Posts Tagged Movies
Schuks Tshabalala’s Guide to South Africa
Posted by Hans Haupt in Entertainment, Humourous, Movies, The Red Carpet on 17 May 2010
Last night I had the privilege of attending the premiere of Leon Schuster’s latest film Schuks Tshabalala’s Survival Guide to South Africa.
Every South African knows of the legend that is Leon Schuster. He is our original prankster, made famous by his uniquely South African candid camera work. Although he may have departed from his original film tactics in recent productions such as Mr. Bones and Mama Jack, Schuks Tshabalala’s Survival Guide to South Africa sees Schuster return to his comedic roots.
Schuks Tshabalala’s Survival Guide to South Africa is pure Schuster. If you have enjoyed any of his previous candid camera focused movies, you will no doubt enjoy his latest foray into slapstick South African comedy.
The film attempts to weave each candid camera scenario into a larger background story, in this case a Mr Schuks Tshabalala offers a tour of South Africa to a group of poorly acted ‘foreigners’. However, all these slapstick interludes serve to do is annoyingly retract from the real comedic elements. Even though some of the lyrics to a few of the Highschool Musical inspired interludes were brilliantly tongue-in-cheek, they felt somewhat disconnected from the story as a whole. I would equate it to like watching a reality show on MTV which is split by music videos.
Although there were quite a few gems in terms of the candid camera work, the Helen Zille and Seapoint squatter camp scenario’s being among them, Schuster has not attempted to push the proverbial envelope in any way. Instead, each candid camera scenario is simply a rehash of something we have seen from him before: Golf Club scene? Check. Fooling rookie cops? Check. Scaring taxi drivers and occupants? Check, and so on and so forth. This is by no means a bad thing, after all, as the adage goes, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”. Even so, it feels like a missed opportunity for Schuster to push the boundaries in the same way he did in the 80s with You Must Be Joking.
Nevertheless, if you enjoy South African slapstick humour then Schuks Tshabalala’s Survival Guide to South Africa is not to be missed.
Verdict: 6/10.
The film opens nation wide on Friday the 28th of May 2010.
As is always the case with any Sterkinekor event, there were many delicious snacks and ample refreshments for all red carpet guests as well as numerous paparazzi. I have got to give it to Sterkinekor , they always make you feel like a star when visiting their ‘happy place’ during premiere events.
Until the next time “Milieunairs”!
Don’t call him ‘Big Mike’
Posted by Hans Haupt in Entertainment, Get Together, Movies, The Red Carpet on 8 March 2010
If you have not heard the news yet, then where the heck have you been?
America’s sweetheart, Sandra Bullock, won the Best Actress Oscar for her portrayal of Leigh Anne Tuohy in "The Blind Side" at the 82nd Annual Academy Awards.
“The Blind Side" depicts the story of Michael Oher, a homeless African-American youngster from a broken home, taken in by the Touhys, a well-to-do white family who help him fulfill his potential. At the same time, Oher’s presence in the Touhys’ lives leads them to some insightful self-discoveries of their own. Living in his new environment, the teen faces a completely different set of challenges to overcome. As a football player and student, Oher works hard and, with the help of his coaches and adopted family, becomes an All-American offensive left tackle. (IMDB, 2010)
The question is… did she deserve it?
Through the Looking Glass
Posted by Hans Haupt in Entertainment, Get Together, Movies, The Red Carpet on 6 March 2010
Have you ever wondered what that Vision Mission pop-up was about, every time you purchased a ticket at a Sterkinekor cinema or online via the Sterkinekor website? Granted I have always been aware that it was for some charitable cause or another, but I never truly understood what it was for. As a result, I can shamefully admit that I would always skip past the ‘donate’ option.
Well, on Wednesday night I was privileged enough to obtain an invitation, courtesy of Sterkinekor and Vision Mission, to celebrate AFDA’s Vision Mission commercial award winners as well as be privy to a ‘secret’ screening of a highly anticipated blockbuster film.
It was at this mystery laden awards event that I came to understand what the Vision Mission was all about and why, from now on, I will choose to donate that minimum R2.50 extra whenever I buy a Sterkinekor movie ticket.
Bite My Apple
Posted by Hans Haupt in Entertainment, Festivities, Get Together, Life, Movies on 10 February 2010
On Friday the 5th of February 2010, I was privileged enough to obtain an illusive invitation to “The Twilight Saga: New Moon Exclusive VIP party”, courtesy of Sterkinekor and MiMoney.
Over the last several months, Sterkinekor Entertainment in association with MiMoney, have been teasing Twihard’s (fans of the Twilight saga movies and books) with the possibility of attending “the most exclusive party in 100 years”. Entering was easy. Simply watch New Moon and text your ticket number to a specified number. Each entry increased your chances of obtaining an invitation to the event.
Furthermore, upon entering the competition, fans would receive a text message notification with a specific code. This code could then be redeemed at the viral marketing inspired ‘Bite My Apple’ website; in order to unlock exclusive content from the movie in the form of wallpapers and screensavers.
After being psyched about the event for months, I was obviously excited to be able to attend. The anticipation factor was intoxicatingly high!
Battle of the Bricks
Posted by Hans Haupt in Games, Humourous, Internet, OMG, Parody, Seriously?! on 3 December 2009
Any self respecting person has owned and built a Lego creation of some kind. Goodness knows that I own my fair share of Lego products, probably more than I would care to admit. Even now, at the tender age of 24, I still find myself browsing through the isles of Lego products available at any and all Toys R Us stores. In all honesty, and I am sure you will agree, Lego has no age limit.
This entry is focussed on stop-motion Lego filmography. A hobby which no doubt exists for people who really have nothing better to do with their time. Regardless, it really is very cool, especially when done properly.
Alex Kobbs is one of these stop-motion Lego fanatics. He has spent the last six years creating a Halo themed 25-minute short, based on Halo’s Zanzibar map, completely out of Lego. How awesomely insane is that?!
The short film is called The Battle of the Brick and features ‘Red’ and ‘Blue’ battling it out *Halo fan high five*. The completed video is expected to hit the Web in early 2010, but for now you can have a look at the tantalising trailer:
If Lego stop-motion filmography is your thing, you can follow the progress of Kobbs’ work at the Kooberz Studio Blog.
That’s not all folks. I have one more fantastic piece of Lego filmography to share with you.
Every gamer and geek who has watched The Matrix will agree that it is one of the best science fiction and action movies of all time. However, you have not seen anything until you see The Matrix lovingly created in Lego stop-motion!
In honour of the 10th anniversary of The Matrix, a group of fans recreated nearly 900 frames of the film. The entire sequence is animated without any additional effects. What this means, is that the short was filmed ‘in camera’ without the aid of wire removal, Photoshop or any additional special effects; other than what can be created with the Lego blocks themselves. Very impressive stuff! The entire project is said to have taken around 440 hours to complete. For more information and additional videos detailing the projects immensity, check out www.LegoMatrix.com.
How cool would a Lego Matrix game be?! *Waits patiently for Travellers Tales to scoop the rights to create the game*
Until the next ‘blocky’ post “Milieunairs”!
