BIRDMAN - film

As with many films out at this time of year, Birdman is nominated for a bunch of Oscars which is of course a sign of good quality. 

(You know a film distribution company thinks they have a hit on their hands when a film like this, which is an arthousey one, is on at Hoyts Greensborough. Greensborough! The only thing stranger than that programming decision is the fact that there was four other people in the cinema in my session!)

But I'll be honest. I didn't love it.

I get why the critics love it (eg this gushing review in Variety) and I agree that the performances in it are amazing. Michael Keaton is brilliant in the lead role and Emma Stone playing his daughter also impresses. Zach Galifianakis, Naomi Watts and Ed Norton - all excellent.

I think the people who will enjoy this are people who don't just dig mainstream, people who like their films to make them think a little. If you like your movies pretty mainstream and you're just at the movies for some mindless entertainment in a rare two hour break from the kids, I think you could be disappointed by this.

Birdman is anything but mindless. It's about an actor Riggan Thomas (Keaton) who is trying to reinvigorate his career after playing iconic superhero 'Birdman' in a series of films many years ago. He's doing that by staging his own adaptation of a Raymond Carver short story 'What We Talk About When We Talk About Love' - directing and starring, no less.

If I could watch any of the 'Best Picture' Oscar nominated films again, I'd watch Whiplash and The Imitation Game again before this.

Give this Fairfax 5 star review a read if you're thinking about seeing it I reckon. It'll give you a helpful idea of the story before going in.

Trailer here. Now showing.

UNBROKEN - film

This WWII drama, directed by Angelina Jolie, is based on the true story of Olympic runner-turned US Air Force bombardier Louis Zamperini. His story is a remarkable one (der - Lush Lips Ange wouldn't have made a film about him if it wasn't!) and this film captures it in a deeply compelling way.

The parts of the film (the majority of it) that capture Louie's time stranded at sea (his plane is struck down over the Pacific) with two other soldiers and his subsequent time in a Japanese POW camp are so unrelenting that it was almost painful to watch. A sign that the story is being executed well, to be sure. It's not easy to watch in that regard but it really is an amazing story and I would happily recommend seeing this one.

For more detail on the story, check out this 3.5 star review in Rolling Stone magazine.

Trailer here. Opens 15 January.

THE HOBBIT: The Battle of the Five Armies - film

I'll open this with a frank confession. This is the third part in a series of three 'The Hobbit' films and I haven't seen the first two parts. I was preparing to be bored and confused when I watched this installment and you know what? I was confused but not at all bored! It's a drama-filled visual feast! 'The Hobbit' is a book by JRR Tolkien who also wrote 'The Lord of the Rings'. The events of 'The Hobbit' precede those of 'The Lord of the Rings'.

To be fair to the film, I took along my 15 year old nephew James who is a big fan and had seen the first two installments. I handed the blogging reigns to him and here's what he said:

"I thought the movie was a great wrap up to the three 'The Hobbit' movies. I loved the way it was presented and I especially loved the use of digital effects. Although there was something that bothered me a bit with the movie... at times it simply has too much going on. The original 'The Lord of the Rings' had two different story lines going for most of the three movies. This gave an interesting range of perspectives but at a point in this final 'The Hobbit' movie there was simply too much going on and I was just getting confused. Apart from that small issue I really enjoyed the movie. I think it was an excellent end to the 'The Hobbit' trilogy and unlike most other prequels, it linked incredibly smoothly into the first 'The Lord of the Rings'. I would highly recommend this movie to anyone who likes a bit of action and fantasy."

I guess this can all be summarized as, if you liked 'The Lord of the Rings' and the first two installments of 'The Hobbit', you will probably really like this but probably will see it regardless of the reviews. If you haven't seen any of them, don't know anything about the story etc, you will be mighty confused jumping on the bandwagon at this point but entertained nonetheless! 

It's getting mixed reviews. Here's a great one from The Wall Street Journal and here's a pretty bad one from The Atlantic.

Trailer here.

Opens in cinemas on Boxing Day.

THE IMITATION GAME - film

Loved this!

It's based on a true story about Alan Turing (played to perfection by the brilliant Benedict Cumberbatch), a mathematician who invented the first ever 'computer' during WWII to crack the Nazi's naval code to help win the war.

Keira Knightley is also in this (playing one of the other cryptologists working with Turing, the only female) and despite my general ambivalence towards her, she keeps being great in great movies like this one so I'm slowly coming around on her!

The story delicately navigates the issues of Turing's personal life too - he was gay which was, at that time, illegal.

Lots of films skew to a particular group - women will like XYZ film more than men, young people will like XYZ film more than older people, but this is universally likeable to my mind. I really can't think of a group who wouldn't enjoy it. (Ummm, maybe young bogans who find films like 'Fat Pizza' funny, but they're not likely to be reading this totes high brow blog, ok?!) 

There's a bit of Oscar buzz around this film. I'd love to see Cumberbatch get a gong for it, he really is fabulous in this.

For more on the film, try this 'B+' review in US magazine Entertainment Weekly. 

It opens in cinemas on 1 January. Trailer here.

LOVE, ROSIE - film

I've dragged my feet on blogging this UK flick and I think it's because I found it pretty dull. It's fun to blog movies that are great and even movies that are terrible but this one is just MEH. Not worth the bother. It's based on a novel called 'Where Rainbows End' which I obviously won't be rushing out to read!

Starring Lily Collins (with distractingly large eyebrows) and Sam Claflin, it's one of those 'they're meant to be together but the stars never align but then they ultimately do for a happy ending' type of thing. We've seen that story a million times and we've seen it done a lot better.

Margaret and David both gave it 2.5 stars - read their reviews and more on the film here.

Trailer here.

MY OLD LADY - film

This British/American flick never quite gets as good as I hoped it would.

Kevin Kline is great as Mathias, an American who travels to Paris to claim an apartment he has inherited from his deceased father. He arrives to find it occupied by Mathilde (Maggie Smith) and her daughter Chloe (Kristin Scott Thomas) under an unusual arrangement where Mathilde can stay living there until she dies regardless of who owns it.

A predictable ending does eventuate though only after a surprising diversion to throw you off the scent.

On Metacritic (a website that generates an average of all reviews of a film) it's sitting at 2.5 out of 5 which is exactly right for this I reckon. It's not bad but it's not great, it's just in the middle. Maggie Smith delivers a great performance as always but it's not enough to carry this into stronger territory.

Here's a 2.5 star review from the New York Times and a trailer if you want to know more.

Opens Thursday 13 November and runs for 107 minutes.

 

TWO DAYS, ONE NIGHT - film

 This arthouse release from Belgium has a gentle subtlety underlying a powerful story. 

Marion Cotillard plays Sandra, a mother of two who has taken time off from her job in a factory due to depression. While away, the bosses make her 16 colleagues decide between receiving a €1,000 bonus each, or allowing Sandra to keep her job. They choose the bonus and Sandra hears about this and persuades the bosses to hold another vote, giving her two days and one night to persuade her colleagues to vote differently that she may keep her job. Her interactions with these colleagues make up this lovely film with an unexpected ending.

Cotilliard's performance is just wonderful. I was totally engrossed in Sandra's struggle.

If you are lucky enough to see a lot of films, I would certainly recommend you add this to the list but otherwise it's one you can file away for a movie night at home some time.

Trailer here and a five star review from The Guardian here. It goes for 95 minutes and is in French with English subtitles.

FORCE MAJEURE - film

You know those times where everyone else is raving about something and you don't get the fuss?

Welcome to Force Majeure.

This is a Swiss (subtitled) film about a young family who go on a skiing holiday and while in the Alps, an avalanche comes hurtling toward them. We're assured by the dad that it's planned, they know what they're doing. But then it gets real close and things look dicey and papa does a runner away from his wife and two kids. 

Cue slow unraveling of relationship.

At first I was thinking what the film snobs have been saying... 'what a fascinating concept for a film!'

And then an hour and fifteen minutes into a two hour film I found myself looking at my watch thinking, is there really another 45 minutes to go?! I'm so bored!

The New York Times review called it "viciously amusing" and to be honest, I can't help but feel I was watching a different film. A few chuckles, sure, but "viciously amusing"? No, not for me. And locally, Leigh Paatsch from News Ltd called it a "gripping affair"... again, not for me. It also won a 'jury prize' at the Cannes Film Festival this year.


Let me know what you think if you do see this one, because as I write this, I think I'm the only person who's seen it that didn't love it or at least appreciate it.

Trailer here.

WHIPLASH - film

 It's easy to cut to the chase with a film like this. 

Because it's amazing. I absolutely loved it. Best film I've seen in ages.

It's a drama about a young jazz drummer played by Miles Teller who's studying the craft at the best music school in New York & therefore the world. He has a complex relationship with his TERRIFYING teacher played by J.K. Simmons whose face you'll probably recognise from loads of films and TV shows.

Go and see this. It's getting universally positive reviews so I doubt you'll regret it! I'm even going to see it a second time at the cinema which I rarely do.

Trailer here.

TAMMY - film

 

I'd read some ordinary reviews of this new comedy written by and starring Melissa McCarthy. Sadly I concur. I mean, it's not terrible, but to my mind it's not worth $20 of your hard-earned.

There was a handful of laughs for this slapstick-lover but with just 10 other people in a really big cinema, there really wasn't a good atmosphere for comedy. (Speaking of the others in the cinema, an adult woman had a young child with her of maybe eight or nine years. What a kncklehead - with an M rating, this is not a film for kids!)

Melissa plays a woman who is a bit of a no-hoper who gets fired from her job at a burger joint and ends on up a road trip with her grandmother, played by Susan Sarandon. A bit of a journey to 'find themselves' and what they want in life along the way but it doesn't really fire for me.

In one of the world's weirdest casting choices, Allison Janney plays the mother of Melissa's character. I was looking at the two of them thinking, they look the same age! I googled their DOBs and Allison is just 11 years older than Melissa so I felt vindicated. Dumb choice.

In the interests of fairness, here is a 3.5 star review from Fairfax press but there's also this 1.5 star review from Leigh Paatsch in the Herald Sun.

Trailer here.

THIS IS WHERE I LEAVE YOU - film

This film has a killer cast so I went in with pretty high expectations. Sadly the film didn’t live up to them. 

It's about a family of grown up children who are reunited in the town in which they grew up following the death of their father. Mum is played by Jane Fonda and the kids are played by Tina Fey, Jason Bateman, Adam Driver and Corey Stoll. Rose Byrne also makes an appearance along with familiar faces Dax Shepard, Kathryn Hahn and Connie Britton.

It was pleasant enough, not bad or anything, but just never really fired from ‘ok’ to ‘great’ territory. Goes to show that even a great cast can’t make magic out of a middle-of-the-road script.

When I read this review in The Guardian after I saw the film I said ‘yes!’ to myself a number of times – have a read if you’d like to know more. 

Trailer here. 

SON OF A GUN - film

I found this Australian film starring Scottish Ewan McGregor patchy. It follows JR (young Aussie, Brenton Thwaites) who winds up in the clink after a relatively minor crime. In there he meets career crim, Brendan Lynch (McGregor) who provides him with protection from fellow prisoners but at a price - JR's gotta help him out when they escape.

There was moments where I was caught up in the drama and thought, 'this is great!' ie. when they're in a high speed chase with actor/stunt guy Nash Edgerton at the wheel. And then there was moments where I though 'seriously?!' ie. when they try to build a dramatic moment around a romance for JR... the music builds to a crescendo that just isn't met by the actual action - the 'love story' really let this film down in my view.

There's plenty to like but this is definitely one you could leave for DVD viewing some time.

Trailer here.

GONE GIRL - film

This film is getting pretty universally positive reviews and I certainly think it's a great one, worth seeing if you don't get to the movies very often.

One thing I would say, though, is that it's a thriller based on a book (and fairly true to the book, I gather) so if you have read the book, it does become a tad less, well, thrilling, because you know how it ends! I've seen it twice and I enjoyed it a lot more the first time round when I had no idea what was going to happen with each twist and turn.

It stars Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike as a rather complex couple - he winds up under intense scrutiny when she goes missing. I will say no more as I think the less you know, the more you'll enjoy this.

Leigh Paatsch's 4.5 star review here if you'd like to read more and trailer here.

THE LITTLE DEATH - film

Gosh I loved this.

Made in Sydney by Australian actor and now director, Josh Lawson, this film is charming, funny, poignant and unpredictable.

It follows a bunch of couples in suburbia whose stories are largely independent though they do intertwine a little. For those unaware, 'the little death' is a euphemism for orgasm, so the film does declare it's hand in the sense that the stories do all carry a sexual element. For example one couple, unbeknownst to the bloke, deal with the woman's case of dacryphilia  - being aroused by her partner's crying. The lengths she goes to to facilitate this are quite extraordinary! This couple is played by Kate Box and Patrick Brammall who you may recognise as Cleaver Greene's assistant from Rake and loveable Leo from Offspring respectively. The whole thing is full of familiar faces from Australian TV and film productions though, such as Lawson himself, Lisa McCune, Kim Gyngell, Bojana Novakovic and Damon Herriman who is a favourite of mine since his fantastic performance in the TV series Laid.

One of the stories featured towards the end of the film, almost completely isolated from the others, is positively delightful. Monica works for a video call translation service and Sam calls, wanting her to translate a a call from him to a phone sex line. All you need to know is that it's funny, romantic and the two actors knock it out of the ball park.

Regular readers might know that I don't dig it when films are too long so I'm also very happy to report that this is a very disciplined 97 minutes. Didn't think to look at my watch once!

Definitely recommend this. Go and see it!

Trailer here.

THE BOXTROLLS - film

I took my 11 and nine year old nieces to see this animated kids' film figuring that as the target market, what they think of it is more important than what I think of it.

It's based on a children's book called Here Be Monsters! and the Boxtrolls themselves are, well, trolls who wear boxes. Yeah, it's a bit odd but I guess similar to Shrek in that regard.

To summarize, they both said (after being urged to be honest) they liked it and both said they found it funny. Miss nine gave special mention to the guy who dressed up and sang like a woman for bringing the lolz. From what I observed, for both my nieces and every other kid in the cinema, the funniest part was actually when someone plummeted to the ground and face-planted. Kids do love their slapstick humor!

From my adult-watching-kids-film perspective, I thought it was perfectly pleasant but not likely to take off like, say, Frozen or Toy Story did.

This 3.5 star review in the Daily Telegraph will give you a bit more on the plot etc.

Trailer here.

Opens this Thursday 18 September.

STEP UP ALL IN - film

I was especially keen to include a picture with this blog as I think it tells a good portion of the story all by itself.Think, hot babes dancing and not much more.

The fifth film in the 'Step Up' franchise, the director of this one is best known for directing music videos. Like the picture, that tells you a lot. 

In keeping with the 'Step Up' flicks before it I gather, this is all about dancing. Forget about the plot - it's as flimsy as Joe Hockey's understanding of how poor people live. If you want a strong script and solid plot and character development, this is definitely not for you. 

But the makers of this film know who their audience is and have appealed to them beautifully. At the preview I attended with a surprisingly eclectic crowd, a handful of people event clapped at the end. If you don't care too much about plot and are just happy to watch amazingly talented dancers strut their stuff, then I reckon you'll love this.  

I think three stars is probably more generous than I'd be but I agree with what this critic from The Independent in the UK has to say about this film otherwise.

Trailer here. In cinemas from Thursday 11 September.

BOYHOOD - film

This film is unique, that's for sure. It tracks the life of a boy called Mason from age 6 to 18 and rather than aging him with makeup or CGI or using multiple actors, this movie was filmed over 12 years for 3 or 4 days at a time capturing multiple moments in his life. It's a 'coming of age' story but not like any I've seen before. His parents are played by Patricia Arquette and Ethan Hawke and they are both fantastic in this.

It also felt unusual to me in the sense that there's no crescendo to the story, no big drama that it's all been building to. It's just a bunch of moments, some of which do feel more significant than others, that in total make a charming story but for me, not an amazing one.

That said, I do need to tell you that this film has had many four and five star reviews. For example, four stars here from theguardian.com and five stars here from the New York Times.

Fairfax reviewer Sandra Hall gave it three stars which is more in keeping with my personal opinion of the film. There's a lot to love - it's unique, Arquette and Hawke shine beautifully and there's something compelling about the rawness of the story. As an average (unsophisticated & boganic, some might argue) viewer though, for me it didn't live up to the expectations that came with the knock-out reviews. And at 2 hours and 45 minutes, it was just too damn long. (Or as Leigh Paatsch from News Ltd said in an otherwise positive review "At a running time of close to 3 hours, Boyhood can be messy, unfocussed and too tedious for words. Just like life.")

If you see this one, please do let me know what you think of it! And if any of you are super keen to read more about the film and the discussion around the amazing reviews it's been getting, this piece from The Independent UK is interesting: 'Boyhood gets perfect score on Metacritic but is it really the perfect movie?'

Trailer here.


* Pic at top courtesy of a clever artist at Palace Westgarth

WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS - film

As I was watching this 'mockumentary' about four housemate vampires, I was thinking 'this is one of the strangest movies I've ever seen' and by the time it had finished I think it had cemented it's place as THE strangest movie I've ever seen.

It was made in New Zealand by Jermaine Clement, who many will know and love from TV show 'Flight of the Conchords', and Taika Waititi. It's strange but bloody (pardon the pun!... They're vampires! Get it? Oh, nevermind...) funny!

There's something quite mundane and 'human' about much of the way they live, arguing over doing the dishes and the like. Their interactions with humans are all pretty funny and for me, it's even funnier simply because of their New Zealand accents - the funniest accent of them all. The absurdity of it all is the joy of it.

There's a scene where they encounter a 'werewolf' pack, whose head honcho is played by NZ actor & comic Rhys Darby, and I laughed so hard I thought I might choke. Happily the rest of the cinema was cacking themselves too so it went unnoticed.

If you can escape and enjoy this madness for what it is, there's a lot to love. I laughed and laughed and that's a big tick from me. Oh, and bonus points for a mention of a Bedazzler. 

Read about it in The Hollywood Reporter, who reviewed it following it's appearance at Sundance.

Trailer here.

LOCKE - film

" An exceptional one-man show for Tom Hardy, this ingeniously executed study in cinematic minimalism has depth, beauty and poise." - Variety Magazine

"Part of the brilliance of this utterly brilliant film by Steven Knight ... is the way it turns mundanity in modernity." - Sydney Morning Herald.

You know that feeling you get sometimes, where you feel like you're swimming against the tide of public opinion? (For me it's always when people rave about the ABC TV show 'The Time Of Our Lives'... Really?! Everyone loves that terrible show?!...)

Well I feel a bit like that about this film 'Locke'. The reviews are almost universally positive. Really positive. And yet I didn't really enjoy it. If I'm honest, I looked at my watch numerous times and the film only runs for a tiny 84 minutes! I was a bit bored.

The entire film is set in a car with Tom Hardy, the sole occupant, driving and making many phone calls. He's taking a long car journey to be with a woman he barely knows who is having his baby, the product of a one night stand. En route, he not only has to call his wife and confess but also has to continue to organise a large scale, high profile building project.

I have a handful of friends who enjoy more highbrow movies and they might like this but to be blunt, I think if I recommended it to people who don't get to the movies very often, they'd be wishing they hadn't bothered paying for a babysitter.

Trailer here.

THE HUNDRED-FOOT JOURNEY - film

This film is quite lovely. Touching enough to make my dear friend cry five times*. I'm a pretty light touch when it comes to crying (think, Kleenex commercials, montages of athletes excelling at the Olympics set to Eva Cassidy's Fields of Gold** etc) but I confess this one didn't get to me in that way. It is lovely but ultimately a bit cheesy and predictable.

It's about an Indian family who head to Europe for a better life and wind up opening a restaurant in a quiet village in the south of France. Their lively restaurant is opposite an uptight French restaurant ran by an uptight French lady, played by Helen Mirren. Things of course get off to a rocky start but lead to a very happy conclusion.

So if you like a happy crowd-pleaser (certainly skews female but perhaps not entirely a chick flick) you could definitely give this a go but if you like your stories surprising or challenging, this probably won't satisfy you.

This review from Variety gives a great outline of the story and echoes my feelings about the film, if you're keen to know more.

Trailer here.


* She is emotionally unstable on account of usually running on about 2 hours sleep

** If you think that's a strangely specific example, well... umm... yep...