This week, as I’m sure you’ll all be shocked to know, yields one mighty box office surprise to the tune of a $50, 000, 000 opening weekend for Jackass 3D. By raking in such a hefty figure Johnny, Bam & Co. can relax in knowing they put their nuts on the line and once again, its paid off. After a three season stint on MTV and three movies [...]

Interesting developments in the life cycle of the Bourne Movie saga this week, with film number four, The Bourne Legacy, proving controversial even though it is still a couple of years away from hitting the big screen. After a trilogy of hard-hitting action that introduced an amnesiac spy trying to find his real identity, uncover a conspiracy and avoid tidal waves of bullets – three movies over – [...]

[WTF is a weekly opinion article in which Amy Killin shines the spotlight on something peculiar or shocking in the world of film and gives you, the reader, a chance to chime in with your two cents.]

Sad news in the week just passed, as film fans with an interest in the behind the scenes of moviemaking were shocked with the news [...]

This week’s WTF Wednesday comes in the form of a poke at the ‘Twitter Effect’ and why something that sounds so silly has Hollywood media researchers in some serious denial. By now, you’ve all heard of Twitter and the way it provides people with rant space – in 140 characters or less – to pave the way for celebrities and kids-locked-in-their-bedrooms alike, to have their say. In terms of responding to movies, the so-called ‘Twitter Effect’ occurs when a movie is released and people talk it up on the website, generating hype or negativity that has potential to influence a flick’s box-office run. But in a story noted by The Wrap, research company Ipsos OTX MediaCT has reared its head to report to Hollywood (and probably the world via their Twitter account) on their findings: of 24,000 surveyed film fans, only 1% use Twitter to recommend or comment on movies.

What comes to mind when you hear the words “Aussie” and “Horror Movie” together? Now just because I’m talking Australian Movies, don’t scoff! Aside from Baz Luhrmann’s penchant for using a trip to the movies to feed every foreigner’s outback fantasy and Stuart Beattie’s big spend on Tomorrow When the War Began, it has been Aussie horror that has not entirely alienated us, from the film fans of the world and even ourselves. More shocking than over-the-top gangster stuff like Chopper (Which was enjoyable) or Underbelly (Not so enjoyable); More experimental than the self-deprecating comedy that has defined our national cinema with classics like the Castle; Aussie Horror films — such as Wolf Creek, Dying Breed and Wan and Whannell’s original SAW short film that kicked off the seven movie franchise — are proof that sometimes, Aussie horror movies can be terrifyingly guilty pleasures. Successful ones, at that.

The first year of the new millennium, 2001, sure gave moviegoers a number of reasons to smile: the release of the first Harry Potter, the first Lord of the Rings, the first Ocean’s Eleven remake and the first Shrek. These entertaining films established the beginnings of many beloved (and some not so beloved) sequels bestowed upon us between then and now. Another franchise waiting to happen in 2001 [...]

In the cinema of Hollywood, finding a film that is not about love presents a real challenge. We’ve had so-called “true love” (The Notebook) and the twisted “I’m so in love with you, I want to eat you” love (Twilight). We’ve had love based on “intense experiences” (Speed), the “oops, we’ve made a baby” love (Knocked Up). Most prolifically, we’ve had [...]

Would you laugh at a film depicting a man with explosives strapped to his body? No, probably not.

But what if he were dressed in costume like he’s come fresh from the set of Sesame Street? It’s hard not to in Four Lions, an audacious satire about the inner trials of a suicidal jihadist quintet.