in a Lifetime will screen on ABC2 on Wednesday, October 20 at 8:30pm

Director: Stuart Beattie

Stars: Caitlin Stasey, Rachel Hurd-Wood, Deniz Akdeniz, Lincoln Lewis, Phoebe Tonkin, Chris Pang, Ashleigh Cummings

PARAMOUNT

IN CINEMAS SEPTEMBER 2

BASED on the first in a series of acclaimed novels by John Marsden, Tomorrow, When the War Began explores what might happen if Australia was invaded and occupied by a hostile foreign power.

At the heart of the action are seven teenagers, who leave a fictional country town called Wirrawee to go camping in a beautiful remote area incongruously known as ‘Hell’. While they’re there, forming and furthering romances and generally having fun, they see a large number of military aircraft fly overhead. While they acknowledge it as strange, they don’t think too much of it…until they arrive back in Wirrawee and find the place deserted.

Worried about their families, the kids split up into three groups and discover that the townsfolk are being held captive at the local showground by a ruthless, unidentified army. Led by the pragmatic Homer (Akdeniz) and resilient Ellie (Stasey), the friends decide to fight back and wage a guerrilla war against the heavily armed invaders.

Filmed entirely in New South Wales, primarily in Raymond Terrace and the Blue Mountains, Tomorrow, When the War Began is one of the best Australian movies to emerge in recent years. While it’s obviously aimed at teens and young adults – just like the book – the action sequences are as good as you’ll see in any Hollywood blockbuster and the performances are engaging, particularly from Caitlin Stasey and Deniz Akdeniz.

With six more novels in the series, the film-makers hope Tomorrow… will become an international Twilight-like phenomenon, and the potential is certainly there.

Home from America and excited about the future, Aussie country music star Catherine Britt talks to Penthouse about her new self-titled album, songwriting, and her not-entirely-pure love for Hank Williams

The new album is simply titled Catherine Britt. Does it mark some sort of reinvention for you?
A little bit, yeah. It was actually Kasey Chambers who called me one day and said, “I think this album is really about you getting back to your roots and I don’t think you can call it anything other than Catherine Britt.” It just really made sense in the end.

How have you changed as an artist?
In a lot of ways, I guess. I started out pretty young and kinda made music that just made me feel good. When I went over to America, I got a little side-tracked. I don’t think I ever compromised, but I was starting to mentally give up. It was when I started getting in that frame of mind that I knew I had to walk away, go home and find myself again. I wasn’t inspired and I was going to start making music for the wrong reasons, and I didn’t get into the industry to write a song just for a radio station. I’m really happy to be back home making the music I want to make.

What’s your favourite track on the new album?
It changes daily, but I’ve got a real fondness for every track for different reasons. It’s a very diverse album.

There are some great, happy songs on the record…
Yeah, there are, which is surprising because I’ve always struggled to write a happy song. So yay!

Can you describe your writing process?
It’s sort of different every time. I get really inspired by other music, and life experience, of course.  I also like a project – I knew I had an album to write and that focused me. Once I start writing, it’s pretty straightforward.

You’ve known producer Bill Chambers for a long time. What was it like to work so closely with him on Catherine Britt?
I’ve known Bill since I was about 11 and he’s always been involved with my career. He produced my first EP and my first album, and then he went over to Nashville with me and co-produced my second album, Too Far Gone. After that, we kinda lost touch, but when I came back to Australia and got my shit together, I realised he was the person I needed to be in contact with again. It was actually his advice to get Shane Nicholson, Kasey Chambers’ husband, on board for the project. It just sort of became this big family affair again, which is good because that’s how it started out for me.

Will you go back to Nashville or are you home for good?
I definitely want to go back to America, but not to live. I can’t predict the future, but I don’t see it making sense for me ever again. I really love Australia and I just want to live here.

What are the best and worst aspects of being a professional musician?
The best aspect is everything! We have this very blessed, creative way of living, and then you get to tour and party and have a great time. I guess the only downside is that when there’s not a lot going on, it can get a bit boring.

Do you have any advice for aspiring country artists?
You’ve really got to put in the hard work in the beginning and keep it going or you’ll be quickly forgotten. I’ve had a lucky path in a lot of ways, but I’ve also seen a lot of things that maybe I shouldn’t have seen by 25, and I think that just comes with the industry. People sort of sit around on their couches and wait for the record labels to come to them; what they don’t realise is you’ve got to go out and get that stuff. I worked my arse off to get my record deals and write my songs.

Who are you listening to right now?
I’ve been rediscovering a lot of old artists recently, such as American minstrel performer Emmett Miller, Hank Williams and Lucinda Williams. And I’m listening to a lot of Old Crow Medicine Show – I just love their stuff!

Fantasy duet?
I hate to be predictable, but definitely Hank Williams. He’s everything to me. If he was alive, I’d marry him and have lots of duets with him!

At the end of the day, how would you like to be remembered?
As someone who always made music that was true to me, and that I never compromised.

Catherine Britt is available now. Check out www.catherinebritt.com for news and upcoming gigs.