January 1 2017:  
Passengers
Assassin's Creed
Gimme Danger (till 18 jan)

Happy New Year, film-loving blog readers! Hopefully you are enjoying many of the fine films that released on Boxing Day. And, like a never-ending treadmill, we are off again with a new year (almost) and a new batch of films. I've seen one that will already make my top 10 for 2017 (Manchester by the Sea, releasing Feb 2) and another that totally disappointed me and is reviewed here. Not to mention a great rock doc featuring Iggy Pop and The Stooges!

Gimme Danger
Director: Jim Jarmusch
Length: 115 min
Now playing at ACMI until 15 January

©ACMI/ Low Mind Films  - Iggy Pop - renowned for his 
crowd-pleasing,parent-shocking stage antics

While some of the world grooved along to the (comparatively!) sweet sounds of the Beatles and other iconic 60s' pop bands, a loud aggressive punky band called the Stooges emerged out of Michigan. Their lead singer was James Osterberg, otherwise known as Iggy Pop.  You don't need to be a fan of Pop, or that style of music, to really enjoy this informative fascinating rock-history doco, which is, as  the director says, "a love letter to possibly the greatest rock n roll band in history". Not my words! Soon to turn 70, Osterberg graces the screen with his wrinkly face, reminiscing on the wild roller-coaster of his career, from the outset to the reunion of the Stooges in 2003. Several talking heads put their two-bobs' worth in, and all is interspersed with clips that tell the story of an outrageous band with an unforgettable character at their helm. Revered Indie director Jarmusch (Mystery Train, Ghost Dog: Way of the Samurai, Paterson) is back at his best.   

4 -  highly recommended!

Passengers
Director: Morten Tyldum
Length: 116 min
Releasing January 1

© Roadshow - Lawrence and Pratt figure out how to kill
 90 years in space. 

A long haul spacecraft is taking 5000 folk from earth to start life on a faraway planet, Homestead II. It takes 120 years to get there, and the passengers must be put into sleep chambers. But when an electrical malfunction occurs, two passengers emerge from hypersleep 90 years too early. Aurora Lane (Jennifer Lawrence) and Jim Preston (Chris Pratt) must find a way to survive a lifetime with only each other and a robot bartender called Arthur. (Michael Sheen). I'm not sure why so many critics have their knickers in a twist heaping doo-doo on this one. I find it well made, with excellent special effects, serious moral challenges (based on a critical plot-point early on), and a scenario so horrific it leads one into philosophical debate about what it means to be alive! The two leads handle the acting load admirably, and Sheen is terrific (as always) as Arthur. 

3 - recommended!
For a full review from Bernard Hemingway (after its release):
http://www.cinephilia.net.au

Assassin's Creed
Director: Justin Kurzel
Length: 115 min
Releasing January 1

©20th Century Fox - Great cast in a disappointing film

Michael Fassbender, Marion Cotillard, Jeremy Irons, Charlotte Rampling and Brendon Gleeson. What a top-notch cast. Not to mention the Aussie director of such fine films as Macbeth and Snowtown. What could possibly go wrong? Everything!! Maybe the choice of turning a video game into an action film is always a fraught one, but what on earth were this cast thinking to sign onto this tedious clunky film, that will probably have little appeal except to gamers. With its bloated CGI imagery, and its convoluted pretentious plot I can find little to recommend it. The story is of a criminal saved from execution to be strapped into a machine called the Animus. This enables him to harness the memories of a guy from back in the time of the Spanish Inquisition. He is then expected to find the Apple of Eden which his captors will use to subjugate the human race. Admittedly the Animus and our hero recreating fights from within is quite well done, but with Templars, assassins societies, time travel and Leaps of Faith, this is about as video-gamish and nonsensical as it gets!   

1.5 - don't bother!
For a full review from Bernard Hemingway (after its release):
http://www.cinephilia.net.au

December 23rd - BLOG EXTRA

Hursto's BEST OFs for 2016
Firstly Merry Christmas, Happy 2017, and happy times celebrating whatever else you are choosing to be festive about!  (Maybe Hannukah, maybe just being with friends, maybe going on a movie binge!!) For me movies hold up the ultimate mirror to life - be it the good, the bad or somewhere in between - and help me reflect on what it means to be a human being on this planet and in this society. But enough of philosophising! 
Choosing just ten best films is really difficult. But let's give it a crack, then break it down into categories. You can read my reviews of most of these by trawling through the bar on the right of this blog site. Now, are you ready for some serious lists? 

Top 10 (in no particular order and including foreign films)
Brooklyn
Nocturnal Animals
Sunset Song
Mahana
Heidi
I am the Blues
Mr Gaga
An
Son of Saul
Hacksaw Ridge

Honorable mentions:
The Revenant
Deepwater Horizon
I, Daniel Blake
The Big Short, 
Eye in the Sky
Sing Street
Room
Hunt for the Wilderpeople

Top Foreign language films
Heidi (German - No release, but one showing Jan 13, 11am, ACMI)
Mustang (Turkish)
Mr Gaga (Israeli )
Truman (Spanish)
Son of Saul (Hungarian)
Rams (Icelandic)
Embrace of the Serpent (Colombian) 
Land of Mine (Danish - seen only at Scandinavian film festival)
Rosalie blum (French)

Top documentaries
Mr Gaga
Monsieur Mayonnaise
I am the Blues (from HotDocs festival - not released)
Shakespeare Live

Top Australian Films (not many contenders this year!)
Hacksaw Ridge
Monsieur Mayonnaise
Pawno
The Daughter
Legend of Ben Hall

Top animations
Sing
The Jungle Book

December 22:  
Rogue One
Paterson
Allied
United Kingdom
Red Dog
Sing
Rosalie Blum
La La Land

So, the year is almost at an end.  I caught up with Rogue One, and today Paterson releases. As always, the Boxing Day releases are eagerly anticipated, and this year there are LOTS of 'em! Last week I looked at Rosalie Blum and La La Land. This week I cover any others I've already seen. 
And stay tuned for a BLOG-EXTRA any day soon, with my lists of the best from 2016!

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
Director: Gareth Edwards
Length: 134 min

© Disney - the Force is back!

I was born a bit too late to be a Star Wars tragic, but I have particularly enjoyed the two most recent films, both released this year. Rogue One is supposedly the first in a Star Wars anthology of stand-alone tales, but exactly where it sits in the Star Wars "mythology" is unclear to me.  To outline the plot would be a daunting task for me - suffice to say the rebels are again fighting the evil Empire, with Felicity Jones playing the heroine accompanied by a rag-tag assortment of compadres, including a blind Japanese warrior, a defector Imperial pilot and the male hero Cassian (Diego Luna). The film is somewhat more dark and serious than its predecessors; that actually adds to its creds, making it feel like a real war story. Overall it is a well-crafted sci-fi adventure, with stunning special effects, well-drawn characters and a jolly good cast. 

3.5 - recommended!

Paterson
Director: Jim Jarmusch
Length: 115 min
(Opening Dec 22) 

© Madman - Adam Driver turns in a soulful performance

Viewers will possibly love or hate this film. Paterson is a town, and also the name of its busdriver, played by Adam Driver. (Freaky eh?) We follow his life through each day of a routine week, in which he wakes with his beloved wife, drives the local bus, writes philosophical poetry, and walks his bulldog each night, stopping in at the pub. Very little happens. Rather, the film is an exploration of what it means to live a simple life, happy in one's relationship and striving to be creative in a small way. We are party to the minutiae of conversations that Paterson overhears, and to the small details of the lives of his wife Laura and of the townspeople, from cupcake baking to heart-aches. I love the unassuming nature of this story; just ordinary people striving to rise above mundanity, to feel connectedness and to draw inspiration from those they love. It's an antidote to all the convolutions and stresses of much of today's world.  

4 - wholeheartedly recommended!
For a full review from Bernard Hemingway:
http://www.cinephilia.net.au/show_review.php?movieid=6152

Allied
Director: Robert Zemeckis
Length: 124 min
Boxing Day release

© Paramount - Pitt and Cotillard cook up an action and 
love storm!

World War II inspires another gripping film, this one about an intelligence officer Max Vatan (Brad Pitt), who teams up with French resistance fighter Marianne Beausejour (Marion Cotillard) to kill the German ambassador in Morocco. They pretend to be husband and wife, but soon fall in love for real and marry back in England. But when questions are raised about the true identity of Marianne, Max must face the most difficult time of his life. 
I'm betting this film will divide critics - those who see it as formulaic, and those, like moi, who love the re-creation of the period, with its look and its music, the intrigue of the story, and the sizzling chemistry between the two leads. Allied is strong, old fashioned film-making, with a solid narrative and fine performances all round. 

3.5 - recommended!

A United Kingdom
Director: Amma Asante
Length: 111 min
Boxing Day release

© Transmission - Oyelowo and Pike in a powerful true story of 
an African king marrying a British woman

Yet another film based upon a true story, this one begins in 1947. African prince, Seretse Khama (David Oyelowo), is soon to inherit the throne in Bechuanaland (now Botswana) and is studying law in England. There he meets and marries Ruth, a white Englishwoman (Rosamund Pike). But when he takes her back home, all manner of troubles set in. Apartheid is about to be legalised in South Africa, and the British empire has all sorts of fingers in political and economic pies. Seretse's family do not approve of his inter-racial marriage. Life becomes one giant challenge for the couple and often includes long periods of separation. This is essentially a warm and inspiring love story, set against an intriguing time of political change. The two leads conjure up a terrific chemistry, and the social issues raised are still important today.   

4 - wholeheartedly recommended!

Red Dog: True Blue
Director: Kriv Stenders
Length: 88 min
Boxing Day release

© Roadshow - Mick and Blue

Sequels can often disappoint, but not this one!  Theo is a lad desperate for a dog. His father (Jason Isaacs, known from Harry Potter among countless other films), tells his son a story about his own childhood, when, as an 11-year-old. he was shipped off to a farm in the Pilbara to live with his grandfather (Bryan Brown). There he met a one-of-a-kind dog, and the special relationship they shared makes up the narrative of the film - a sort of prequel to the legend of the Red Dog as seen in the first film. Levi Miller is charming and sweet as the lonely young Mick, who bonds like glue with his beloved dog while also learning some valuable life lessons about having a crush on your teacher! The story also has several strong Indigenous strands.  Brown is surprisingly nuanced as Gramps, the Pilbara scenery is a winner, the dog enchants, and the film leaves me with a warm glow. 

4 - wholeheartedly recommended!

Sing
Director: Christophe Lourdelet & Garth Jennings
Length: 108 min
Boxing Day release

© Universal - a total joy for all ages! 

Without being sickeningly cutesie, this charming film is mega-CUTE!! It's also funny and very intelligently scripted. Koala entrepreneur Buster Moon (voiced by Matthew McConnaghey), is trying to save his beloved but ailing theatre by staging a singing competition. All creatures great and small are invited to enter and the finalists include (among others) Rosita the pig, Johnny the gorilla, a punk-rock porcupine and (possibly) a very shy elephant. Before you adults dismiss animation, let me say the capturing of human stereotypes in these superbly anthropomorphised animals is perfectly executed, the plot is engaging and actually very touching, and the number of fabulous songs that get a run are a treat for music lovers. It's the sort of film to put a smile on the faces of all age groups. 

4 - wholeheartedly recommended!

For good measure, if you missed last week's blog, these two were reviewed and also release fully on Boxing Day:

Rosalie Blum
Director: Julien Rappeneau
Length: 96 min

© Palace - Fresh , quirky and delightful French film-making

Thirty-something hairdresser Vincent lives a routine, loveless life, with his overbearing mother too close for comfort upstairs from him. One day in the grocer shop he sees a woman, Rosalie Blum,(Noemie Lvovsky) and the experience sets off a sense of dejavu, and a burning need to know everything about her. He begins to stalk her, but she has a few counter-moves of her own up her sleeve, co-opting her niece Alice and friends to do a bit of counter-stalking. A major winner from last year's French Film Festival, RB represents for me the best of French cinema. A gentle life-affirming comedy that amuses yet reflects "real people", it is charming and touching. The clever plot which, half an hour in,  recaps the same incidents from different viewpoints will also have you guessing for a while. 

4 - wholeheartedly recommended!

La La Land
Director: Damien Chazelle
Length: 128 min

© EOne

Mia (Emma Stone) and Seb (Ryan Gosling) are young Los Angeles aspirants - she to being an actress (of course!) and him to setting up his own jazz club. They meet, and (after an initial aversion) fall in love, but do they live happily ever after? Yes, it's a musical, harking back to the bygone era of dreamy glamour and romance. The pair sing and dance at the drop of a hat, and it's fun, and beautiful to look at, especially the magic-realism sequences like the one where they dance through the stars at the planetarium. While most critics seem beside themselves with praise for this film, I have minor reservations - don't get me wrong, I was charmed and entertained, but somewhere it is lacking chemistry between the characters, and they almost try too hard at the dancing and singing, with both voices lacking. Perhaps it's not possible to wind back the clock to recreate the magic of the truly great Hollywood musicals, but La La Land should entertain.   

3.5 - recommended!

December 15:  
Mahana
Rosalie Blum
La La Land

Don't miss getting across to Cinema Nova for the wonderful New Zealand drama Mahana. Several of the Boxing Day releases are getting early previews, so let's look at a couple of them: La La Land and Rosalie Blum. 

Mahana
Director: Lee Tamahori
Length: 103 min
Exclusive to Cinema Nova

© EOne - powerful performances and great story-telling

From the author of Whale Rider and the director of Once Were Warriors, comes this powerful  drama of two rival Maori sheep-shearing families in New Zealand during the 1960s. The patriarch of the Mahana family (blisteringly portrayed by Temuera Morrison) rules his family with an iron fist, and forbids them to have anything to do with the Poata family. Grandson Simeon (Akuhata Keefe) has the strength to stand up to his tyrannical grandfather, but not without great cost to the family. As the reasons for the feud finally emerge, the two families must reassess how they will allow the truth to dictate their future dealings. Nancy Brunning as Grandmother is also superb, and the film as a whole is testament New Zealand's film-making prowess. There is strong narrative, and a deep insight into the Maori community in this intense and beautiful film.   

4 - wholeheartedly recommended!
For a full review from Chris Thompson:
http://www.cinephilia.net.au/show_review.php?movieid=6150

Rosalie Blum
Director: Julien Rappeneau
Length: 96 min

© Palace - Fresh , quirky and delightful French film-making

Thirty-something hairdresser Vincent lives a routine, loveless life, with his overbearing mother too close for comfort upstairs from him. One day in the grocer shop he sees a woman, Rosalie Blum,(Noemie Lvovsky) and the experience sets off a sense of dejavu, and a burning need to know everything about her. He begins to stalk her, but she has a few counter-moves of her own up her sleeve, co-opting her niece Alice and friends to do a bit of counter-stalking. A major winner from last year's French Film Festival, RB represents for me the best of French cinema. A gentle life-affirming comedy that amuses yet reflects "real people", it is charming and touching. The clever plot which recaps the same incidents from different viewpoints will also have you guessing for a while. 

4 - wholeheartedly recommended!
For a full review to come upon main release:
http://www.cinephilia.net.au

La La Land
Director: Damien Chazelle
Length: 128 min

© EOne

Mia (Emma Stone) and Seb (Ryan Gosling) are young Los Angeles aspirants - she to being an actress (of course!) and him to setting up his own jazz club. They meet, and (after an initial aversion) fall in love, but do they live happily ever after? Yes, it's a musical, harking back to the bygone era of dreamy glamour and romance. The pair sing and dance at the drop of a hat, and it's fun, and beautiful to look at, especially the magic-realism sequences like the one where they dance through the stars at the planetarium. While most critics seem beside themselves with praise for this film, I have minor reservations - don't get me wrong, I was charmed and entertained, but somewhere it is lacking chemistry between the characters, and they almost try too hard at the dancing and singing, with both voices lacking. Perhaps it's not possible to wind back the clock to recreate the magic of the truly great Hollywood musicals, but La La Land should entertain.   

3.5 - recommended!
For a full review to come upon main release:
http://www.cinephilia.net.au

December 8:  
Little Men
Dancer

At last a small slow-down, but the count-down is on to the big day of releases (Dec 26). Here's two new films out this week worth a look. I believe Office Christmas Party is also out, for those fans of films about people behaving badly. 

Little Men
Director: Ira Sachs
Length: 85 min

© Rialto - low key but well executed tale of 
friendship and family feuds

Firmly in the school of independent American film-making, Little Men is a gentle, sweet story of the friendship between two young loners, Jake and Tony. Jake's father (Greg Kinnear) is renegotiating a lease on a shop where Tony's mother runs a sewing business. The adults soon fall into bitter dispute, but the boys are initially oblivious of the problems. There is a real humanity and authenticity to this film which captures beautifully the dynamics of friendship, of families, and of how sometimes children can behave in a far more grown-up fashion than adults. Acting by the two young leads is terrific, and Kinnear comes back to form, ably complemented by Paulina Garcia as the seamstress. 

3.5 - recommended!

Dancer
Director: Steven Cantor
Length: 85 min

© Vendetta  - Sergei Polunin in a stunning dance sequence 
he recorded for YouTube. 

At age 19 Sergei Polunin became the youngest ever lead dancer of the British Royal Ballet. Born in the Ukraine, Sergei left in his teens to study in England, at great financial and personal cost to his family. The doco traces the history of this stunning dancer who hit the heights then burned out so young, questioning everything about this career he thought he wanted. There is nothing ground-breaking in the style of the film-making, but the subject matter is probably unmissable for fans of ballet. This young man would have to be one of the most amazing male dancers I've ever seen, and his journey is fascinating, inspirational and heart-breaking.

3 - recommended!
To watch the YouTube clip of Sergei that went viral:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-tW0CkvdDI 

December 1:  
Monsieur Mayonnaise
Sand Storm
The Founder
Golden Years
The Legend of Ben Hall

I'm getting rectangular eyes from all the viewing. And still it continues with the forthcoming Boxing Day releases  already being previewed to the media! Still, what a privilege to see so many fine films. I tip my hat to Eddie Tamir of Classic, Cameo and Lido cinemas who takes on such interesting films which we otherwise wouldn't get to see. Two of them are here this week, along with the excellent mainstream story of the rise of the Big Mac, a limited release of a fine film about bushranger Ben Hall, and a ho-hum Brit comedy about oldies behaving badly.  

The Founder
Director: John Lee Hancock
Length: 115 min

© Roadshow - Ray Kroc, so-called founder of McDonalds - 

a persistent man to be reckoned with.

The story of how McDonalds became what it is today is a fascinating one. Michael Keaton plays Ray Kroc, milkshake machine salesman, who stumbles across the McDonald brothers, who run a highly successful hamburger shop, based upon the concept of "speedie" service. Ray weasels his way into the business, sets himself up as head of franchising, and the rest is fast-food history. Keaton is masterful at playing an ambitious, ruthless man, who will stop at nothing to get what he wants. There is humour, pathos and food for thought in this highly entertaining film. 

4 - wholeheartedly recommended!
For a full review from Bernard Hemingway:
http://www.cinephilia.net.au/show_review.php?movieid=6141

Monsieur Mayonnaise
Director: Trevor Graham
Length: 95 min
Exclusive to Elsternwick Classic, Lido and Cameo

© JIFF Distribution - family, history, connectedness -
and baguettes with mayonnaise! 

Fresh from this year's Jewish International Film Festival comes a limited release of this uplifting, surprising and simply fabulous doco. Intertwining humour, paintings, recipes, anecdotes, archival footage and interviews, the film lovingly sprawls its way through the lives of Georges and Mirka Mora, both of whom escaped the Holocaust. He became a renowned restaurateur and she an iconic artist in Melbourne. Their story is told through the eyes of their artist and film-maker son Philippe, who is creating a graphic novel of Georges' time in the French resistance. Find out how a recipe for home-made mayonnaise helped people escape the Nazis!  

4 - wholeheartedly recommended!
For my full review:
http://www.cinephilia.net.au/show_review.php?movieid=6145

Sand Storm
Director: Elite Zexer
Length: 87 min
Exclusive to Elsternwick Classic, Lido and Cameo

© JIFF Distribution - the mores of Bedouin life are

 tough on women

Sand Storm has won well over a dozen awards from the Israeli Film Academy, along with a Grand Jury prize at Sundance. It tells of a Bedouin family living in southern Israel. When Jalila's husband Salim takes his second wife, life gets awkward, but things get seriously fraught when their daughter Layla decides she is in love with a boy from another tribe. With wonderful performances from the lead women (and indeed from the men), this is a powerful vision of a harsh society, one in which women must battle tradition to have a voice, and where modernity fights with long-held, repressive customs. 

4 - wholeheartedly recommended!


The Legend of Ben Hall
Director: Matthew Holmes
Length: 134 min

© Pinnacle - Jack Martin is a mighty handsome bushranger!

We all know of Ned Kelly, but maybe not so much about bushranger Ben Hall. This epic film portrays the last nine months of the outlaw's life, as he tracks down his estranged wife Biddy and little son Henry. He is lured back into his criminal ways by an old partner in crime, and it's all downhill from there! I can't fathom why this terrific film is getting such a limited release. It is well researched, feels historically authentic, and the cast are uniformly excellent. It's a fascinating look into the human face behind a slice of iconic Aussie history. 

3.5 - recommended!
For details of the limited screenings:
https://www.facebook.com/pg/benhallmovie/events/ 

Golden Years
Director: John Miller
Length: 96 min

© Rialto: 

Billed as Breaking Bad meets Best Marigold Hotel, Golden Years is firmly in the "oldies behaving badly" genre. Retired couple Arthur and Martha Goode find their pension fund has been savaged, thanks to a dodgy financial advisor, so they go on a crime spree to recoup some funds. There's some good old Brit talent in this - Virginia McKenna (from Born Free), Simon Callow, and Bernard Hill,. While the recurring theme of robberies performed with shopping trolleys, old fogey masks and cucumbers masquerading as guns starts off amusingly, it soon wears thin. With potentially serious themes relevant to many ageing folk, the film could have been a winner but suffers from a cliched gaucheness and politically incorrect jokes that wore thin years ago. 

2.5 - maybe!