The Wolverine takes Parramatta

With the relevant part of Parramatta completely turned Japanese, and after the intersection of Smith and George Street even got a set of shiny new japan – style crosswalks, all was ready for the first of two shooting days for those scenes of The Wolverine.

A small crowd is watching the action from behind the barriers, patiently waiting between takes.

Another view of the fully decorated corner of George and Smith Streets.

The street signs in view of the cameras didn't escape the Asian transformation either.

Even this humble bus stop, way outside the closed off film set, was given a makeover, in case it will end up in the background of some shots

Actors, extras, and crew are waiting for the next take.

The cars on the set are lined up, ready for another take. Guess which of these two will get a close-up shot.

And here we go: Background … Vehicles … Action!

The Wolverine in Parramatta

Apparently a scene for The Wolverine is going to be filmed in Parramatta this weekend. And indeed, the corner of Smith and George Streets is being transformed into "downtown Japan".





And while I'm at it, just because I can, a composite image of Smith Street. This picture is composed of 10 photos (2 rows of 5), stitched together in Hugin.

Bargain Bin Masterpieces

Sales at the local video store. A "selected range of DVDs" reduced to $ 12.98 apiece, in conjunction with a "buy 2, get 1 free" offer! As expected, it turned out to be a very selected range, consisting mostly of truly crappy flicks I wouldn't waste my shelf space on if they were thrown at me for free.

Still, a bit of digging revealed a couple of movie history milestones that were still missing from my – admittedly humble – collection. So, with Dark City, Holy Grail, and Pulp Fiction for only $ 8.65 each, I'm now fully prepared for the next rainy weekend.

Smokey and the Bandit

It was Saturday afternoon, the weather was about as crappy as it gets around here, and I don't really need an excuse to indulge in what must be one of the guiltiest of guilty pleasures.

Watching Burt Reynolds and Jackie Gleason in what is essentially a 90 minutes car chase is still good fun; despite the fact (or perhaps because) there's no storyline of any significance, or any character development worth mentioning, interfering with the plot of one car chasing another from Texarkana, Texas to Atlanta, Georgia for the flimsiest of reasons.

Burt Reynolds never seems to hesitate to make fun of himself, as he's introduced in the opening scenes not as a heroic daredevil racing driver, but as a has-been who is being paid to hang out at the local truck race (the movie wastes no time establishing itself in the world of redneck hillbillies) so "people can look at the legend".

Country singer Jerry Reed, as Reynold's truck driving buddy, adds a few dry one-liners and also supplies the embarrassingly catchy theme song. And Sally Field, with her best roles clearly still to come, may easily be out-acted by Fred the Beagle, but she does bring, as Cledus mentions so subtly, "a nice ass" to the mix.

The movie certainly takes us back to simpler times, to times when seatbelts were for wussies, the good guys were allowed to smoke, GM was still making cool cars, and movie stunts were done for real, without the "help" of some sterile CGI effects.

While the cars are clearly the stars and the various chases, crashes and heart-stopping near-misses are the highlights of the film, Gleason's Sheriff Buuuuuuford T Justice clearly stands out among the actors' performances. Gleason brilliantly portrays this caricature of a Texan law enforcer, incorporating every cliché ever conceived about this particular breed of humans.