Swollen Pickles

Duplicity: deceitfulness in speech or conduct; speaking or acting in two different ways concerning the same matter with intent to deceive; double-dealing. Duplicity is also a film that follows the escapades of two corporate spies, Clive Owen and Julia Roberts. Both characters are former secret service agents from their respective countries (CIA and MI-6) who retire from their state funded duties to move into the private sector. They share a romantic history, which leads them to hatch a plot to manipulate two corporate giants in order to obtain profit themselves and fund their own lavish lifestyle.

I can't say much more without giving the film away, but I will say that there are that many twists and turns going on here that at times it was hard to keep up.

I've seen Duplicity described as a romantic comedy thriller. It's definitely got a lot of the spy/thriller thing happening, and some romance, but I wouldn't describe it as being a comedy. It's basically a laugh free film, so if you're expecting a standard Julia Roberts rom-com then you'll be in for disappointment. You could describe Duplicity as a film about corporate espionage, or alternatively a love story focusing on the relationship between a couple that lie for a living.

My major complaint with Duplicity is that it run about 25-30mins too long, wearing out its welcome, and features one too many twists. I kept waiting for the bit shocking twist at the finale, but by the time it came around, I was over all the twisting, and the conclusion left me a little underwhelmed.

Overall, Duplicity is a decent film that loses its way. I'd give it 2 out of 5.

DUPLICITY JULIA ROBERTS CLIVE OWEN DVD

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I may have discovered the ultimate movie. The Machine Girl is a 2008 Japanese action/horror/comedy about a young Japanese schoolgirl, whose life is turned upside down when her brother is killed by a the son of a high ranking Ninja/Yakuza.

Apparently, she gets her hand cut off. Obviously she is now able to channel the spirit of Ash from the Evil Dead movies as she goes on to replace her hand with a massive gun, along with an assortment of other instruments of death, and goes on a bloody revenge style rampage.

I really want to see this one, so I'm going to try and track it down this weekend. Until then, I'll just have to make do with one of the most awesome trailers I've seen in recent memory. It's got a little bit of everything, including ninjas.

2DAYSHIP BRND NEW DVD MACHINE GIRL NEW

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EUC Girls 24M coat Pink warm and machine washable

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Here are some pretty cool, for sci-fi geeks anyway, print ads produced by New Zealand advertising agency DDB New Zealand, to promote the screening of Aliens vs. Predator when it was on SKY TV. As a massive Predator, and Alien, fan boy, I love this stuff. My personal favorite is Alien vs. Predator totem tennis. I've always thought that totem tennis is a brutal sport, and this just goes to prove it.

Source: DDB New Zealand

Go check out my Alien vs. Predator: Requiem review.

Alien Vs Predator Alien DVD 2005

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It was with great anticipation that I went along to watch the Watchmen on the weekend. As we all know though, with great anticipation, can come great disappointment. So does the film deliver?

The graphic novel (note: not comic) Watchmen is one of the more revered illustrated stories in the universe. It was first released in 1986, and it's a little surprising to see that it's taken this long for a film version to hit the screen.

Watchmen is set in an alternative version of 1985. Masked vigilantes have been outlawed, Richard Nixon is still President of the United States, and the world is on the edge of armageddon as nuclear war between the US and Russia is no longer a matter of 'if' but 'when'.

As with the novel, the film opens with the spectacular murder of The Comedian, played by Jeffrey Dean Morgan in a massive departure from his role in Grey's Anatomy. The Comedian was a member of a wider fraternity of semi-retired superheroes, that also includes the Night Owl (Patrick Wilson), Dr. Manhattan (Billy Crudup), Ozymandius (Matthew Goode), Silk Spectre 2, (Malin Akerman) and my personal favorite, Rorschach (Jackie Earle Hayley). Rorschach, the most active member of the group, decides to investigate the Comedians death. What follows is a murder mystery of sorts that unravels into a conspiracy of epic proportions. (more...)

When you sit down to watch a movie with the title "Zack and Miri Make a Porno", you do so with certain expectations. You want laughs and you expect jokes that you wouldn't feel comfortable re-telling to your mother. Fortunately Zack and Miri delivers both in spades, but for me, it delivered so much more.

Put simply Zack and Miri Make a Porno is the most romantic movie I have ever seen. Zack (Seth Rogan) and Miri (Elizabeth Banks) are platonic life long friends, who happen to share a house, and also happen to be deep in debt. They need money fast, or else they are likely to find themselves homeless. Now in need of some fast money, the average person may take a second job, or sell off unwanted furniture. Zack, however, hatches the plan to make and sell his very own pornographic movie. From there on in, it's all very predictable, in a good way. You can disengage your brain and just have a laugh.
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In an effort to inject a little more culture into my life, I decided to go and see a film nominated for five Academy Awards, 'The Reader'.

The Reader is based upon the 1995 German novel 'Der Vorleser', that funnily enough translates to 'The Reader'. The novel was written by German law professor and judge Bernhard Schlink. Like the film, the novel also won quite a few awards, but perhaps it's greatest honour was being a selection for Oprah's Book Club.

The film adaptation tells the story of German lawyer, Michael Berg, and the impact his first real 'adult' relationship has had on his life. Michael's story is told through a series of flashbacks. The film opens in Berlin, in 1995, as Michael (played by Ralph Fiennes) prepares breakfast for a woman that has obviously spent the night. On her way out the door, the woman laments Michael's inability to allow her to get close to him, wondering if he was like that with all the women in his life. As Michael watches a train go by, we are taken back to 1958. (more...)

Watching Mickey Rourke in The Wrestler, there will be times that you find yourself thinking that you are watching a documentary rather than a fictional film. The guy looks like he's lived through a thousand hells, so when he's playing a down and out wrestler, you believe it.

In The Wrestler, Rourke plays Randy "The Ram" Robinson. The Ram's star may have shone bright in the 80's, but it has long since faded. Randy now earns a living working at a local supermarket during the week and doing small scale wrestling shows on the weekends. To be blunt, Randy doesn't seem to have a whole lot to look forward to, his future is bleak. He has a daughter that hates him, struggles to earn enough to pay his rent and therefore spends a lot of time basically living out of his van. When a promoter offers him a 20th anniversary rematch to celebrate the most famous match of career, it seems like he finally has something to work toward.
In a homage to Rocky, The Ram goes about preparing himself for his next big match, with a view to the anniversary rematch. He takes pain medication, sleeps in his van, works out, goes to a tanning salon, buys up on steroids and visits his favorite local strip club, where he's clearly taken a liking to Cassidy (aka. Pam when she's not performing) played by Marissa Tomei.

Following his brutal hardcore match, Randy has a heart attack and undergoes a triple bypass. He's warned not to overly exert himself. That means no more steroids, and no more Wrestling. Randy is forced into retirement. So what is a buffed up and broken former wrestler to do with his life? Well, he can try and crack onto his favorite stripper, he can work longer hours at his local supermarket, and he can try and reconcile with his daughter. For a while, things seem to be going along fine for the Ram. All it takes though, is for one piece of the puzzle to combust, and the whole house of cards bursts into flames, or something to that effect. Cue the scene where Randy drowns his sorrows, snorts cocaine and shags a blonde chick with a firefighter fetish.

With his life once again on the skids, and against the best advice from the medical profession, Randy decides that the ring is the only place that he'll ever be happy. His big rematch is back on...

What happens next? I can't say without spoiling the ending.

The Wrestler is an interesting film. On the one hand it churns out some of the same sort of cliches you expect from a sporting based film, but on the other hand it also choke slams some of them as well. For example, throughout the entire film I sat there thinking to myself, "I know how this is going to end", yet, as it turns out, I didn't. The Wrestler is a performance driven character piece, and not something you should watch for intricate plotting. It's bleak, dark, and you can't help but feel that Randy's path is one that Mickey Rourke may have tread, at least partly, himself. The film has a very candid, documentary style, feel about it.

It's not all bleak though. You do get to see Marissa Tomei's boobs, and let's face it, that's probably going to be enough to get a few punters through the door alone.

If you've seen the documentary "Beyond the Mat" then some of what you'll see in The Wrestler may seem family, and I believe that "Beyond the Mat" may have served as more than a little inspiration for the script.

Overall, The Wrestler is a good film. Mickey Rourke's performance is worthy of the praise that has been heaped upon it so far, and it's hard to see anyone else in the role. You don't have to be a wrestling fan to appreciate this film. I'd give it 4 out of 5.

The Wrestler DVD 2009 Mickey Rourke Marisa Tomei NEW

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