Real Topeka People

By Seattle, Washington’s Rocky Votolato, the lovely and delicate Shins-esque White Daisy Passing.

A very talented relatively unknown guy to Australian music lovers. Glad I stumbled upon him.

One of the most underrated comedic personas in Hollywood, Adam Carolla, with his “plug” for his newly finished film ‘To Hell And Back’.

Carolla does a great segment on his radio show called ‘Made Up Movies’ that is worth a listen if you enjoy funny film-related podcasts.

The Tallest Man On Earth is the musical moniker of Swedish singer-songwriter Kristian Mattson. This song has the earthy, unadorned feel of an old Bob Dylan song. Very nice performance by Mattson.

The first look at JJ Abrams ‘Star Trek’ reboot:

I am by no definition a ‘Trekkie’, but I’m excited about this one. Visually very impressive. Love the glimpses of the Enterprise in battle. And is that Eric Bana in the final scene?

JJ Abrams may have some haters, but I am definitely in the ‘I Love JJ’ camp. I’m finally catching up on Lost Series 4 at the moment and it’s equal parts frustrating and enthralling.

If you’re a fan of the goofy ESPN commercials and Sportscenter, you’ll love Kenny Mayne’s new “Curb-esque” online webisode series, Mayne Street.

Scott Van Pelt is the perfect foil for Kenny. It’s amazing the comic timing that most of these SC guys have. I laughed out loud at a few points during ‘Fixes’. Episode 2 is excellent too. Looking forward to seeing where Kenny takes this series.

Scream Queens is a new VH1 Reality show that follows some D-Grade aspiring actresses as they compete for the opportunity of a lifetime; a role in Saw 6. Seriously. There are still people buying tickets to Saw movies??

This clip from E’s The Soup showcases the fine work of two of these actresses. My personal favourite is the emphasis contestant #1 puts on the final word of her short audition scene (0:46 in the YT clip).

Forget Saw 6. I’m predicting an Oscar. And by Oscar I mean a low-level pimp named Oscar.

Though I am not a huge fan of the faux home movie video clip, I do love the concept behind this video clip from one of the best pop-rock bands in Australia, Sparkadia.

I saw them in a support gig at The Metro a few months back and they were everything I expected; energetic, compulsively danceable and cohesive. This song has a great vocal hook leading into the chorus and received one of the biggest responses of the night.

Introducing a new running column, Rewind, where I write about movies that are out on DVD or my personal old favourites.

For the inaugural column, I’m going to reveal what is secretly one of the funniest films released in the last year, though I don’t think too many people caught it at the cinema. I’ve had a full-on Francophile fortnight (you can see my reviews at this new page here), but coincidentally this was the film that kicked it off.

‘2 Days In Paris’ is Julie Delpy’s directorial debut. It’s a very natural, engaging comedic drama following an American man and French woman’s return to her native Paris after a European holiday. Adam Goldberg is excellent as Jack, an American struggling to deal with the cultural differences and the constant evasion of the local’s use of their native French. Delpy channels an ‘Annie Hall’-era Diane Keaton with her self-deprecating sense of humour and empathetic protagonist.

Definitely worth hunting for on DVD. Delpy was one of the creative forces behind the brilliant films Before Sunrise / Before Sunset, and 2 Days In Paris continues that progression in a comedic vein. A wonderful directorial debut.

No, I’m not t-t-t-alking about The Who’s ‘My Generation’; I’m talking about upcoming Sydney band Stone Parade and their latest single.

It’s a straightforward rock tune with some heartfelt and earnest lyrics courtesy of confident, engaging leadman Greg Byrne. They’ve been getting a lot of media exposure with the recent release of their album ‘Chase The Setting Sun’. Definite rising stars in the Australian music industry.

Check out their official page and some other tunes here.

This teaser for the new Roland Emmerich disaster-epic ‘2012′ contains an image that I have had random recurring nightmares about for years. It’s so weird to see it realised in a movie.

Emmerich really has a Jones for seeing the world end, doesn’t he? And soon too! 2012? I better get busy, I’ve got things I wanted to do before then.