CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR WINNERS:

M. Bembo, Avondaleheights, VIC
A. Desai, City Beach, WA
K. Miartin, Tewantin, QLD
G. Meaney, Mulgrave, VIC

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Thanks to EMI, Australian Penthouse will give 5 winners a 2-CD EMI pack consisting of Ben Harper’s Give Till It’s Gone and Simply Red’s Farewell: Live In Sydney.
Continue reading “WINNERS! Ben Harper & Simply Red CDs from EMI” »

Thanks to Icon Film, Australian Penthouse has 10 huge sport DVD packs (RRP $1797.50), including The Firm, up for grabs!

Congratulations to our Winners:

M. Cossey, Dover Gardens, SA
A. McCarthy, Melbourne, VIC
N. Quirke, Pyrmont, NSW
K. Angelides,  Strathfield, NSW
A. Dale, Thursday Island, QLD
R. Garbutt, Holland Park, QLD
B. Neary, Fitzgibbon, QLD
R.Moso, Frankston, VIC
L. Kol, Collaroy, NSW
K. Griffiths, Good, TAS

Continue reading “WINNERS! THE FIRM DVD PRIZE PACK” »

Rise of the Planet of the Apes

Director: Rupert Wyatt
Cast: James Franco, Freida Pinto, John Lithgow, David Oyelowo, Brian Cox, Andy Serkis
20th Century Fox

ORIGIN stories and prequels seem to have an unfortunate tendency of wasting precious viewing minutes before jumping into the crux of the story, despite the audience knowing the direction of the narrative. Thankfully, Rise of the Planet of the Apes does not conform to this mould. A shrewdness of apes is rounded up and shipped off to a not-so-local American research facility whereby the latest wonder drug is trialled on them in the hopes of advancing to human trials.

Scientist Will Rodman (Franco) is trying hard to impress his boss Steven Jacobs (Oyelowo) and a board of investors with a drug that shows promise as a cure to Alzheimer’s disease. After the presentation goes horribly awry, all test apes are euthanised with the exception of newborn Caesar (brought to life with motion capture work from the ever-nimble Andy ‘Gollum’ Serkis). Will takes young Caesar home for a temporary stint of care that becomes more permanent when his father, Charles (Lithgow), who suffers from Alzheimer’s, takes a shining to the infant ape.

As time passes, it becomes clear that the wonder drug has been passed genetically to Caesar and his intelligence readings are off the charts. When Jacobs tries to shut down Rodman’s research, he uses his father as a test subject with impressive initial results. More time passes and Caesar struggles to assimilate into the human world, ultimately leading to his imprisonment and the beginnings of an ape revolution.

The biggest problem with creating prequels to familiar material is how difficult it is to create an overall sense of tension. After all, any cinemagoer with a loose understanding of the original films will know how the ultimate story arc ends for this chapter. Despite this, the film is brimming with humour, cleverness and a lot more heart than your average popcorn film.

Thankfully, Rise of the Planet of the Apes swings away from cliché territory by avoiding the trap of populating the film with evil humans to justify Caesar’s plight. While there are some bad eggs, the majority of the human characters that Caesar interacts with portray our better, redeemable qualities, resulting in a layered and satisfying core narrative.

John Lithgow is the standout performance that, unfortunately, gets far too little screen time as he infuses empathy and frustration into the role of the Alzheimer’s-ridden Charles. The rest of the cast do a solid job of carrying the film from A to B, but not in any particular form that makes their performances particularly memorable.

The action sequences may be a bit sparse but they are sufficiently epic, particularly towards the end; even if the apes do suffer from a politically correct sense of ‘militant pacifism’. Caesar’s okay with revolting, but apparently has major issues with taking human lives, which is just plain weird. Couple this with the at times confused soundtrack cues that make it difficult to know who the audience should be rooting for—humans or apes—and some of the more visually impressive action sequences lose momentum.

On the topic of visually impressive sequences, the all-CGI ape contingent of the film are Weta Workshop’s (of Lord of the Rings fame) best work to date. Considering the sub-$100-million budget for the film, Weta continues to show they’re at the top of their game, infusing the ape characters with rich personalities and conveying believable emotion.

While it may be difficult to fully engage with a storyline whose ending is already predetermined, Rise of the Planet of the Apes still manages to impress for the most part, injecting heart and intelligence into what could have easily have been just another popcorn film.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes opens August 4

Review: Nathan Lawrence

While there has always been a market for party planners, VIP lounges and limousines, we’ve not yet seen a company pull all that fun together quite like Gold Coast Exclusive. As curators of entertainment, Gold Coast Exclusive offer a raft of services that make planning a personal shin dig or corporate event totally hassle-free. As well as their standard packages, tailored events are available for the man (or woman) with specific pursuits in mind.

Based in Queensland’s pristine Gold Coast region, Gold Coast Exclusive have ties to—and agreements with—various local businesses, resorts, parks and hotels. Whether its deep sea fishing, go-karting, jet boats, pub crawls, golf days or strip clubs you’re after, these guys want to give it to you.

The idea is that the packages and custom events cater to any person with a sparkle in their eye and party ambition in their heart, which means Gold Coast Exclusive specialise in everything:

*Bachelors / bucks’ nights and weekends
*Bachelorette / hens’ nights and weekends
*Team & club sporting celebrations
*Weekends away, birthday celebrations and reunions
*Conferences and corporate groups
*Vacations, tours and artists’ entertainment

Below we’ve listed a few of our favourite packages available through Gold Coast Exclusive, but if you head over to their website you can read more about their exclusive female staff, their corporate events and live entertainment provisions.

BROMANCE PACKAGES

Booze and babes are some of the greatest gifts life has to offer, and these packages capitalise on that. For our money, you can’t go past the deep sea fishing package:

During the day, you and your mates hitch a ride on a luxury deep sea charter, a rod in one hand and a beer in the other. Later in the evening you head into Surfers Paradise to enjoy VIP treatment at Players Showgirls, one of the hottest clubs on the Coast. Each of you receive a card with $70 worth of credit to spend on drinks, dances or merch. To top it all off, you’ll be staying five minutes from the heart of Surfers Paradise.

MINING PACKAGES

Gold Coast Exclusive know how hard the folks down in the mines work, so they’ve set up a few deals to help them play just that little bit harder. With options ranging from one night to seven, it’s hard to make a bad choice. Our top pick is aptly described in its title, “Party like a Porn Star.” It includes:

*Return stretched limo transfers from Brisbane Airport with a hot topless waitress and ice-cold beers
*Deep-sea fishing charter to some of the best reef and deepwater spots, with a topless waitress, ice-cold beers and deli lunch
*Adrenaline-pumping jet ski action
*Lunch and beverages are provided every day
*Party each night away with VIP entry and a $500 bar tab for each member of your group at Players Showgirls.
*Each member of your group receives a Players Showgirls VIP pack with a backpack, t-shirt, cap, keyring and stubby cooler
*3-night stay in a luxury Q1 sub-penthouse, close to all the nightlife, restaurants and the world famous beach at Surfers Paradise

CURRENT PACKAGE

There has never a better excuse to get the boys together. So, gents, prepare for a high-octane weekend of adrenaline-pumping racing!

Rebel Rock V8 Super Car Weekend: 21st – 23rd  October

Gold Coast Exclusive and Rebel FM have teamed up to provide the boys with the ultimate guy’s getaway. They have included all the activities and evening entertainment you’ll need for an action packed itinerary, providing you with a weekend you won’t forget.

During the Gold Coast 600 V8 Supercarnivale, Surfers Paradise is transformed into a world of V8 street-circuit racing, Champ Cars, gorgeous women, parades, concerts and parties, all set in Queensland’s spectacular Gold Coast!

There is a huge range of accommodation ideally located for eager V8-goers, with the circuit track running right past some of Surfers’ most popular high-rises. Many apartments have views over the track, or are within short walking distance.

There is a range of ticketing options available for the V8 weekend, including general admission, general admission with on-track accommodation access and grandstand seating.

Leave all the hassle behind, and let us organise your party. After all, your pleasure is our business.

Rebel Rock V8 Super Car Weekend 21-23 October – SPECIAL $1700 per person 4 day package

• Return limo transfers from Brisbane or Gold Coast Airport with a topless Waitress and ice-cold beers
• Adrenaline-pumping V8 action 3 day passes general admission
• Lunch and beverages are provided every day by 2 bikini  waitresses (2 hr period)
• Party each night away with VIP entry and a $200 bar tab at Players Showgirls, the Gold Coast’s hottest adult venue
• Each member of your group receives a Players Showgirls VIP pack with a t-shirt, cap, keyring and stubby cooler
• 4 night stay in a luxury resort, close to all the nightlife
• Restaurants, track action and the world famous beach at Surfers Paradise
• Return limo transfers from Brisbane or Gold Coast Airport

CALL TODAY AND BOOK YOUR ULTIMATE EXPERIENCE NOW!!!  PHONE – 1800 051 345

Prices quoted are based on a minimum of 4 people. Packages are subject to availability and prices quoted are subject to change and may not be available over peak periods and during special events.

Considerable discounts may be available when securing bookings for larger groups. If you have anyquestions or would like to custom design a package then call our Team on 1800 051 345

Australian Penthouse August 2011 is out now!

Get the August issue of Australian Penthouse for the latest on who’s hot and what’s happening in your world today.

THE BABES

August Pet of the Month Mika; JELENA JENSEN; KAT; RADKA + ANDREA; PETTA; FRANZISKA FACELLA; CHIKITA; ALANAH + CHARLES; KIARA DIANE

THE ARTICLES

BOOZE MYTHS; MOVIE CARS; TEX PERKINS; THE RESURGENCE OF PIN-UP AND MUCH MORE.

APPLE OF OUR EYE

Between her beauty, love for porn and passion for comic books, 21-year-old Mika could be every man’s dream girl.

Photography: Sienna Taylor

Buy the latest edition of Australian Penthouse magazine to see the entire shoot or subscribe to Black Label to see the explicit, uncut photoshoot

Continue reading “August 2011 Pet of the Month, Mika” »

Nikita is an Aussie babe who would love to be in Australian Penthouse! Vote for Nikita now! Continue reading “Contender: Nikita Sage” »

Thanks to 20th Century Fox and Australian Penthouse, 10 lucky readers have won one two-disc DVD (RRP $35.95) set of Archer: The Complete First Season. Continue reading “WINNERS! Archer: The Complete Season One” »

Dallas is an Aussie babe who would love to be in Australian Penthouse! Vote for Dallas now! Continue reading “Contender: Dallas Rayne” »

Holly is an Aussie babe who would love to be in Australian Penthouse! Vote for Holly now! Continue reading “Contender: Holly” »