January 31st
Seberg
The Peanut Butter Falcon
A Hidden Life

As January races to an end (where did that month go!!??), and we head for Oscar season, three new releases provide another hugely variety of viewing. One true WW2 story of a conscientious objector, a whimsical tale of friendship in America's south, and a biopic of persecuted actress, Jean Seberg.  

A Hidden Life
Director: Terence Malick
Length: 174 min

 ©  Fox Searchlight  –  slow but moving - almost
a spiritual experience in itself

Franz Jägerstätter (August Diehl) is an Austrian farmer, living in a picture-perfect village with his wife Fani (Valerie Pachner) and his three little girls. When war breaks out Franz is called up for a second time, but he refuses to swear an oath of allegiance to Hitler. His deeply religious beliefs dictate that, if something is evil, one must do something. Despite pleas from Fani and other villagers, he refuses and is imprisoned. Fani and her family are reviled and ostracised by the village. A nominee for 2019's Palm D'or, this film, based on a true story, is classic Malick - long, slow, exquisite to look at, and conveying a deeply spiritual sensibility. While acknowledging this type of film-making is not to everyone's taste, I find it deeply affecting -  exquisite to look at, superbly acted, and with a power that taps into things way beyond the banal: a man's convictions so deep he will risk his life; the beauty of nature, so indifferent to the cruelty of humans; the anguish of a loving family torn apart; the acquiescence of so many to the bullies in power and their cruelty to those who take a stand. There is a depth to this film that rewards the patient viewer with a movie experience beyond the everyday.
4.5 - wholeheartedly recommended!

The Peanut Butter Falcon
Director: Tyler Nilson & Michael Schwartz
Length: 93 min

 ©  Rialto –  aw shucks! Friends on the run
in a real home-spun adventure

Zak (Zack Gottsagen) is a young man with Down Syndrome, forced to live in an old-age home. After escaping, with the help of an elderly resident (Bruce Dern), Zak hides out in a fishing boat owned by Tyler (Shia LaBeouf) who is himself on the run, pursued by some local fishermen. The pair head off, Mark Twain style, for a down-South adventure, involving a raft, shooting, fishing and a lot of friendly bonding. Zak hopes to reach the wrestling school of his hero The Saltwater Redneck (Thomas Haden Church), but meantime Eleanor (Dakota Johnson), Zak's nurse from the aged home, is also on his tail. This amiable tale is almost too sweet to be true, yet it manages to generate plenty of warm fuzzy feelings with a hugely positive attitude towards Down Syndrome. Gottsagen himself is a Downs man, and is charming in his role as the wannabe wrestler, taking the odd name of the film's title.The settings are lovely, from the bayous, to the Mississippi, and the gently emerging friendship between the men works well. Yes it's predictable and at times formulaic, but there is enough quirk, and moments of humour and empathy to make it a heart-warming movie experience. 
3 - recommended!

Seberg
Director: Benedict Andrews
Length: 103 min

 ©  Icon –  Kristen Stewart again shows her acting chops 
in the sad story of a persecuted star 

Jean Seberg was an American actress who spent much of her life in France, and became immortalized in the 1960 Jean Luc Godard New Wave film Breathless. Spending more time in Hollywood in the late 60s, she aligned herself with activist causes, particularly the Black Panthers. This drew her to the attention of the FBI and she became a hounded figure, constantly under surveillance, the subject of scurrilous "fake news", all of which led to her mental decline and paranoia. Kristin Stewart is the star of this biopic, which focuses upon that period of Seberg's life in America, as she battles the FBI, their investigation helmed by (the fictional) Agent Jack (Jack O'Connell). Her involvement with Panther activist Hakim Jamal (Anthony Mackie) is also central to the film. I'm at a loss as to why many critics are so down on this film. Stewart is stand-out excellent as Seberg, capturing the feel and style of the young starlet. Yes, there are flaws, perhaps the main one being that the script fails to give us a real sense of Seberg's motivations, and it also chooses to create unnecessarily stereotyped FBI characters who at times dominate the main character in the film. But as a picture of how someone's career and mental state can be destroyed by over-zealous governments, it works well - tense and disturbing. 
3 - recommended!

January 23rd
Fantastic Fungi
Underwater
Just Mercy
A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

A complete bag of 'allsorts' this week: a brilliant doco starring mushrooms, a terrors-of-the-deep action flick, a legal drama based on true horror in America's south, and an inspiring story of friendship and grace, also based around a real-life TV personality. 

Fantastic Fungi
Director: Louie Schwartzberg
Length: 82 min
Exclusive to Cinema Nova

 ©  Nova/Reconsider – this will change your view
on mushrooms, fungi and the world. 

Who'd have ever thought a film about mushrooms could be so engaging? Well, it's actually about much more than mushrooms per se. I've learnt that Fungi is an entire kingdom in the world of living things, and that this kingdom contains 1.5 million species, six times more than the plant kingdom. Fungi are the oldest living organisms, and what we learn from this film about their interconnection with all life on earth is mind-blowing. Mycelium (of which mushrooms are the fruit) are of course critical to death and decomposition, in turn giving rise to new life. In the medical field, their possibilities remain still largely under-utilised and the film examines this too, (think magic mushrooms and more) along with ways of using fungi to help clear up pollution and save the bees. With important insights from leading mycologists (mushroom experts) and mycophiles (mushroom lovers), along with the most beautiful time-lapse cinematography, this film is an eye-opening education, that both entertains and changes one's view of how we can, in fact should, relate to our natural world. 
4 - highly recommended!

Underwater
Director: William Eubank
Length: 95 min

 ©  Twentieth Century Fox –  give us more
female heroes like this one

Norah Price (Kristen Stewart) is an engineer on a mining rig. Seven miles below the ocean's surface, pitch black with unimaginable pressure, the rig presents  challenging working conditions. When an explosion occurs things go dramatically pear-shaped. Five employees manage to survive the initial catastrophe, but their only hope of safety lies in walking across the ocean floor (in their pressure resistant suits) to another abandoned mining rig, in the hope there are enough escape pods to get them safely to the surface. But it seems they are not the only living creatures on the ocean floor. There is much to be enjoyed in this nail-biting claustrophobic film, and a few things that disappoint. The oppressive environment is masterfully created, and from the first explosion, to the climactic finale the tension rarely lets up. Stewart is suitably kick-arse as a competent fearless woman (even if she performs heroic acts in nothing but her underwear!) Vincent Cassell is a strong foil as the captain, and the thumps and fleeting images of "what's out there" all build up the suspense. However, when we do finally see what's threatening the crew, it's a bit of an anti-climax; the unseen is always scarier than the seen, I believe. Regardless, for fans of this genre, those who love scaring themselves to death, Underwater should do nicely.
3 - recommended!

Just Mercy
Director: Destin Daniel Creton
Length: 136  min

 ©  Roadshow - tense and riveting fight for justice -
and it's all true.

Here's another movie based upon a true story, and a really important one it is. Newly graduated Harvard lawyer Bryan Stevenson (Michael B Jordan) travels south to Alabama in the late '80s to set up a legal advocacy to fight for prisoners wrongly convicted, or tried without access to proper legal representation. His first case is that of "Johnny D" McMillan (Jamie Foxx), accused of murdering an 18-year-old white girl, despite there being no concrete evidence, other than a bogus testimony from convicted criminal Ralph Myers (Tim Blake Nelson). Although no ground-breaking film-making happens, the story is told with such sincerity, solid acting, and an emotional wallop, that it has won me over totally. Jordan can at times be a little one-note, but his character comes across as tenacious and dedicated to justice, while supporting performances from Brie Larsen as Eva Ansley his assistant, and Blake Nelson as the repulsive Meyers are first-class. Foxx is totally convincing as Macmillan, and has already several awards. Scenes featuring Johnny D's cellmates, all on death row, are heart-breaking, and the case for no death penalty is eloquently presented. Images of irrational white bigotry against blacks, especially as dealt out by law enforcers, will induce seething anger. This is a powerful story that should be seen, to remind one of the evil of prejudice, and how fearless are those who put their lives on the line to fight it.
4 - highly recommended!  

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
Director:Michelle Heller
Length: 108 min

 ©  Sony –  "niceness" goes a long way in this
gentle, absorbing story of a journo and 
real-life TV hero Fred Rogers

Heard of Fred Rogers? I hadn't until I saw a documentary last year called Won't you Be My Neighbor. In this latest feature film about said Fred, Tom Hanks plays the much-loved host of the TV show Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, which ran on American TV from 1968 to 2001. Rogers used his educational show to build children's self-esteem and discuss all manner of topics that could trouble small folk. Real-life journalist Tom Junot was sent to write a magazine piece on Rogers. Here, in the movie inspired by that magazine piece, the journalist is Lloyd Vogel (Matthew Rhys), an anger-prone, cynical man, initially determined to expose Rogers' "niceness" as a sham. The effect Rogers will have on Lloyd's life is totally not what the journo expects. There is something so old-fashioned, gentle and kind about Mister Rogers, and Hanks is the man born to play him. His current nomination is for Best Supporting Actor, since the movie is more about Lloyd, his dysfunctional relationship with his father (Chris Cooper), and the sorting out of his life, thanks to Rogers. If viewers know nothing of Rogers' show I wonder what they will make of this film - but even starting with a blank slate, one cannot but recognise and admire the values, so unusual in today's fast-paced abrasive world, that Rogers' typifies. Fortunately it avoids sentimentality (just!) This is anything but a blockbuster, and it should have a strong emotional effect on all but the most hardened hearts. 
3.5 - well recommended!

January 16th
Biggest Little Farm
Bombshell
Meeting Gorbachev
Dolittle

Three-quarters of this week's films feature animals - one has the real farmyard variety, another has an array of digitised critters, and another has an animal of the human variety, hiding in the guise of a media magnate. Add in a doco on Gorbachev, and you have an eclectic selection of movie offerings. 

Biggest Little Farm
Director: John Chester
Length: 91 min

 ©  Madman – you've got to love Emma the pig, a star of 

this inspiring doco. 

John Chester was a documentary film maker in LA for 20 years. His wife, Molly, was a chef. In 2011 they were threatened with eviction from their city apartment, thanks to the incessant barking of their dog Todd. So, they left their jobs and headed to the countryside, 200 acres of it, in Ventura County California, and set up a farm. Initially the soil was utterly impoverished - little more than dust - but with creative, sustainable, bio-regenerative farming practices they set up one of the most impressive all round farms you can imagine, with a vast variety of animals, thousands of fruit trees, a myriad of crops and more. The doco was filmed over eight years, so is an up-to-the-moment record of the years of toil, heartache, challenges, and ultimately, huge success. Initially the Chesters found for every step forward, new challenges emerged. Getting aphids, ladybugs, coyotes, birds, chickens and countless other conflicting elements to ultimately reach a balance is critical to the Chesters' journey. This is a hugely enjoyable, informative and uplifting film that stresses the interconnectedness of all aspects of the ecosystem, and shows the importance of understanding nature. The animals are charming, especially Emma the pig. I have changed my garden mulching regimen as a result of being inspired by this fabulous doco. 
To read about the Chesters' farm, visit: www.apricotlanefarms.com/
4 - highly recommended!

Bombshell
Director: Jay Roach
Length: 108 min

 ©  StudioCanal –  the performances are a standout.

2016 was a watershed year for women, and for the Fox TV empire. Roger Ailes, (John Lithgow) had been the CEO of Fox News for ten years. At a network mired in conservatism and male dominance, women were given high-profile jobs only if they were glamorous and  "played the game". This impressive film tracks the 16 days that brought Ailes down, as anchor-woman Gretchen Carlson (Nicole Kidman) filed a suit against him for sexual harassment. Together with Megyn Kelly (Charlize Theron), they enlist the support of more than 20 other women, including the fictional character of Kayla (Margot Robbie), who represents the many aspiring young women who capitulated to Ailes's repugnant methods of eliciting "loyalty" to the firm. Departing with a massive payout, Ailes became history, and a portent of the worldwide movement which now sees more and more woman calling male behaviour to account. Already Theron and Robbie are sporting a raft of award nominations for their performances, and it is the strength of all the acting that really stands out. Not to mention the extraordinary make-up and prosthetics work to transform the actors into their characters. Roach directs the film with a ferocious energy which never lags, with fast paced scenes that at times become a little confusing to follow, especially when the legalities come to the fore. But this is an important film, which really shows the anguish so many women have been through, and the fraught world of high-profile TV shows.
4 - highly recommended!

Meeting Gorbachev
Director: Werner Herzog
Length: 95 min
Exclusive to Cinema Nova

©  Rialto – intriguing doco on a controversial
figure of 20th century history

Mikhail Gorbachev is considered by some to be one of the greatest politicians of the 20th century. Many love him for being instrumental in helping to end the Cold War and making the Soviet Union more transparent, as well as starting talks with the US to decrease nuclear arms and allowing the reunification of Germany with the fall of the Berlin Wall. Many within his country loathe him for facilitating the break-up of the Soviet Union and its accompanying economic crisis. German director Werner Herzog is obviously very invested in the history of the area. At times he seems almost a little too intrusive upon the interview. But for lovers of political history, this fascinating doco should shed further light on the man, and the country he led for some years until he was ousted in 1991. In a frank interview, we learn of "Gorby's" personal life, his continuing commitment to his ideals, and with the excellent archival footage, we get a wonderful insight into history and the way it can unexpectedly deliver dramatic changes almost overnight.
3.5 - well recommended!   

Dolittle
Director: Stephen Gaghan
Length: 106 min

 ©  Universal  – love seeing RDJ
on screeen . . . but . . .

John Dolittle (Robert Downey Jnr) is a famed doctor and veterinarian living in Queen Victoria's England. He has an extraordinary gift of being able to talk to animals, and understand them, in all their different languages. But he is grieving the death of his beloved wife and has holed up in Dolittle mansion with only his beloved beasts for company. When a young lad Stubbins (Harry Collett) wanders in with an injured squirrel, along with a princess begging Dolittle to come to the aid of a perilously ill Queen, the adventure begins. The actors voicing the animals in this film are notable: Emma Thomson as Poly the Parrot, Rami Malek as Chi Chi the gorilla, Octavia Spencer as the duck, and even Ralph Fiennes as Brian the tiger (add Antonio Banderas, Jim Broadbent and Michael Sheen as humans, and you have an all-star cast. The digitised animals must have cost most of the film's budget, but even the impressive voice-cast and the wondrous array of animals can't save this patchy, uneven film, that should have stayed with its early promise of being a quirky English fun-filled romp. (I chuckled at the start, but my laughter progressively waned.) Instead it lurches into horribly Americanised and predictable dialogue, totally inappropriate to the original tale. Its uninspiring and cursory narrative arc features adventures that fail to thrill, and plot points that are hackneyed and trying too hard to be funny when they're not. Unlike many other fine kid's flicks, there is no sub-text aimed at adults. Little ones may be entertained by the endless (overly long?) animal shenanigans, but as a film it is a disappointing remake of one of my favourite stories.
2.5 - maybe (though I'm tending towards don't waste your time)!

January 9th
1917
Little Women
Saun the Sheep: Farmageddon

The year's early film offerings continue with a bang! 1917 has just won the Golden Globe Best Director award, while Little Women is wooing critics and audiences alike. And with school holidays in full swing, what better than a madcap animation that will enchant the kids and the adults, in the next instalment of Shaun the Sheep? 

1917
Director: Sam Mendes
Length: 110 min

 ©  Universal – powerful and visceral filmmaking
puts the viewer into the heart of a  horrific war

At the height of World War One, two young lance corporals Schofield (George MacKay) and Blake (Dean-Charles Chapman) are sent on a critical mission to cross through enemy lines to find their men and deliver a message that may save the lives of 1600 soldiers. Mendes has based this film upon the stories his grandfather told him about the horrors of trench warfare and the sort of sacrifices soldiers made for a cause they believed in. What is incredible about this movie is that, throughout the entire film, the camera never leaves the main characters - it follows them as if in one long tracking shot (some seamless edits were employed.) At times the camera is behind them, then it wheels around for different angles, but it never leaves them. In this way the audience is utterly immersed in the action, with them as they trek through mud, over dead horses and corpses, into abandoned farms, bombed villages, fast-flowing streams, risking all to follow their orders. The two leads inhabit their roles, and are well supported in smaller roles by the likes of Colin Firth and Mark Strong. Attention to detail is painstakingly immaculate, as are all the reconstructed scenes of the various locations and the costumes. The prosthetics and make-up departments must have worked overtime to generate the feel of death and destruction, while all is augmented by a stirring score (a Golden Globe-winning score!) from Thomas Newman. I know war stories aren't everyone's bag, but anything that puts the viewer so viscerally into the experience has to ultimately carry a mighty powerful antiwar message. This is technically brilliant film-making, with a strong story and first-rate production values.
4 - highly recommended!

Little Women
Director: Greta Gerwig
Length: 135 min

 ©  Sony – touching retelling of an old story - 

with strong feminist overtones

With so many film versions of this classic Louisa May Alcott 19th century novel, one could be forgiven for wondering what could possibly be done with it that is fresh. But hey - Gerwig has delivered up a stunningly beautiful, romantic, yet surprisingly modern take on this classic story of four sisters, their supportive mother, and the various aspirations, romances and travails that govern their lives. The casting is immaculate and helps the film soar. Saiorse Ronan brings to her Jo an energy and feminist sensibility; Emma Watson (ex Hermione from Harry Potter) is gorgeous as Meg, who will settle for love over money; Florence Pugh (so amazing in Lady Macbeth) is perfect as socialite Amy; while the fragile Beth is delicately played by Aussie actress Eliza Scanlan. To round out this blisteringly good cast of women you have Laura Dern as Marmee, and the always pitch-perfect Meryl Streep as the austere Aunt March. Exquisite Timothy Chalamee is Laurie, the rich neighbor who seems to love all the sisters, while Tracey Letts, Bob Odenkirk, Louis Garrell and Chris Cooper are all spot on in the other male roles. After a brief early moment of thinking Jo perhaps seemed too modern, I was totally drawn into the lives of these characters and in awe of the respective strengths of each girl as she grows to womanhood. The film is stunningly shot, some scenes looking like an impressionist painting, and the era overall is recreated to perfection, yet it remains throughout relevant to today, and many of the issues women still grapple with.
4.5 - wholeheartedly recommended!

A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon
Director: Will Becher, Richard Phelan
Length: 86 min

 ©  Studio Canal – as

expected: clever, crazy fun

In the town of Mossingham in rural England a spaceship lands, and a strange but incredibly cute alien called Lu-Lu emerges. Curious Shaun, ever up for an adventure, befriends Lu-Lu and the pair devise a plan to get the alien back to her family on a far planet. Unbeknown to them an alien-hunting government agency, headed by a fearsome woman called Red, is also on their tail, while the farmer who owns Shaun and his flock sees a major opportunity to install a money making space theme park on his land. Lovers of films from Aardman studios (Chicken Run, the Wallace & Gromit films), will love this follow up to 2015's Shaun the Sheep. In the inimitable signature style of the studio, the characters are again stop-motion claymation puppets, and, despite their simplicity, every tiny nuance of a gesture tells a whole story. This one takes elements from many of our favourite sci-fi films, from Close Encounters, to ET, along with references from the X-Files and more, and cobbles the whole into a fun-packed crazy caper, that has enough sly references to amuse adults while the kids are wallowing in moments of slapstick and general lunacy.
4 - highly recommended!

January 2 2020
The Gentlemen
Great Bear Rainforest - IMAX

It's hard to believe we are into a new decade (or are we? Some believe it starts at 2021, but let's not get into that debate.) Happy New Year to you all, though I find it hard to be happy in the face of this horrendous crisis we are facing with the bushfires. My heart goes out to everyone affected by it. What a catastrophe. Maybe when life is so oppressive, the cinema is a place to forget for a couple of hours. 

The Gentlemen
Director: Guy Ritchie
Length: 113 min

©  Roadshow - a smart film to chase away the 
blues. 

Mickey Pearson (Matthew McConaughey) is a suave drug lord, running his marijuana empire out of London. He's ably assisted by his astute wife (Michelle Dockery). When he  decides it's time to sell up and starts negotiations with a couple of potential buyers, the plotting, scheming, bribery and general double-crossing shenanigans begin. Ritchie is back to his early form in this highly entertaining, cleverly scripted, action-packed comedy. Editing is well-paced, and the script whip-smart. There are so many wonderful one-liners, and countless mind-boggling convolutions in the plot, and the cast is to die for. Hugh Grant sports an outrageous cockney accent, playing a manipulative journo looking to make some quick cash. Colin Farrell, Charlie Hunnam, Henry Golding, Jeremy Strong and Eddie Marsan all play criminal personalities larger than life. The characters appear true to the title, but when the violence starts, it's full-on. I can't profess to follow all the intricacies of the plot, but I find myself extremely entertained and impressed by this caper.  
4 - highly recommended!

Great Bear Rainforest
Director: Ian McAlister
Length: 41 min

©  IMAX - don't try this at home! Getting up close
and personal with a white spirit bear

The Great Bear Rainforest on Canada's Pacific coast is one of the wildest places on earth, and the last intact temperate rain forest. Grizzlies, wolves and otters are there in abundance, as well as a bear sacred to the Indigenous people of the area - known as the spirit bear (a sub-species of the American black bear). Local Indians, appearing on film for the first time ever, protect the animals. As with most IMAX films this is all too short - I want to see much more of this inspiring area and its fascinating inhabitants, human and animal, but it's over almost as soon as it starts. Still, it's a great treat for nature lovers, especially bear buffs, though even there, we don't see as much of the furry fellows as I'd have wished for.
3 - recommended!