Palo Alto Review

When I realised I was seeing Palo Alto last weekend and read the synopsis, I really thought I was going to see a snapshot of the lives of teenagers in America. Something edgy and raw like 13 or Skins. A more modern telling of the same kind of coming of age story and the trials we all experienced during those adolescent years. When the film began I re-framed my expectations, perhaps this was something more like The Perks of Being a Wallflower, beautifully atmospheric, accessible yet with darker tones, less raw but still realistic in its core values and message. Unfortunately, Palo Alto wasn't anything like 13, Skins or The Perks of Being a Wallflower. It wasn't really anything substantial at all.

Based on a series of short stories written by James Franco, Palo Alto follows four teenagers as they stumble through life trying to figure out who they are and what they want whilst not really figuring anything out at all.

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Scarjo A Go-Go Episode 4: If Lucy Fell, or "The Compromise"!

This week we really stretch our limits as we suffer through writer/director/actor Eric Schaeffer's romantic death-pact abomination, If Lucy Fell! But will young Scarlett Johansson continue to shine? Assuming, of course, that we can figure out how the hell she even fits into this mess! Put me in your ears and I'll unravel it all!

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Please SUBSCRIBE to us on iTunes (and rate and/or review us!), plus you can like us on Facebook, and discuss this episode in our friendly Facebook group! If you enjoy it, spread the word!

Guardians of the Galaxy

You should absolutely believe the hype about Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy. It's funny; it has some great characters, great special effects and a great little self-contained story. On the eve of it's release in Australia I recommend you all see it. More than once.

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The Dresden Readthrough: Changes

We continue our readthrough of Jim Butcher's uber-popular urban fantasy series The Dresden Files today with book twelve, Changes. The continuing plan is to do a book a month on the first Tuesday of each month, and with 16 books on the publication schedule between now and when our readthrough is over, our reading list should be pretty full for the foreseeable future. For those reading along, we are going via publication order, so our next entry will be the short story collection Side Jobs.

As for Changes, some mixed reviews had me wary on this, but outside of a pretty deliberate curveball, this ended up really restoring my faith in the series.

FPcast! The Fruitless Pursuits Podcast for August 4th 2014! Star-Lord, Man!

This week we review Guardians of the Galaxy, Perth-based apocalypse movie These Final Hours, and Gia Coppola's Palo Alto. Plus we talk about that Deadpool footage, a big batch of new trailers, and run a celebrity interview from the archives! Star-Lord, man!

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And be sure to SUBSCRIBE to us on iTunes because we do this every week! And join the discussion in our friendly Facebook group!

Scarjo A Go-Go Episode 3: Manny and Lo, or "A Certain Gift"!

This week we discuss Scarlett Johansson's first starring role in the quirky black comedy Manny and Lo in which she and her older pregnant sister kidnap a clerk from baby store and zany HIJINKS ensue! This is the sturdy foundation on which all future roles are built upon. So saddle up, Scar-scientists, an important step on our Scarjourney awaits!

DOWNLOAD HERE! (click to stream, right-click to save).

Please SUBSCRIBE to us on iTunes (and rate and/or review us!), plus you can like us on Facebook, and discuss this episode in our friendly Facebook group! If you enjoy it, spread the word!

These Final Hours Review

There’s something about the Western Australian sun that particularly lends itself to an apocalyptic feature film set in Perth. This is the setting we find ourselves in for Zak Hilditch and Liz Kearney’s story of the last 12 ours of life on Earth for a handful of characters.

As an asteroid heads towards the Earth and the temperatures sore we follow James (Nathan Phillips) as he struggles with his impending death and that of everything and everyone around him. Adamant that he will not feel anything when the end finally arrives; he leaves the woman he’s with to go to a friends party and get wasted. On the way he meets Rose (Angourie Rice), a little girl trying to find her father so that she can spend her final hours with him.

These Final Hours is currently playing at Luna Cinema’s. You can get tickets here. Some selected other cinema’s are also screening it for a limited time.

Check out www.thesefinalhours.com.au for more amazing content on the lead up to the events of the film that really build the world either before or after you see the movie. But for a little more of a spoiler free review, follow me under the cut.

FPcast! The Fruitless Pursuits Podcast for July 28th 2014: Golden 50th Episode!

This week we celebrate our golden 50th Episode! We review The Rock's Hercules, talk about the trailers including Horns and 50 Shades of Grey. Chat early SDCC news, reminisce on the beginning of Fruitless Pursuits, and wrap up by throwing in some celebrity interviews from our archives! Reserve your place at our sparsely populated party!

Download here! (Click to stream, right-click to save)

And be sure to SUBSCRIBE to us on iTunes because we do this every week! And join the discussion in our friendly Facebook group!

Scarjo A Go-Go Episode 2: Just Cause, or "The Pinata of Innocence"!

This week the child Scarlett Johansson is put in mortal danger, dangled as bait in Sean Connery thriller Just Cause. It's a step forward in terms of screen time, but at what cost! Will innocence shatter? And what powers can be found in Sean Connery's sweat! We find out as we continue to recklessly watch and analyse every single Scarlett Johansson film in chronological order!

Download here! (click to stream, right-click to save).

Please SUBSCRIBE to us on iTunes, plus you can like us on Facebook, and discuss this episode in our friendly Facebook group! If you enjoy it, spread the word!

The Book Was Better Episode 92: X-Men 3 The Last Stand (with guest host Jacinta!)

This week there's no cure for our mutant abilities, which mostly consist of being able to get through the entirety of Chris Claremont's epic novelization of X-Men 3: The Last Stand. Can the writer of the comics do better than the movie? Or was this one doomed from the start? Joining me is X-(wo)Man Jacinta of the FPcast! SNIKT SNIKT, bub!

You can download it right now from the official site!

Or why not subscribe to us on iTunes and join the discussion in our friendly Facebook group!