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