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...

BEGIN AGAIN - film

I thought this movie was delightful. A feel good film that I would happily recommend to a pretty broad range of people. 

Keira Knightley plays the lead female and I'm not much of a fan of hers so it's testament to what a lovely film this is that I could get past that. And she even sings in it! And can actually sing! Adam Levine from band Maroon 5 is also in it (they both play singer/songwriters) so together, it's a really great soundtrack too. It probably also helps that it also stars Mark Ruffalo and James Corden - love them both!

Though not groundbreaking cinema, it's a damn nice way to spend 105 minutes! And special shout out to the Sun Theatre in Yarraville where I saw this one, a beautiful old cinema I haven't been to in about ten years. If I lived closer, I'd be there all the time.

For more on the story and a great four star review, check out this piece from The Guardian.

JERSEY BOYS - film

I'll be honest, I didn't know a thing about The Four Seasons or Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons for that matter. If you don't either (I'm too young, I hear you cry! Me too - yay us!) don't let that stop you. This Clint Eastwood film is a great with brilliant music throughout. So I guess it'd be a no if you don't like musicals but otherwise this is just a jolly good time!

Here's a four star review from the Fairfax press, check it out for some nice praise and more details on the flick if you're thinking of seeing it.

Trailer here.

SEX TAPE - film

I'd read this 1.5 star review in the Fairfax press so I had low expectations. The first little while was actually ok and I was thinking that the review was pretty harsh. 

And then it all went down hill.

Given the title, I'm sure you're all clever enough to know that this is about a couple who make a sex tape and then... surprise! It gets out! Hijinx ensues!

I'd say give this a miss. Maybe on DVD at a stretch. And to anyone who's heard Cameron Diaz is naked in this and wants to perve on her, just Google it & save yourself a lobster. (It's not full frontal or anything!)

Trailer here.

THE LUNCHBOX - film

"A mistaken delivery in Mumbai's famously efficient lunchbox delivery system connects a young housewife to an older man."

This got four stars from both Judith and Jason on At The Movies (filling in for Mum and Dad... I mean, Margaret and David) so I had pretty high hopes for this film and it didn't disappoint. It's poignant, subtle and funny. My one criticism would be that it felt long - longer than it was at a reasonable 101 minutes. There was a few sneaky peeks at my watch which is a sign things are moving slowly for me.

It's a more arthousey kind of flick (Indian) than mainstream, with some of it subtitled. If that's not your thing, you probably won't love this but if you like more contemplative kind of stuff, go for it.

More on the lovely and unusual storyline in the At The Movies review here and trailer here.

CALVARY - film

Loved this film!

It has so many things you want in a good film - compelling story that maintains your interest, humour, a great cast performing beautifully and an element of the unexpected.

An Irish crime drama with moments of black humour, I'd highly recommend you get along to this one. Stars Brendan Gleeson, who is off-the-dial good, with great support from Chris O'Dowd and others.

Read this 4.5 star review in the Fairfax press for more on the story or just to hear more high praise for this flick.

Trailer here.

BLENDED - film

The only thing crappier than this film was this promotional cup I accidentally bought at the Hoyts candy bar...

Seriously though, this film was ordinary, full of lame jokes, cliches and unbelievable plot lines.

I'd confidently say give it a miss but in the interests of fairness, most people in the cinema laughed more than me.

Here's a 2-star review from the Fairfax press that I reckon is bang on and a trailer for your viewing 'pleasure'.

FRANK - film

It's pretty easy to 'cut to the chase' on this film because it's so strange that I really don't know how to describe it!

What I can say though, is that it's really quite charming and I did enjoy it.

If you like unusual films straight out of left field, give this a go. If you have mainstream taste and don't get to the movies often, I can safely say you ought to give it a miss.

Here's a nice four star review from The Guardian and here's a trailer. Even if you don't plan to see it, give the trailer a squiz - it's a fascinating concept!

Stars (though, it's complicated - watch the trailer!) Michael Fassbender for those of you who are fans.

THE ROVER - film

I really try to support Australian films so I bought my ticket to this one blindly, having read no reviews and not knowing anything other than it is by the same director as 'Animal Kingdom', David Michod, and stars Guy Pearce, who I love, and Robert Pattinson, who many of you will know from his turn in the Twilight flicks. 

At first I was enjoying this film, which is sort-of thriller/drama, I guess, set in the Australian outback. The story starts with Guy's character Eric's car being stolen and the film is a journey of his desperation to get it back but we don't find out the reason for it until those closing scene of the film and for me, that just made it hard to buy into that desperation. As the film went on I just couldn't help but feel we weren't really getting anywhere. And I was struck by the large amount of violence that doesn't sit comfortably with me personally.

Regardless, Guy Pearce delivers an excellent performance and Robert was a pleasant surprise to this non-Twilight fan. On that note, any fans of Robert Pattinson's work from that franchise, you need to know that The Rover is a very very different film to those ones!

If you have mainstream taste and if you don't get to the movies very often, I'd say you should give this a miss. For the smaller pool of people who like more arthouse stuff and who get to the movies regularly, this film will divide you, if the reviews are anything to go by. They are very mixed - a reminder that ultimately even critics using the same techniques to review a film can easily come to different conclusions.

I've done the reading and broadly grouped them here for those looking for a little extra light reading. Leigh Paatsch's review is probably most in line with my own opinion of the film but I'm listing the positive reviews here too in the interests of balance.

Positive:
Margaret & David on At The Movies ABC TV - 4 stars from both
Variety Magazine

Middle of the road:
Paul Byrnes in Fairfax press - 3 stars (Includes a quote to which I actually said "yes!" out loud when I read it - "Michod has tried to take out everything extraneous, but he ends up with a plot that we have to construct ourselves, and a punchline finale that is more suited to a short film than a feature.")

Not so positive:
Leigh Paatsch in News Ltd press - 2.5 stars
The Guardian - 2 stars
New York Times - 2.5 stars
The UK Telegraph - 2 stars

Trailer here.

THE FAULT IN OUR STARS - film

This film is based on a young adult novel of the same name by John Green and you know what, this old "young adult" bloody loved it!

It's not perfect, artful cinema but it's a beautiful execution of a heart-breaking story. We know from the outset that there will be heartbreak on the horizon, after all, leading lady Hazel has a terminal illness, but it breaks you in a way that I for one never expected. 

You connect with the main characters Hazel and Gus straight away and you get swept away in their ultimately tragic young love story.

WARNING: You will cry and cry and cry. It takes a while for the weepy stuff to get started but by gee, when you get going you will wish you had a lot more tissues in your pockets than you probably do. Don't say you weren't warned.

So if you're up for a big ol' cry courtesy of a sweet heartbreaking love story, get thee to a screening of The Fault in Our Stars.

More on the story of the film in this review in The Age which I reckon is on the money.

Trailer here.

MALEFICENT - film

Maleficent, starring Angelina Jolie, is described as a 'fantasy adventure' film, a genre which is not usually my cup of tea to be honest but I didn't mind this. Also described as a re-imagining of the film Sleeping Beauty, this time around it tells the story from the perspective of Maleficent. I don't remember the Sleeping Beauty story at all though so don't sweat that connection too much - the story stands alone just fine.
My mate who took me along to this is more into both fantasy and adventure than I and she really enjoyed it. To quote 'if you like fantasy, this one's for you!'.

If you don't get to the movies often, I'd probably save this for a DVD viewing.

Three stars from both Margaret and David on ABC TV's 'At the movies' and I reckon that's about right for me too.

Trailer here.

THE TRIP TO ITALY - film

I thought this film was delightful but the reality is that it's not for everyone.

It's a follow up to 'The Trip' which was both a film and TV series. If you liked one of those, you'll enjoy this.

Rob Brydon (who I love) and Steve Coogan play versions of themselves and in this turn they're travelling through Italy eating amazing meals and visiting important sites from the lives of poets Byron and Shelley.

It's an unusual concept which I think many would probably just not particularly enjoy even though there's little you could really object to.

Here's a good review of the film from the Sydney Morning Herald with a trailer.

If you get to the movies pretty regularly and like things a little less mainstream, then check this one out. If you don't get the chance to see one very often and you like your flicks pretty middle-of-the-road then this probably isn't for you.

CHEF - film

This feel good flick is written and directed by and stars Jon Favreau who will be familiar to many of you. He plays a chef whose creativity and temper see him suddenly looking for a new gig. Hellooo, food truck revolution!

I don't use 'feel good' as a throw-away cliche, it genuinely does leave you with that 'well that was nice' feeling at the end.

Is it an amazing 5 star kind of film? No. But if you're looking for a movie to see that's easy to watch and just good fun, then check this one out.

There's an unusual incorporation of Twitter which I haven't seen a film before. Again, just good fun. 

There was a funny line in the film about American reality TV star Honey Boo Boo which was lost on everyone in the cinema if their reaction (*crickets*) was anything to go by. I guess I should be embarrassed that I got it.

I tend to agree with this review from the Washington Post. Check it out for more on the storyline, cast etc.

Trailer here.

THE OTHER WOMAN - film

This chick flick with Cameron Diaz at the helm is predictable and lame.

As the woman sitting next to me said as she left the cinema... "What a pile of crap".

Couldn't have said it better myself.