Knox Culture Wasteland

"Fashions fade, style is eternal."

- Yves Saint Laurent

For those who followed Thinking In Reverse, the dissolved predecessor to this here blog (so basically very few, if anyone) , you'll remember it being deeply personal, and often an open forum for me to whine relentlessly about, in retrospect, trivial things. I've been careful to not repeat myself with For No One - after all, negative attitudes don't really make for good reading, and if anything, the endless stream of petty quiblings probably alienated my desired audience eventually. So I'm keen to keep my new blog entertaining, and eternally lighthearted. This post, however, breaks from such promises. I point the finger, without reservation:

Cue Knox City rant #546.

You've probably heard all this from me before, but I loathe Knox City Shopping Centre. Its not really the shopping itself - hell, that's why make the trip out there in the first place. It has a JB Hi-Fi, a Dick Smith Powerhouse, and a Borders, amongst other great stores. So in terms of the potential for buying cool shit, there's a big tick in that box. The people let the entire experience down, though.

I was browsing through the Vinyl Records section of the aforementioned Dick Smith Powerhouse. I assume this to be the only place in the entirety of Knox City - save for perhaps Cash Converters - that sells records... but then, this is not something that really surprises me, given the calibre of imbecile that frequently insists on populating the shopping district. I also came to greet exactly what I had expected from their miniscule range. A question, at this junction: who the hell is buying Coldplay's X+Y on vinyl? Or Robbie Williams' Escapology? I guess the only saving grace was seeing the late Michael Jackson's Bad, but even then, the vinyl release had seemingly ommitted my favourite MJ song, 'Leave Me Alone'. As I was flicking my way through their abysmal catalogue, to embrace a predictable feeling of disappointment, my ears pricked up, noticing a conversation happening not more than a meter away from where I stood.

Customer: Hi, do you guys still have the records here?
Employee: Uh...
Customer: You know, like vinyl records. LPs.
Employee: (a beat or two, entirely unsure) No, we don't, sorry.

There's at least two problems with the above exchange that I witnessed. The first of which is the fucking idiot from Powerhouse who obviously doesn't know what a record is. I mean, seriously. If you don't know that, get the fuck out of my store! Yeah, my store! The second problem was the fact that the employee was actually standing in front of the vinyl collection at the time. Criminally stupid. Admittedly, there was a third problem, and on this occasion, I was also at fault. Because there we were, this customer and I: two beacons flickering with promise in a pop-culture wasteland, both trying to shine our light over a land of mediocrity. I should have intervened and directed him to the records. Instead, I didn't, and he left as disillusioned as ever. We beacons must help each other out. Its the only way we'll ever save ourselves from becoming this guy...

Binary solo!

I sat down for a read of the paper at Hungry Jacks. I noticed they had taken away the option of free refills. There was now a large space next to the wall where a drink dispensing machine had previously sat. A simple cost-cutting measure handed down from management? Or perhaps a greedy customer had ruined things for everyone? I enjoy much more the reality of the latter, and would be interested in seeing it play out one day. As I sat down to read, I noticed upon the wall two framed record sleeves: one of The Beatles' Rubber Soul, and the other The Beatles' Let It Be. My faith in the people of Knox City, and in their idea of 'good taste' had, funnily enough, been restored at Hungry Jacks. But the next thing I noticed was a man across from me eating a Whopper with his large fries between the buns. I was shattered once more.

By this time, and about $55 later, I had again begun to regret my trip to Knox. The fact that headphones are so expensive wasn't helping anything. And why are they so expensive? Budget MP3 players can be bought for less! As it was, I didn't end up replacing my broken headphones, meaning I'll just have to go the earphone avenue a little longer. The last place I tried, though, was Target. Before I had even walked in the store, I had braced myself to be let down. Its standard operating procedure (S.O.P.) when you go to Knox, trust me. Instead, however, I found something that did brighten my day.


Neil Finn! On TV!

Neil Finn! On many TVs! Turns out that someone decided that shoppers, this fine Friday afternoon, should be treated to the Crowded House DVD Dreaming, containing pretty much their entire catalog of music videos. As you might imagine, I sat there and watched all ten televisions at once, as if I'd never seen the clip of 'Private Universe' in my life. Little did I know, my day was about to get better still.

"Ooo, chimpanzee that!"

On a high from the sheer delight that is seeing a monkey with a surfboard, it was time to head home. Which meant, in a way, I was on a roll. I've had time to reflect though, and in no way do the brief appearances of the Fab Four, Crowded House and a surfboarding monkey change my feelings about Knox City Shopping Centre (where fashion goes to die, still) . I don't feel I've really touched on why I hate it so much, but put simply, its the people. Its the bright-colored, peroxide-haired, skateboarding, scootering, exasperating, ignorant, dim-witted bogans that shop like mindless drones and make the experience unbearable for us slightly better people. There. I said it. And I think I'm done.

MUSIC: Michael Jackson - Leave Me Alone

Don't even get me started on The Glen. Ciao.

Inflation

"When we're two balloons, and together our direction is up, chances are we've found the right person. Our soulmate is the one who makes life come to life."

- Richard Bach

The weekend just gone will no doubt be one of the more unusual weekends I'm ever likely to experience. This is directly attributed to the fact that I both oversaw and contributed to the inflation of approximately three thousand party balloons. When it comes to weekends, there are options aplenty: some people have a nice picnic, some people see a movie with friends, some people even start that book they've been meaning to for months and months. I, however, was mostly lost in a sea of colored latex for around three days, and all for the sake of The Good China's music video for track one (All Nothing) of their new EP, Old Maps / New Roads. Which was released yesterday, actually . Here's just a taste of what to expect from the clip...

Really only the tip of a giant twee iceberg.

Yeah, okay, you probably imagined as much already. A balloon-pit and so forth. But I want to keep the project under wraps for now, and I presume these are the wishes of the band, too. So consider my lips firmly zipped. Its pretty damn exciting though. Jag's already whisked the DV tapes away back to his place, and he's currently slaving away in post-production. And if his dedication is even half of what was shown these past few days, it will be complete in no time. Its hard to summarize the entire experience, mostly because a summary simply wouldn't do it justice. But I'll try: these few days spent bringing everything together was unusual, intense, exhausting but amazing, all at once. I'd be happy not to see another balloon for a while. Of course, ever since the shoot, those carbon-emission ads with the black balloons are making their untimely re-emergence on free-to-air television. It just goes to show that you can indeed have too much of a good thing. Expect linkage soon enough!

Time for some random bits and pieces now. Earlier this year I was recommended a particular album that has continued to wow and amaze me ever since I gave it that first listen: Friendly Fire, the third full-length release from Sean Lennon - that is, Sean Lennon, son of John Lennon and Yoko Ono. As a general trend, most of the music I genuinely enjoy over a great period of time I end up buying - as was the case with this record. I had been looking for Friendly Fire for some time, and found it - also true to form - at Dixons. And what's more, I had purchased the CD / DVD set. A gem of a find really, a true bargain. Anyway, I I got to the train station, sat down and read the booklet. Nothing unusual. But then I found a credit I never expected to find. I seem to recall double-taking when I read that Lindsay Lohan appeared on the DVD disc of the set I had just bought. Without enough time to watch the disc itself, and my curiosity still burning, I decided to check out Wikipedia to see what exactly the deal was. That didn't yield much, but a Google search sure did. Sean Lennon dated Lindsay Lohan around three years ago. This comes as a bit of a surprise to me. Mostly because Sean Lennon is awesome, and Lindsay Lohan is, well...

Charming.

Melbourne's weather remains impossible to read, and I just wish it were Spring already. Misery is waiting for public transport in the pouring rain. And today was fairly bad. I was somewhat intrigued by one man in particular today, who stood next to me under a bus shelter, with his umbrella up. So, picture that: already under a shelter, with his umbrella up and at the ready. Nobody had more potential than this man at any given moment in any given circumstance to be dry. As other commuters shuffled in, I thought he might abandon the idea of having his umbrella up in complete dryness, but no such luck. Instead people had to deal with almost getting poked in the eye by the edges of the stupid thing. I just don't get some people.
To wrap things up, it seems Hawthorn still have a chance - albeit slim - of making the finals, and St.Kilda have now dropped two games in a row.

They breed 'em tough at St.Kilda.

MUSIC: Sean Lennon - Tomorrow
MUSIC: Oasis - Stop Crying Your Heart Out

Relax, take it easy.

Sticky

"Disappointment to a noble soul is what cold water is to burning metal; it strengthens, tempers, intensifies, but never destroys it."

- Eliza Tabor

As the semester wears on, this feeling will likely fade away, which is exactly why I should acknowledge it now: I'm psyched for uni tomorrow. Admittedly, its been an awkward start to proceedings, and I'm still trying to sus out just how monumentally screwed my timetable is, but I'm raring to go. And who'd have thought I'd be so willing toward an 8:30am class on a Monday morning? Like I said: things will change. For now though, I'm looking forward to what seems to be a fun class, taught by a vaguely cool teacher. The guy's got a bit of success happening - past, and perhaps more importantly, present - and he's apparently working with Film Victoria and Shaun Micallef in developing some sort of project. And you reckon I wasn't won over pretty much immediately? Anyway, as far as my 'career' is concerned, it starts here. A class here or there, and pretty soon I'll be working with Micallef himself. Stay tuned for developments on this outlandish, somewhat feverish ambition of mine.

Speaking of things uni, it looks like I may have a little direction when it comes to documentary stuff this semester. For want of a better term, I've effectively 'hitched my wagon' to a friend's golden idea. Whilst I felt that my own were strong in their own right, and I still have faith in them - the trouble was inevitably going to be assembling a crew as accepting of where I wanted to take things. Last semester, initially, I had pushed my own agenda to the utmost and strove to seize creative control where I felt necessary in order to create the kind of film I had imagined. Its for this reason my involvement in 'Change' was at its peak during pre-production, and its no wonder I took the reigns when it came to writing. It was last semester, in fact, that taught me to imagine myself in this role more than any other - I've since seen myself as much more of a writer, a cog in the initial creative process. Anyway, I have to say, I was mostly disappointed with the resulting film that we, as a team, had submitted just a couple of months ago. As easy as it might be to point the finger (and it is easy, don't worry about that) , my personal, particularly grandiose expectations certainly played a role in adding to my ill-feeling towards 'Change'. My strategy this time around is to render myself open-minded, opting instead to take more of a back-seat role with respect to the core subject of the doco, and lend my creativity where I think necessary. And the core subject?

"Camberwell: We've Got It All". They have a wall, anyway.

This is a wall found in Camberwell, plastered, as the graffiti would suggest, with gum. It just might be the filthiest landmark to ever exist, but a curious phenomenon nevertheless. There are a lot of questions raised when you consider that this wall was, at one point, completely gum-free. Then, over what I imagine to be years, piece by piece, this anomaly has come into being - it has clearly been established as a favorite site for gum-chewers to dispose of their brand of saliva-ridden waste. As you might expect, there's calls for the gum to be properly disposed of, and the council don't like the wall one little bit. Unfortunately, it turns out that the same council are also morons, citing simply painting over the gum as a good solution to the eyesore. It wasn't. So the legendary Camberwell gum-wall remains. And despite the looming $130 fine one risks for disposing of their gum in this famously incorrect manner, I have a feeling the youth just might roll the dice on it anyway. They have been for a long time, clearly, so I don't see things changing. Meanwhile, if you think $130 for a simple piece of gum is bad, I should remind you of the absurdity of Connex fining any passenger found with their feet on seats around $160. Enough said, really.

Alright, buccaneers. If you fancy yourself as a sea-faring sort, I have most excellent news: four of Melbourne's finest bands are teaming up to produce an audacious nautical concert on August 29th. Carnation, The Hovercrafts, The Process (certainly not Dew Process, the label - that would be crazy) and soon-to-be-your-new-favorite-band The Good China are playing aboard a cruise, and they want you to party with them until sea sickness. There's going to be around three hundred people, with live music, good brews and DJ's on a double level party ferry - all this whilst cruising around Melbourne's waterways and bays. What's not to like? The event is called Titanic. More information and tickets are available through Moshtix. Its selling fast, so get in quick! Also, a reminder that The Good China's EP comes out in just over a week, released on the 24th of August.

The Good China - Old Maps / New Roads

01. All Nothing
02. If Pain Persists
03. Turn The Page
04. We Found 3 Whistles
05. 39 Black

Check out your nearest JB and pick yourself up a copy. You know I will. Just one thing before wrapping up. I'm saddened that Blogger removed one of my posts. Typically, it was among my favorite, and probably my longest. C'est la vie.

MUSIC: Annie - Chewing Gum
MUSIC: Split Enz - Six Months In A Leaky Boat

'Til next time, y'all.

Boourns

"Comedy is an escape, not from truth but from despair, a narrow escape into faith."

- Christopher Fry

Just a short time into my first week back at uni and the metaphorical red markers already well and truly out. Let's see what we have: early starts? Check. Most people less than remotely satisfied with their hours? Check. A seemingly irrelevant lecture? Check. And the people greasing the wheels at Swinburne - that is, whoever co-ordinates timetables and all that junk - have more than a few Film And TV students attending classes they apparently aren't supposed to be attending, and just missing other classes entirely. So I guess we can put a big fat tick in the 'Swinburne is still a joke' box while we're at it. As it stands, I'm one of those people I mentioned - I can't be 100% sure that I'm in the right place, despite following my timetable to the letter. But not all is doom and gloom. I already feel confident in my teachers (one of whom is collaborating with Micallef - bastard) , and the classes have generally held my interest. Which is a good effort for a first week back. I need to think of an idea for a documentary. I have a couple of ideas, but they're undeveloped. My attention and creativity has been swallowed up by personal projects external to uni coursework. I say 'swallowed', when really, I've embraced it all. But I'm sure once I have that spark, that golden idea, I'll get going with the work that's ultimately going to be marked.

I attended a show at the Comic's Lounge last night. Something about that place seems a bit off. I can't quite put my finger on it. The front bar and reception area is perfectly warm and welcoming, but it insists on playing obscure late-90s, early 00s pop-hits as house music. I'm talking Robbie Williams, Freestylers, Smashmouth on at least two occasions. Their playlist includes the kinds of songs you probably haven't heard in years, but they're songs that soon have you remembering why that might be the case. If by chance it is the thing you're into, its possible you'll enjoy Mix FM. Does anyone else miss calling it TTFM? I digress.
Tony, my friend who has gigs sometimes, remains among the funnier acts when I go to support him. Which is saying something, because as a general rule, I lower my expectations when I go to these things. After all, its a zone where a lot of comedians seize the chance to try out new material, or even make their stage debut. Everybody starts somewhere.

"So what's the deal with airline food?"
(Did he ever actually say that?)

I got particularly nervous when a sizable portion of the crowd left during an interval, and those of us sitting up the back of the lounge were encouraged to move close. Fair enough, too. No comedian, or any performer, should have to play to a bunch of empty seats. My idea was to wait until the very front rows had filled up, then slowly shuffle on down towards the stage. As it happened, I ended up much, much too close to the mic, and I knew right then and there what was coming. You should know this already, but a tip for those out of the loop: if you go to these nights, for the love of God, do not sit nearest to the microphone. Because if you sit there, you'll have to deal with the MC. Chances are he has nothing prepared, and the stuff he does have prepared, in all likelihood, stands to be received as well as a text message from a blind, thumbless monk encased in lead, shrouded in darkness, and situated somewhere within the tunnels of Melbourne's city loop (also he's with Vodafone) . That only leaves one option for comedy: you. You will be the butt of his every joke. What's your name? Where are you from? What do you do? If you're not careful, an MC will pick at your personal life the entire night like a greedy vulture at a rotted carcass. And nobody will tell him its not funny, and nobody will tell him when to stop. The best you can hope for is that you're not the one to be picked on. And the best way to do that? Get the fuck away from the stage.

I think its time I settled something once and for all, and I'm going to use this space to do it. I'm sure just about everyone remembers the American children's television show Blue's Clues. Hell, it was a hit. It apparently ran for six years, and other versions of the show have been spawned in various other countries. Let's face it, it was a fun show. And one of the main reasons it was fun was this guy:

"It was the Butler, with the candlestick, in the library!"
How the hell do you kill someone with a candlestick anyway?

Hell yeah. Steve Burns. That guy was the shit. But you know what? He still is the shit. I know what you're thinking: isn't he dead? Well, no. Since leaving the kids program around five years ago, rumors of Burns battling terminal illness, drug addiction (and subsequent overdose) and other health problems have been rife. Of course, he's alive and well, and he's had to debunk speculation of his passing time and again. As it happens, he's actually been quite busy, with guest spots on TV shows including Homicide and Law And Order. But my favorite bit of all this would have to be his music career. And yes, he has an album, and another due out this year. I rediscovered his debut just the other week, and you know what? I still quite like it. Amazingly, members from The Flaming Lips lent their assistance in getting the record off the ground. Their influence, if you ask me, is all over Songs For Dustmites (the title of his debut release) and its certainly a talking point when it comes to the song I've posted below. And its a song I think you should check out, because honestly, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised. Steve Burns: children's host. Rock star. Alive.

MUSIC: The Smiths - That Joke Isn't Funny Anmore
MUSIC: Steve Burns - Mighty Little Man

Its almost here! EP available from August 24th from the
likes of JB Hi-Fi and Polyester. Chinamite!

That's all I got. 'Til next bloggy.

One Step Beyond (MIFF Wrap Pt.2)

"Our circumstances answer to our expectations and the demand of our natures."

-Henry David Thoreau

Attending a film festival gives the average person a great opportunity to stray from their comfort zone and see the kinds of things they normally wouldn't give themselves half a chance to see. Honestly, I'm not really one of those people. I know what I like, and I pick my films accordingly. Occasionally, though, it all comes undone - such was my experience of seeing Australian film The Loved Ones last night. When I left the cinema, I was awash with wonder in how my expectations of The Loved Ones could have been so far removed from what the feature actually turned out to be. Let's take a look at the synopsis, as given by the festival website...

"Set to a scorching soundtrack, The Loved Ones is a vivid, sexy, fun, relentlessly attacking rollercoaster that takes the conventions of the genre and then runs them off the rails. As the school formal approaches and decisions are made about what to wear and who to go with, Lola Stone, the quietest girl in school, asks her secret love Brent to go with her. But Brent is already going with his girlfriend, Holly. Upset with the rejection and with the formal only hours away, Lola and her father plan for Brent to be with her regardless. But it’s not the school formal, it’s a demented, sadistic and exclusive party hosted by Lola and her father – where the entertainment is Brent himself."

To be fair, nothing seems particularly amiss in this image.

My downfall probably lies in my tendency to extract certain key words from synopses, whilst ignoring other certain key words, and forming my own assumptions. For example, the impression I had formed was that the film was a nice, cutesy teen romance flick, in which the girl eventually gets the guy and goes to the dance with him, and everything pans out happily ever after. As it happened, I probably ignored the words 'demented', 'sadistic', and I might have been wise to take note of 'relentlessly attacking roller coaster', because The Loved Ones was all that and more. It started out rather melodramatically, and even then I thought my expectations might be realized. But I was soon wincing and squirming in my seat as it quickly turned into a horrific slasher flick. I will always remember it for its ability to push the envelope time and again with the sheer absurdity of the torture that the 'hero' endures. By the end of it, I was walking the delicate line between finding the funny and being sick. And that's one thing that impressed me about The Loved Ones: although, at times, confronting and frightening, the film never loses its sense of humor. For all the gasps one must elicit, there are also plenty of laughs, often (and oddly) derived from the violence that ensues. I maintain that it started slow, and that The Loved Ones is more confronting than scary, but these are pretty much the only charges I can bring against it. Not my thing at all, but it had me exactly where it wanted me: on the edge of my seat. *** 1/2

Last, but not least, the film release of Madness' The Liberty Of Norton Folgate. You may know them for such hits as 'Our House' and 'It Must Be Love', and yes, its true that they're awesome.

You know it, I know it, he knows it: he's cool.

Anyway, its not only a concert, but an exploration of various areas of London, making references to certain points and characters throughout history. Of course, our guides are in the form of the legendary Suggs and Chas Smash, as they preface performances from the new album of the same name, intercut with London sights and sceneries. I do like Madness, and I loved seeing them earlier this year at The Palace, but I have to say that I wasn't taken with their new material. It was enjoyable, but not up to their usual standard. Inevitably, a subjective take on the music will either hurt or assist the experience of a music film. Fortunately, however, my opinion of band's latest achievements didn't detract too much from The Liberty Of Norton Folgate, as the film proved entertaining and engaging throughout, particularly with the interludes and segueways provided for each song. The film was impressively paced, maintaining a fine momentum throughout, without a distinct dull patch. Its a small, but interesting insight into both the band and what London is all about through their eyes. Nothing groundbreaking; it is what it is, and its also not the place to begin with Madness - but fun nevertheless. *** 1/2

Well, that's it. That's the end of my festival season, and indeed the festival season. My favorite flicks were In The Loop (which I ended up seeing twice) , An Education, Unmade Beds and Black Dynamite - it was pretty much impossible to single one out as being superior to the rest, as all are worth checking out. I suppose the next blog will return to the standard random ranting I've come to enjoy. Tomorrow I start back at uni for the second semester of my second year of studying Film And Television. Among the challenges that await me is the creation of a documentary. So far I'm basically idea-less, but it comforts me that I haven't concentrated on it until now, and I'm usually good with this sort of thing. You know, that kind of mental-butchers-paper-and-textas stuff. Anyway, wish me luck, and no doubt I'll keep you posted with all the highs and the lows of my first week back.

MUSIC: Grizzly Bear - Knife

MUSIC: Madness - NW5

MUSIC: The Futureheads - Work Is Never Done

'Til then.

Boom Goes The Dynamite (MIFF Wrap Pt.1)

"All deep things are song. It seems somehow the very central essence of us, song; as if all the rest were but wrappages and hulls!"

- Thomas Carlyle

Ah, the end of the festival, at last. I have to admit, as fun as it was, I was getting over it. I know plenty of my friends feel the same way, especially those who opted to see about four times as many films as myself. I still have no idea how any of you achieved that without going slightly mad. Anyway, its time to rewind back to Thursday, as I completely ignored the fact that I saw I Need That Record.

You need this record. As for me, I already have it.
'Yippie-kai-yay' indeed.

Its full title is actually I Need That Record: The Death (Or Possible Survival) Of The Independent Record Store. As I mentioned in an earlier post, its an investigation into the closure of thousands of American independent record stores over the past decade. Unfortunately, its not much of an investigation. I'm not particularly well-versed in record sales, figures and trends throughout music history, and yet I still found that Brendan Toller's documentary lacked in insight. A few things bothered me, really. The fact that there was no personality whatsoever, no passion in what could be best described as simply a 'report', hurt my experience of the film. I really wanted Toller to put more of himself into it, to grant it a sense of attitude, a voice of sorts. Toller was a very robotic narrator, an uninspired guide. He left it completely up to the subjects to state the film's contention - which, by the way, was very anti-corporation, and very pro-small-business-underdog. Also, on this point, the absence of any interviews of the supposed 'enemy' - that is, those who are apparently killing the independent record store - was blatant. It would have been nice to see the other side of the coin, to give a face to these often faceless forces of apparent destruction. Unfortunately, that side is never presented to audiences, and it all seems a bit lazy of Toller. The film is also very American. Australian audiences might find it difficult to relate to the sense of community and family emphasised in the ownership and operation of a record store. Sure, we have our own stores here, but as a friend of mine hinted today, has a record store ever made you feel entirely welcome? In short, not likely, and those who shop at places like Dixons and Polyester - as much as I enjoy them - will know exactly what I'm talking about. I just don't know. Its not that I hated it or anything like that. It was entertaining, but I tend to view I Need That Record as a missed opportunity. The whole concept has enormous potential. As it is though, the film feels a bit half-baked. ** 1/2

Now to a film that really took me by surprise, placing itself amongst my favorite of the festival: Black Dynamite. Its a blaxploitation film centred around 70s African-American badass Black Dynamite. Basically, a mob kills his brother, and goes about ruining the community by way of flooding it with nasty things like drugs and malt liquor. Typically, Dynamite decides to embark on a mission of vengeance, targeting all those responsible for, well, the things I just listed.

"Oh, Black Dynamite - you're so righteous!"

As if the above picture didn't give it away, Black Dynamite is perfectly ridiculous - a loving satire and homage to 70s films, soundtracked throughout by funk and soul (lyrics often describing the action unashamedly, and the title song strikingly Shaft-esque). Black Dynamite is entertaining, action-packed and consistently hilarious. Kung-fu scenes are never far away, and, although completely absurd (each sound effect brutally and amusingly over-the-top) , they remain hard-hitting and interesting as the movie progresses. Its one of those films you have to see to get. So here's a short-snippet that encapsulates the Black Dynamite experience quite well, without ruining anything.

If you like what you've seen, I definitely suggest somehow catching the rest of the feature. As I understand it, Black Dynamite won't have an official release Down Under, so Amazon (or, um, torrenting) is probably the way to go. The film's greatest strength is that it grants a certain wit to ordinarily silly comedy. It would be easy to report that Black Dynamite was all cheap gags, ridiculous fights and 70s in overdrive, but really, its more than that. It had cinema-goers in fits of laughter, even beyond its conclusion. I was among that crowd. Good stuff. ****

MUSIC: The Living End - Who's Gonna Save Us
MUSIC: James Brown - The Payback
MUSIC: Bruce Willis - Secret Agent Man

Here ends the first part of my MIFF wrap. I have two more films to cover, then I'm putting all this business behind me. I notice that since I've re-immersed myself in the blogging scene that my site's had a couple of hundred hits, so a big thanks to everyone who's read and continues to read my ramblings. Stay tuned for part two.