After a flat-out week of interviewing bands, it was great to see all the fantastic Aussie actors making their presences felt at the weekend's epic fundraiser 'Sound Relief' in Sydney and Melbourne. The benefit gig was a labour of love for all involved but especially those in Australia's creative community.

Notables included Toni Collette, Kylie Minogue, and the co-stars of Baz Lurhmann's Australia, David Wenham and Jack Thompson. It's very easy to talk this stuff up but the feeling on the day really was warm and loving. Near knock-off my boss even kissed me on the head in a really 'Dadsy' way and I got through the whole day without swearing at or wishing to murder my co-host.

No word as we go to print about whether there'll be a DVD, but I reckon it's a given. It was all so good, it'd be a shame to miss out on living it again.

Amongst all this I have managed to see just about every film available at the moment, but I'm saving up The Boat That Rocked until I've had a chance to interview the stars Bill Nighy and Nick Frost next week. I've always had a burning crush on Nick Frost (he's the fat friend in Shaun of the Dead and plays DJ Dave in the new Richard Curtis comedy) and am hoping to be able to hold myself together during our special 15 minutes. Last time I interviewed him I did get a bit dizzy. Fingers and legs crossed.

Speaking of weird sexual tension, there's a strange and fascinating little indie flick from 2004 called Closer that you should try to check out - an ensemble piece with Natalie Portman and Jude Law, it's riveting in spite of it's excessive dialogue. In it, Julia Roberts and Clive Owen play a warring couple whose hotness for each other is matched only by their mutual nastiness. The level of bastardry is awesome and the two actors play it like they never need to act again.

So it makes sense that another filmmaker is looking to ignite the same chemistry by putting them together again in Duplicity, out this week.

Duplicity is a story about two glamorous spies who give up on low-paying government work to end up in the private sector where the stakes are high and the bonuses higher. They become embroiled in a corporate war where rival company leaders (played by Paul Giamatti and Tom Wilkinson), are so blinded by competitive rage that they don't notice the heist of the century being planned under their noses.

Clive Owen is great in anything, what can I say? The man would look good sitting in a bucket of KFC, smearing potato and gravy on his torso. Julia Roberts, on the other hand, is a bit of a misery to watch. Every shot looks like it was preceded by a war fought to stop her from looking her age. By the end of the film all that implied effort just leaves you exhausted. And wasted, because she still looks great, just... not 26 anymore.

Director Tony Gilroy got his start as a screenwriter, so it's no surprise he looked to mimic the success of his debut directorial feature, Michael Clayton by again putting pen to paper for Duplicity. But it only makes it more of a mystery why the end of Duplicity is such a massive let down! My only guess is: The final scenes were reshot time and again before they settled on this cop-out. Duplicity indeed. If you liked the Oceans movies then Duplicity might be for you. They're not dissimilar: Glossy and expensive-looking films with good old fashioned movie stars and dazzling international locations that leave no room for any kind of plot.

Weird endings must be a theme here because next week's big cinema releases The Uninvited and Knowing both veer massively into the left field when winding up their otherwise conventional, genre plots.

Melbourne actor Emily Browning stars in The Uninvited, a remake of a Korean horror film that doesn't try to be anything but a disposable popcorn flick. Star of The Grudge 2, Arielle Kebbel joins in as the sister, but spends most of the movie either in a bikini or in the bathroom which is good enough for me. It's scary enough in parts to be labeled a cheap thrill, but the ending really does leave you feeling you've just wasted your time.

Big things were expected for Australian-trained director Alex Proyas after his earlier work The Crow and Dark City stunned audiences with their distinctive, uber-gothic stylings. Garage Days sucked, but he's a talented man. His latest big-budget Hollywood flick is Knowing and it stars the ultimate Hollywood actor, Nicolas Cage.

Nic Cage doesn't so much act, as resonate. He's never believable but his presence says, "This is a bit silly, but who cares? Let's have a laugh and enjoy the bumps and bangs along the way."

The enduring box office success of Nicolas Cage is one of the great pranks of 20th Century cinema, but I get the feeling Cage is in on the joke, because here he is again, in a high-concept, big-budget flick about a message from the past predicting the end of the world. It's going to do well because people like explosions and people like Nic Cage. Aussie-actor aficionados should keep their eyes out for Rose Byrne and Ben Mendelsohn.

Just one last note: It was with great pleasure that I got to interview notorious pants-man Russell Brand, known locally for stealing the films Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Bedtime Stories from his less charismatic, less fun co-stars. No, he didn't try to pants me but did make mention that for a mother-of-two I have an impressively unsaggy nose.

XX YUMI

'Yumi Stynes has covered music, film and entertainment since the year 2000 when in her first week as a cub reporter for Channel [V] she snagged Robbie Williams. Since then she's interviewed Kylie Minogue in Germany, The Strokes in New York, the Foo Fighters every time they've hit town and everyone else from Keanu Reeves to Iggy Pop. She's as passionate about films as music and thinks everyone has the right to participate in pop culture, whether it be writing a blog, starting a band, or just heckling.'