Australian Penthouse

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

Director: Niels Arden Oplev
Stars: Michael Nyquist, Noomi Rapace, Sven-Bertil Taube
ROADSHOW

THIS is the adaptation of the first installment of author Stieg Larsson’s bestselling Millennium Trilogy and one of the most successful Swedish movies of recent times. Yes, that means you can expect Swedish dialogue with English subtitles.

Using the power of suspenseful music, gloomy lighting and a Goth tomboy, director Oplev entices the audience into an intense, grotesque crime thriller. Without giving too much away, the film is about reporter Mikael (Nyqvist), who is sentenced to jail after releasing a ‘false’ story. Before his prison stint is due to start, he is approached by Henrik Vanger (Taube). Vanger’s granddaughter vanished 40 years ago during a family gathering. Her body was never found and the crime remains unsolved.

Mikael, obsessed with this disappearance, employs help from researcher/computer hacker Lisbeth (Rapace)—who suffers a lot in the first act—and with her bad-arse Mac skills, they set about solving the decades-old mystery.

This film is rated MA15+ for a reason. The sexual scenes are aggressive and you may have to press ‘pause’ to tell yourself, “It’s just a movie, it’s just a movie”.  The violence is also quite extreme. Oplev shows no mercy, subjecting the audience to exactly the things they fear to see. By contrast, the scenery shots of Sweden’s Stockholm and Hedeby are beautiful and nicely offset the dark story-line.

As with many crime thrillers, the good investigative stuff starts after the hour mark. Like Mikael, the viewer becomes obsessed with the fate of the missing girl, and with so many possible leads you can’t wait to solve this haunting mystery.

It will be interesting to see if the upcoming Hollywood take on The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo provides the same energy and thrills.

Review: Valeska Valdes

Edge of Darkness

Director: Martin Campbell
Stars: Mel Gibson, Ray Winstone, Danny Huston
Icon

MEL Gibson is back, doing what he does best: kicking arse (sans spouting racial epithets).  In Edge of Darkness Mel channels the kind of fatal simmering anger his character, Porter, carried throughout the rewarding revenge thriller Pay Back (1999)  into a story of revenge against corporate corruption.

Gibson stars as Boston homicide detective Thomas Craven.  Craven’s only child, 24-year-old science graduate, Emma, is shot dead on the doorstep to the family home just hours after arriving for a short break.

Initially it appears that Craven was the intended target, but when it is discovered that his daughter was also  poisoned with the heavy metal thallium, via interviews with her terrified boyfriend David (Shawn Roberts) and a college friend, Craven uncovers evidence that Emma’s employer, Northmoor, deliberately poisoned her to cover-up her role in a  recent break-in by anti-nuclear activists, looking to uncover other, secret Northmoor dealings.

While burning his daughter’s radioactive clothing in his yard, Thomas is joined by Darius Jedburgh (Ray Winstone), a Northmoor “consultant” whose job it is to monitor the situation with Craven and, if necessary, prevent him from uncovering the company’s illegal activities.

The two men are direct and uncompromising in their intentions, and their clouded-yet-clear conversation reveals an undercurrent of unexpected respect for each other.  Jedburgh leaves Craven to investigate, with a warning.

After meeting with a Senator whom his daughter tried to use as a whistleblower, and her former boss, Jack Bennett (Danny Huston), the increasingly haunted father understands that these people not only know what happened to his daughter and the dead activists, but are in collusion to cover up government-sanctioned murder. With little to live for, Craven embarks on a path to mete out his revenge—even if it kills him.

Edge of Darkness is available to rent or buy on 7 July.

Mr. Sin
Director: Hugh Piper
Cast: Richard Roxburgh, Alan Saffron, Jim Anderson
Ovation

This fantastic documentary from Hugh Piper charts Abe Saffron’s meteoric rise to the highest echelons of Sydney’s underworld, while exploring the effects it had on his personal life. There are interviews with his children, grandchild, mistress and right-hand man, as well as a few fringe characters and the writers who’ve since studied his life. The story is seamlessly illustrated by a rich gallery of photos, dating back to the days before he owned the Roosevelt Hotel, and footage of the interviews he did when he was alive.

The overall picture of Abe is complex and hard to place. He was a manipulative, reptilian man with the capacity for great kindness, who lived and breathed the rush of deal-making and backroom politics, birthed the systems of organised crime that endure even now in Sydney and went to his grave with only one substantiated criminal charge to his name.

On paper it seems pretty easy to label him the bad guy. But Mr. Sin is compelling enough to make you wonder, and by the time the last images of Abe’s life are flashing up on the screen, it’s hard to resent all the love and contentment that surrounds him.

Survivors (Series One)
Director: Adrian Hodges
Stars: Julie Graham, Max Beesley, Paterson Joseph, Zoe Tapper
Roadshow

A re-imagining of 1970s BBC drama series, Survivors. Adrian Hodges’ new adaptation, based on the novel by Terry Nation, focuses on a world in the aftermath of a pandemic.  Think 28 Days Later without the zombies.

The drama series focuses on the world in the aftermath of a devastating virus which wipes out most of the world’s population. How to cope world where electricity, running water, and communications have disappeared? Here is an opportunity for new beginnings, but with no society, no police and no law and order, the survivors face all kinds of new and unexpected dangers—not just the daily struggle for food and water but also the deadly threat from other survivors.

The Series One DVD also features: A New World – The Making of Survivors, character profiles, and Survivors FX Featurette.

NURSES
Producer: Digital Playground
Director: Robby D
Starring: Jesse Jane, Riley Steele, Stoya, Katsuni, Sasha Grey, Shay Jordan, Jenna Haze

AFTER looking back at the crop of fantasy-inspired titles by Digital Playground and celebrating its Blu-ray release, it was high time that we revisited Nurses.

This movie has it all: a starlet studded line-up; light S&M across the board; and attentive health practitioners to take your temperature orally, and reciprocate anally.

At more than three hours, this feature is the pinnacle of the DP series—quite possibly the best the studio has released. Almost every scene is a FFM threesome with plenty of hard sex, spanking, choking and enthusiastic participation on both sides.

Sasha Grey has a memorable moment as an incredibly helpful Candy Striper and the finale—with one lucky bastard molested by Jesse, Riley, Katsuni, Stoya and Shay—is enough to induce a genuine cardiac arrest.

5 stars

BABE
Producer: Daring
Director: Antonio Adamo
Starring: Viva Style, Julia Taylor, Boroka Balls, Caty, Nikky Blond, Claudia Rossi

DARING is beginning to leave its mark as a producer of high quality porn. Consider it a European cousin to Digital Playground, with impressive production values, stunning women (most of whom are not silicon-enhanced—a pleasant change) and actors who really enjoy their work.

And it shows.  This story, about fashion models-cum-porn stars, is full to bursting with non-stop hard action, and throws in a One Night in Paris night-vision camera rip into the mix.

The bevy of babes is mouth-watering, and Viva Style smoulders from her first moment on camera to her scorching DP.  She is more than ably joined by Nikky Blond in a spirited anal romp, and Caty, who mesmerises throughout every second she is on screen.

4.5 stars

PSYCHO CHEERLEADERS 2
Producer: Wicked
Director: Mark Stone
Starring: Aiden Starr, Evie Delatosso, Holly West, Jennifer Dark, Sindee Jennings

THE slightly misleading title would have you think this was some schlock-horror porno.  Instead, you get a mess of cheerleaders who swap the casting couch for a psychiatrist’s couch as they work through their many issues.

The Doctor’s attempts at comedic therapy are laughable (for all the wrong reasons) with B-boy impersonations and (our favourite) using an ass-mould to simulate bongo drums, leading to many groans, albeit none of the sexual variety.

The Doctor’s recommendations always lead to sexual adventurism and, more often than not, anal.

The only real performance of note is by Sindee Jennings, as the rest of the cast look a tad MILFy to pass as cheerleaders. Stick with Digital Playground’s Cheerleaders; it’s a superior film in every way.

2.5 stars

THE EROTIC GHOST WHISPERER
Producer: Visage Films
Director: Cash Markman
Starring: Katie Morgan, Lisa Daniels, Cindy Crawford, Nautica Thorn

THERE are times when the reviewer is entertained as much by the taglines of a stick-flick as he is by the action featured within—sometimes more so.

The Erotic Ghost Whisperer splits the difference, sitting somewhere in the middle. While guffawing at the brilliance of “I see hot people” or “She’s a medium—but not in bra size”, the premise of having sex with spirits of the deceased is either laughable or genius.

Considering the apparitions are occasionally ‘tingling’ or in a smoky background, it might be best to go with laughable.

The only real stand-out is Katie Morgan, who offers a (ahem) spirited performance in both scenes, let down only by extraneous chit-chat. Less words, more action should be every porn director’s mantra…that, and don’t bite it!

2.5 stars

FAMILY GUY:  SOMETHING SOMETHING SOMETHING DARK SIDE

Director: Dominic Polcino
Stars: Seth MacFarlane, Seth Green, Alex Borstein, H. Jon Benjamin, Mike Henry
Shock

Review:  Cameron Murray

Hailed for following the plot of Empire Strikes Back closely, the special 60-minute episode sees Peter Griffin (MacFarlane) as Han Solo; Lois (Borstein) as Princess Leia; Chris (Green) as Luke Skywalker; and terrible toddler Stewie (also voiced by MacFarlane) as Darth Vader.

Naturally, it’s crammed with pop-culture references—some funnier than others—and the attention to detail is impressive.  All in all, it hangs together far better than Blue Harvest and the characters are more well-rounded, although Yoda (Benjamin) is a bit flat.

The DVD extras include an audio commentary with all the key players, Family Guy Fact-Ups, an animatic version of the episode and, most interestingly, two table reads – one for Something Something Something Dark Side and a sneak peek at We Have a Bad Feeling About This, Family Guy’s forthcoming Return of the Jedi spoof. Bring it on!

Listen to our interview with Mike Henry, the voice of Cleveland/R2-D2 in Something Something Something Dark Side, at: www.australianpenthouse.com.au/8553/mike-henry-interview/

YELLOWBEARD (1983)
Director:  Mel Damski
Stars:  Graham Chapman, Peter Boyle, Peter Cook, John Cleese
Orion/Shock

Review:  Suzan Ryam

THE LOWDOWN

Yellowbeard (Chapman) is the ultimate pirate, a scurvy shyster who feasts on the hearts of his enemies and then forces them to eat their own lips; a crazed man feared by all who travel the high seas.

After 20 years of imprisonment for tax evasion, Yellowbeard escapes to reclaim his buried treasure, but is pursued relentlessly by the Royal Navy and numerous, dubious adversaries (Cleese, Cheech Marin, Tommy Chong, Marty Feldman, Spike Milligan).

However, fate intervenes when Yellowbeard visits a wench (Madeline Kahn) only to discover that, 18 years ago, she birthed him an illegitimate son, the fey Dan (Martin Hewitt), whose head she had tattooed with the map to the pirate’s long-lost  treasure.

Yellowbeard is forced to protect the bookish son he despises, avoid capture, and locate his buried treasure, discovering on the way the true bond of a father-son relationship.

NUTS AND BOLTS

Written by comedy legends Graham Chapman (The Life Of Brian) and Peter Cook (Bedazzled, Derek And Clive Get The Horn), Yellowbeard is a classic example of the kind of madcap comedy made famous by the Monty Python team, and is superbly augmented with the addition of American comedy masters such as Marty Feldman, Peter Boyle, Madeline Kahn, and Cheech and Chong.

Regularly cited by fans as the funniest genre movie ever made, Yellowbeard combines a masterful blend of wit, plot, cast and timing to create one of the most revered comedies of the modern era.

The movie remains buoyant via cleverly paced witticisms and superb turns by the peerless Peter Cook, as the inestimably clueless Lord Lambourn; Graham Chapman as the rape-happy, smoking-haired titular pirate; James Mason as the fumbling Captain Hughes (companion to Texta-moustached crew member ‘Mr Prostitute’); Cheech Marin as the sycophantic subject to spit-flinging Spanish King El Nebuloso (Tommy Chong), “Yes sir, your arseholiness!”; and John Cleese as Harvey ‘Blind’ Pew, the Queen’s visually-impaired, sharp-eared spy.

DVD EXTRAS

Extras consist of the original movie trailer: both disappointing and insulting considering the wealth of information and extras provided on the Monty Python movies and the fame and status of the cast.

VERDICT

Yellowbeard should see you crawl, crawl, stagger, stagger to your nearest DVD store for a dose of classic comedy.

THE GIRLFRIEND EXPERIENCE
Director:  Steven Soderbergh
Stars: Sasha Grey, Chris Santos
ICON

Review:  Cameron Murray

YOU have to admire Steven Soderbergh for trying something different with The Girlfriend Experience.  It’s not often an Oscar-winning director (he picked up a gold statue for 2000’s Traffic) bucks the Hollywood system and goes low-budget just for the sake of experimentation.

Set in New York in the weeks leading up to the 2008 US presidential election, the movie revolves around a high-class hooker named ‘Chelsea’ (Grey) who prides herself on providing more than just sex, whether it be dinner and a movie or just an honest conversation.  Money and greed are central themes—Chelsea is looking at ways of increasing her business, her boyfriend wants more cash as a personal trainer, and her wealthy clients are worried about losing the lot in the looming Global Financial Crisis.

Soderbergh took a risk in casting porn star Sasha Grey as the film’s heroine, but she delivers an understated and beguiling performance as the confused call girl.

Although short at 74 minutes, The Girlfriend Experience effectively captures an uncertain moment in time. Unfortunately, there are no extras on the DVD, which is disappointing. An interview with Soderbergh and Grey would have been appreciated.

DEAD SNOW
Director: Tommy Wirkola
Stars: Lasse Valdal, Vegar Hoel, Charlotte Frogner
Madman

Review:  Suzan Ryan

REMINISCENT in tone to the schlock-horror heydays of Peter Jackson and Sam Raimi, Dead Snow takes the classic zombie genre movie, based around horny 20-somethings trapped in a cabin, to new heights—by introducing Nazi zombies!

With the tagline: “Eins! Zwei! Die!”, you know what to expect: tits and arse, pop-culture one-liners, and gratuitous and gory deaths.  Stocked with beer, a skidoo and raging hormones, eight Norwegian medical students prepare for a boozy weekend in the snow-capped mountains, only to realise that a secret cache of stolen gold secreted under their bungalow’s floorboards has been guarded by zombie Nazis since WWII. Sick heil!

The luckless campers’ snowbound getaway quickly becomes a hilarious splatter-fest that makes Dead Snow both an original and enjoyable thriller.

REVIEWS: CLASSIC DVD

AKIRA (1988)

DIRECTOR:  KATSUHIRO OTOMO
STARS:  MITSUO IWATA, NOZOMU SASAKI, MAMI KOYAMA
MADMAN ENTERTAINMENT

THE LOWDOWN

IN THE bloody wake of WWIII, Neo-Tokyo rebuilds after a devastating nuclear attack that decimates the city.  In 2019, the city is in upheaval—on the brink.  Delinquent motorcycle gangs run riot at night, going head-to-head in violent and brutal skirmishes. During an altercation with rival gang The Clowns, leader of The Capsule gang, Kaneda, and his childhood friend Tetsuo find their paths intertwined with an experimental and covert government science project.  As chaos takes over the streets, religious fanatics, the military, and splinter resistance cells vie for control of Neo-Tokyo, and at the centre of the conflict stands Tetsuo and his newly manifested (and unpredictable) telekinetic abilities.  Is he Neo-Tokyo’s saviour or destroyer, and where does the mysterious entity known as Akira fit into the maelstrom?

NUTS AND BOLTS

Based on Katsuhiro Otomo’s manga of the same name—which appeared in Young Magazine from 1982-90—Akira remains one of the most ambitious features in animation history, as Otomo attempted to condense his original 2182-page, six-volume epic to a more readily accessible format.  Otomo’s storyboards led to 2212 shots and more than 160,000 single pictures—almost triple the average amount for animation at the time—and an astounding amount of detail. Akira remains Otomo’s signature work, though his most recent effort, Steamboy (released in 2004), is also recommended.

DVD EXTRAS

For such a benchmark film, the special features leave a lot to be desired. Those hoping for behind-the-scenes footage, a retrospective charting the film’s influence, or at the very least an interview with writer, artist and director Katsuhiro Otomo, will be sorely disappointed; extras include the usual trailers and TV spots and little else.  Comic aficionados will rejoice, however, with the inclusion of Otomo’s hand-drawn storyboards—previously available only in an A5-size graphic novel in the rare Japanese Special Edition (collectors will have to scour eBay for this version), plus the newly remastered THX sound and cast vocals in TrueHD 5.1 stereo is a significant improvement on the original Japanese recording.  If you can’t get your hands on the Japan-only release, check out the 2001 Special Edition (packaged in a tin case); it’s full of production stills and interviews, including one with Katsuhiro Otomo.

VERDICT

The Blade Runner of anime-tion, if you have yet to delve into Japanese adult anime, Akira is the best place to start; 20 years on it remains a haunting visual masterpiece.