What a week it has been, my friends... I'm flat out exhausted and we're only at Thursday! Nothing better than a week of solid, fun work to remind you you're alive, especially when that work involves red carpet premieres and interviews.

As I said last post, I'll be sharing my review of Iron Man with you soon but, for today, we're going to be focusing on Fox Searchlight's new gritty cop drama-thriller Street Kings. Before we do though, I'd like to congratulate user ann_spittles who was the first to answer almost every question from the Uber quiz correctly! Ann, if you can email me at hanso_ninja@yahoo.com.au, we'll see if we can sort you out a prize... I'll share the full answers list with you all next time :) But for now...

STREET KINGS SHENANIGENS

Well, Tuesday was quite a day, from beginning to end. I got into work early so I could prepare for an early interview with the film's star Keanu Reeves. I'm a huge fan of his work - it seems for as long as I can remember loving movies, I can remember loving movies with him in them. Bill & Ted, Point Break, Speed, Matrix... you get the idea. I was geeking out pretty hard.

I'm not mucking about when I say I feel this is the best interview I've done yet. He was amazingly giving with his answers and made me feel totally relaxed, meaning a better interview. I even worked up the nerve to ask about Bill and Ted - it isn't often one gets an audience with Ted "Theodore" Logan himself!

Watch my interview with Keanu Reeves now!

That night, the red carpet premiere for the film was held at the recently refurbished George Street cinemas. If you've visited this cinema before you'd be well aware of the size - well, things are a little different now as they have G-Max screens. Basically, the screen and cinema is a lot larger and the seating is closer to the Gold Class experience. Friends, I can't recommend G-Max enough - if you like it loud, large and lounge-y, you'll be in heaven.  

As much as I tried, waving and jumping about, no one seemed to want to take red carpet photos of me - *shock horror* /groan - so I rushed inside and took my seat. The cool thing about many red carpets is that they actually play the video feed from one of the red carpet cameras inside the cinema on the big screen, so not only can you watch for your friends arriving but you can watch the stars deal with hundreds of screaming fans and Richard Wilkins! Keanu looked like he handled it without breaking a sweat, brushing off stupid questions and cuddling up with fans. He then entered the cinema, thanked us all for coming and introduced the film.

It's not our premiere, but you can check out pics from the Los Angeles Street Kings premiere here.

Now, I'm going to let you in on a little secret - I actually saw the film two weeks ago. There was no way I was sitting down to talk about a movie I hadn't seen yet, so I snuck into a press screening. The fact that I happily chose to catch a cop movie not once but twice should tell you about the quality you're dealing with here, but I should step back and fill you in on why.

The cast alone lends the film a weight of credibility - Keanu is the lead Thomas Ludlow, a cop who dares to walk the line between light and dark, doing what others won't. Forest Whitaker (The Last King of Scotland) is his department boss Jack Wander; Jay Mohr (Jerry Maguire), Amaury Nolasco (Prison Break's Sucre) and John Corbett (Sex and the City's Aidan) his co-workers. Hugh Laurie (House) plays the captain charged with investigating the internal affairs of the departmant, bringing him in direct conflict with the group. Terry Crews (The Longest Yard) portrays a former member of their squad who appears to have come clean about some of the shady dealing and tactics employed during his time under Wander's leadership. Chris Evans (Sunshine) is a young detective swept into their world, while rappers Common and The Game put in memorable turns as drug thugs. Dirty deals breed dirty dealings and before you know it, you won't know who you can trust.

Seriously, re-read that cast list if you need proof of the calibre of this film. Add into the mix a story by James Ellroy (L.A. Confidential, The Black Dahlia) and director David Ayer (Training Day) and you get a film that perfectly nails gritty, high-tension LA cop drama. You'll leave the cinema thinking you know who came out, but as you piece the story back together on your drive home, you may find yourself wondering if anyone corrupt can ever be called a winner...

~T