Poll: who should play ex-Australian Prime Minster Kevin Rudd in the movie of his life?

Stop the preses!!! Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has been voted out of power by his party and...replaced...by the benevolent Julia Gillard. All hail Gillard and her glorious new regime. Sincerely, Australian Blogger.

Anywho, I know this news doesn't really affect most of my predominantly American readers; I also know that given that this year is the first year that I will be voting (it's compulsory in Australia) I should probably find out why this happened and how it affects the political climate. But instead, I thought it'd be way more fun to cast the imaginary political biopic about Australia's fallen leader, tentatively titled "BACKSTABBED: The Kevin Rudd story"

Obviously Julia Gillard (above, left) should be played by Tilda Swinton, but as for Kevin (above, right), I'll let you decide. International readers feel free to play along; the results of this poll will be announced in next weeks This Week in Film News.

Poll question: What TV show should I watch next? Also, results of a now redundant poll!

If there's one thing us bloggers seem to love, it's polls. I think the reason for this is because they make us feel loved; even if someone just accidentally stumbles across our blog on their way to pornography, the levels of effort required to participate in a poll are so minuscule that odds are they'll click on one of the options anyway. Thus we can convince ourselves that more people read our sites than is actually the case.

For example, in a poll about two weeks ago, I asked you what movie I should watch after finishing my exams; the results where as follows



So it looks like The Coen Brother's come out on top with A Serious Man. Unfortunately, this poll was predicated on the idea that I was a diligent student and would be able to hold off on going to the movies for over two weeks. However this is not the case, and I ended up going to see a total of three movies over my exam period: The Box, The Brothers Bloom as well as An Education. I really enjoyed all three, but this could have been coloured somewhat by the fact that anything beats studying for chemistry.

Anyway, thanks for the advice everyone one, even though I basically ignored it. I should say that while the initial purpose of the poll was lost, I still fully plan on seeing A Serious Man (as well as probably all the other films listed as options) once I do in fact finish my exams (in 24 hours and 12 minutes).

And as I said, all bloggers love polls. So even though the previous one turned out to be pretty much a total waste of time, I'm gonna try another one. While my movie viewing has been pretty healthy during my exams, my television habit has suffered severely. I'm a big TV on DVD person, but I currently have over half a dozen box sets sitting on my shelf that I am yet to touch.

So, once again, I've decided to let you decide which one I crack into first once my exams and an extensive period of celebration (read: drinking) have passed. And this time, I promise to actually follow your advice.

Here are your options:

Poll question: what is the first movie I should watch after exams?

Well, I had my first VCE (end of high school) exam a few days ago - it was for English, and honestly, I think it went pretty well. Unfortunately, with Maths and Chemistry fast approaching, it's all downhill from here.

Of course the worst thing about exams is that I don't get to see any new movies. I've already given up on seeing The Damned United, Looking for Eric, Mao's Last Dancer, Departures and Whip It theatrically to name just a few, resigning myself to wait for the DVDs. I'm also really annoyed that I won't get a chance to check out This Is It, the Michael Jackson movie, seeing as it's two week theatrical run goes until the 14th of November, and my final exam isn't till the 16th.

By November 16th it will have been exactly one month - 31 days - since I have seen a film in theatres (last one was Moon). I'm already starting to show signs of withdrawal, which include nervous twitching, trembling and the humming of various John Williams themes.

So come that fateful day, you can bet that one of the first things I'll be doing is going to the movies. And with all that will be on offer, I've decided to let you guys make the difficult choice for me as to what will be the first movie I see once I'm freed from high school forever.

A couple of disclaimers. First off, Zombieland, Where The Wild Things Are, Paranormal Activity and a few others aren't viable options because they still won't have hit theatres down under (yeah...don't get me started). Additionally, I've heard recently that Jennifer's Body might now be going direct-to-DVD, so that's out. Any other absences can probably be explained by the fact that I just don't want to see the film, but I've given you the option of suggesting alternatives for me if you think I've missed one.

UPDATE: In what was probably NOT the best move given the whole exam situation, I just got back from seeing The Box (and here's my review), so don't both voting for that.



Thanks for the advice everyone, and I can't wait to get back to the movies.

Poll: What is your favourite Quentin Tarantino movie?

Since writing my review of Inglourious Basterds, I've been talking with a lot with people about that film and about Quentin Tarantino in general. People seem to be having a variety of reactions to Basterds - I know some people who hated it, and others who think it really is Tarantino's masterpiece. And the views on his other films are equally divided. Seeing as though I won't be updating the site for a few days (school, arghh!) I thought I'd pose the following question: