NOT QUITE HOLLYWOOD: The Wild Untold Story of Ozploitation! (2008)

not_quite_hollywood_poster

This love letter to the Australian exploitation movies of the 70’s and 80’s is filled with a love and respect for the genre. Sure, the quality of the films may be lacking but the love for them is clear in its subjects.

Australia has always had a funny relationship with movies. For such a large and amazingly picturesque country the quality output has been lean.
Very few critically acclaimed films are featured in this fun and funny documentary.

Sex. violence, action and horror are the focus of N.Q.H. and here we get quite an extensive look into this sleazy genre.

With a plethora of interviews with the key players, we get to see behind the scenes at this creatively (albeit sleazy and exploitative) time in Australian cinema history. Derided by critics, these films made money and made films at a time when the local film industry needed an injection of some sort that kept the country in the annals of film history during that time.
Featuring interviews with Barry Humphries, Quentin Tarantino, Stacy Keach, Jamie Lee Curtis, Brian Trenchard Smith, Russell Mulcahy, George Lazenby and George Miller this is a very entertaining look into the seedier side of Australian films.

3/5

BUY THE DVD HERE

DOWNLOAD THE FILM ON iTUNES HERE

SOUND CITY (2012)

sound-city-poster01

Dave Grohl makes this love letter to this incredibly creative place as he famously recorded Nevermind with Nirvana here in 1991. We get some brilliantly informative talking heads with some of rock’s most influential musicians and technicians, but don’t let the technical put you off, this is a very entertaining documentary that is a must see for anyone with an interest in music and sound design.

The story of Sound City, the recording studio in L.A. where a plethora of musicians recorded in the latter part of the 20th century.

“It all started with this idea that I wanted to tell the story about the board. The conversation became something much bigger. Like, in this age of technology, where you can simulate or manipulate anything, how do we retain that human element? How do we keep music to sound like people?”

Rupert Neve is a sound engineer who created the Neve analog mixing console which was one of the main reasons why the studio managed to produce some of the greatest albums from 1969-2011. This is why so many bands wanted to record here. They didn’t go for the luxury of the place, as this was hardly the venue to go to for that. What they went for was the sound.

Featuring a wealth of talented artists such as Dave Grohl, Krist Novoselic, Lindsey Buckingham, Stevie Nicks, Mick Fleetwood, Tom Petty, Trent Reznor, Lars Ulrich, Rick Springfield, Rick Rubin amongst many many others, this is one for the afficianados and music lovers alike.

3/5

BUY THE BLU RAY DVD HERE

DOWNLOAD THE FILM ON iTUNES HERE