From a film critic’s perspective, it’s always exciting when a new year begins. The slate is wiped clean and we can charge ourselves up for what will hopefully be a great line up of releases.
2011 marks my 16th year as a critic and I can’t believe how quickly the time has flown. It seems like only yesterday that I was reviewing Operation Dumbo Drop (my first ever review) at the Sunshine Plaza cinemas. I’ve chalked up almost 3,000 official gradings in that time and have carved out more than 1,100 full reviews. I’m only 33 so I there are hopefully many more films to review.
2010 Wrap Up
Before I close the book on 2010, I do need to quickly reflect from a personal point of view. I try to advance myself as a critic each year and the past 12 months has been a success in that regard.
I obtained accreditation on Rotten Tomatoes as a critic. This has increased traffic to my website and it’s nice to have my reviewed listed on such a well regarded website. The highlight was my “first in the world” review of Paranormal Activity 2. I wrote about it in a blog which you can read here.
I had heaps of reviewing the latest movies and DVDs on Spencer Howson’s morning breakfast show on 612ABC Brisbane. I’ve been a contributor to the show for more than 5 years now but it’s never before has Spencer had such a dominance in the ratings. He topped the ratings for all but one survey during the year.
The success of Spencer’s program has allowed me to interview a few stars and filmmakers during 2010. I chatted with Mia Wasikowska (Alice In Wonderland), Patricia Clarkson (Cairo Time), Caitlin Stasey (Tomorrow When The War Began), Ryan Kwanten (Red Hill), director Taika Waititi (Boy) and director Tom Hooper (The King’s Speech). I started up a new section of the website with podcasts and transcripts which you can access here. Hopefully I’ll have even more interviews to share with you in 2011.
A fun night for me was doing an on stage Q&A with Joel Edgerton and Rhada Mitchell and talking about their film The Waiting City in front of a sell out crowd. I had a few drinks with them before and it was great to hear their perspective on the industry and the films they’ve been working on. You can check out a photo right here.
There were plenty of other highlights too. I finished my first full year reviewing DVDs (both new and classics) on David Iliffe’s morning radio program for ABC Southern Queensland. I’ve done a few things to enhance the Film Pie website and I’m getting in a professional soon to help me with it. I’ve boosted my Twitter following (met some great people too) and given away tickets to films like The Social Network and The King’s Speech.
I should finish my mentioning that I took my mother to see a movie. This may not sound like much but my mother normally hates movies. I’ve been trying for 15 years to get her to something and finally she relented and saw The King’s Speech with me at the Palace Barracks. The good news was that she loved it.
Golden Globes Betting & Competition
The awards season is now in full swing with The Social Network dominating the bulk of the best picture prizes.
The all important Golden Globe Awards are held next Monday Brisbane time and as I do each year, I’ve thrown down a couple of bets - $600 on The Social Network to win best picture at $1.55 and $300 on Johnny Depp (Alice In Wonderland) to win best actor in a comedy/musical at $2.50. We’ll see how they go.
On that note, the time for my annual Golden Globes competition. I have selected 6 of the more wide-open categories (including one from the TV section) and everyone is invited to pick who they think will be the winner. Don’t worry if you’re not sure, guessing may be the best way to go!
In the event of a tie, the winner will be determined using the tie-breaker question below. You just have to guess the average age of the person who presents the award for best picture - drama. If two or more people present, an average age will be used.
The one and only prize is a double movie pass to the film of your choice (I'll even try to get you along to a preview if I can). As an alternative (and this will be useful for those not in Brisbane), I'll buy you the DVD of your choice.
You have until 11am next Monday, 17 January 2011 (Brisbane time) to enter.
The online entry form can be accessed on the front page of my website. Simply go to www.thefilmpie.com.
New GOMA Retrospective
The Gallery Of Modern Art (GOMA) in Brisbane has put on a few great film retrospectives over the past year. I can remember checking out one of my all time favourite films, The Ice Storm, around 12 months ago in their Cinémathèque.
Well the great news for lovers of cinema is that they have a fantastic new program on over the next two months. It’s called A New Tomorrow: Visions of the Future in Cinema and “features allegorical and often prescient films which envision possible futures.”
The awesome list of films screening include the original Astroboy, 2001: A Space Odyssey, A Clockwork Orange, Mad Max, E.T., Nineteen Eighty Four, The Terminator, Robocop, Total Recall, 12 Monkeys, Gattaca, Dark City, Existenz, The Matrix, A.I., 28 Days Later, V For Vendetta, Children Of Men, The Fountain, District 9, Moon and WALL-E. Not a bad list, huh?
Tickets are just $9 each and the program runs until February 27. You can find out more by clicking here.
That’ll do it for my first blog of 2011. Don’t forget to enter my pick the Golden Globes comp. You’ve got nothing to lose! Next week, I’ll talk about the winners and preview the Oscar nominations which are out on January 25. See ya!