LOVELACE - film

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

THANKS FOR SHARING - film

I enjoyed this one. It's not amazing but it's a nice enough way to pass a couple of hours!
A great cast including familiar faces Mark Ruffalo, Tim Robbins and Gwyneth Paltrow as well as the singer Pink who is actually pretty good too.

There's a lot going on which results in some characters not being explored too deeply but there's some fun and some poignancy too so I can happily but not highly recommend this one.

Here's a review from Fairfax which also outlines the plot if you're after some more detail but to cut to the chase, this is a film about s-x addiction and it actually gave me some insight into something I'd never really thought about.

I did wince a little when I noticed that the 'hopeless guy' character had the same phone cover as me. IS THAT THE PHONE COVER OF HOPELESS PEOPLE?! 
He comes good though... phew.

Trailer here

THE TURNING - film

I saw this one at the Melbourne International Film Festival a few weeks back and excitement levels peaked early as Noni Hazelhurst joined the queue just behind me! This film is three hours long and was presented all in one hit at MIFF but I gather that in the general release it’s being shown in two parts with an interval. Phew, no restricting fluids for you! In a further break with tradition, this film includes a program with your (higher than usual) ticket price and if you’re anything like me, you will definitely need it. At my MIFF screening, in what can only be described as a major event fail, we were given the program AFTER the screening and with just a quick glance, the film suddenly made a lot more sense. I thought my lack of understanding was at least in part because I hadn’t read the book but speaking to my cousin’s wife recently I felt relieved – she’s read the book and said that was pretty confusing too! And she’s a very smart woman.

I’m confident that if I’d had the opportunity to read the program before the movie I’d have loved it a lot more but to be frank I spent too large a portion of the three hours trying to work out the connections between the characters in the 17 separate short films that make up this film overall. Yes, a highly unusual and ambitious format!

That said, some of the 17 segments are, in and of themselves, visually stunning to watch and include some amazing performances. For example you will see Rose Byrne like you never have before – she’s always excellent but this character is unlike anything I’ve seen her do before. It also features Hugo Weaving, Miranda Otto, Cate Blanchett, Dan Wyllie (who I always love & this is no exception), Susie Porter & Robyn Nevin.

This one isn’t for everyone but if you’re a bit of a film buff, lover of cinematography or of great Australian actors and directors, then check it out. It is unlike any cinema experience I’ve ever had and really quite beautiful. But, you know, read the flippin’ program. 

Trailer here and a couple of reviews here and here.

STORIES WE TELL - film

To my mind, this film can be summarised in one word: boring. I literally fell asleep. And I wasn't that tired.

I feel compelled to present a defense of some sort though... I saw a 4.5 star review in The Age yesterday and the friend I saw it with also enjoyed it.

Trailer here.

BLUE JASMINE - film

This Woody Allen film starring Cate Blanchett has definitely earned the hype it's getting. (It's getting hype, trust me! For example, this review in Crikey...)

Blanchett plays a socialite who's fallen on bad times and ends up living with her sister on 'the wrong side of town' while she gets back on her feet. She is fantastic, probably the best I've ever seen her.

Towards the end of the film it feels like it's heading in a certain tie-it-all-up-neatly-in-a-bow direction but then bam! Things take a different turn and the ending is strangely satisfying.

Loved this one. Go see it.

Trailer here.

JOBS - film

This biopic about the man behind the Apple computers empire, Steve Jobs, is disappointing.
Though interesting to know the story behind said empire, there's too many problems with this one. Ashton Kutcher plays Jobs and whilst I have a new appreciation for his beautiful face, the performance is ho hum. In dramatic moments you don't buy the shouty, angry dialogue and the moments where he's trying to emulate the real Jobs' unique walk made me giggle. It just came across as silly.
By the end of the film I think we're supposed to see him as more human and feel some sympathy for him but I just spent the entire film thinking 'this guy was a massive jerk'. 

Crikey's film reviewer Luke Buckmaster & I are on the same page about this one. Read his take-down of the film here.

And The Age's critic gave it one lonely star which I think is a tad harsh, maybe 1.5 or 2 for me. So, you know, still crap.

Definitely not worth getting yourself to the cinema for in my view.

Trailer here.

THE ROCKET - film

This Lao/Australian film is just superb. I absolutely loved it.

Some of you may know that I have a personal connection to Laos which I guess did heighten the warmth I felt towards this film (the fact I was drinking a Beerlao as I watched probably also helped) but even those with no interest in or knowledge of the country will enjoy this.

It's won awards at the Berlin International Film Festival, the Tribeca Film Festival, the Sydney Film Festival and the Melbourne International Film Festival which speaks volumes.
The film is about a young Lao boy Ahlo whose family believe he is cursed and his quest to break free from that. The kid who plays Ahlo, Sitthiphon Disamoe (a former 'street kid' I gather), is really delightful and his young female sidekick is also really great. The growth of their relationship on the screen feels really authentic, it's lovely to watch.

This really great article in The Guardian will give you some background on the film if you want to read more, including the insights of the Australian writer & director Kim Mordaunt. Mordaunt was also featured on At the Movies from ABC TV which you can see here.

Go and see this one, it's fantastic! Trailer here.