Movies at the Drive-in
October 16, 2006 at 11:48 pm | Posted in All, Australia, Films/Theatre | Leave a commentShane introduced me to drive-in theatres last year when as a surprise, he took me to the Dromana Drive-in Theatre after a whole day of sight-seeing around the Mornington Peninsula.Twice this month now, we saw movies at the Lunar Drive-in Cinema in Dandenong. First we saw The Devil Wears Prada doubled with My Super Ex-Girlfriend. Then last night, The Departed. We didn’t stay to see the double, Beerfest. The Departed used the F-word too much in the dialogues but otherwise it was good. The other movies were OK.
Drive-in theatres are like massive parking lots with giant screens. You get to watch the movie in your car with the audio being broadcasted in an assigned FM radio frequency. So when the movie starts, you just tune in to the right frequency and enjoy.
I kinda like the idea of watching a movie in a public place but you still have a bit of privacy. You can talk and do what you want without having to worry about disturbing other people. I don’t think I have seen one of these in the Philippines. Although when I was a kid, my family used to go to the town plaza to see free movies (presented by the local government). A wide screen would be put up in the centre of the plaza and viewers would all sit in the ground.
They’re similar in a way, but not the same.
There used to be a lot of drive-ins in Australia but a lot of them closed down in the last twenty years. Now, there are only a few left in Melbourne.
Hugh Jackman – The Boy From Oz
August 21, 2006 at 2:13 am | Posted in All, Australia, Films/Theatre, Melbourne | 3 Comments
I first saw Hugh Jackman in the movie Kate and Leopold opposite Meg Ryan. (I didn’t know then that he is Aussie, and from Melbourne at that!) From then on, I have been a big fan of his. I have watched every movie he did, from X-men (all three, of course!) to Swordfish to Van Helsing. He is such a consummate actor.He played the title role in the play, The Boy from Oz (Peter Allen’s story) and won an Oscar for it.
When I learned of the staging of the play here in Melbourne, I was so excited I was in the ticketek website right away searching for tickets. But during that time, the ticket sales aren’t on the net yet. (It was just announced, the venue wasn’t even known yet :D)
When tickets to the show went on sale, I was a bit disappointed with the prices. The front seats were like $250.00+ and the cheapest was $99.00. Not very affordable for people who do not earn a regular monthly income. So I thought, maybe it would be shown on TV later, or maybe that would come out on DVD. I’ll just wait for that.
On my birthday on the 9th, Shane surprised me with tickets to the show. And with very good seats! I was rapt.
We went last Saturday in the matinee show. Rod Laver Arena was packed to capacity as expected. People were as excited as me.
The show opened with Hugh, wearing a glittering silver outfit, descending from high above posing on top of a white piano. Rod Laver Arena exploded into an endless, huge applause.
Hugh was such in Peter Allen’s character that watching him can make you think, is he or isn’t he? As the world knows, Peter Allen is gay. Hugh was a perfect fit for the role. (I heard Todd McKinney’s portrayal of Peter Allen was good too but I am not a Todd fan, so I will be biased here.)
Not only Hugh’s performance was an Ace, I was also impressed with the performance of Angela Toohey as Liza Minnelli. I was almost in tears when she sang “I’d rather leave while I’m in love” in a scene where she was saying goodbye to Hugh (Peter, that is).
At one point in the show, Hugh came to the audience and picked one to dance with him. The guy he chose playfully danced with him. That was hilarious. He came close to where we were seated but not close enough for me to touch him. 😦 For a minute, I was in Hugh dreamland, as Shane would later put it. 😀
Tickets weren’t cheap but the show was worth every penny spent. Hugh Jackman was effortless. He held every minute of his audience attention, whether in a solo number or at the centre of a riveting spectacle like I Go To Rio.
Peter Allen must be happy from where he is right now.
Film Night
July 28, 2006 at 2:55 am | Posted in All, Australia, Films/Theatre | 4 CommentsWe were supposed to see a movie with friends last night but I was hesitant to go because I didn’t like what’s on this week. I don’t think there is any movie at the moment that is deserving of the $15 ticket price. My $15, at least.
I was glad when our friends called to say they were running late and suggested that instead of going to the movies, we would just go to Ron’s house to see a film on dvd. Ron is a film maker and he has set-up a darkroom with a widescreen in his house.
When they got to our house, we checked and checked our 300+ dvd collections but can’t decide which one to pick. So off we went to a movie rental shop on the way to Ron’s house, picked four dvd’s and later decided to watch the National Lampoon’s Gold Diggers. Looking at the cover, you would say that the movie will have lots of girls in bikinis and would be raunchy. Talk about false advertising. The girls were on for only about 2 minutes in a dream sequence. The guys were disappointed. 🙂
The plot was a bit silly but we all found it funny and the story was original. These days, hollywood do not make original movies anymore. They must have ran out of story ideas that a lot of movies now are just cheap remakes.
Cinderella Man
February 7, 2006 at 12:16 am | Posted in Films/Theatre | 1 Comment(Moved from Yahoo 360, created on 4th October 2005)
We saw Russel Crowe’s latest movie, Cinderella Man, last night. It is the life story of a boxer from New Jersey named James J. Braddock. The 
movie is heavy drama with some actions provided by the fight at the ring in boxing matches.
I found the movie very intense and moving. It depicted the lives of poor Americans in the depression era. Actors in the movie were all good. Russel Crowe and Renee Zellwegger’s acting were superb, as always.
There was a scene in the movie where James (Russel) went to the office of the boxing moguls and beg for $18.something to augment the money he got from the emergency relief center to pay for their overdue bills and to get their kids back whom Mae (Renee) sent to her sister as they do not have gas and electricity (and it is winter) in their rented apartment and one of the boys is already sick. I was really moved by that scene. I cried. I got so carried away.
The fight scenes were also intense. I was holding my breath in all the boxing match scenes.
The lighter moments were provided by Jame’s manager cum promoter cum agent cum friend Joe (played by Paul Giamatti). I thought he was good too.
From one to ten, I would give the movie a seven.
Spilling my own thunder 