For the younger generation, the question is “Who is David Byrne?” (Who ISN’T he?) – they’d be interested in the Fatboy Slim side of things, looking for some techno dance to go to their next beach party with.

For your information, David Byrne equals Talking Heads lead singer. Fatboy Slim equals Norman Cook, with a touch of Beats International. Together, they bring together an interesting project which has a fresh appeal to the young and old. Here Lies Love is the result. A tiny bit of history behind this album: Here Lies Love is based on Imelda Marcos,  the widow of Former President Ferdinand Marcos, of the Philippines, and her relationship around Estrella Cumpas, a servant from her childhood.

It appears Byrne and Cook have brought out the talent with this 22 track album, with vocals supplied by Florence Welch, Tori Amos, Martha Wainwright, Steve Earle, Cyndi Lauper, Santigold, and more. Even Byrne lays down a few vocals for American Troglodyte and Seven Years.

As beautiful as this album sounds David Byrne fans will definitely get a kick out of this album. It is not for the Fatboy Slim fans who expect something similar from his You’ve Come A Long Way Baby and Halfway Between The Gutter & The Stars. Here Lies Love is more of a contemporary style album where you could enjoy sitting back on the lounge, or to compliment your evening meal. There are some funky beats where you can treat yourself with a delicious dessert. The vocals used are the right match for each song, which suit the theme for the album. So, if you’re after a change of scenery, Here Lies Love will add a little oriental spice to your life.

Here Lies Love is out April 9.

I was a partial sucker to watching the Oscars. Every man and his dog was watching most of it. Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin were pure gold as hosts. I wish the Logies were that great.

I did get a kick out of Jeff Bridges winning the Best Leading Male Actor award. Not only did he beat the odds (and he’s a damn fine Actor) but when the movie was announced what he had won it for (Crazy Heart), another tune popped in my head when he went up and collected his award on stage.

Let’s dive back into the vaults again to see what’s out there that we may or may not know of, in sequels and prequels to movies.

Free Willy

The 1993 childrens movie, based on a killer whale (Keiko) being taken from its natual habitat and thrown into a Seaworldesque theme park. While making a human friend with Jesse (Jason James Richter), Willy is desperate to escape and get back home. The movie was a major success, with help of Michael Jackson releasing “Will You Be There” as the theme song. To cash in on the success, a sequel Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home, was released in 1995. The original cast appeared in the 2nd movie, and Michael Jackson returned for the soundtrack. Even the original killer whale signed the dotted line. This again was a commercial success, so the movie studio decided to release Free Willy 3: The Rescue, in 1997. Jason James Richter and Keiko returned once again for the 3rd sequel. However, it was a major commercial flop. But, as most studios do, over 10 years later, tap into a source of franchises and try and reboot the story. Free Willy 4: Escape From Pirate Cove, will star Bindi Irwin and will be released around 2010. Sadly, Keiko the Killer Whale, died in 2003 from pneumonia. Jason James Richter is still around…

The Land Before Time

This one is a huge one… so I’ll keep this as brief as possible.

This animated franchise was bloody huge when the first movie was released in 1988. It was a merchandising dream. I still remember Pizza Hut having hand puppets of Littlefoot, Cera and the rest of the gang. It was a box office success, especially with Steven Spielberg and George Lucas having their fingers in the pie. However, this was the only film that was released at the cinema. The following were straight to video:

• The Land Before Time II: The Great Valley Adventure (1994)
• The Land Before Time III: The Time of the Great Giving (1995)
• The Land Before Time IV: Journey Through the Mists (1996)
• The Land Before Time V: The Mysterious Island (1997)
• The Land Before Time VI: The Secret of Saurus Rock (1998)
• The Land Before Time VII: The Stone of Cold Fire (2000)
• The Land Before Time VIII: The Big Freeze (2001)
• The Land Before Time IX: Journey to Big Water (2002)
• The Land Before Time X: The Great Longneck Migration (2003)
• The Land Before Time XI: Invasion of the Tinysauruses (2004)
• The Land Before Time XII: The Great Day of the Flyers (2006)
• The Land Before Time XIII: The Wisdom of Friends (2007)

Only Spielberg and Lucas had dibs on the first one. The rest – blame the studios.

Wild Things

In 1997, Starship Troopers gave Denise Richards the “She’s hot! I want to see her topless!” image. We didn’t see her boobs in that movie as Dina Meyer had the cards on that one. Many horny teens had to wait a year until 1998, when the sex-crime thriller Wild Things came out. The “it” girl of 1998 Neve Campbell as a co-star, sexed up the screen with Campbell and Matt Dillon in a threesome. We saw Richards topless, but Campbell mainly wore a singlet, only to be covered by Dillon when the singlet was removed. Being a huge success, two sequels were released, straight to DVD. Wild Things 2 was released in 2004, and Wild Things 3: Diamonds In The Rough, in 2005. Both sequels had the exact sexual theme, with the dark mystery and conspiracies , but just with different actors/characters. Quite repetitive. Here’s a link for you – Dina Meyer, appears in Wild Things 3.

Director Tim Burton is known for his dark, gothic style movies: Beetlejuice, Batman, Edward Scissorhands, Sleepy Hollow, the list goes on. The majority of them have Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter in them too. (Burton is married to Carter.) After re-visioning the timeless classic Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, he’s rubbed his hands all over Alice In Wonderland, giving it his magic touch.

The casting is second to none. Alice is played by relatively unknown Australian actress Mia Wasikowska. We begin with a young Alice, who has already experienced her time in Wonderland. Her father is her idol, an explorer who is a heavy business dealer, but loving father. Fast forward 10 years, and we meet a mature girl-cum-lady, who hasn’t fully let go of her childhood. Her portrait of everyone’s favourite daydreamer is magical.

Being rebellious but maintaining the innocence, Alice has been thrown into the deep end of the classic arranged marriage to a Lord who is quite the upper-class twit. After realising that this new world in front of her is just not her thing, her imagination starts creeping into everyday life, with discreet appearances by The White Rabbit. After seeing visions, Alice follows the rabbit, into the well known rabbit hole. As the story unravels, we all begin to meet the characters: Cheshire Cat, Caterpillar, Dormouse, Mad Hatter, Tweedledum and Tweedledee… they’re all there. But we soon discover that she’s been to Wonderland before, and they don’t fully recognise her as she’s all grown up. However, as the awareness begins to unravel, the familiar story falls into place.

The CGI used in the film is a visionary experience. The sceneries are enriched with colour and tremendous detail, including managing to get The Red Queen’s head (Helena Bonham Carter) larger than her actual body. Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter is hilarious, especially when we first meet the crew at the tea party. Anne Hathaway as the White Queen is gorgeous, with enough white to make you go blind. The mindless slapstick with Matt Lucas playing Tweedledum and Tweedledee is funny, that oozes throughout the film. The kids will find the film visually brillant, while the adults will get a kick out of the layer of humour to get through the 2 hours of entertainment.

With an all-star cast (try and spot the voices), this will take you back to your childhood. There is slight violence, such as eye poking and the odd beheading, but a fun family film that everyone will love.

Rating:  

Karl Stefanovic + Wii =…