Quiet Week - 29 September

Just a short one tonight as it is a quiet week after the massive slate of new releases at the beginning of the school holidays.  Just two new movies this week, The Whistleblower and Crazy, Stupid Love.  The Whistleblower is great, see my review from the weekend.  Did I forget to mention in there that the atrocities committed by personnel contracted by the UN cannot be prosecuted as they are protected by diplomatic immunity?  Fascinating movie.  Crazy Stupid Love is the new Steve Carrell film where his wife leaves him and he learns how to be a player from Ryan Gosling.  This looks to have something for everyone with comedy, relationships, beefcake (Ryan) and cute girls.  Reviewed very well so far, so well worth a look.  Also Lion King 3D is officially out and from what I've seen most cinemas have adults at kids prices.  Apparently it was remastered prior to the 3D upgrade so will look glorious.

#24 Movie - Fright Night 3D

Here is a review of this movie from Ben - "This movie is frickin cool".  I'm not  really sure if I need to add anything more than that.  Here's what you already know: it's a remake of the 1980s movie which none of us quite remembers, it's a comedy/horror mix, it stars Colin Farrell as the guy who moves in next door who might be a vampire.  Here's what you don't know - it's actually really good and well worth seeing in 3D.  The special effects are of a pretty high quality and the 3D is used very well for vampire deaths.  I think it's the best use of 3D I've seen so far (surpassing the blood splatter on the glasses from the most recent Resident Evil) although it starts off a bit dodgy with things being thrown at you.  It's not hilarious, but I giggled at quite a few bits.  It also doesn't do that knowing, "wink wink" reference back to the original thing that some remakes try to do.  The action scenes are good and the girls are cute, but our main boy Charlie is a little bit wimpy but he comes through at the end.  This is offset well by Colin Farrell as Jerry, the potential vampire, doing a kinda weird line in sexy/funny/mysterious/menacing.  But it strangely works.  The best bit for me was David Tennant (Dr Who a few years back) as Peter Vincent, in this version a Las Vegas Illusionist with a strong interest in vampire lore.  How he is enlisted in Charlie and girlfriend Amy's battle against the vampire is funny and the stripping back of his persona to his real reason for collecting vampire artefacts is interesting.   He basically does a great Russell Brand impersonation, but it'd be interesting to know if Russell was offered the role or not.  Overall it's cool, fun and has great effects.  A good date movie.  If your date likes splurting blood that is.  The end credits are also cool as a recap of all the good gory moments.

#23 Movie - The Whistleblower

Today was a preview screening of The Whistleblower, which is opening this coming Thursday.  I would classify this as a Very Important Picture.  It is based on true events and features characters who are either real, composites of real people or only partly fictitious.  It deals with a US police officer who accepts a US peacekeeping role in Bosnia-Herzegovina following the internal war between the Bosniaks, Serbs and Croats upon the breakup of Yugoslavia.  She is not there long when a police raid of a local bar operating as a brothel leads her into an investigation of human sex trafficking that goes deeper than she could have imagined.

The subject matter obviously tells you this is not going to be a fun movie, and it is hard to watch at times.  I started to feel physically ill and distressed by one scene of abuse of a young girl even though they do not show any graphic detail at all.  Your imagination is doing all the work that they have chosen not to do.  Thankfully these scenes are used sparingly throughout the movie to illustrate the horror of what is actually happening out in the real world right now.  The movie is actually a great political thriller.

The best decision the filmmakers made was casting Rachel Weisz as the main character, Kathryn Bolkovac who is based on a real person.  She throws off her previous light entertainment roles (The Mummy) to go very serious as a woman whose compassion for the girls being treated very badly by their so-called protectors, and take on the big boys club.  She displays a real strength without having to act like a man.  The other plus is that the film is taut and compelling despite (or perhaps because of) remaining grounded in a very realistic scenario compared to your usual thriller - this one does not have anyone pulling out guns or any explosions or fights.  The battles are all done within the realm of real police investigation work and conversations.  The depth of the ring that is trafficking these women is quite shocking, to Kathy and the audience - as she says at one point, she was just trying to charge one man for his crimes.

The worst thing about the movie is it's ending.  Not the ending itself which is quite satisfying given what's come before, but the concluding information that flashes up on your screen.  It is estimated that somewhere around 2.5 million people are currently caught in trafficking rings in the real world (when the movie was made in 2010).  Clearly the work done by Kathryn Bolkovac in blowing the whistle on the police, UN and diplomatic staff who were profiting from this arrangement has made a difference, just not a very big difference.  It makes me feel like we live in a VERY lucky country but also wonder what can be done about this appalling situation.

It's a bit of a stomach turner but well worth the effort to understand the issue and also appreciate a very well directed thriller.  We give it a 4 out of 5 stars.

New movies 22 September

A day late, a dollar short? I missed this week's update as I was planning to go see Fright Night last night, then I ended up not going as I didn't want to be too tired on a school night.  Then I didn't end up doing an update anyway.  Lazy.  This week's movies are much less in number (and excitement) than last week's.  If you're reading this it is already too late to see "Nirvana - Live at the Paramount" as it was showing tonight only at 9pm.  Sorry 'bout that.  Maybe it will come to DVD....

The "big" release this week is "Abduction".  Big as it's going to be notable as the movie that proves that Taylor Lautner cannot act.  Yeah, I actually knew that he couldn't act in the Twilight movies, but he didn't have to do much in those so the young 'uns might've been fooled enough to splash their cash to see him lead this movie.  No, I haven't seen it yet.  Just the trailer.  That's enough to know, trust me.

I think Monte Carlo is new this week too.  Tweeny girl stuff about a girl on holiday in Europe with friends and her step-sister who gets mistaken for a princess and whisked off on a fantasy fulfilment trip.  Strictly for teen girls only I reckon, I think it's Disney related so probably very wholesome.

Cave of Forgotten Dreams has started this week too at selected cinemas. This is German director Werner Herzog's documentary about the ancient cave paintings in the Chauvet Caves in Southern France.  It is meant to be quite breathtaking, and they were able to film in 3D as well.  One for the history and nature buffs.

Most of the movies released in the last few weeks are still out with lots of sessions so if a new movie doesn't appeal to you, go see The Guard or Horrible Bosses (see my review).

Go the BIFF!

My favourite time of year is not too far off.  The Brisbane International Film Festival starts on 3 November and I'll be having some time off work so that I can go to anything I want.  Previous years of trying to squeeze in films in extended lunch breaks (All my Friends are Leaving Brisbane was a nice short one) or leaving early have given way to just taking a week off work.  No missing out.  The thing I love about the BIFF is just the sheer range of movies on offer, no matter what you see it is always interesting even if not always what you expect or even that good.  Many of the movies do eventually come to DVD in Australia but not for a long time, so it's worth getting hold of the program when it comes out.

The first release of info has come out this week. Opening night film will be "Attack the Block", a film which has a bunch of London teenagers defending their council estate from alien attack.  This is destined to be a cult classic by all reports and will be a fun opening night.  Closing night is "The Skin I live In", a new film from Spanish auteur Pedro Almodovar which is described as a macabre thriller.

Kings of Leon fans will be pleased to hear that there is a special screening of a documentary about the band, which includes archival concert footage as well as tracing the band's rise.  This is on Sunday evening, 6 November at 6:30pm.

I'll probably be doing a few updates about BIFF in the lead up (what films I want to see) and during BIFF, so I've got a poll here on the site to ask if you would prefer that I start up a separate blog on BIFF which you can subscribe to if interested, or if you don't care and are happy to mix it in with the normal stuff.  If you have a view, vote in the poll so I know what to do.  Majority rules!

The website if you want to get your info straight from the wonderful BIFF people is http://www.biff.com.au/

Getting into the BUFF

I've just been checking out the website for the Brisbane Underground Film Festival (cleverly shortens to BUFF) which has a goal of showing new movies which may not otherwise get a release in our cinemas.  These movies just walk a little on the wild side.  Here is a link to the page showing what films are on this year:

http://thebuff.net.au/films/

I'm keen to get a group together to go see "Shut up Little Man" and "Hobo with a Shotgun", so if anyone is interested, please let me know.  "Vacation" looks good too but tickets are $16 so the number that you can attend is probably limited....

School Holiday Entertainment Extravaganza!!!

It's that time of year again, when the holidays foist a massive amount of new releases on us, with a strong tilt towards family fun.  Also a time when sensible moviegoers are annoyed by more people texting during movies. My "Spring Holiday Entertainment Guide" tells me that this week brings us:

1. My number one most exciting movie this week is Spy Kids 4D.  No I have not reverted to 12 years old, the movie is actually in 4D which does sound like an experience that I want to have and may be prepared to sit through a Spy Kids sequel for.  The fourth exciting dimension is "Aromascope" - a scratch and sniff card so that you smell what the people in the movie are smelling.  Apparently cheese, fart and vomit are included.  Uh-oh, I just read the reviews and I may not go after all.  No, not the movie - apparently on the cards in the US the scents all smelled the same.  What a crime!  The pluses of Robert Rodriguez directing and Joel McHale (one of my fave persons in the whole world) in a lead role can't save it.

2. Fright Night.  This remake of the 80s horror comedy has to take the prize for most exciting given the above.  Colin Farrell as the next door neighbour who may be a vampire, Anton Yelchin (young John Conner in T4) as the boy who has to face him down and Dr Who (sorry, David Tennant) as the casino illusionist who Charley enlists for help agains the vampire?  Yep this will be fun!

3. Pearl Jam 20.  This film is showing for one day only, Tuesday night 20th September (visit http://www.pj20.com/ to find out where) and is a documentary celebrating 20 years of Pearl Jam.  Next week rock fans will be treated to God Bless Ozzy Osbourne soon too!

4. POM Wonderful presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold. New doco by Morgan Spurlock who did Supersize Me.  This one focuses on advertising, using advertising itself throughout the movie to illustrate the points he is trying to make.  4ZZZ Movie Show had good things to say about this today.  Only showing at the Schonell Theatre at UQ by the looks of it.

5. Johnny English Reborn - Rowan Atkinson returns with his Johnny English character to accidentally save the world again.  I had a few giggles at the trailer (can really relate to being the wrong way around in the martial arts class and slinking around to the correct position) so could be funny.  Or it could be a case like Arthur where all the best bits are in the trailer and there's no point seeing the movie.

6. Snow Flower & The Secret Fan - a Chinese film about two young girls who form a friendship and communicate via a secret code/language over the years.

7. Page One: Inside the New York Times.  I haven't heard anything about this, wasn't expecting it at all.  A documentary about the inside workings of the NY Times newspaper, it's described as being "riveting" but I'm not sure.  Only showing at Dendy Portside.

8. Lion King 3D.  Everyone's favourite kiddie animation back in the cinema in 3D for a limited time only.  Hakuna matata!  Strangely enough a 2D version is also available.

9. The Eye of the Storm.  An arthouse drama featuring Geoffrey Rush and Judy Davis as the children of Charlotte Rampling (respected French actress), an elderly wealthy woman who is terminally ill.  Histrionics ensue.

Wow, that is a real lot of movies!  Check out the Courier Mail today for family vouchers for cheap films.

In remake hell news I heard today, they are planning to remake Point Break!  How stupid.  Enough is enough.  You just cannot add anything to Point Break, it is what it is. How could it possibly work without Keanu and Patrick Swayze?

New movies on DVD this week, the main one is Source Code (check out my review earlier this year).  Star Wars on Bluray is the big release though, apparently the extra features are just amazing if you have the time.  Downside - only the "amended" versions are included, not the originals.  Heads up - Kmart has this $20 cheaper than anywhere else.  And I missed it being released somewhere in the last few weeks but I have caught up now - Grindhouse is available on Bluray as it was intended to be seen, as one movie intercut with trailers etc.  I will be watching this weekend and give you a review!

It has now been confirmed that the Tribal Theatres building is being sold and the theatre is closing, probably on October 28.  They have a great bunch of cult films planned to finish up (this week Annie Hall and Amelie, upcoming they have Freaks, Nosferatu, Empire Records, Kill Bill, Heathers) so check out this website for details as most screenings are one offs: http://www.tribaltheatre.com.au/index.html

Adieu!

#20 Movie Win Win and #21 Movie Red Dog

Double movie review here.  Both of these movies were nice but did not really blow me away.

Win Win is a gentle drama starring Paul Giamatti as a lawyer by day and volunteer high school wrestling team coach in his spare time.  Business is slow for Mike and money is tight, but he hasn't found a way to tell his wife yet.  Then an opportunity comes along when a rich elderly client with an estranged family starts to have some issues with dementia and needs care.  Mike promises the court he will take the monthly commission from Mr Poplar's wealth and become his guardian letting him stay in his home.  He then promptly puts him into an aged care home, telling him the court has ordered it.  It's a desperate act by a desperate man who just wants to keep the status quo going.  He at least visits Mr Poplar to make sure he's okay.  But things get complicated when Mr Poplar's grandson turns up in town, running away from his drug addicted mother and past problems.  Mike convinces Kyle that his granddad's situation is unavoidable and takes Kyle in until his mother gets out of rehab.  Lo and behold it turns out that Kyle is a great wrestler who can turn around the fortunes of Mike's struggling team.  Can you see where this is going?  Things get all messed up when Kyle's mum turns up demanding to know why her father is in an aged care home, but her intentions are anything but pure.  How it all plays out is fairly predictable but there are a few surprises thrown in the details.  There was quite a but of humour in this film, mainly from Bobby Cannavale as Mike's best friend and Jeffrey Tambor as his fellow coach.  The performance by first timer Alex Shaffer is pretty amazing as young punk/star wrestler Kyle is pretty amazing.  For once in a Hollywood film a teenager acts and talks like a real teenager!  It was a good solid movie but not something that's really going to linger with you unless you're particularly fond of those "good people making bad decisions" type of thing.

Red Dog I went to see with my Dad on Father's Day.  This is a really nice movie to go and see with your family and kids.  I really liked how Australian it was, it's a great look at the little outback mining town in the late 70s.  It starts off with a truckie driving into town and finding the hotel unattended he walks into the bar and finds the locals thinking about putting down a dog who's sick.  But they can't bring themselves to do it as he's such a special mutt.  The truckie asks the publican (Noah Taylor) why the dog is so special and the stories begin.  It's just a series of stories about Red Dog told by the locals, but done in flashback to make it interesting.  Based on a true story of a real dog known throughout WA and the NT, it is a rollicking tale of what was obviously a special dog.  I'm not a dog lover but the dog who plays Red Dog is very expressive.  And the human characters are pretty good too.  Loved the fashion on show too, those short Stubbies and singlets are a real hoot.  *Spoiler alert, look away now if you don't want to know too much about the ending. * The ending is a bit sad so don't take the kids if they have recently lost a pet.  I saw a few kids coming out in their parents' arms crying buckets and even the adults were a bit sniffly.  Not just one for the dog lovers, this is a record breaking Aussie movie that deserves to be seen.

# 22 Movie - Horrible Bosses + Just Go With It Review

Next time you're in a stupid mood, go see Horrible Bosses.  It's stupid and funny.  Ben and I were already laughing about some very stupid things in the car on the way, which may or may not have made this movie seem better than it was.  I've seen some bad reviews and I've seen some good reviews, and in a lot of bits I was the only one laughing loudly, so maybe it depends on your mood or your taste in comedy.  But this is the funniest movie I've seen this year so far.  And raunchy, so don't take any young 'uns or close relatives or you may feel a tad uncomfortable.


Plot synopsis - there isn't much to talk about.  Nick (Jason Bateman), Kurt (Jason Sudeikis) and Dale (Charlie Day) all hate their bosses who each have their own unique nastiness.  Due to the global financial crisis (and being a registered sex offender in Dale's case), none of them can just leave and get another job like any sensible person would, but then there would be no movie.  Long story short they decide to bump off each other's bosses so there is no motive that can be traced back to them, with the help of their 'murder consultant' Motherf***er Jones (Jamie Foxx).  What ensues is just totally crazy, funny and unpredictable.


Kevin Spacey, Jennifer Aniston and an almost unrecognisable Colin Farrell are all great as the nasty or offensive bosses. The three leads are all really funny and get their share of highly quotable lines, and make a believable trio of average joe pals whose misery leads them to push the usual boundaries.  If you don't mind a bit of raunchy humour, this is well worth a look.  I wanna watch it again already and I only just got home.


While Jennifer Aniston certainly played against type to sex up Horrible Bosses, she did not stretch herself at all to play the part of Katherine in Just Go With It (recent DVD release).  That sounds like a criticism but actually watching this reminded me of how she was in Friends, she actually has great comedic flair and warmth.  She was the best thing about it, but Just Go With It actually wasn't a bad movie.  Better than I expected.


In this film Adam Sandler is a cosmetic surgeon who pretends to be married to pick up hot chicks.  The "wife" has cheated on him or beaten him which allegedly wins sympathy.  But the lame concept picks up when his latest target, Palmer (a Charlie Sheen ex, Brooklyn Decker) gets really upset that he's not told her about being married, so he has to invent the excuse that he's separating from his wife.  When she demands to meet her, he ropes in his assistant Katherine to play the part of his wife which produces some very funny results.  Until Katherine slips in her act and takes a phone call from her kids in front of Palmer.  The kids then get roped into the act as well with a large amount of bribery, that kickstarts further shenanigans when the whole "family" and Palmer go to Hawaii for a holiday.  Danny's old school friend Eddie gets in on the act by pretending to be Katherine's new partner and wangles his way into the trip much to Katherine's disgust.


So far so blah it seems.  But it's actually not that bad and there are some quite funny scenes - especially with the daughter played by Bailee Madison and her crazy accents, and Eddie and his ridiculous ad-libbing - and a nice romance develops.  Nicole Kidman's cameo as an old college chum of Katherine's who she secretly hates is pretty priceless.  You can call me dopey but the ending of this movie actually wasn't what I was expecting to happen and I didn't mind it at all.  The gorgeous Hawaiian scenery will definitely make you want to book a holiday there this summer, at least I did anyway.  But Jennifer Aniston's part kicked it up a notch for me, she seemed to have great chemistry with Adam Sandler, probably second only to his chemistry with Drew Barrymore.  An above average rom-com in my book, which given I generally dislike them means that if you like them it will probably be average.  If that makes sense.  Don't rush out but don't avoid it either.

The Sizzler of movie openings

This week's movie openings are a veritable Sizzler buffet.  The below is based on advance reviews and I have not actually seen the movies yet so don't hold me to it.  The Zookeeper and The Smurfs are like that pan bread stuff (thick and cheesy, bad for you, leave you feeling guilty), Submarine is the salad bar (light and full of healthy goodness but with some bacon bits to spice it up), 13 Assassins is the big ass T-bone steak (bloody, meaty and no healthy green stuff) and The Change-Up is the slider platters (cute [Ryan Reynolds & Jason Bateman] and crunchy).  All of last week's movies are the dessert bar (fluffy and sugary sweet).

I'm torn about which new movie to go see first - 13 Assassins is the new Takashi Miike (Audition, Ichi the Killer, Dead or Alive, Sukiyaki Western Django) so it'll be super violent even if he has reportedly toned down the weirdness to have a stab at serious samurai business.  Submarine is the debut film for director Richard Aoyade who plays Moss in the hilarious TV show The IT Crowd.  By all indications it's a delightful coming of age indie drama with a twist.  Stay tuned.

I also forgot to mention the movie out last week "Life in a Day" which is one for all you YouTubers.  It is a giant montage of people who filmed events in their life on 24 July last year and uploaded it to Youtube.  It has been edited into a reasonably short film showing snippets of life around the world on a particular day.  Could be an interesting slice of reality.

Also sorry for being a slack-ass and not giving any proper posts recently other than weekly opening updates.  I've been to see Win Win and Red Dog so I'll try to write those up soon.  I've also watched a bunch of DVD releases so there could be a few posts upcoming.

Tribal Theatre has Some Like it Hot all this week but no special screenings.  Regal Twin seems to have an exclusive on Face to Face which is an Aussie drama with Vince Colosimo based on a John Williamson play.

New DVDs out include Your Highness, Drive Angry (more Nic Cage madness no doubt in this straight to DVD release that skipped our cinemas) and Aussie flick Mad Bastards.

Enjoy your week!  Horrible Bosses review likely to be posted tomorrow evening.

A very fluffy week - 1 September

Fluffy, fluffy, fluffy-ish, fluff remover? This week's new releases are probably unlikely to be reviewed by this little black duck.  Chalet Girl (UK teen gets job at ski resort, bags rich handsome Yank, becomes pro snowboarder in record time), One Day (revisits a couple on the same day each year over 20 years to see how their friendship/relationship has lasted), The Help (a young white aspiring journalist writes the stories of black maids, at great risk to all in a segregated and racist society) and Final Destination 5 (no explanation required, oh, alright, a series of bizarre and inventive deaths) are out today.  The third one has promise as a serious drama but the trailer makes it look all fluffy and cosy female bonding moments.  So sorry if you want to know what those movies are like....

In sad news today, the Tribal Theatre in Brisbane is probably going to close.  Due to the sale of the building in George Street, the cinema's future is very uncertain.  Apparently audience support has been good but it may not be enough to convince the new owners to keep it going.  Okay, the cinema is not the most comfortable around (Ben refuses to attend) but the films they are showing are not seen anywhere else and it gives many younger viewers the chance to see movies on the big screen that they were too young to see the first time.  They also have beanbags and BYO alcohol!  For example, this week their daily screenings are Raging Bull, one of de Niro's best ever performances, and The Wizard of Oz.  How many of us have seen that at the cinema in a forum where you could easily sing along without offending anyone?  They also have Scott Pilgrim vs the World tomorrow evening at 10pm, which is an awesome movie.