Shane Life

Alli and I went with both sets of our parents to the Fork & Screen today to see Australia - Baz Luhrmann’s sweeping WWII epic about the land down under and the history behind a place I know very little about. The movie stars Nicole Kidman as Lady Sara Ashley, an Englishwoman who leaves England to join her husband in Australia at their cattle ranch. Along the way, she meets Hugh Jackman’s character, The Drover, a real manly Outback man.

The two-hour and forty-five minute epic covers a few years of Australian history, culminating with the Japanese invasion of the continent after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. The cast is all-native, including the newcomer Brandon Walters who plays the half-Aboriginal, half-white child Nullah, the most important character of the entire movie.

Jackman and Kidman have terrific chemistry and Luhrmann has crafted a movie as big as the continent itself. Alli and I have been looking forward to Luhrmann’s next movie ever since he got shafted out of a 2001 Oscar nomination for Moulin Rouge!, one of the most creative and visionary movies of the last decade.

I’ve watched several interviews with the stars and makers of Australia and you can tell that this was a very important movie to all of them…it was the story of the place they came from. And kudos go to Luhrmann for not pulling any punches in the story, even exposing the sad story of Australia’s Stolen Generation.

But the real story of the movie is Walters, a kid who was one of over 1,000 interviewed for the character of Nullah. Their commitment to finding the right kid for the role worked out…Walters is so perfect and while he probably won’t be nominated for a supporting actor Oscar when February rolls around, he should. He carries this movie and stands out next to the veterans Jackman and Kidman, who are both excellent.

Some critics are going to try and tear down Luhrmann’s accomplishment, but I’m here to tell you that this movie is wonderful. It’s long, but I can’t think of anything that you could cut from the story. When you have a two-hour and forty-five minute movie that you don’t want to cut…that’s a success. Luhrmann wanted to create a Gone with the Wind for his home country. In my opinion, he succeeded. If you like big epic movies, the kind that they really don’t make any more, GO SEE AUSTRALIA.

Say you have one of those nifty iPod thingies that play video and stuff. Say you’ve got a bunch of DVDs that you’d like to watch on said iPod thingy, but you’re not hip on buying another copy of the movie through iTunes. Movie studios have even resorted to “value-adding” with special features on DVDs these days by including an extra DVD that contains a digital version of the movie “For your iPod or PSP!”

Well, folks. I’m here to tell you that you don’t need either of those things. If you already own the DVD, there’s a software right under your fingertips that will enable you to rip those DVDs into a handy iTunes/iPod/iPhone friendly MP4 format. It’s called HandBrake.

HandBrake is this nice little open source program that converts those bulky discs into nice, compact digital files. It’s available for Mac OS X, Windows and Linux and has presets for all video-playing portables from early video iPods to PSPs and some I’ve never heard of. So for example, I would like to be able to watch old episodes of Friends on my computer or iPod video. Even though it’s taken me a while, I’ve been able to successfully rip 10 seasons (at about 23 episodes per season) of Friends for digital consumption using HandBrake.

Sure, it’s time-consuming (particularly naming all the episodes, using this nice OS X-only tool called Lostify), but the work is mindless and the reward is massive.

Alli and I just got back from seeing The Dark Knight with Tyson and Ashley. It’s 4:00 AM.

I’m still processing since it’s early (or late) and all, but my first thought is: Heath Freaking Ledger.

Honestly, I don’t know if the movie itself is better than its predecessor. I may have to watch it once more in order to make a proper judgment. At first glance, though, The Dark Knight should probably just be called Joker! because it truly is the Heath Ledger show.

Christian Bale takes somewhat of a backseat to Ledger and Aaron Eckhart’s Harvey Dent (perfect casting). I love Bale as Batman and I love Nolan’s interpretation of the story, but Ledger’s performance in this movie is so massive that everyone else just kind of fades into the background. This is an impressive feat considering the cinematic heavyweights surrounding him during the movie - Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, Bale and Eckhart.

Ledger is undeniably awesome. In contrast to the original Tim-Burton-directed Batman where you could see shades of Jack Nicholson in his version of the Joker, in The Dark Knight Ledger literally disappears behind the makeup and scars and turns in a performance that really does deserve consideration from the Academy.

If he manages to get the nomination, it will be the first time since 1995 that someone has been posthumously nominated for a Oscar (only one ever to win was Peter Finch for Network in 1976). An even more stunning accomplishment would be for him to bring accolades to the genre of comic book and superhero movies, which - let’s be honest - is here to stay.

Ledger’s death is sad, but I applaud Christopher Nolan and the producers of The Dark Knight for not changing the story or trying to somehow soften the viciousness of The Joker. It’s a true testament to Ledger’s ability as an actor to showcase the full range of his talent - a guy who broke out as Patrick Verona in 10 Things I Hate About You and played Ennis Del Mar in Brokeback Mountain.

The Dark Knight is long, but it’s an amazing accomplishment. I felt like the story itself could have been tightened up in a couple places, but overall, I’d go see it again in the theater. Maybe not at one in the morning, but it’s worth multiple viewings.

If you liked Batman Begins, you’ll like this. A lot.

Now, I shall stop rambling because I have to get up for work in a couple hours.

Author’s Note: I realize upon waking up that this may or may not be coherent. The thing about going to a midnight showing of a movie is that every single person in the theater wants to be there and is very likely to love the movie no matter what. Last night was no exception. People rarely clap after movies anymore. However, at midnight showings (and particularly last night’s), they do.

Steve Carell is funny.

There’s no denying he’s funny. In the remake of the 1960’s spy spoof TV show, Carell is just…Steve Carell. He’s funny, but he’s probably more Michael Scott than Agent 86 Maxwell Smart. And while I love Michael Scott, he didn’t really belong in this movie.

Carell is surrounded by a huge cast. Anne Hathaway plays his Agent 99 counterpart and The Rock (don’t give me this “Dwayne Johnson” stuff…he’ll always be The Rock to me) plays Agent 23, Max’s idol in the offices of CONTROL. Alan Arkin plays his boss, and there are brief cameos by Bill Murray, James Caan and many others (some funny, some not so much).

The real winner here is Steve Carell. He should get more and more starring roles because he’s a funny guy. If you like him, I’d suggest going to see this movie if only for the scene in the airplane.

Otherwise, I’d probably just rent it.