Geek of Oz

The Hayden Orpheum Picture Palace at Cremorne will be the only cinema in Sydney screening the new Paul Thomas Anderson film The Master in its original 70mm format. Director Paul Thomas Anderson filmed 80% of The Master on 65mm stock in the widescreen ratio 1.85:1. The digital age was meant to be the end of the high-resolution film gauge, which begun as far back as 1928 known as Grandeur and quickly dropped by Fox Films due to it's crippling film stock costs and resistance by cinema operators to install new equipment. It was not used again until 1955 for Oklahoma as part of the film's distributors to compete with television which was devastating cinema attendances at the time. There will be selected sessions in 70mm of The Master from November 8-21, at the Orpheum, during the first two weeks of the season only. For further details check out www.orpheum.com.au

Here at Geek of Oz we are proud to support all artistic ventures, so it’s with pleasure we get out our digital bullhorn and tell everyone about Phonic Duo, a Sydney based acoustic duo comprising of singer Sal Jones and guitarist Karl Bowles. Phonic Duo will be playing at Cabana Bar, St Leonards from 530pm on the 2nd and 16th of November. For more information check out www.cabanabar.com.au www.phonicduo.com.au

Ever played a video game and thought this would make a good film? Well Dredd is a case of the opposite; confronting violence, paper-thin characters, atmospheric environments, simple plot points and a truly woeful script make this latest offering by Pete Travis ( Vantage Point ) seem like a first person shooter game masquerading as a movie. Dredd is based upon the UK comic book character of the same name. Employed by the Hall of Justice, he is judge, jury and executioner all wrapped up in an efficient crime-fighting package. The film is set in a not-too-distant but all-too-hackneyed future dystopia where drugs and violence have all but destroyed the fabric of society. Seem familiar? For once, I’d like an action film to depict an imagining of a future which isn’t a dysfunctional and corrupt slum-filled cesspool. It even has the ubiquitous genetic mutation element – the cliché du jour for films of this genre. We first meet Judge Dredd (Karl Urban) in hot pursuit of three armed and...

Since it's release in 2008, Star Wars: The Clone Wars has quickly become a fan favourite among geeks young and old. Often lauded as being the most enjoyable extension of Lucas' franchise, it expands upon a number of storylines that are mentioned in passing in the films or hold particular relevance to a number of main characters. Set between Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, it fills in a number of blanks and gives relevance to a number of characters that seem important in the films, such as Count Dooku and General Grievous. Executive Producer George Lucas and Lucasfilm Animation present Star Wars™: The Clone Wars™ The Complete Season Four. The battle to save the galaxy reaches new heights of peril and new depths of darkness. The valiant Jedi Knights and clone troopers defend exotic planets from enemy forces. They wage war underwater, battle across a night-shrouded world and take on the merciless Death Watch. Our heroes are tested like never before as Anakin i...

The anime industry has a tendency to take itself far too seriously, especially considering that at the end of the day, we're talking about cartoons. Thankfully, every now and then a series like Thermae Romae comes along and exerts humility through overt silliness and proves what should be blindingly obvious, anime should be fun. In Rome in the year 128 AD, a Roman named Lucius Modestus is having trouble coming up with ideas for architecture. While contemplating in a bathhouse, he discovers a strange drain than sends him to a bathhouse in Modern Japan. While confused by his surroundings, he becomes amazed by some of their innovations, such as fruit flavored milk. Taking these ideas back to Rome, he incorporates these ideas into a new bathhouse to great success. A year later, Lucius is commissioned by a sickly man to build an outdoor bath near Vesuvius. While inspecting a heated well, Lucius is once again sent to modern Japan, this time winding up in a hot spring, wher...

One of the first releases from Australia's newest anime company, Hanabee, is Dream Eater Merry. Based upon a manga series of the same name it is a psychological thrill ride that impresses in so many ways although would have benefited from more straightforward storytelling. "Sometimes daydreaming can get you into trouble, but what do you do when it’s OTHER people’s dreams that you have to watch out for? For the last ten years Yumeji Fujiwara’s life has been getting progressively stranger, beginning with the sudden ability to predict what kind of dreams other people will have! Then, his own dreams take a bizarre turn in which he’s being pursued by armies of cats. Now, the weird-o-meter has just maxed out: Not only has Yumeji learned that the leader of the dream cats needs Yumeji’s body to access the Real World, but a beautiful girl suddenly drops on top of him and announces that she’s a Dream Demon who needs to return to HER world! The fabric that separates reality and fa...

Every now and then an anime series comes along that has all of the hallmarks of greatness. A series that is the epitome of all that is good in anime like unbounded creativity, glorious animation and story lines that befuddle as much as delight. Star Driver... is almost that series. On the southern edge of Japan, the inhabitants of Southern Cross Island lead seemingly normal lives - but far beneath the surface of this quiet island lies an ancient secret that lays dormant until Takuto Tsunashi washes ashore one night... Upon enrolling at Southern Cross Island High School, Takuto and his friends become embroiled in a conflict with a clandestine society to control giant machines, called Cybodies, sealed under the island whose powers are bound by special shrine maidens. What secrets will Takuto dig up, and how will he deal with the obstacles that lie ahead of him? This struggle will threaten to tear apart the entire island!