The Ten Best
- 1. Drive
Ryan Gosling’s tense and gripping performance as a Hollywood stunt driver, who freelances as a get away driver at night, holds the audience in the grip of unnerving tension all the time he’s on screen. Supported by the beautiful and sexy Carey Mulligan, who softens the tension a little, Director Nicolas Winding Refn very original script and direction, and use of music is absolutely superb. While the violence is extreme it’s justified and understandable.
- 2. Snowtown
A chilling analysis of an actual criminal series of events which actual happened in South Australia, the bodies in the barrel story. A terrible story, well told, about terrible series of events, perpetrated by one man. A life story which gets right down to the nitty gritty of the cause of the crime, and how easily some people are led into crime by others who manipulate their thinking.
- 3. The Ides of March
A stunning performance by Ryan Gosling in a political thriller about the men who run American political campaigns. A great script and a very strong supporting cast it’s high level of acclaim.
- 4. True Grit
The Coen brother’s remake of the original starring John Wayne. It’s exciting and well shot with Jeff Bridges’ rough tough interpretation of his part, and introduces us to a new face in the form of a brilliant new actress Halie Steinfeld. A very impressive piece of work, as we expect from the Coen brothers.
- 5. The Skin I live In
Pedro Almodovar’s shockingly dark, frightening and most emotional involving stories, is a story of revenge and surgical technology, which holds our attention from beginning to end. Visually stunning and perfectly cast, every frame is perfectly set up in great detail, with resulting great effect. Another film from a master craftsman of cinema.
- 6. Midnight in Paris
The magic of Paris and the mystique of a by gone an era when Paris was full of great writers, artists and other talented creaters is Woody Allen’s best film for years. As an old man’s longing for the past it’s visually stunning and highly amusing, and we see more of the beauty of Paris than in probably any other movie. A shere delight for those who like to dream.
- 7. Incendies
A a brother and sister discover things they didn’t know about their parents, after their mother dies. The sister travels to the Middle East to discover the full truth, resulting in a completely different understaning of their parents. A brutal and frightening look at a Middle Eastern tension hot spot, becomes a complicated mystery story as one fact after another is revealed. Not a pretty story but one which needed to be told.
- 8. The Tree of Life
Terrence Malick’s impressionistic story of a Midwestern family in the 1950′s, which follows the lives of two brothers. Confounding and bordering on being pretentious, it come with the emotional weight of a forgotten family home movie. A movie that forces you to think about life.
- 9. Moneyball
Based on a true story, this is a movie for those who have ever dreamed of beating the system.Billy Beane (Brad Pitt) general manager of the Oakland A’s baseball team, is forced to reinvent his team with a tight budget. Compelled to outsmart the richer clubs, he hires a maths graduate who has developed a revolutionary player picking system. While it less about the game, what is interesting is in the mechanics of what goes on off the field.
- 10. Senna
Asif Kapadia brilliant documentary of one the most exciting Formula 1 drivers of all time, Ayrton Senna.
A documentary which gets deep into who and what Senna was, and who he got his amazing powers of concentration and dedication from.
The Ten Worst (in no particular order)
- Zookeeper
Neither a romantic comedy or a comedy for kids, this a bore and just not funny. Mixing animals and romance is ridiculous and doesn’t work.
- Shark Night
With so much over-acting, a crazy storyline and with its distorted 3D cinematography, only the technical crafting of the special effects was a plus.
- Arthur
An unfunny comedy with a new leading man and other characters who don’t match up to the originals, who are no long around. A better script would have helped, but in reality, this story has been done to death.
- Jack and Jill
Adam Sandler at his worst, trying to play the parts of twin brother and sister, who don’t get on together. It’s rude, crude and not that funny.
- Your Highness
Two princes on a daring mission to save their land, must rescue the heir apparent’s fiancée before their kingdom is destroyed. Like a couple on drugs, they cough, splutter and nod off on the job repeatedly, as if they and everyone else forgot the cameras were rolling.
- Green Lantern
The Green Lantern Corps, a brotherhood of warriors sworn to keep intergalactic order, each wears a ring that grants him superpowers. When a new enemy Parallax threatens to destroy the balance of power in the Universe, their fate and the fate of Earth lie in the hands of their newest recruit, the first human ever to be selected: With an absurd script, it has has to be tongue-in-cheek rather than foot-in-mouth.
- Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 1
At last something happens, but Bella’s and Edward’s honeymoom looks more like a cheesy sexy lengerie catalog shoot. Back off their honeymoon it’s turns into a medical emergency of a home birth.
- The Change-Up
After a drunken night out on the town, Mitch and Dave’s worlds are turned upside down when they wake up in each other’s bodies and start to freak out. Despite the freedom from their normal routines and habits, they soon discover each other’s lives are nowhere near as great as they thought. Rude, crude and quite offensive, and definitely not that funny
- The Beaver
Mel Gibson plays a man trying to re-discover his family, and re-start his life. Once was once a successful toy executive and family man he now suffers with depression. He can’t get himself back on track until a had beaver puppet becomes his permanent companion. Quite a strong performance by Gibson but the film is so full of self pity, and unreality and is never as funny as it looks.
- No Strings Attached
Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher play life long friends who almost ruin everything by having sex one morning. In order to protect their friendship, they make a pact to keep their relationship strictly no strings attached, just sex. But can you have sex without love getting in the way, and can their friendship survive? This unfunny romantic comedy that looks smutty but is actually slushy.
Lotterywest (PIAF) Film Festival
Le Havre [PG]
- Written and directed by Aki Kaurismäki
- Starring André Wilms, Blondin Miguel, Jean-Pierre Darroussin & Kati Outinen
- Runtime 103 minutes
- Four Stars
WITH asylum seekers a hot political topic in Australia at the moment, consider the problem the Europeans face. Thousands of people from Continental Africa a day seeking a better life in Europe. The film Le Havre is really a bit of fairy story about an African boy who lands in the French port city of Le Havre, trying to get across the channel to England, and join another of his family in London. This is a lighter side of Finnish filmmaker Aki Kaurismäki (The Man without a Past; Johan), whose stories are normally dark. In French with English sub-titles, it’s funny, moving, sentimental and good hearted. A look at people and the world as we would like it to be, but isn’t.
Marcel (André Wilms) a man with a mysterious past who sort a quieter life, is now a lowly shoe shiner living with his sick wife in the old poor part of Le Havre near the port. Everyday he waits for the trains in and out of Le Havre station for customers. When he comes upon Idrissa (Blondin Miguel) an African boy trying to get to London, he takes him under his wing. Police inspector Monet (Jean-Pierre Darroussin) has been instructed to find Idrissa and see him deported, knowing Marcel he sees him as being up to no good. With the help of the people of the district Marcel manages to outsmart Monet, but in the end did he really need to?
Le Havre screens exclusively at the Somerville, January 16-22.
Buck [PG]
- Directed by Cindy Meehl
- Starring Buck Brannaman & Robert Redford
- Runtime 88 minutes
- Four and Half Stars
A documentary of the life of Buck Brannaman, a man who was able to rescue a critical scene in the Robert Redford film The Horse Whisperer. A man was able after a terrible childhood of punishing violence, teaches people how to communicate with horses through feeling, kindness and gentle firmness, not punishment and cruel discipline. Buck has a magical ability as he transforms horses, as well a people, with his understanding, patience, compassion and respect. As Buck Brannaman says: “Your horse is a mirror to your soul, and sometimes you may not like what you see, sometimes, you will.” The animal-human relationship becomes a metaphor for facing the challenges of everyday life.
It’s a measure of the success of Cindy Meehl’s documentary, that’s it’s able to interest more than horse people, and people whose only contact with horses, is picking a horse in a Melbourne Cup sweep. This is a film which won the Audience Award at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival. A truly inspiring story, of love, understanding and grief, to keep it real, and a film from which everyone can learn something. The story of an ordinary man who has been able to create an extraordinary life, despite suffering a desperately disturbing childhood.
Buck screens at the Somerville, January 23-25 & 27-29, and at Joondalup Pines, January 31-February 5.
The Orator [PG]
- Written and directed by Tusi Tamasese
- Starring Fa’afiaula Sanote, Tausili Pushparaj & Salamasina Mataia
- Runtime 110 minutes
- Four and Half Stars
AS the first ever Samoan feature film, The Orator (O Le Tulafalese) is a drama set and shot in Upolu, a village in Samoa, and is Tusi Tamasese’s debut as a writer-director. Using non professional actors, the film is a story of holding ones ground when others challenge your rights and dignity. While the Samoan culture, with it’s superstitions and religiosity, would appear to be very different for our Western culture, it is in a way basically very similar to ours, but more sedate, and not so adversarial. As an interesting look at Samoan culture, they s don’t bury their dead in cemeteries, but on their own land, and their politicians are open to accepting gifts to get things done.
Sail (Fa’afiaula Sanote), is a dwarf, an unassuming villager and taro farmer, and lives happily with his beautiful wife Vaaiga (Tausili Pushparaj) and her teenage daughter Litia (Salamasina Mataia). Their marriage is happy and peaceful; but unconventional. Vaaiga was banished from her ancestral village many years ago. A land and burial ground is threatened by others, and because he is a dwarf he’s been denied his fathers chiefly title that would offer he protection. Another problem is that Litia’s ripening beauty is attracting the unwanted attention of the young men in the village. When matters finally come to a head, Saili get permission from his chief, travel to another village and put his case. As an orator can he do his duty and win his case, and so preserve his family’s rights?
The Orator screens exclusively at Joondalup Pines, January 24, 25 & 27-29.
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