Wednesday 28 September 2022

September 29th

On the Count of Three
The Humans
See How They Run
Clean
Marjorie Prime (streaming on SBS On Demand)
I am Mother (streaming on Netflix)

The new releases are coming thick and fast. They are as diverse as chalk and cheese. Plus a couple of futuristic films to catch on streaming services. I would never have known about Marjorie Prime, except for a series I love called Stars of the Silver Screen, in which the hosts discuss what they believe is one of Tim Robbins' best (but little known) films. 

On the Count of Three
Dir: Jerrod Carmichael
Length: 86 mins
© Umbrella - a suicide pact goes
pear shaped.  
The startling opening scene features best friends Kevin (Christopher Abbott) and Val (Jerrod Carmichael) aiming a gun at each others' heads. They have made a pact to end their lives . . . on the count of three. The flashback to earlier that same day, finds Kevin in a psychiatric insititution, (after an earlier suicide attempt),  but Val turns up to break him out. We discover that they didn't follow through on their pact, and have decided to enjoy one final day together, doing whatever they want, with no consequences. Things don't work out quite as they plan. This is an audacious attempt to marry a serious look at mental illness, depression and suicide among young men, with a level of black comedy. Mostly it works well, with dialogue that veers between moving and revealing, and some intensely bleak and disturbing moments. Tiffany Haddish is excellent in her small role as Val's girlfriend, but it is Abbott's performance that is a revelation, as he straddles the entire sepctrum of human emotion. Whatever the guys do that we may disapprove of, we can't help but like them and relate to their sad and sorry view of life.
4 - highly recommended

The Humans
Dir: Stephen Karam
Length: 108 mins
Exclusive to Cinema Nova
© Madman - tense and realistic family
drama at its best
Erik Blake (Richard Jenkins) and his family gather together for Thanksgiving at the Manhattan apartment of his daughter Brigid (Beanie Feldstein). Brigid's sister Aimee (Amy Schumer) is upset over a recent breakup and a pending job loss, Erik's wife Deirdre (Jayne Houdyshell) is permanently malcontent, Brigid's boyfriend Richard (Steven Yeun) battles on bravely, while old grandma (June Squibb) languishes in her wheelchair, quite out of it. The apartment is old, and soon strange noises erupt, lights go out, nerves go on edge, but what then emerges are all the tensions and baggage between family members. The film is based upon a play, so e
verything is set strictly within the confines of the two floors of the apartment. Though this could sound dull, the cinematography employs ultra-creative angles and aspects, keeping the interest up. Most impressive is the naturalistic script and acting, making you feel like a fly on the wall in the midst of an absolutely credible family drama. This is not an "easy" film, but once you immerse, it presents a welcome truthfulness not often seen in these intensely  interpersonal dramas. The ensemble cast is top-notch, with Jenkins giving a career best. Despite all the angst, there remains a slight edge of humour, and the never-explained bizarre happenings in the apartment simply add to a feeling of doom and gloom.    
4 - highly recommended 

See How They Run
Dir: Tom George
Length: 98 mins
© Searchlight Pictures - archetyal British
murder-mystery fun
In 1953 the London theatre hit The Mousetrap is celebrating its 100-day run. Obnoxious Hollywood director Leo Kopernick (Adrien Brody) is sent to start procedings to turn it into a film. When he is found murdered, Inspector Stoppard (Sam Rockwell) is called in, with rookie cop Constable Stalker (Saiorse Ronan) under his tutelage. How you react to this film will probably depend upon whether you are into this genre of British comedy-murder-mystery. This one is played for laughs, and chock-full of sly nods and winks (for those in the know), to all manner of theatrical goings-on. With old fashioned split screens, flashbacks, and elements of farce, it may either enchant you or annoy you. Sometimes the script feels too contrived for its own good, but the ensemble cast is strong. Ronan is especially funny as the dead-pan, eager young policewoman, and she and Rockwell play nicely off each other. The look of the era is beatifully captured, as is the theatrical feel of both the actual theatre, and the subsequent assembling of major players at the home of Agatha Christie (Shirley Henderson) for the denouement. I had plenty of mirthful chuckles throughout, which speaks well for its success as a crowd-pleasing light entertainment.
3 - recommended 

Clean
Dir: Lachlan McLeod
Length: 92 mins
© Madman - terrific doco about an 
extraordinary woman doing a nightmarish job
Trauma cleaning involves a crew of people going into premises many people would avoid - places where a murder has happened, where someone has died and their body languished, or where someone has hoarded to the point of rendering a house uninhabitable. Sandra Pankhurst founded Specialised Trauma Cleaning Services in Frankston in the 1990s, and this beautiful doco traces her amazing story. From her birth as a male, through being adopted, abused, working as a prostitute, and then coming out as a woman, Sandra has shown nothing less than kindness and compassion to all those she and her team have helped. This is solid film-making, with the focus on Sandra recounting her life, (with a few re-enactments) and the film-makers going along on jobs with Sandra's dedicated crew, who describe what this work means to them, and what a wonderful woman Sandra is.
4 - highly recommended

Marjorie Prime
Dir: Michael Almereyda
Length: 99 mins
Streaming on SBS On Demand
© a soulful examination of love, loss and
a possible future 

It's about 30 years in the future. Marjorie (Lois Smith) lives with her daughter Tess (Geena Davis) and scientist husband Jon (Tim Robbins). Marjorie has early signs of dementia and spends her days talking to a computerized version, known as a "prime",  of her dead husband Walter (Jon Hamm). The robot/hologram of Walter is programmed with relevant information from the past, and he learns more through ongoing conversations. The film is based upon a play and (like The Humans) takes place in the confines of an apartment. But the story has great depth, as it is dealing with not only the meaning of being human, but with complex ideas around memory, as it relates to identity and to differing interpretations of a shared past. What are we if not our memories? The film focuses upon this disturbing question, and the progress of the plot, jumping several years, brings some unexpected surprises. The sensitive performances from all, especially Lois Smith, lend a gentle beauty and a melancholy to the whole thing. 
4 - highly recommended 

I Am Mother
Dir: Grant Sputore
Length: 113 mins
Streaming on Netflix
© Netflix - a solid sci-fi with an
intersting premise
The earth's population has been wiped out by an unspecified extinction event. Robots have been programmed to repopulate the earth with frozen embryos, and so a robot called Mother (voiced by Rose Byrne) finds itself raising a cute little girl,  Daughter (Clara Rugaard). All is well for many years, the bond between child and parent strong, until a wounded stranger (Hilary Swank) turns up at the facilty, begging for help. To say more would be to spoil the plot. The true tension lies in the big questions that are raised when the Stranger starts telling Daughter things that clash with Mother's interpretation of the world. 
This is a baffling, yet thought-provoking movie, which questions the nature of parenting and of being human. Actor Luke Hawker inside the massive robot brings an eerie semi-humanity to Mother, while Rugaard gives an utterly convincing performance making you believe the hulking heap of metal is her mother. At times the plot points are so ambiguous I find myself not completely comprehending what the truth is, and that is perhaps what adds to the intrigue of this strong sci-fi, from an Aussie first-time director.
3.5 - well recommended 







Thursday 22 September 2022

September 23rd

Avatar - remastered and re-released with 4K HD sound and picture
You Won't Be Alone
Fall
Inventing David Geffen (Streaming on Netflix)
More from the St Ali Italian FF 

It was brilliant to revisit Avatar back on the big screen, in advance of the sequel releasing at the end of the year. A couple of new mainstream releases are reviewed, along with more from the Italian Film Festival. I'm trying to include each week a film review for those still staying out of cinemas, and you know how I love a good music-based doco - this one on David Geffen is a winner! 

Avatar
Dir: James Cameron
2009
Length: 162 mins
© Searchlight - if you missed it back then,
don't miss it now!
The year: 2154. The planet: Pandora, a lush beautiful world, with an atmosphere poisonous to humans. Its indigenous people are the 3m tall, blue-skinned Na'vi, a group living in harmony with nature. 
Rich mineral deposits abound and Earthlings want to get their hands on them. To be able to exist on the planet however, humans must link their minds into Na'vi-human hybrids called Avatars. Marine Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) is now in a wheelchair, his legs useless, but he is chosen to be an Avatar after his twin brother dies. Initially asked to spy on the Na'vi, Jake finds himself falling in love with a local woman, Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) and becomes initiated into the tribe. Torn loyalties and the threat of warfare loom. If you missed this film thirteen years ago, I urge you to go along, or even give it a second viewing, as I have done. With a couple of hundred awards and nominations, this is one of the highest-grossing movies ever, and visually it is an extraordinary feat of motion-capture animation, and exquisite set design. In 3D, the viewer is drawn into a world of awe-inspiring beauty. The scenes where the Na'vi and Jake ride their horse-like and dragon-like steeds, soaring and diving through floating mountains are jaw-dropping. The plot, although resonant of other futuristic films, is totally engrossing, and there is so much relevance to modern-day issues of progress/greed  versus Indigenous populations. Add an excellent ensemble cast, including Sigourney Weaver, and you have a film to make nearly three hours just fly by. 
4 - highly recommended

You Won't Be Alone
Dir: Goran Stolevski
Length: 108 mins
Exclusive to Cinema Nova
© - a new twist on an ancient tale 
It's the 19th century in a remote Macedonian mountain village. The locals are superstitious, and evil spirits abound. When a baby is born, a horrifically scarred witch (Anamaria Marinca) arrives to steal the child. The mother strikes a deal, promising the witch she can have the child, Nevena (Sara Klimoska), when she is 16, but not before the witch steals the baby's tongue, rendering her voiceless. Despite all tricks by the mother to protect Nevena, Maria gets the girl and turns her into a witch. Then the fun and games really begin: Nevena is able to take on the physical forms of others (after she has killed them), assuming the appearance of another woman, a man, a young girl, and even animals.  She is able to experience life through the eyes of others, regardless of gender, and understand what it means to be human. This is a disturbing and complex film, a morph of folktale and horror story, with a dollop of philosphical musing on the nature of human beings. Shot in a remote Serbian village, the film looks magnificent, its score is suitably broody, and having a high-profile star like Noomi Rapace gives it extra cache. The Aussie/Macedonian director chooses his mother tongue as the language of the film, bringing an authenticity to this blood-soaked but gripping story.
3.5 - well recommended 

Fall
Dir: Scott Mann
Length: 107 mins
© Roadshow - it seemed like an adventure
but turned into a nightmare
The film opens with Becky (Grace Caroline Curry), her husband Dan (Mason Gooding) and friend Hunter (Virginia Gardner) climbing a terrifyingly sheer cliff face, just for fun. When tragedy strikes and Dan falls to his death, Becky goes into reclusive self-destruction for the next year. But Hunter is determined to get her friend back into life and face her fears, cajoling her into going along on a climb involving a 2000 ft tall disused TV tower in the middle of the Mojave desert. Yes! The intrepid gals make it to the top, but then the rickety, rusted ladder they had used falls to pieces and they are stranded on a small platform, with no phone reception. What an exciting premise! All the heart-stopping excitement you could want is expertly crammed into the early part of the film, with vertigo-inducing overhead shots, close-ups of feet slipping on rungs, bolts shaking themselves loose, and plenty of near falls. The clever development of an inspired rescue plan by the girls has you again holding your breath. But the further the film progresses, it starts to descend into cliche, lazy scriptwriting (how many times can they ask each other "Are you ok?"), shallow character development, and a denouement that is too sudden and seems almost to have skipped a few scenes. Regardless, the type of visceral thrills on offer make it a terrific big-screen experience, unless of course you can't stand heights.  
3 - recommended

Inventing David Geffen
2012
Dir: Susan Lacy
115 mins
Streaming on Netflix

© Netflix - a man who epitomises the 
idea of going for what you want
Don't you love a rags-to-riches story? And don't I love a doco based around the music and film  industry! This tale features a young dyslexic boy from a working class Brooklyn family. Ever able to wangle his way into anything, David Geffen gets a job in the mailroom of a show-biz agent, and from there works his way to the top, becoming one of the most powerful entertainment moguls in modern history. No need to fill you in on all the details of this man's career, kickstarted by his unwavering confidence that he could create anything he wanted of his life. Geffen is relaxed as he talks openly about his life, while the number of iconic stars with whom he has worked reads like a who's-who of modern American pop culture: Neil Young, Crosby Stills Nash, Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, Elton John, Guns 'n' Roses ... the list just goes on. His only heterosexual relationship, with Cher, is an intriguing interlude, but it is his ultimate founding of Dreamworks SKG that is the pinnacle of his carreer so far. The doco includes, as to be expected, facinating old still pix, archival footage, music clips and more. It's a must for modern pop culture vultures.
4 - highly recommended

More from. . .
St. Ali Italian Film Festival
Palace Cinemas
In Melbourne until 12 October
For other states, times, ticketing, etc visit www.italianfilmfestival.com.au
I brought you four recommendations last week, and here are a couple more excellent films for your consideration.

Ennio - The Maestro: Ennio Morricone has written the score for more than 500 films and TV shows, and is a composer of the highest calibre. From the early 60s, until his death in 2020, he has given the world such unforgettable soundtracks as The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, The Mission, Cinema Paradiso, Once Upon a Time in the West, and a gazillion more. 
This is a must-see film for musicians and music-lovers. Ennio talks in detail about how he crafted much of his music, while renowned directors, including Bertolucci, Eastwood and Pasolini, speak of their experiences working with the man. Musicians, the likes of Bruce Springsteen and Hans Zimmer, are among those who add their keen observations. The doco is an in-depth insight into the creative process and the life and legacy of a true legend. 

The Inner Cage
: This taut drama is set in a decomissioned prison, where a group of prisoners is awaiting transfer. The officers remaining to guard the prisoners are headed up by Gaetano, (Toni Servillo), a man who does everything by the book, while the prisoners look to mob boss Carmine (Silvio Orlando). As the days drag on, the rules start to relax, enabling officers and prisoners to get a glimpse of each other's humanity under their facades. This award-winning film (Best Actor, Best Screenplay), is psychologically intense and, while it moves slowly, it keeps a constant level of dramatic tension and engagement with the characters. Tony Servillo is always an actor to be relished watching on the big screen.  





Thursday 15 September 2022

 September 16th

Moonage Daydream
The Territory
St. Ali Italian Film Festival

There is an eclectic range of films this week from an unmissable film about David Bowie, through to an important doco on the Amazon rainforest and its indigenous inhabitants. The Italian Film Festival brings you a magnificent selection of Italy's latest films, along with several classics. 

Moonage Daydream
Dir: Brett Morgen
Length: 160 mins
© Universal - a tour de force of
film-making
Mindblowing, visionary, purely cinematic, experiential, magnificent . . . the adjectives are insufficient to convey what an incredible piece of film-making this is. It's the first film to be officially approved by David Bowie's estate, and is a celebration of 
his life's journey - musical, creative and spiritual. There are no corny voice-overs here, just kilometres of captivating footage, and Bowie's own words, expressing his philosophy of life and death, music and art, and a host of esoteric matters in between. The film's style at times is that of a video-clip maker on mega-steroids, so frenetic and in-your-face are the images and accompanying music. The genius creativity of Morgen in creating this film perfectly complements the genius of Bowie. Some segments feature footage of Bowie in concert at various stages in his life - his Ziggy Stardust incarnation, and his later "real self", no longer hiding behind the make-up and costumes. We also discover Bowie's artistic pursuits, especially painting and sculpture. When Bowie expounds his life philosophy there is wisdom to be gleaned, and life perspectives worthy of mulling over. For a person who never really considered herself a big Bowie fan, I find myself absolutely blown away by the man and the film, and intend a second viewing to further plumb the Bowie phenomenon.
5 - unmissable

The Territory
Dir: Alex Pritz
Length: 85 mins
© National Geographic - disturbing and
inspiring - fight for the Amazon
Most of us know the dramas going on in Brazil as the mighty Amazon rainforest is invaded and  progressively destroyed. But we don't often get an inside look at the lives of those indigenous people who call the forest home, and who are locked in battle with white settlers invading their territories. In this insightful and vitally important doco, we meet the 200 or so remaining people of the 
Uru-weu-wau-wau tribe. These brave and committed people battle the white Brazilian settlers, who feel it is their God-given right to take whatever land they want, fell trees, and expand their towns. (Of course, with Bolsonaro in power, the government makes no moves to stop this.) Being a National Geo doco, the camera-work is, as ever, quite remarkable, going from intimate shots of the wildlife in the forest, through to close-ups of the people, and of course sweeping shots of the mighty forest, and its heart-breaking destruction. The film is tense, totally engaging, and something all should see to understand how this destruction not only affects locals, but possibly the fate of the planet. 
4 - highly recommended

St. Ali Italian Film Festival
Palace Cinemas
Melbourne 15 September - 12 October
For other states, times, ticketing, etc visit www.italianfilmfestival.com.au
One of our most popular festivals is back, with, as always, a stunning line-up of films. 100 years after the birth of iconic director Pier Paulo Pasolini, the festival presents a retrospective of three of his films. Much loved actor Tony Servillo also features in three films this year. The festival's sidebar, Spotlight on Naples, features several films set in that city. The festival features Documentaries, dramas, comedies, and a closing night screening of the classic Sophia Loren/Marcello Mastroianni film, Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow. I've been previewing to bring you some recommendations.

Breaking Up in Rome: After 10 years of living together, Tomasso and Zoe are going through a painful breakup. Writer, director and star Edoardo Leo is a delightful leading man, and the film has a rather cute central conceit: Tomasso writes a Dear Abby style advice column, and it happens that Zoe writes in, asking advice on how to break up with a long-term boyfriend. What he learns about her in texts is probably more than he knew in the whole ten years. With gorgeous Rome as a backdrop, this is lightweight and amusing watching with some good insight into relationship pitfalls.
 

Nostalgia
: Felice was born in Naples but has lived away from his hometown 
for 40 years, and is happily married in Canada. He makes a trip back to visit his aging mother, and finds himself obsessed by memories of his past. Against the advice of others, he is especially keen to see his old school pal Oreste, who is now is a low-life Mafia boss. Much-loved Italian actor Pierfranceso Favino is quite brilliant in this role of a man torn between the present and the past, and we feel deeply for him. The drama and human connections are intense and very moving. A centrepiece of the festival, this fine film was nominated for the Palme D'Or at this year's Cannes FF.

The Perfect Dinner: Carmine works for the Camorra (the Naples Mafia), under the protection of boss Pasquale, as Carmine's father saved Pasquale's life years ago. But Carmine isn't cut out for life as a crim, so is sent to head up a money-laundering businesss in Rome, operating out of a cheap restaurant. But then he meets Consuela, a top-tier chef looking for a new restaurant to head up and hopefully get a Michelin star. Carmine finds himself seriously attracted to being a restaurateur, but his bosses have different ideas. This is a sweet, funny and thoroughly entertaining movie, which is a great morph between a foody film, and a crime caper. 

Power of Rome: A film that history buffs and lovers of Rome will relish, this doco sees actor Edoardo Leo taking us through the streets of his beloved city. He reflects upon its history, from the birth of the Roman Empire to its present day incarnation. His enthusiasm and love for Rome reflects in many unusual and fascinating aspects he delves into, with historical reenactments, (plenty of bloodshed and togas) and some spectacular drone footage that soars over the beautiful city.    


Wednesday 7 September 2022

 September 8th

The Quiet Girl
Thirteen Lives (Streaming on Amazon Prime)
Beneath Clouds (Streaming on Netflix)
Rurangi (streaming on SBS On Demand)

I haven't caught much new on the big screen this week, so bring you a selection of top films to enjoy on your streaming services. The one cinema film I have seen comes with a huge recommendation and is one of the best things I've seen in ages.

The Quiet Girl
Dir: Colm Bairead
Length: 94 mins
© Madman - delicate and powerful storytelling
The setting is rural Ireland in 1981. Cait (Catherine Clinch) comes from a dysfunctional family with unaffectionate parents and a level of neglect. Ma is expecting another baby so Cait is sent away for several weeks to stay with distant family - an older couple, Eibhlin (Carrie Crowley) and husband Sean (Andrew Bennett). The contrast between the two homes is instantly apparent, with Eibhlin taking the child to her heart immediately. Eibhlin is at pains to tell Cait there are no secrets in this home. However, as time goes on, and Cait blossoms under the warmth and loving care of her new "parents", she learns there is a very deep and tragic secret in the family. This delicate film is nothing less than exquisite in so many ways. Young Clinch's performance is breathtaking, and while this is a very modest plot, the depth and breadth of emotion it encomapsses is massive, all the time avoiding mawkish sentimentality.  Magnificent cinematography and a superb score add to the whole, in a film that has deservedly won countless awards in Ireland and in major European festivals.
4.5 - wholeheartedly recommended

Thirteen Lives
Dir: Ron Howard
Length: 147 mins
Streaming on Amazon Prime
© Prime Video - gripping, and superbly
filmed and acted
According to the "
trusty" internet, no fewer than six films are being made (or have been) on the dramatic rescue of a Thai soccer team from a flooded cave. I reviewed an excellent semi-doco (The Rescue) on the subject last year, and now I've watched the latest feature film offering from esteemed director Ron Howard. In short, despite my knowing the outcome, I find the film rivetting, tense and extremely well made. Viggo Mortensen, Colin Farrell and Joel Edgerton play three of the key divers who help to rescue the twelve young boys and their slightly older coach, who became trapped deep within a cave system, as early monsoonal rains cause havoc. The guys play their parts superbly well. Everything about the film feels authentic; where required it is in the Thai language, the actors trained hard to do some of the diving themselves, the cinematography is superb within the narrow spaces, and all the young kids playing the team are so believable. Best of all, being one of the good news stories of its time, it is really uplifting and inspiring. The true meaning of hero for me is not found within football teams, but in the fearless bravery of the many people who gave their all to this rescue effort.
4 - highly recommended

Beneath Clouds
2002
Dir: Ivan Sen
Length: 90 mins
Streaming on Netflix
© Netflix - almost timeless in its depiction
of the tragedy of indigenous lives
Light-skinned Lena (Danielle Hall) is the daughter of an Irish father and an Aboriginal mother. Leaving home due to her mother's neglect, and the lack of prospects in her hometown, she heads for Sydney hoping to find her dad. Along the way she hooks up with Vaughan (Damian Pitt) who has escaped from a youth detention facility. Vaughan thinks Lena is a whitefella, (she's in denial about her indigenous heritage). Gradually she gets in touch with her identity, and the softer side of Vaughan. This low key film is short on dialogue but big on mood - the feel of the vast landscape the kids hitchhike through, and the mood of unremitting hostility from the white community and the police towards indigenous people, as well as a sense of futility in the lives of many of the Aboriginal people. There is something tragic, poignant and beautiful about the film, which won some hefty awards back in 2002 at the Berlin Film Festival. And of course the really sad thing is that not enough has changed since then for our First Nations people. Great to see a film that holds up so well after 20 years.
4 - highly recommended

Rurangi
Dir: Oliver Page
Length: 96mins
Streaming on SBS On Demand

  © MQFF - strong, compassionate film-making 
One of my top picks from the latest Melboune Queer Film Festival, this is a subtle, compassionate, beautiful film, set in the farming countryside of New Zealand. Transgender activist Kaz (Elz Carrad) returns to the small town he left as a girl before transitioning. He hopes to reconnect with his estranged father, who is now passionately involved in environmental issues. Having fled a community he believes would never accept him, Kaz now meets again people from his past. This is one of the best features on transgender issues that I've seen and is a must for anyone wanting to better understand the subject, and the emotional trauma for young people questioning their identity. But it is also a most human story of parental bonds, friendship bonds, and acceptance of self and others. Moving and beautifully scripted, with powerful performances by all.
4 - highly recommended