Australian Penthouse

Animal Kingdom
Director:  David Michod
Star:  Ben Mendelsohn, Joel Edgerton, Guy Pearce, Luke Ford, Jacki Weaver
Madman Entertainment

Animal Kingdom centres around a Melbourne family of drug dealers—a popular topic post-Underbelly—and the extended family’s rapidly escalating violence with the police.

The viewer sees events unfold through the eyes of the film’s protagonist and youngest family member, 17-year-old Joshua (James Frecheville), an adolescent wrestling with his allegiance to his family and his conscious.

Written and directed by David Michod, what is so different about Animal Kingdom compared with many other Melbourne underworld movies and TV series of late, is that it doesn’t glorify the drug trade, or life “in the business”.

There are no dramatic gun scenes, no wads of money counted, no mountains of cocaine piled on table-tops. The movie instead focuses on the cascading errors in judgement shown by the family, coupled with the audience’s underlying belief that no good will come of the deaths and drug use—primarily via the expressive-yet-passive narration of Joshua throughout the film.

Ben Mendelsohn steals the show as the increasingly psychotic ‘Uncle Pope’, a man who delves deeper into paranoia, and eventually insanity, due to the mounting death-toll surrounding him and his trigger-happy, drug-taking antics. Winner of the 2010 Grand Jury Prize for World Cinema Drama at Sundance, Animal Kingdom presents Australian story-telling in a new light, and is definitely worth watching.

Animal Kingdom opens in cinemas nationally on June 3.

There’s been six bond’s all up – Sean Connery, George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan, and the very handsome Daniel Craig. These actors were all kicking baddies’ butts with the latest gadgets and secret weapons, were all sleeping with the hottest female film stars in Hollywood, and all, let’s face it, extremely good looking guys. However who was the best 007? (continue reading…)

REALITY BITES

Australian artist Ben Frost creates art that entertains as much as it aggravates.  And that suits him just fine…

Interview:  Kate Hutchinson

What inspired you to become an artist?
“It’s better than a normal job—and I can nap whenever I feel like it.”

What would you do for a buck if you couldn’t make art?
“I would probably be the guy in the factory who tests disposable lighters.”

What’s behind the style of art you create?
“I believe that any creative endeavour is about trying to process and figure out the world around us. I’m still trying to come to terms with how saturated we all are with advertising, television, the media, and what this means for our society. I don’t pretend that I’ve come up with any answers, but being able to critically assess how we live and why we’re so obsessed with ridiculous things like Britney Spears and Fly-Buys, is my main motivation.”

What have you been working on recently?
“Lately I’ve been working a lot with artists on Stupidkrap.com, the art portal I run.  It’s always funny when I call  a new supplier or client, and say: “Hi, I’m calling from Stupidkrap..”, the irony is quite delicious. We make prints and help promote Australian artists in exhibitions and projects, mostly out of Sydney, but also in other States as well.”

How do you stay inspired?
“I spend a lot of time trawling the Internet and in second-hand book stores looking for bizarre images that I can find new ways to subvert.  In my art practice, I’m only as good as the images I can find to work with,  so I have to be constantly updating my library of pictures to keep it fresh.

“I have boxes and boxes of strange old magazines I bought on Ebay and scraps of packaging I found on the street somewhere.  I love going through the supermarket aisles and buying products based entirely on the merit of its packaging design–it’s totally inspiring. The packaging on the Ratsak box is my favourite; I always look at it when I visit the supermarket, even though I don’t have rodent problems.”

Do you have other interests, outside of art?
“I sing in a punk band when we have time to rehearse and do gigs.  I also like watching really bad movies.”

What can we expect from you this year?
“More exhibitions closer to home. I have shows planned in Melbourne, Sydney and Perth. You can get updates on my exhibitions by joining the mailing list at my website: www.benfrostisdead.com”

What do you think makes your work popular?

“I make Pop Art, so there’s heavy use of popular imagery in my work that most people can instantly recognise. I think people also enjoy seeing their favourite—or least favourite—icons and logos manipulated and subverted to create new dialogues that you [otherwise] wouldn’t get to see.

“Pop Art [offers] a way to ‘take the power back’, because you can have some control over the images that companies and the media are always  ramming down our throats.  You can take these images and characters and alter them to show the kind of twisted things they probably do behind the scene—like Astroboy giving you the finger, Pluto and Goofy doing it doggy-style, or Bambi giving birth to a stream of baby Bambis.”

Didn’t some guy slash one of your paintings at a recent exhibition?
“I’ve made a few paintings that speak too directly for some people to be able to process.  I did a painting of two children preparing to shoot up drugs in an idyllic setting, with an aeroplane crashing in the background.  The piece was displayed in an area of Brisbane where there was a marked increase in the use of intravenous drugs by younger people, and it caused some controversy but at the same time it also created healthy discussion about the context of what [the painting] means and [why] it was displayed [there].

“I think many people are frightened of the reality of their own environment, and rather than try to do something to change it, they compensate by being overly critical of people who are trying to express what is staring them in the face.”

Is there a specific piece that you are especially proud of?
“I’ve always really liked the painting ‘Kmart After Dark’.  It was one of the first paintings I made when I returned [to Australia, in 2005] after living in Tokyo, and I feel like it captures the frenetic and fluoro energy of what it’s like to walk through Shibuya—or Kmart, for that matter.”

Do you have a favourite gallery to exhibit your work?
“The solo show I did at Brooklynite Gallery in New York [in June 2009], is definitely my favourite. It’s in this intense section of Bed-Stuy in Brooklyn, and there’s this great grassed area out the back where DJs play and you can continue [viewing] artwork from the gallery space inside through to the outdoors.”

Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
“Hopefully, I will have made the ultimate painting that will end world hunger, prompt world peace, and help Brad and Angelina work out any difficulties with Jennifer Aniston.”

See more of Ben’s work at: http://www.benfrostisdead.com

Snoop Dogg’s new album, Malice in Wonderland is a far cry from Doggystyle and The Doggfather, and therefore many die-hard Snoop fans will be disappointed. (continue reading…)

Director: Nancy Meyers
Stars: Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwin, Steve Martin

WRITTEN and directed by Nancy Meyers (What Women Want, Something’s Gotta Give), this predictable romantic comedy never really gets going.

In an embarrassingly lightweight role, Meryl Streep plays Jane, a wealthy divorcee who embarks on an affair with her recently remarried ex-husband Jake (Baldwin). To complicate matters, Jane also has feelings for nice guy Adam (Martin), a divorced architect who isn’t as fun as Jake but promises a brighter future. With three great comedic actors in the main roles, we were waiting for a funny twist on the standard rom-com formula, but it never came.

Nudging two hours, the film feels very drawn-out and the characters are one-dimensional. Having said that, Alec Baldwin is definitely the star of the film. He at least puts some gusto into his performance and manages to eke a few laughs out of an otherwise underwhelming script.

Thanks to Control Entertainment, Australian Penthouse is giving you the chance to win one of five Fatbelly, Chopper… Unchopped DVDs. Click on the link for the winners! (continue reading…)

Australian Penthouse talks to Program Manager for Australian Aid International, Nathan Mullins, about his new book, How to Amputate a Leg, lessons he’s learned during his time in the services, and why guys with samurai swords are usually wankers… (continue reading…)

Exxxtremely sexy and stimulating, the We-Vibe II is the latest gadget to hit www.adultshop.com!

The We-Vibe, the world’s number one selling sex toy for two is back and better than ever, with an improved design and more orgasmic functions.

The We-Vibe II is one of the only sex toys that can be used during intercourse. While worn during sex, the We-Vibe II produces extra internal pressure, creating hormonic waves of stimulation, with the pattern of pulsation even changing to match the rhythm of your love-making. This new and improved steamy sex toy is powered by two small, yet extremely powerful motors, positioned to hug the clitoris and g-spot simulataneously. Oh how happy your woman will  be!

To buy the renowned We-Vibe:

Trinity, Taylor and Jewell took some time out of their busy schedule to give Penthouse a run down on what it’s like to be Sexpo showgirls…

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We caught up with our 2008 Penthouse Pet of the Year Runner Up, Suzie Q, at Sexpo… (continue reading…)

In association with Beauty Mate, we’re giving you the chance to win one of five Beauty Mate ‘Good on You’ gift packs! Click on the link to see the winners!
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In what is set to be one of the biggest adult films of the year, Digital Playground’s Teachers is already successful – and it’s not even out until late September!

The Teachers two-minute long trailer, released online by Digital Playground last week received 200,000 downloads within the first week; surpassing the anticipation for bestselling titles Babysitters, Cheerleaders and even Nurses.

Shot on location at a private-school, Teachers tells the story of a group of hot girls who keep diary records of all the naughty teacher/student happenings. Then, the diary goes missing, and they’ll do anything to get it back. With the help of textbooks, homework, detention, lube and dildos, the eight wild sex scenes are mindblowing – and that not to mention the nine person school busy orgy…

With all of Digital Playground’s big name contract stars – Jesse Jane, Riley Steele, Stoya and Katsuni, as well as Jenna Haze and Lisa Ann, no wonder this movie there is so much hype around Teachers!

To view the Teachers trailer, visit www.digitalplayground.com/mov/teachers.html