Movie Review - Ghostbusters (2016)

GHOSTBUSTERS (2016)

USA, 116 Mins

Dir: Paul Feig

One of the most talked about films in recent times would have to be the remake/re-imagining of the cult classic film of the same name from 1984, Ghostbusters. Long rumoured to have another sequel or remaking in the works, the rumours finally came up trumps late last year when it was announced they were going to re-do the classic film, this time round with an all-female lead cast in the roles of the Ghostbusters themselves.  This of course has led to much vigorous debate & controversy about all kinds of issues – most relating to casting females in the lead roles this time round, & also the inevitable comparisons it would draw with the original film.  Also, with the death of original star Harold Ramis in 2014 & Bill Murray’s reluctance over the years to reprise his role lead many to question the wisdom of re-booting the franchise. But the decision was made, & despite some very ordinary initial opinions based on the first teaser trailers coming out, once released opinions seemed to turn, & I was keen to get along & draw my own views, so here goes:

The plot itself is fairly similar to the original: Abby Yeats (played by Melissa McCarthy), Erin Gilbert (Kristen Wiig) & the eccentric Jillian Holtzmann (Kate McKinnon)  are all doctors who all have interests in paranormal phenome (i.e. ghosts). Yeats & Gilbert published a book about the source material years ago, & in exchange for Gilbert getting rid of the re-published book lest it hurt her bid for tenure at Columbia, Yeats agrees to team up to form a trio looking into a recent paranormal investigation. The find proof of an actual ghost, but when it gets published online, the trio are fired from their positions. To keep the investigation going, they decide to open their own business at an office block above a Chinese restaurant. Hiring Kevin Beckman (a dim witted Chris Hemsworth) as a receptionist. Meanwhile, MTA worker Patty Tolan (Leslie Jones) witnesses a ghost in a subway line, & contacts the department. The follow up Patty’s claims & document more footage of a ghost incident. Patty joins the team as they come up with the operation term “Ghostbusters” being much easier to say than the “Conductors Of The Metaphysical Examination”! Little do the ladies know that the recent increase in ghost activity comes from a creepy man known as Rowan North (Neil Casey), an occultist who is determined on bringing Armageddon to the world. When the Ghostbusters capture a real ghost at a live music venue, they are finally taken seriously. They are brought to see the Mayor, whose department privately are aware of what’s going on & support the group quietly, while publicity declaring them fraudsters to keep the peace.

As Rowan ups the ante & summons more and more ghosts in his quest, the Ghostbusters realise they are in a real battle to save the city. Up against ghosts the like of Slimer, the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man (in nods to the original film) & eventually Rowan turning himself into the form of a giant Ghostbusters logo, will the quartet find a way to eliminate Rowan & the ghosts in time to save New York, or will they perish in their attempts…..

Boy, it’s hard to think of a more polarising film in recent times. By the time I got round to see this film, I’d heard wildly varying reports on whether it was any good or not. Some loved it, some absolutely hated it. As per usual, I tried not to read too many reviews or take in too many opinions deeply before I had the chance to see it myself.  I made my views on whether it was wise to make another Ghostbusters film clear at the conclusion of my review of the originals film a couple of years ago. But it is what is, so I went in with an open mind, if not high expectations.

 In summary…. It was OK. Certainly not great, or even good, but not the total train wreck as described by some. Director Paul Feig keeps the film in the same comedic humour as the original, not taking itself too seriously. There are plenty of nods to the original also during the film for sharp eyed fans. Also, all the original cast (minus Ramis of course) bob up in cameo roles during the film, most notably Murray as Martin Heiss, a supernatural sceptic. These were a bit hit or miss for me, as was Hemsworth in the role as the Ghostbusters’ secretary – whatever humour they were shooting for in this role went straight over my head. The all-female lead cast all gel together pretty well however, & are pretty likeable in their roles. The special effects used throughout were really well done. The ghosts are more real & lifelike compared to the cartoonish style from the original. I also felt they applied the film to younger, more in touch younger audience well by incorporating things like YouTube & online social media into the storyline.

But what really hurts this film is the humour. While I got a few laughs here & there, the vast majority of the film just falls flat as a tack. A lot of the “jokes” thrown up here are the awful kind of toilet humour you think you’d find in the latest instalment of American Pie, not a re-make a beloved 80’s film. What on earth the writers & directors were thing here is beyond me. If they’d focused more on developing the characters of the lead cast & added a bit of depth to the storyline rather than honing in on the god awful poop/fart jokes, then this reimaging of Ghostbusters had the real potential to be a fairly decent little film.

So in summary, while the 2016 version of Ghostbusters certainly didn’t need or deserve all the negativity surrounding its release, its unfortunate that the terrible levels of humour overshadow a solid enough storyline & entertaining cast. All lead actors are good here, & had they addressed the balance of humour/storyline as I outlined above, it had real potential. As it stands, it’s just an OK outing that ultimately can’t hold a candle to the original. I’m giving Ghostbusters ** ½

Matt Croft

Movie Review - Captain America: Civil War

CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR (2016)

USA, 147 Mins

Dir: Anthony & Joe Russo

I’ve mean meaning to get around to writing up the latest instalment in the Marvel universe for a while, but have wanted to mix it up a bit with a few other different styles of film, so the latest Captain America flick has had to wait its turn! But while it’s still relatively fresh in the mind, let’s take a look at the latest Hollywood superhero blockbuster!

So this film follows on from the last Avengers film – Age Of Ultron, & at this point, we are starting to reach the stage where it certainly is fairly useful to say the least if you’ve seen at least a few of the Marvel films leading up to this point so as you can follow the storyline, as this is technically the 13^th film in the Marvel Universe! Again, the writers & directors do a fairly solid job of clueing even the causal viewer in, but it’s certainly useful if you’re up to speed in where things stand.

Though it’s titled as a Captain America film, pretty much all of the Avengers cast are on hand here, in particular Iron Man, as the story centres around these two characters. Of course, all the big name, A-Listers are also back reprising their roles – Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr, Scarlett Johansson, Elizabeth Olson & Sebastian Stan just to name some! 

We pick things up around a year after Age Of Ultron – once again several of the Avengers are called into action to thwart an attack in Lagos with a biological weapon. While largely successful, several buildings are destroyed & civilian casualties are sustained. This adds fuel to the fire in the political world of the United Nations (UN) to do something about controlling the actions of the group, or at least have an authority to answer to rather than go out & carry out their own actions. A panel is established & an accord known as the Sovakia Accords is prepared, which will oversee the Avengers team. This causes much division in the group – one group, headed by Tony Stark (i.e. Iron Man, Downey Jr) supports the Accord, while the other group, headed by Steve Rogers (i.e. Captain America, Evans) believe they themselves are the best judges of their own actions, & refuse to sign. At a meeting in Vienna, the accord is set to be ratified, but the building is bombed, & King T’Chaka of Wakanda is killed. When security footage reveals the culprit appear to be James “Bucky” Barnes - the mysterious Winter Soldier from a few films back - his son T’Challa, swears revenge. Rogers, knowing Bucky from his war days as an old friend, attempts to track him down himself.

Meanwhile, the villain of the film, Helmut Zemo, acquires the ancient book that has the words to brainwash the Winter Solder, & set Bucky off. He uses this to his advantage, & while Rogers reunites with the Winter Soldier & learns of Zemo’s plot, he doesn’t wait for the needed permission to apprehend him, so he goes rogue with several other of the Avengers. Meanwhile Zemo continues to manipulate information he has learned to turn the group upon itself. The result is a giant fight between the two factions. Will this be the end of the Avengers as we know them? Will Zemo succeed in his plan? And which side is right in its beliefs? All will be revealed…..

Civil War stands up very well as yet another quality film from Marvel. As well as our known superheroes, Civil War does an excellent job in introducing a new character in Black Panther, as well as bringing in a few other established names in cameo roles, namely Spider Man & Ant Man. It really succeeds in the plot itself, a notable difference to the boring, dragging plot from Batman v Superman a few months earlier. Again, the shades of grey, & exactly who is right & wrong with what they believe is at the heart of the film. For once, the villain isn’t the primary issue –not trying to take over the world, etc. But by trying to turn the Avengers against each other provides a very interesting storyline to follow. It also shows how important a strong script is, because that’s the notable difference here. The special effects are great as always, the actors are all excellent in their roles, it just feels like a more intense & therefore superior film based upon the engaging storyline, & resulting dialogue between the main characters.

The inventible showdown between the two groups is probably the highlight, though it is a bit over the top if you stop & think about it for too long. But it was pretty cool seeing your favourite superheroes tangle it up! Even the banter & dialogue was really good, & it was especially an excellent introduction for Tom Holland as the new Spider Man.

Overall, as you can tell, I really enjoyed this film. Probably a touch superior to Age Of Ultron, but it also does set the bar fairly high. Will viewers still be content with just the solo Super Hero film going forward is a worthy question. At nearly 2 ½ hours, it’s a long film, but very engrossing. The Russo bothers have done another very good job directing here, & with a plateful of both individual films coming up for likes of Spider Man & Black Widow, plus a 2 part Avengers film already lined up for the coming few years, the Marvel universe looks set to dominate the Hollywood Blockbuster/Super Hero franchise cinema world for the near future. I’m giving Captain America: Civil War **** 

My Top 5 Holidays

*EDIT***  Since starting this post, then leaving it in drafts for nearly a year (oops), I've since done another overseas trip, to Bali at the beginning of this year. Again, a solo trip, something which I've gotten used to, seeing as pretty much all my friends are married/engaged/in a long term relationship/have kids etc.. Nonetheless I very much enjoyed it, a really great experience, such great value for money & some beautiful countryside if you make it out of the tourist hotspots.and those beaches... great, & stunning sunsets. If only I'd had a little more luck with the weather! It would actually go very close to nudging No. 5 out of its spot, but I'll just keep it as an addition to the post for now. *****


So continuing on from last time,I have been thinking of my best holidays or trips I've ever done. So this is a good way to note them & elaborate a touch on those experiences.

The top 3 really jump straight out at me, not much consideration required. Number 4 took me a few minutes before slotting in comfortably. But number 5 could really have been any number of good holidays/trips I've had. So to rattle off a few honourable mentions that could easily have snuck into 5th spot:

*Family Trip to Northern Territory in 1993. Plenty of memories of this one, especially when we broke down halfway between Alice Springs & Kings Canyon I'm betting there's still no mobile coverage there today - mobiles were barely on the scene in 1993! But that aside, was a fun trip

* Fiji - Almost exactly 2 years ago already. My only o/s holiday not to be top 5, but was still a memorable & relaxing holiday, & some of the most friendly people you'll ever meet! And what would the odds be of running into fellow Geelongians over there? Bula!!  :)

* 2010 Tassie Trip - Took my old car on the Spirit Of Tasmania across to the Apple Isle for a different style holiday to my usual sit & relax by the beach. Would have loved to spend more time exploring over there, was a lovely week seeing some natural beauty. The ability to take your own car made it a lot easier! 

Any of those could realistically been No. 5, but as it stands on Feb 12th 2015, here are my top 5 holidays/trips:

5) Year 10 Trip to Central Australia - Ok, I know you can argue whether a high school excursion is technically a holiday or not, but hey this is my list & my blog! It certainly falls under "trip" anyway, & its not like we had to write an essay about it when we got back! When we came to write our profiles towards the end of our final year at high school, most people had this as their most memorable high school experience. That it was! So many great experiences! We visited many little towns on our coach up to Alice Springs & Ayres Rock (as it was still known then). Yes I made it to the top - think just about everyone did, despite the warnings from the locals. Plenty of laughs, games of cards round the fire, trying to impress the girls in the other tents.. Ahh the stories.  

4) 1998 Gold Coast Trip - Nothing quite like a week-long trip with a mate to the Gold Coast when you're in you're early 20's eh? Boy was this one big week! Geez this was a huge week - we literally went through a slab of Carlton Cold a day! Rented a bomb of a car to drive out & do the theme parks, then basically hit the town in the evenings! So. Much. alcohol was drunk over this week, t the point on ou last day when we had a few hours to kill before heading back to the airport, we just couldn't stomach any more booze. We settled for going to see small Soldiers at the movies instead. A trip we always planned to do again, but never did et round to it alas. 

3) Las Vegas/LA/San Francisco Trip , 2011 - I have a couple of friends who have never been ones to do things the normal & easy way, & this continued when they finally decided to tie the knot in 2011. They wanted a honeymoon in the USA & friends in the States they wanted to be part of thier special day, so why not get married in Vegas? Luckily this fwell at a good time for me when I was looking to plan my next o/s trip, so I didn't need to be asked to be part of the wedding twice! A great rip all round - the Hucks night, trip to the Grand Canyon that we never quite made, Disney World, the experience of Alcatraz at dusk.... amazing experiences! It also marked my first ever Major League Baseball game, & I'm now a passionate Giants fan! All in all, a wonderful & special holiday!

2) New Years Cruise, 2013/14 - My brothers gf had been raving for months about a great cruise she & her best friend had done. to the point where I looked at doing one for a different holiday experience myself.  And what better way to see in the New Year? Most of my friends by this time were all moving beyond the going out & celebrating NYE, & I didn't want another boring night at home with just a few beers & a BBQ. So even though it was just me, I booked a 13 day cruise on the Pacific Pearl, taking in New Caledonia/Vanuatu. Literally one of the best experiences of my life. Loved every minute of it. Bars, buffets, trivia nights, pub crawl through Vanautu, making new friends (someone I'm not good at), dancing the nights away, & of course the New Years celebrations. This went within a whisker of being my best holiday ever, as it stands i'ts comfortably No. 2. 

1) Barbados Cricket Tour, 2008 - They do say your first overseas holiday is often your most memorable! Boy was it ever, in fact, despite how awesome my cruise was a couple of years ago, its still my favourite holiday ever. Was more than a bit nervous, as again it was just me, but at last I was part of a tour group here, so once I finally got to Barbados in the West Indies, I'd be amongst fellow Aussies & cricket fans. From start to finish (not counting my side trip to Vegas) they was just awesome. Again, made a great new group of friends, clearly helped by our love of cricket. Instantly fell in love with the relaxed lifestyle of the Caribbean. Great cricket experience in the Party Stand - hard to complain when you get free food & free booze all day! :) Plus some great tours around the island, great nights out. I earned myself the nickname "disco" on the holiday - I only have faint memories of this night, but it was a pub that became an outdoor sort of nightclub later on. Thanks to our tour group's plans, it was 2 for 1 drinks all night. Plus it was a retro night - my type of music. Apparently I let loose & showed up the rest of the group by out-dancing everyone!We had an awesome tour host (seriously that guy has the best job in the world) & we got to meet west Indies cricket legends Joel Garner & Desmond Haynes. Pretty darn cool to be sinking rum & cokes & talking the state of the game at a cricket legend's personal rum shack - one of the most surreal moments of my life! Just the most awesome experience of my life, & still to date the best holiday I've ever done!! 

Movie Review - Groundhog Day

GROUNDHOG DAY (1993)

U.S.A, 101 Mins

Hard to believe it’s already been a year since we lost the very talented actor/director/writer Harold Ramis. Best known for his roles in Ghostbusters & Stripes, he also stepped behind the camera to direct several films, including this week’s review from 1993, Groundhog Day. Need to re-acquaint myself with a quality film – I’m still getting the bad taste of last weeks movie out of my mouth!

So Groundhog Day stars Bill Murray & Andie MacDowell, & is based around the well-known day in the States which is celebrated on February 2^nd.  Murray plays Phil Connors, a jaded & self-centred weatherman with a local Pittsburgh TV station. He travels with producer Rita (MacDowell) & cameraman Larry (Chris Elliot) on Feb. 1^st out to Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania to cover the annual Groundhog Day festivities the following day. Phil can’t stand the whole day or the town of Punxsutawney, & is eager to leave as soon as their production is wrapped up. They are halted by a big blizzard however, & are forced to return to Punxsutawney.  Phil wakes up the next day to find that is once again Groundhog Day, with the day playing out exactly as it did the day before. It seems only Phil himself is caught in the time loop however – everyone carries on as normal. When Phil continues to relive the same day over & over, he decides to take advantage of it & the fact there will be no repercussions the following day by smoking, drinking, learning secrets from town locals to his own advantage, & even stealing money! Ultimately, he decides to take advantage of the time loop to find out more about Rita, who he has a thing for, to try & woo her into sleeping with him, only to continually fail.

The constant repeat of Groundhog Day & his failure with Rita eventually drive Phil over the edge, as he attempts suicide to beat the day repeating. But again the next morning, he finds himself waking up at 6am on Groundhog Day.  Further attempts at ending it all have the same affect – he still wakes up the next morning, & it’s still February 2^nd. Phil eventually confesses to Rita of his situation, with knowledge of every single detail of what happens in Punxsutawney to back him up. Rita eventually believes him to an extent, & they enjoy a nice day together. This is the turning point for Phil, as he starts to realise to use his personal time loop for good – to help out people of the town, & doing good deeds, & learning to speak another language. Eventually, Phil has be-friended just about everyone in town, & his efforts impress Rita without the sleazy tactics Phil resorted to earlier on. They spend the night together, & Phil wakes up the next morning to discover that it is February 3^rd – his time loop has finally been broken, & Rita is still with him. Learning his lesson, Phil continues his new-found good attitude & suggests they move to Punxsutawney.

As it probably shows, I love this film. Bill Murray is at his absolute best here, playing the self-centred Phil Connors perfectly, using his dry, sarcastic sense of humour to its utmost. Andie MacDowell plays off him well, playing the sensible & smart lady who Phil ultimately aspires to.  There are plenty of laughs along the way, as Phil deals with his personal situation, & loveable characters like Larry the cameraman, & Ned Ryerson (Stephen Tobolwsky) as the irritating old high school friend who Phil encounters most times he re-lives the day. The film also has a positive tale to tell, guiding us to the conclusion of the cheap & easy way often leads to failure, while a good & kind heart is ultimately the way to go to happiness. While not setting the box office world on fire when it was initially released, Groundhog Day has become a much loved & recognised film over the years with much to offer, & critics have acknowledged it as a contemporary classic.

Groundhog Day is one of those films I know word for word, & would easily say is in my Top 5 favourite films of all time. As I’ve mentioned in previous reviews, I’m a big Bill Murray fan, & he is at his best here. A feel good film with plenty of laughs along the way, with an excellent supporting cast, Groundhog Day is still as good as it was when released 22 years ago. I’m giving it the full Monty:  *****

Movie Review - Fifty Shades Of Grey

FIFTY SHADES OF GREY (2015)

     USA, 125 Mins

Dir: Sam Taylor-Johnson

Ahh the measures I go to for my fellow Linc-ers! When I agreed way back in December 2013 to go & review this movie when it was released I really didn’t think things through, did I? Still, an agreement is an agreement, so along to the cinemas I went earlier this week.

So in case you've just arrived on Planet Earth in the last few days, Fifty Shades Of Grey is an erotic romance film adapted from the very successful book of the same name by British author E L James, which I haven’t read I should stress from the outset – so this film review is based solely on the viewing of the film itself. The two key characters are Anastasia Steele (played by Dakota Johnson) & Christian Grey (Jamie Dornan). Grey is a young corporate executive, who is already a billionaire despite his young age. Anastasia is a young college undergraduate attending class near Vancouver, who fills in for her roommate Kate in a rare scheduled interview with Mr Grey at his corporate headquarters in Seattle for her college newspaper, of which Mr Grey is a patron of. Mr Grey from the outset takes an interest in Ana, & a blossoming romance develops from there, which goes into some deep & at times kinky places as the relationship evolves. And that my friends, is it. That’s your entire storyline in 125 minutes of film. Seriously, nothing else of any note storyline-wise happens at all outside of Mr Grey & Ana’s rapidly escalating relationship.

Look, obviously opinions are going to vary widely on this film. As a single guy in his late 30’s seeing this film, Fifty Shades Of Grey clearly resonated with me a lot differently than it would for younger females for instance.  I had already garnered very different views by the time I saw it on Tuesday night. But this my film review, so I’m not going to mince words here – this was quite possibly the worst film I’ve ever seen. Nothing actually happens outside of the relationship. No character development takes place. No other plot points are developed, outside Ana & Kate actually graduating from college & moving to Seattle. The supporting cast are nigh invisible. Ana’s afore-mentioned roommate Kate bobs up occasionally, usually just to bounce off some dialogue with Ana on just what exactly is happening with her & Mr Grey. Though she does find time to bed Christian’s brother Elliot, though how & why is never explored of course. Ana’s parents also bob up at some point in time, but again rather than play any meaningful role, they really seem to just be there to bounce more questions & answers about her budding romance than anything more meaningful.

This film was literally unsalvageable even before we reached the steamy stuff – I was literally ready to gouge my own eyeballs out by then, going by how lame everything had been till this point. And even the selling point of some pretty full on sex scenes, to speak nothing of the more kinky stuff which follows later on really seemed awkward. There is little chemistry here between the two main actors. Maybe couples going to see this might find this risqué stuff a turn-on, but otherwise again it just seemed painful & awkward to watch, even though this was obviously a selling point of the book & film.

I honestly have tried to find something worthy to come out of this steaming pile of crap in the last few days, but still haven’t found one. Honestly, I’ve seen better story-lines in the cartoons I watched in the 80’s when I was 10 years old. I’ve seen more meaningful & deeper dialogue in my 11 year old niece’s acting classes.  There is literally nothing to take out of this film – its 125 minutes of my life I’m never getting back L Even the ending makes little sense, other than leaving the door wide open for the other books in the series to be adapted into films to continue the saga I guess. I NEVER walk out of films before they finish, & especially in this case as the sole reason I was going was to review it, & I literally had to stop myself several times from getting up & walking out during some scenes, it was THAT bad.

I’ll refrain from labelling Fifty Shades Of Grey as the worst movie of all time – it warrants a bit more perspective than just a few days to be crowned that dubious honour. The film has broken box office records in the States, & I daresay we won’t be far behind either, so it really matters little what I think in the scheme of things anyway. Ladies will swarm to this, & no doubt drag their blokes with them. Though I urge anyone to re-think this decision, very very seriously.  If this crap is what passes as must-see viewing these days, then somebody needs to get me on that space shuttle to Mars, cause I want off this planet.

Fifty Shades Of Grey scores a DUD (zero stars)

Movie Review - The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button

THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON (2008)

USA, 166 Mins

Dir: David Fincher

I was very intrigued to check out The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button. Loosely based on F. Scott Fitzgerald’s 1922 book of the same name, the film is a fantasy-drama starring Hollywood A-Listers Brad Pitt & our own Cate Blanchett. Pitt stars as Benjamin Button, a child born in New Orleans in 1918 with all the appearances & physical maladies of an elderly man, who ages backwards – actually growing younger as he ages. Blanchett plays Daisy Fuller, Buttons love interest throughout the film.

In the present day, the whole story of Benjamin is told through the eyes of Daisy’s daughter Caroline by reading Button’s diary at the request of a dying Daisy. Benjamin’s mother died in childbirth & was rejected by his father Thomas Button, so he is raised by Queenie, a worker at the nursing home where Benjamin was abandoned. And so begins an amazing tale, as Benjamin gradually transforms from a wheelchair bound frail man(?) at the age of 7, to learning to walk & become a fit & healthy (& increasing younger) man. He meets Daisy (Blanchett) through her grandmother who is staying at the nursing home when she is just 6 & immediately forms a special bond with her, though he is still for all appearances an elderly man at this point.  And so beginning a fascinating tale of adventure & love, as Benjamin begins a life journey that takes him to many places with many different experiences, all the time growing younger while Daisy grows older, until they reach a time & place in history where they are of similar age & begin a relationship. In between times, Benjamin has worked on a tug boat, had an affair with the wife of the British Trade Minister, met & befriended his real father, & been involved in & survived World War II.

They have a daughter together, but as time continues on, the once again growing physical age gap between Benjamin & Daisy – this time Benjamin growing younger & younger, while Daisy is getting on in age - becomes an issue, & Benjamin must make a decision on their everlasting, but ultimately doomed love while he still can……

The curious Case Of Benjamin Button has been compared with the likes of Forrest Gump, & with good reason – this is a very moving & high class film which was nominated for a swag of Oscars, eventually winning 3. An engrossing story that is well told through the eyes of Daisy’s daughter (Julia Ormond) & takes through many eras in American history which Benjamin experiences – World War II, the 60’s, etc.  Pitt & Blanchard in their lead roles are very convincing, & certainly bring their A game to the table in what would have been very challenging roles given the different ages they must represent throughout the majority of the film. We are much caught up in the special relationship that Benjamin & Daisy share throughout, but at the same time know that it cannot end perfectly due to Benjamin’s condition.

Well supported by a good cast, The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button is certainly worthy of your time, & has that special quality feel to it. Clocking in at nearly 3 hours, it certainly is a lengthy film, but very easy to get caught up in, so it really doesn’t feel that long. The digital effects which are used to de-age & re-age the main characters are first rate, as are the historical settings. There isn’t much to dis-like about his one, it’s an easy **** for me

Update - 25 Random Things About Me Pt 2

Ok, on with the list!

12)  I loooove a good book. Am a self confessed book-worm, which ties in with point 1 pretty well i suppose. Give me a good book & a quiet spot, I'm gone for hours upon hours.

Well, social media - particularly twitter - has eaten into this somewhat, but still can usually find time for a good read, especially with e-books & my kindle making it easy depending on what I feel like reading.

13) Our whole family went to hell & back between late 1995 & 1997. My older (by around 2 hours) sister Alisha had anarexia. It is 100% true when people say that the whole family has anorexia, not just the person suffering it. I saw a healthy & intelligent high school girl lose so much weight it was scary. I still don't think we all realise just how close we came to losing her to that disease. For around 18-24 months, we went through the system of RCH visits, family meetings, youth centre admssions & terrible nights at home where she threatened to kill herself & didn't want to go on, etc. Rightly or wrongly I really allowed it to affect my uni studies. It remains the only time I've seen my father openly cry in front of me. I can't imagine how it must have been for Jess, our younger twin sister coping all the rumours & name calling at their high school. If it wasn't for Mum's goodwill & strength, we would never have made it through those dark days.

Still the worst 2 years of my life

14)  I was in a car accident in 2001 that so easily could have been fatal. Driving home from work with my brother, about 4 or 5 weeks after i had been transferred to 
west Footscray from Richmond, a truck overtook us at Little River. Problem was it wanted back in our lane before it had clearly overtaken us. It ripped right into the drivers side of the vehicle & we somehow did a 360 & ended up in the mid-strip of the freeway shaken but unhurt. If there had been a car in that right lane behind the truck, we would have been goners. Yes it is true your life flashes before you in situations like that.

Was pretty scary stuff. Some dickhead rear ended me on my way home from work last July, lucky I was just shaken, car was written off though. 

15)  I never thought I'd be one for the bar/nightclub scene. It was a good 6 months after i first turned 18 before a few mates talked me into going out. But come a few months later, at the start of '94, we were heading out in G-town every Saturday night - I could count on 1 hand how many Saturday nights in the mid 90's we didn't end up at the good ol Geelong Hotel!!

Sadly the good old GH was torn down a few years ago for the extension of the private hospital next door. Can't even drive past & reminisce anymore!

16)  I almost became a groupie for the regular cover band that played the Geelong Hotel there in our glory days, so to speak. Men Of Lesuire - in hindsight they were just your average Saturday night pub cover band. But it was a fun time - met a whole heap of new friends, including some pretty good looking girls, hehehhe. and hey, nothing beat throwing your arms around the nearest girls when the band launched into "Piano Man" at 1.30 in the morning, drunk as!

Good days, good days! Well, good nights, lol 

17)  In later years, Friday nights at The Lyric - back then Geelong's best known & biggest nightclub - became the norm for us all. Theme was Timewarp 70's/80's. I guess thats where my love of that music era began. Great nights - VIP entry b4 11, $6 shakers before midnight, then we'd hit the dancefloor grooving to all the tunes. You had the timewarp twins up on stage to check out & a guy with a big 70's hair-do wig dancing on the balconies, giving away $$ to the girls who could do the best fake orgasm. Bloody awesome nights, so many hangovers too!

Best nights ever. As much as enjoy the occasional night out at Retro in Melbourne, & even the Retro in Sydney on the odd occasion I'm harborside, I don't think anything will top the TimeWarp nights at the Lyric!

18)  I had a MAJOR obsession with all girl Aussie pop band Girlfriend, who were really big in the early 90's. My whole wall was covered in their posters/clippings from newspapers, etc. It reached the point where when their 1993 Geelong concert clashed with our family trip to Central Australia, I was seriously considering flights to meet the folks in Alice Springs so i could still make the concert & meet up with the family later on. Common sense won out.......

Don't worry, my old high school friends never let me forget it!

19)  I freely admit that the company I've worked for for the last 11+ years is never going to win awards for the best workplace, & they will never realise their true potential while the current owners/directors remain in charge. However, I wouldn't swap my experiences over the years for anything - I've learnt a hell of a lot about myself, & how the world works. Plus I have met so many quality people, & made a huge group of people I consider valued friends. And that ranks above all else in my book

I could do a whole blog post about my time at Dimmeys. Thankfully I finally got out of that toxic environment in late 2011. Why I stayed as long as I did is a daily thought. I'll save inner thoughts & details for a separate blog I think.

20)  My first real bad experience with alcohol was on my 18th birthday party. I had my friends round for a BBQ & drinks etc. I was drinking Strongbow up until a mate showed up later on in the evening, with my birthday present - a big bottle of Jim Beam. So we all started doing shots of that, & I found out the hard way Strongbow, Jim Beam, & sprints around the block at 1am in the morning was NOT a good mix! Boy was i sick!

Ahhh come on, we've all been there before right? :)

21)  I still rate "Back To The Future" as my all time favorite movie. A close second, despite me risking my bloke membership card, is Titanic. It's 1 of only 2 times I've ever walked out of a cinema absolutely having being blown away, lost for words. For the record, the only other time was when i went & saw Mulholland Drive.

Still numero uno

22) Yes, I am happy to admit it - I AM A PRO-WRESTLING FAN!! My brother & a school friend of his were into it at a time when it was the in-thing (late 80's) & they ended up dragging me into their interest as well. As luck would have, they grew out of it, while I still followed it, to this day, though not as religiously as I did say at the start of the decade. And yes i know how it works. But its a pet hate of wrestling fans to say its fake. IT IS NOT FAKE! Yes the match results are pre-determined, but the moves they use in the ring are legit!!

I've really dropped off the wrestling bandwagon a lot more in the last year or 2, though I still follow whats happening, & see the occasional show. My niece & nephew are right into it though!

23)  I cannot stand 95% of the T.V shows currently screening (ratings or non-ratings time). If you aren't into reality T.V or crime shows, its bad luck you i guess. Big Brother was the sole exception in my dis-like of reality T.V, & that got totally un-watchable in its last 2 years. I'm glad they canned it when they did.

It's only gotten worse! When is it going to end? Seriously, we're gonna look back at our TV viewing habits in 20 years & wonder what the hell we were doing watching all this crap? Certainly haven't gotten back into the revived BB, though I will admit there is one reality show I've found which is pretty decent - The Amazing Race.

24)  I am a bit of a sports nut (people who know me well are probably saying well duh right now). Cricket, tennis, soccer/round ball football, Olympic sports, etc.... even a bit of rugby & Grid Iron......though nothing could ever come close to AFL Footy. I was born & bred on the game as a mad Geelong supporter, & take my footy very seriously. To put it in perspective, I've missed a grand total of 2 Geelong home games in the last 15 years - one in April 1999 for a mate's wedding, & one last June when i was overseas on my Barbados trip.

I missed game No. 3 in 2011 when I was in Vegas to be part of my friends' wedding - fair excuse, haha. Be otherwise I'm probably even more sports mad now, especially with plenty of awesome twitter peeps to chat with it about!

25)  I believe its pretty much true when they say your high school days are the best days of your life - looking back i had a pretty good time back then. Sure there were the groups, as per any high school/uni movie you've seen. I was part of the "sportie" group i guess - we played cricket, basketball, all-school chasy, badminton, footy, impress the girls, etc. Also, if i had a dollar for every game of downball I played in high school (Corio rules apply of course) I could afford to take the rest of the year off work! Also, being the first group to do the (at the time) brand new VCE was very challenging!

Last 6 years have only solidified that opinion - plus life really seemed to be a lot less stressful back then. That goes with growing up & taking on responsibilities though I guess.


So there you have it - in summary I guess you could say I haven't really changed that much, apart from my employer. Have managed several more interstate/overseas trips/holidays though, which has learnt me quite a lot. So that might make an interesting next blog I think! Thanks for reading! :)