My Top 20 Albums of 2013 – Young Galaxy Triumphant
January 16, 2014
My Best Albums of 2013 (for what it’s worth)
In a rough descending order –
Young Galaxy –Ultramarine
Arcade Fire -Reflektor
The National –Trouble Will Find Me
Atoms for Peace –AMOK
Momus – Bambi
Non – Back to Mono
Ministry – From Beer to Eternity
Pet Shop Boys – Electric
The Knife – Shaking the Habitual
Portugal The Man –Evil Friends
Austra – Olympia
Kirin J Callinan –Embracism
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds – Push the Sky Away.
SNOG – Babes in Consumerland
Erasure – Snow Globe
OMD – English Electric
Polica – Shulamith
Pankow – And Shun the Cure They Most Desire
David Bowie – The Next Day
Depeche Mode – Delta Machine
On 12 Years a Slave – also a dud.
January 16, 2014
Well, this is one of the best films of the year – so, don’t believe any of the negative hubbub floating round net land. A tale of dueling psychopaths – one rich, one poor – and the women left in their wake. Christian is a classic Ellis character up there with Clay and Patrick Bateman – a manipulating trust fund kid movie producer control freak with Daddy issues and a nice pair of rubber gloves and accompanying blade. Best line: “I will kill him and get away with it. Look at me, babe”. The script is tight and a slow burn toward a psychologically powerful climax. This is plot wise most like parts of Glamorama and The Informers from Bret’s oeuvre, so his literary fans will find plenty to commune with. This is Schrader’s most accomplished directing effort in 10 years – from the haunting title sequence to The Hills type mise en scene – but darker and smoother. It’s reminiscent of his earlier masterpieces American Gigolo and Comfort of Strangers and sits in their company. James Deen is a revelation as Christian – the looks, all stone cold menace and boyish insecurity – not unlike a young Tony Curtis – but with more gravitas. Lindsay Lohan gives her best performance in years, that is hard to fault and is rather sympathetic. Who cares if she behaved like a brat who needed a slap on the ass on set a few days – or has some drug issues. Whatever – when is that new there in Hollywood? Her Tara anchors the film down with some level of emotional humanity and is delicate, sassy and most importantly – lost. Ryan, the third wheel to this pair, is played by Nolan Funk who steps up as the financially challenged second narcissist and rival to Christian. An ice cold portrait of contemporary LA in all it’s blank ‘glory’ – from a uniquely assembled team alchemizing a truly impressive new piece of cinema2.0. on a micro to low budget. Look at it, babes.
On Ryan Gosling and Nic Winding Refn’s Only God Forgives
July 18, 2013
Back from Only God Forgives. First Up: The film is not a Drive – sadly. It is ‘interesting’. Which means it’s OK on some levels – but is really not that good. The rumours out of Cannes about it being a bit crap had some legs. Nicholas Winding Refn tries to sort through his Mommy issues in a odd, stilted and strange tale of a revenge cycle taking place in Bangkok. The huge mistake of the film is the use and embrace of an out of place formalism. Bangkok is SO not the place to make a formalist movie – as it’s so hustle and bustle – but Refn tries is darndest. It’s influenced heavily by a little seen film – Soi Cowboy – by Thomas Clay (MUFF 2009) another Euro filmmaker going all formalist in Thailand – it’s almost a copy of that movie. Gosling wanders around silently for most of the film with a look on his face wondering “WTF am I meant to be doing in this shot?”. It has all the ear marks and potential to be a great film. But the rather poor to non existent script and out of place formalism makes it a lesser work in the Refn oeuvre, in my humble opinion. Kristen Scott Thomas brings some life to it in a fairly impressive turn as Gangtser Mom -but she can’t save it and it never really rocks. It’s worth a look of, course. If you are a formalist cinema fan you may like it. It’s well shot and has a certain strange charm, still that gets you thinking about it. Oh and the good news is: I’m in it! – for a blink and you’ll miss it uncredited cameo as Gosling approaches the Sukhumvit Road when he is following Vithaya Pansringarm in a white T-shirt. As Gosling turns on to Sukhumvit I enter frame (top left) for about two seconds looking sleazy. That completely random synchronicity of fate or whatever tells me I’ll work with one of these guys (Gosling or Refn) one day.
The Last Days of Joe Blow – New Trailer
November 3, 2012
The Last Days of Joe Blow Trailer on Vimeo.
We have had to cut it a bit to meet their silly sexuality guidelines.
Trust me the feature is much juicier.
It is at the AFM right now, folks, with the Producer Jason Byrne. So if you’re from a fest playing next year and want to see it – drop Jason a line and meet up/make contact. etc.
Otherwise sit back and enjoy the trailer. http://vimeo.com/52599100
Rough credits:
Director/C0-Producer-Richard Richard Wolstencroft, Producer-Jason Byrne, Co-Producer-Tait Brady, Associate Producer/Editor-Mark Bakaitis. Camera-Mark Mark Savage & Richard Wolstencroft, Music-David Thrussell, Damian Whitty and others. Featuring Michael Tierney as Joe Blow. Also featuring William Margold, Ron Jeremy, Eric John, Missy Woods, Charlie Chase, Jeremy Steele and many others. Special guest commentators Bruce LaBruce and Andrew Richardson.
A few stills below. A couple with raunch.
The 20th Anniversary of The Hellfire Club – First News
October 31, 2012
Excellent Halloween News marking a Special Event:
The 20th Anniversary of The Hellfire Club will take place Sunday December 16 at:
The LuWow Tiki Bar and Nightclub
62/70 Johnston St., Fitzroy.
Stand by for fliers, ads, event details, giveaways, performers, DJ’s, merchandise, old cards and posters on Sale and all other kinds of Hellfire related mayhem, madness and kinkiness.
My Hellfire Club – back in the last month of 2012.
I attended a lecture on the subject of censorship, pornography and free speech at Melbourne Free University (a tiny gallery space in Lygon Street) whose speaker was author Jeff Sparrow, author of Money Shot.
To provide some background: I was banned from MFU three months back for talking on the exactly same topic – due to what they perceived as my political indiscretions that they either wished to silence, side line or shun. Even though I never would have really touched on that topic, of course.This was a rather perverse irony as it was all about free speech (supposedly!) but here were the advocates censoring what THEY didn’t understand. The average leftist liberal is all about diversity and difference on the surface – unless of course you really are diverse or different – then you are a persona non grata. I didn’t raise the banning of me from MFU as I am polite.
Also the entire audience was Anglo Saxon or European apart from ONE half Asian chap. I’m sure there are many Far Right meetings more ethnically diverse. Doubly Hilarious!
Author Jeff Sparrow from Money Shot I had met before. He had asked me for an extended interview 2 years ago on LA Zombie – which I happily and graciously gave him over a long friendly lunch. I thought we had got along fine – but Sparrow hid his thoughts. As a limp wristed Marxist wannabe he objected (like MFU) to something I had said somewhere in internet land and decided to caricature me a bit in his recently published book Money Shot – on porn and censorship.
Which is fine – I find that kind of thing funny from a perspective of ideology, etc.
But allow me to return the favour a little: Sparrow is a fey, glib, myopic and innocuous twit in a RRR T Shirt and knows little about the topic on which he speaks. He reduces censorship and the whole debate to an under graduate reflection on dialectical materialism – which is how the not so sly devil slips his outdated Marxist crap in to his rather constructed and biased narrative. He was ungracious – not acknowledging me after being in a chapter of his book. He was not generous when I asked politely if I could have a copy of his book – he was selling them there as a chapter was on me – he said no, rather rudely blaming his publisher. I am well aware from many books readings and appearances that a simple word from him would secure a copy for someone featured in the book.etc
When I questioned the poverty of his method of approach – in the question time – relying mainly on the issues of commodification and materialism and ignoring the whole ontological, Libertarian, Libertine and hedonistic aspects of the debate – he stone walled. Other questions were absurd: one women felt ‘pursued by porn’ I wanted to ask her did it chase her down the street or around her apartment? This kind of attitude reveals a repressed desire to indulge in pornographic Libertinage and hedonism. Other questions concerned the ban of porn in Aboriginal settlements in the NT – which is plain patriarchal racism. But as it was implemented or maintained by Labour there was much pussy footing around that issue. When I pointed out that his own left liberal views, as he admitted!, are the views of the current censor regime – making him the the defacto enemy he is supposedly criticizing and investigating – he was gob smacked and moved on quickly.
Again not even willing to engage in any kind of real debate or discussion. This is what he is like and what goes on at these type of events. Nothing is said – everything is omitted. It’s self censorship – of the very worst kind – and an act of cowardice.
Which If I had to caricature Sparrow – that is how I would do so – as a coward. Touche to you Jeff.
And, also allow me to add: fuck you pal for being such a rude, inconsiderate and unappreciative journo pretender.
21st Anniversary Edition. Full of new extras and some old ones too we had to keep. Here is the Cover of the DVD.
From Monster Pictures. More on this release soon.
You can pre order it here: http://www.dvdwarehouse.com.au/bloodlust-9342424003107.html
MUFF 12 Winners
August 31, 2011
Chosen by jury head Jimmy The Exploder in consultation with The MUFF team.
BEST FILM
A Serbian Film (Srdjan Spasojevic)
BEST ACTOR
Michael Dorman (Needle)
BEST ACTRESS (Tie)
Viva Bianca (Holly Rowe ‘X’)
& Hanna Mangan Lawrence (Shay Ryan ‘X’)
BEST DIRECTOR
Larry Wessel (Iconoclast)
BEST DOCO
Iconoclast (Larry Wessel)
BEST SCREENPLAY
James Harkness (Birthday)
SPECIAL JURY PRIZE
Needle (John V Soto)
BEST GUERILLA FILM (Tie)
Boronia Backpackers (Timothy Spanos)
& Garth Lives in a Van (Gregory Pakis)
BEST SUPORTING ACTOR (Winner)
Richard Wilson (Birthday)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS (Winner)
Kestie Morassi (Birthday)
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Needle
SHORTS:
BEST SHORT FILM
Good Taste
RUNNER-UP BEST SHORT FILM
Gumby’s New Tit
BEST SHORT FILM DIRECTOR
Michael Adams/Charlotte Squires (Grandma’s Gift)
BEST SHORT FILM ACTOR
Paul Yardley (Don’t Ya Wanna Dance)
BEST SHORT FILM ACTRESS
Deanna Ortuso (A Tale of Obsession)
BEST SHORT SCREENPLAY
Michael Adams/Charlotte Quires (Grandma’s Gift)
BEST POSTER
Needle (Horror Version)
MUFF 12 Catalogue up and a new blog about MUFF
August 11, 2011
MUFF 12 catalogue in all its brutal and beautiful glory at: http://www.muff.com.au
New MUFF blog by JJ DeCeglie. http://notesfromundergroundmuff2011.tumblr.com/
Opening night a nice little piece of Eastern European Cinema, A Serbian Film.
The MUFF 12 Press Release:
SourceURL:file:///Macintosh%20HD/Users/richardwolstencroft/Desktop/MUFF%2012/MUFF%2012%20Press%20Release.doc
MUFF 12 is here! The most controversial and confronting film festival, even arts event, this fine country has to offer. Yes, all you screen zombies… we are back in 2011 to: Destroy All Movies!
“Destroy All Movies” can be taken as a query, a question and even a complaint about cinema itself. How often do we question our passion in this kind of ontological sense and depth? At MUFF 12 we go there.
Australia’s premiere film festival for anything left (or right!) of centre, Indy or underground is back with a vengeance. In 2010 they tried to shut MUFF and renegade film festival director Richard Wolstencroft down, over LA Zombie, with a MUFF Raid and court trail over our Free Speech advocacy and action. But like the proverbial Phoenix MUFF is back in 2011 to cause more mayhem.
Festival dates are: August 19 to 27. We have two ace venues this year: the amazing re-opened art deco cinema venue St Kilda Memo at 88 Acland st St Kilda (behind the RSL) and it’s sister venue Dog’s Bar Art’s Hub just down the road from Memo at 54 Acland Street.
We have four great sections: MUFF Neu – presenting a range of low budget and Indy underground and genre cinema with highlights like Needle, Iconoclast (on Boyd Rice by Larry Wessell), 2012 and Birthday, MINI MUFF – presenting new short films from Australia and abroad, with highlights The Basher, Hooked, 6ft Hick, Payload and Garth Lives in a Van; our themed retrospective DESTROY ALL MOVIES – featuring the anti-aesthetic of Paul Morrissey, Joe Dellasandro and Andy Warhol, and the MUFF ACADEMY is back! At this year’s academy we have the Billy Marshall Stoneking intensive acting seminar and a screening of Pier Paolo Pasolini’s “Saló” followed by a discussion panel on the film’s merits (or lack thereof) as well as a broader discussion on the sense of censorship.
Plus our notorious gala Opening Night film “A Serbian Film”, one of the most fiendish movies we have ever played at MUFF. And, keeping with our Tribute to Serbia theme for Opening/Closing our Closing Night film is “The Life and Death of a Porno Gang,” followed by the esteemed MUFF 12 awards.
Check out the program online or at any good store or shop in yo’ hood. 24 sessions, over 9 days, all at two venues with a bonus Mystery Screening. What more can you ask? Streamlining is the name of the game. Check it out and join the local cinema screen revolution.
Best Regards
Richard Wolstencroft
Melbourne Underground Film Festival Director
Full program online now: http://www.muff.com.au/