The last day of the film festival has come. The first of two documentaries I would see today is The Reluctant Revolutionary. This is a fantastic and confronting piece of filmmaking, taking a first-hand look at the popular uprising in Yemen in 2011.
Irish documentary maker Sean McAlister is in Yemen making a documentary about falling tourism which is contributing to Yemen being one of the poorest countries in the Arab world. Bordering Saudi Arabia and Oman and having an Al-Qaeda presence in some regions, a spate of kidnappings of tourists has really dented the industry. We see things from the perspective of guide Kais who has seen his world collapse as economic problems and flagging tourist numbers forced him to give up the hotel he managed and now bookings for trips are at an all time low. His wife has a baby on the way and is thinking about leaving him if he can't find a way to provide for his family. This provides a sympathetic emotional base on which Sean McAlister then builds a personal insight into the Yemeni revolution through the eyes of Kais and himself. Extending his stay in Yemen as a tourist, McAlister manages to remain and film the events from the inside even after foreign journalists are removed from the country, although it becomes touch and go whether he can stay towards the end.
The fascinating part of this documentary is that Kais begins as a supporter of President Ali Abdullah Saleh, but as events unfold he slowly becomes a support of the revolution protests and wants the President out of power. Nothing in his situation has changed for better or worse, but interaction with the protestors and seeing what occurs in the protest camp leads him to believe that change is needed.
The confronting part of this documentary is the first-hand footage of the protest camps and the events of February and March 2011. Although Saleh, who has been in power in Yemen for 33 years, had been elected democratically in 2006, there was a growing movement that felt he should hand over that power due to economic problems, corruption and unemployment. Happening simultaneously with the Egyptian uprising against Mubarak, the Yemeni revolution was based around peaceful protest calling for a peaceful hand over of power, new elections and a new constitution. While initially peaceful, the Government eventually tries to disassemble the protest camp which leads to rising anger among the people. On March 18, the Government fired on protestors who held no weapons and killed 52 people, including children. Although you do not see this directly, McAlister's camera does capture the gunshots in the distance and does go into the makeshift hospital that is set up for the victims, which shows unedited footage of gunshot victims. I'll never forget what one doctor says to the camera when Sean asks if he should stop filming: "Your camera and your eye is the best thing to show the world what is happening in Yemen. Use your brain camera, your eye, to show what is happening here. The government is shooting to kill, they are not shooting to stop protestors - these wounds are all in the head, neck, chest and shoulders."
I got goosebumps all over my body seeing the sheer size and determination of these protestors to prevail, even if it means giving their lives for a better world for their families. I felt sick watching the footage of injured people, many still very young. I felt like I had just had a slap in the face despite there being some moments of humour in Kais' observations of Yemen society. We have no real problems in this country compared to many others and more people should see this to appreciate the freedom we have here.
The post-script: After the events of March 18 captured so shockingly here, it still took 7 months before Saleh agreed to a power-transfer deal in November where power went to the vice-president temporarily and Saleh would quit the presidency by Feb 2012, in exchange for immunity from prosecution for any crimes committee while in power. Although the people did not agree with this deal, it was enacted. In February 2012, an election was held with 65% turnout. Abd Rabbuh Mansur al-Hadi took the oath of office in Yemen's parliament on 25 February 2012.
Post-script 2: The protestors are not 100% guilt free as might be implied by the film. Although everything you see in the film is peaceful protest and pushing for dialogue, there were elements of the uprising that were violent. On 23 May, a day after Saleh refused to sign the transition agreement, Sheikh Sadiq al-Ahmar, the head of the Hashid tribal federation, one of the most powerful tribes in the country, declared support for the opposition and his armed supporters came into conflict with loyalist security forces in the capital Sana'a. Heavy street fighting ensued, which included artillery and mortar shelling. Saleh and several others were injured and at least five people were killed by a 3 June bombing of the presidential compound when an explosion ripped through a mosque used by high-level government officials for prayer services.
What this all proves is that the so called 'Arab Spring' is a highly complex issue but one that it is difficult to argue against, particularly after the horrible events in Egypt and Syria. This one is a real eye-opener.
Monday 26 November 2012
BIFF Scary Saturday
Second last day of the festival and I've got two late night movies lined up.
First up is Sinister. This is a scary movie, in the best traditional style of using a dark house, effective sound and a sense of foreboding to scare yourself. The movie stars Ethan Hawke as Ellison Oswalt, a man who writes those true crime novels which detail the how, who and why of real life crimes. After a couple of flops he is chasing another big hit bestseller and thinks he's found the best chance after a family is murdered in their back yard and the youngest daughter is still missing. Struggling financially and refusing to take a normal job, Ellison sees an opportunity to gain unique inspiration when the murder house goes on the market for a steal. Not telling his wife and two young children about the fact they are moving into the murder house seems like a pretty bad idea. And so it proves to be....
Almost from the first day that he sets up his home office and begins researching for the book, Ellison is drawn into the mysterious events after finding a box of home movies filmed on Super 8. The movies are from different time periods and turn out to be much more than they first appear - they contain many clues to what is really going on. But how did the movies get in the attic in the first place? Who filmed them? Why do creepy things keep happening?
I strongly recommend this movie if you like scary movies with a slight supernatural element. I was truly creeped out in some scenes, to the point where I was squirming in my seat every time Ellison put on one of those movies (or it put itself on). All the usual scary movie tropes are used in this film, but they are done really effectively to build tension and send a chill down your spine. And if you don't believe me, take it from the girl 2 rows down who kissed her boyfriend, got up and left, not to return, after about 40 minutes. This movie should be coming out at the cinema soon and I suggest you slot it into your schedule as it should be seen in a dark cinema.
Second movie tonight was Inbred which was promising to be a funny, gory splatterfest. Instead what we got was a bit of a shocker. Four young juvenile delinquents are taken to a secluded cottage in a small English village with two social workers for a bit of time away from society. Unfortunately, escaping from a gang of THE most inbred, hillbilly, maniacal weirdos that inhabit the village proves a little too much of a team building activity for this bunch of misfits.
This movie is just bad and weird. The person who has thought up the concepts for the manner of death (of both the city folk and the few inbred hillbillies they manage to take out) and the bizarro 'theatre' that the locals attend, is obviously a pretty twisted individual. I don't normally mind weird or gory but for me this just didn't gel and it was hampered by some pretty poor acting all round. The hillbillies are a cruel bunch of freaks and the city kids are a cruel bunch of misfits and the biggest problem is that I didn't feel sympathy for any of them so I really didn't care who lived or who died. My recommendation: Avoid.
First up is Sinister. This is a scary movie, in the best traditional style of using a dark house, effective sound and a sense of foreboding to scare yourself. The movie stars Ethan Hawke as Ellison Oswalt, a man who writes those true crime novels which detail the how, who and why of real life crimes. After a couple of flops he is chasing another big hit bestseller and thinks he's found the best chance after a family is murdered in their back yard and the youngest daughter is still missing. Struggling financially and refusing to take a normal job, Ellison sees an opportunity to gain unique inspiration when the murder house goes on the market for a steal. Not telling his wife and two young children about the fact they are moving into the murder house seems like a pretty bad idea. And so it proves to be....
Almost from the first day that he sets up his home office and begins researching for the book, Ellison is drawn into the mysterious events after finding a box of home movies filmed on Super 8. The movies are from different time periods and turn out to be much more than they first appear - they contain many clues to what is really going on. But how did the movies get in the attic in the first place? Who filmed them? Why do creepy things keep happening?
I strongly recommend this movie if you like scary movies with a slight supernatural element. I was truly creeped out in some scenes, to the point where I was squirming in my seat every time Ellison put on one of those movies (or it put itself on). All the usual scary movie tropes are used in this film, but they are done really effectively to build tension and send a chill down your spine. And if you don't believe me, take it from the girl 2 rows down who kissed her boyfriend, got up and left, not to return, after about 40 minutes. This movie should be coming out at the cinema soon and I suggest you slot it into your schedule as it should be seen in a dark cinema.
Second movie tonight was Inbred which was promising to be a funny, gory splatterfest. Instead what we got was a bit of a shocker. Four young juvenile delinquents are taken to a secluded cottage in a small English village with two social workers for a bit of time away from society. Unfortunately, escaping from a gang of THE most inbred, hillbilly, maniacal weirdos that inhabit the village proves a little too much of a team building activity for this bunch of misfits.
This movie is just bad and weird. The person who has thought up the concepts for the manner of death (of both the city folk and the few inbred hillbillies they manage to take out) and the bizarro 'theatre' that the locals attend, is obviously a pretty twisted individual. I don't normally mind weird or gory but for me this just didn't gel and it was hampered by some pretty poor acting all round. The hillbillies are a cruel bunch of freaks and the city kids are a cruel bunch of misfits and the biggest problem is that I didn't feel sympathy for any of them so I really didn't care who lived or who died. My recommendation: Avoid.
Saturday 24 November 2012
BIFF Magic Night
Thursday was a magical movie night. First up tonight I attended the world premiere of the documentary 'Show me the Magic' which profiles legendary Australian cinematographer Donald McAlpine. In attendance was Mr McAlpine, his wife and Jack Thompson, a friend of Don's and patron of APSA. Plus the director and producers of the doco.
Don McAlpine started his career in Australia quite late in the piece after being a teacher and then filing news reports for the ABC. He worked on early Australian classics Breaker Morant, Don's Party and My Brilliant Career, which provided a springboard to Hollywood where he worked with director Paul Mazursky quite a bit. He has a varied resume, never making the same type of film. He's done action, comedy, Predator, drama and musicals. I think his work on Baz Luhrman's Romeo and Juliet is particularly good and seeing some clips from the making of that movie makes me want to watch it again. The movie did a good job of showing what a cinematographer actually does, which is basically lighting and framing the scenes to make it look just right on the screen - dark when you want it dark, light when you want it light, and each actor framed perfectly. It was also an interesting look at his life, illustrating the saying 'behind every good man is a great worman' quite well, as his wife proves to be a funny, feisty lady who gave up her own teaching career to be with her husband as he travelled the world so that they could hold their marriage together and he could follow his dream. Not that I advocate that, just that it obviously works well for them.
I had to miss the Don McAlpine Q&A session to speed over to Palace Centro to see 'Following'. A very good introduction from the 'first films' programmer indicated to us that this first film from director Christopher Nolan (Batman Begins trilogy, The Prestige, Inception) was filmed on an extremely low budget, in between the 9 to 5 jobs of the director, actors and crew, using natural light and minimal sets. We were thus prepared for what followed, which despite the low budget and low lighting in places still managed to be a complex neo-noir drama. An interesting concept (a burglar with a motive beyond just stealing stuff, he seems to enjoy messing with the heads of the victims more) with a twist in the tail long before that was trendy, and telling the story out of time but still keeping you guessing. It's an impressive debut even though not the most thrilling movie we've watched. However, you can definitely see where he built on the ideas in this film for Memento, his second film which was a really big step up from this one. 'Following' is due to be released on DVD for the first time in the near future, so if you're curious to see where this excellent director got his start, check it out.
Don McAlpine started his career in Australia quite late in the piece after being a teacher and then filing news reports for the ABC. He worked on early Australian classics Breaker Morant, Don's Party and My Brilliant Career, which provided a springboard to Hollywood where he worked with director Paul Mazursky quite a bit. He has a varied resume, never making the same type of film. He's done action, comedy, Predator, drama and musicals. I think his work on Baz Luhrman's Romeo and Juliet is particularly good and seeing some clips from the making of that movie makes me want to watch it again. The movie did a good job of showing what a cinematographer actually does, which is basically lighting and framing the scenes to make it look just right on the screen - dark when you want it dark, light when you want it light, and each actor framed perfectly. It was also an interesting look at his life, illustrating the saying 'behind every good man is a great worman' quite well, as his wife proves to be a funny, feisty lady who gave up her own teaching career to be with her husband as he travelled the world so that they could hold their marriage together and he could follow his dream. Not that I advocate that, just that it obviously works well for them.
I had to miss the Don McAlpine Q&A session to speed over to Palace Centro to see 'Following'. A very good introduction from the 'first films' programmer indicated to us that this first film from director Christopher Nolan (Batman Begins trilogy, The Prestige, Inception) was filmed on an extremely low budget, in between the 9 to 5 jobs of the director, actors and crew, using natural light and minimal sets. We were thus prepared for what followed, which despite the low budget and low lighting in places still managed to be a complex neo-noir drama. An interesting concept (a burglar with a motive beyond just stealing stuff, he seems to enjoy messing with the heads of the victims more) with a twist in the tail long before that was trendy, and telling the story out of time but still keeping you guessing. It's an impressive debut even though not the most thrilling movie we've watched. However, you can definitely see where he built on the ideas in this film for Memento, his second film which was a really big step up from this one. 'Following' is due to be released on DVD for the first time in the near future, so if you're curious to see where this excellent director got his start, check it out.
BIFF Friday - Best movie of 2012!
Today I realised I was over half way. Not in days, but in movies seen off my list. Because it's only been 1 or 2 per day so far, it hasn't seemed like a lot. Someone asked if I was sick of it yet, I said "no way!" And that is a good thing, because tonight I saw the best movie I've seen at the festival so far, and one of the best movies I've seen this year!
Movie # 16 today was 'Django', another spaghetti western directed by Sergio Corbucci (who also directed 'The Mercenary' which I saw earlier this week). This was made in 1966 and introduced the character of Django, who proved very popular and spawned a series of sequels and imitators using the character named Django. Django you see is a bit of an anti-hero, a man with a heart grown cold following the (implied) killing of the woman he loved and who will basically do anything for adventure and gold. It's a very similar character to the one in 'The Mercenary' and since they are both played by Franco Nero, I couldn't help but compare the two. I found 'The Mercernary' to be funnier and more fun, whereas 'Django' is a much more bleak film in theme and setting.
A lone stranger walks into a mud splattered, rain soaked ghost town in southern California, dragging a coffin and holding a girl he's rescued from bandits. The only place in town that is open is a bar/brothel which has survived by servicing the rival gangs of the Mexicans who have crossed the border to formulate plans for a revolution against the army in Mexico, and a nasty gang of racist Californians who wear red hoods and scarves (KKK beginnings?). Returning the girl is likely to bring trouble from both gangs, and the scene is set for a showdown. Django doesn't seem afraid though, and when you see what he has in that coffin, you'll know why. What follows is a tale of cold hearted killing, double crossing and revenge. At the time, the violence was regarded as being quite brutal and while it would be fairly tame these days, some scenes were a bit uncomfortable. Django is a pretty cool character but I found it a little too bleak to be enjoyable and probably preferred 'The Mercenary' of the two selections.
Friday night and movie #17 rolled around and one with a bit of anticipation based on the description alone. 'God Bless America' did not disappoint, I would rate this as one of the best movies I've seen so far this year. This is a movie which dares to say what we are all thinking - that the world is going to hell in a handbasket, with the death of manners, kindness to our fellow human beings, and common decency.
'God Bless America' is an extremely dark comedy that will appeal to anyone who has thought that American culture is leading to a dumbing down in society and destroying the values of a civilised culture. Obsession with fame, reality TV, talking head TV shows, self-centredness, stupidity and misguided patriotism are some of the chief culprits and targets of this incredibly black comedy. Frank is a man who has been pushed down, by the divorce from his wife who has moved on with a younger man, the disaffection of his daughter, being terminated from his job over a ridiculous harrassment claim and finding out he has an inoperable brain tumour. An intelligent man who values being nice above everything, he despairs over the vapidity and stupidity he sees all around him at home (the opening scene where he takes spectacularly bloody revenge on his annoying neighbours in a dream shocks you from the outset so that what follows doesn't seem quite so bad), at work and on TV and the radio. He's been pushed a tad too far by this recent bad news and snaps when he sees a whiny teen pricess on TV having a tantrum about her parents buying her the 'wrong car' for her sweet 16th. Taking out his gun, he decides to take out Chloe to rid the world of this nasty girl who values all the wrong qualities. A classmate of Chloe's witnesses the incident and is delighted with the outcome as she too sees many things wrong with a world that looks up to people like Chloe. Stopping Frank from killing himself, Roxy convinces him to make this an ongoing concern and take her along for the ride.
What follows is an insanely violent but hilarious road trip as the perfectly matched pair of killers try to pick the ultimate victims to get their point across, but their motives are continually misunderstood by the media. The climax at the finale of the fake pop star show American Superstarz is an absolutely scathing attack on both the makers and participants of these shows that set people up for ridicule as well as stardom.
We found ourselves agreeing with so much of this movie (although mental note, I have to stop giving high fives or else Frank and Roxy would be after me) and saying 'it's so true' a lot. Their discussions about their next potential victims cover a wide range of behaviour on the annoying scale but it is satisfying to see that they reserve their ire for those who really deserve to die. I won't give too much away though on that front.
This movie is excellent, balancing the extreme violence with a lot of laughs and never having the perpetrators violate their own (twisted) code of conduct - there is no inappropriate relationship a la Natural Born Killers here. In fact, despite the similarities in storyline I did not think of NBK at all while watching this. It's much more concerned with righting the world's wrongs, just in the wrong way. I loved this movie. I highly recommend it. It's on again tonight at the Film Festival at 6:30pm.
Movie # 16 today was 'Django', another spaghetti western directed by Sergio Corbucci (who also directed 'The Mercenary' which I saw earlier this week). This was made in 1966 and introduced the character of Django, who proved very popular and spawned a series of sequels and imitators using the character named Django. Django you see is a bit of an anti-hero, a man with a heart grown cold following the (implied) killing of the woman he loved and who will basically do anything for adventure and gold. It's a very similar character to the one in 'The Mercenary' and since they are both played by Franco Nero, I couldn't help but compare the two. I found 'The Mercernary' to be funnier and more fun, whereas 'Django' is a much more bleak film in theme and setting.
A lone stranger walks into a mud splattered, rain soaked ghost town in southern California, dragging a coffin and holding a girl he's rescued from bandits. The only place in town that is open is a bar/brothel which has survived by servicing the rival gangs of the Mexicans who have crossed the border to formulate plans for a revolution against the army in Mexico, and a nasty gang of racist Californians who wear red hoods and scarves (KKK beginnings?). Returning the girl is likely to bring trouble from both gangs, and the scene is set for a showdown. Django doesn't seem afraid though, and when you see what he has in that coffin, you'll know why. What follows is a tale of cold hearted killing, double crossing and revenge. At the time, the violence was regarded as being quite brutal and while it would be fairly tame these days, some scenes were a bit uncomfortable. Django is a pretty cool character but I found it a little too bleak to be enjoyable and probably preferred 'The Mercenary' of the two selections.
Friday night and movie #17 rolled around and one with a bit of anticipation based on the description alone. 'God Bless America' did not disappoint, I would rate this as one of the best movies I've seen so far this year. This is a movie which dares to say what we are all thinking - that the world is going to hell in a handbasket, with the death of manners, kindness to our fellow human beings, and common decency.
'God Bless America' is an extremely dark comedy that will appeal to anyone who has thought that American culture is leading to a dumbing down in society and destroying the values of a civilised culture. Obsession with fame, reality TV, talking head TV shows, self-centredness, stupidity and misguided patriotism are some of the chief culprits and targets of this incredibly black comedy. Frank is a man who has been pushed down, by the divorce from his wife who has moved on with a younger man, the disaffection of his daughter, being terminated from his job over a ridiculous harrassment claim and finding out he has an inoperable brain tumour. An intelligent man who values being nice above everything, he despairs over the vapidity and stupidity he sees all around him at home (the opening scene where he takes spectacularly bloody revenge on his annoying neighbours in a dream shocks you from the outset so that what follows doesn't seem quite so bad), at work and on TV and the radio. He's been pushed a tad too far by this recent bad news and snaps when he sees a whiny teen pricess on TV having a tantrum about her parents buying her the 'wrong car' for her sweet 16th. Taking out his gun, he decides to take out Chloe to rid the world of this nasty girl who values all the wrong qualities. A classmate of Chloe's witnesses the incident and is delighted with the outcome as she too sees many things wrong with a world that looks up to people like Chloe. Stopping Frank from killing himself, Roxy convinces him to make this an ongoing concern and take her along for the ride.
What follows is an insanely violent but hilarious road trip as the perfectly matched pair of killers try to pick the ultimate victims to get their point across, but their motives are continually misunderstood by the media. The climax at the finale of the fake pop star show American Superstarz is an absolutely scathing attack on both the makers and participants of these shows that set people up for ridicule as well as stardom.
We found ourselves agreeing with so much of this movie (although mental note, I have to stop giving high fives or else Frank and Roxy would be after me) and saying 'it's so true' a lot. Their discussions about their next potential victims cover a wide range of behaviour on the annoying scale but it is satisfying to see that they reserve their ire for those who really deserve to die. I won't give too much away though on that front.
This movie is excellent, balancing the extreme violence with a lot of laughs and never having the perpetrators violate their own (twisted) code of conduct - there is no inappropriate relationship a la Natural Born Killers here. In fact, despite the similarities in storyline I did not think of NBK at all while watching this. It's much more concerned with righting the world's wrongs, just in the wrong way. I loved this movie. I highly recommend it. It's on again tonight at the Film Festival at 6:30pm.
BIFF Movie #13 - Miss Bala
Miss Bala is the only movie of the day on Wednesday and I'm pumped from a fun karate class earlier in the evening. This movie, which promised to be quite exciting, actually dialled down the action and amped up the drama. It was set in Mexico and I was expecting a look inside the brutal drug cartels that are running rampant there. And I got it.....and it was lot more modern and different than how I've pictured it in my mind.
A girl in her 20s decides with her friend to enter a beauty pageant in an attempt to find fame or fortune and escape her poor life making clothes. Laura's friend Suzu meets up with a man at a nightclub who she claims can help them do better in the pageant. Laura's not interested but in trying to extract Suzu, she gets caught up when a gang raids the venue and kills the rival gang. They spare Laura but when she tries to find out what has happened to Suzu the next day, the gang leader takes an interest in her. In exchange for helping her with the pageant, the gang needs her to run some errands for them e.g. park a car full of dead bodies (including a DEA agent) in front of the US embassy, carry drug money across the border, seduce the general to enable them to take him out. Laura has no choice but to comply with the gang's requests because they have her under the gun from the beginning and there seems to be no way to escape.
The most interesting thing about this movie is the contrast of the gang leader's behaviour between casual brutality against his enemies and the relatively tender treatment he shows to Laura, at least in the beginning. The focus on Laura is a sad and shocking tale of a girl who gets drawn into a big mess against her will, based on true events that happened to a former Miss Hispanic America contestant. However for me I would have got more out of seeing things from the gang's point of view. A gripping thriller though. This movie is on again today (Saturday 24 November) at 4pm if you are interested.
A girl in her 20s decides with her friend to enter a beauty pageant in an attempt to find fame or fortune and escape her poor life making clothes. Laura's friend Suzu meets up with a man at a nightclub who she claims can help them do better in the pageant. Laura's not interested but in trying to extract Suzu, she gets caught up when a gang raids the venue and kills the rival gang. They spare Laura but when she tries to find out what has happened to Suzu the next day, the gang leader takes an interest in her. In exchange for helping her with the pageant, the gang needs her to run some errands for them e.g. park a car full of dead bodies (including a DEA agent) in front of the US embassy, carry drug money across the border, seduce the general to enable them to take him out. Laura has no choice but to comply with the gang's requests because they have her under the gun from the beginning and there seems to be no way to escape.
The most interesting thing about this movie is the contrast of the gang leader's behaviour between casual brutality against his enemies and the relatively tender treatment he shows to Laura, at least in the beginning. The focus on Laura is a sad and shocking tale of a girl who gets drawn into a big mess against her will, based on true events that happened to a former Miss Hispanic America contestant. However for me I would have got more out of seeing things from the gang's point of view. A gripping thriller though. This movie is on again today (Saturday 24 November) at 4pm if you are interested.
Thursday 22 November 2012
BIFF Movie #12 - Maniac!
I had this pencilled in for late Friday night but when they shifted the Tuesday night session to 8:30pm I decided to bring it forward to free up the Friday night schedule. So glad I did, because now I can tell you how cool this movie is and now you can go see it on Friday night too!
Maniac is a remake of a 1980 slasher movie, one that I think is probably pretty low profile since my friend M, a horror movie buff from way back, had only seen the cover and not the movie. Sorry I can't tell you whether this is actually a faithful or different remake, but I can tell you that it's a super fun little movie with a twist. Not a twist ending, the twist is that the movie is told from the point of view of the killer. Most horror movies show the victim's point of view, creating fear for the viewer as they put themselves in the victim's shoes and see the killer stalking them. This movie chooses to show a large majority of the scenes literally from what the killer is seeing, apart from a few scenes which pull back and show the whole thing or when he is looking in the mirror. This aspect means that the usual fear element is watered down but it definitely does create something different and interesting.
Elijah Wood is the only name actor in this movie, playing Frank who by day is a creepy guy living alone in a warehouse where he restores antique mannequins to their former glory and doen't have a lot of friends. By night he is a creepy guy cruising for chicks with good hair who he kills, scalps and uses the hair to create very realistic wigs for the mannequins, who he then treats like they are real women. He meets a girl, Anna, who photographs mannequins for her art portfolio and is the first person to treat the mannequins and Frank with any respect. But what will happen when Frank finds out that Anna has a boyfriend?
The good thing about this movie is that it doesn't try to complicate things, the reason for his insanity is fairly obvious, there is no twist ending and it provides some really gory, gooey stuff for gorehounds. And it's not filmed in shaky cam so you can watch it pretty easily. It does have some limitations stemming from the 80s roots e.g. a girl who realises she's being followed runs into a pretty lonely neighbourhood instead of just getting out her mobile and calling for help as you would think anyone would in this day and age. That's just nitpicking really though.
In summary, a strong slasher movie with strong violence and gore but one that is super cool and has a point of difference to hold your interest.
Maniac is a remake of a 1980 slasher movie, one that I think is probably pretty low profile since my friend M, a horror movie buff from way back, had only seen the cover and not the movie. Sorry I can't tell you whether this is actually a faithful or different remake, but I can tell you that it's a super fun little movie with a twist. Not a twist ending, the twist is that the movie is told from the point of view of the killer. Most horror movies show the victim's point of view, creating fear for the viewer as they put themselves in the victim's shoes and see the killer stalking them. This movie chooses to show a large majority of the scenes literally from what the killer is seeing, apart from a few scenes which pull back and show the whole thing or when he is looking in the mirror. This aspect means that the usual fear element is watered down but it definitely does create something different and interesting.
Elijah Wood is the only name actor in this movie, playing Frank who by day is a creepy guy living alone in a warehouse where he restores antique mannequins to their former glory and doen't have a lot of friends. By night he is a creepy guy cruising for chicks with good hair who he kills, scalps and uses the hair to create very realistic wigs for the mannequins, who he then treats like they are real women. He meets a girl, Anna, who photographs mannequins for her art portfolio and is the first person to treat the mannequins and Frank with any respect. But what will happen when Frank finds out that Anna has a boyfriend?
The good thing about this movie is that it doesn't try to complicate things, the reason for his insanity is fairly obvious, there is no twist ending and it provides some really gory, gooey stuff for gorehounds. And it's not filmed in shaky cam so you can watch it pretty easily. It does have some limitations stemming from the 80s roots e.g. a girl who realises she's being followed runs into a pretty lonely neighbourhood instead of just getting out her mobile and calling for help as you would think anyone would in this day and age. That's just nitpicking really though.
In summary, a strong slasher movie with strong violence and gore but one that is super cool and has a point of difference to hold your interest.
BIFF #11 - The Mercenary
Today I attended 'The Mercenary', the first movie I've picked out of the Spaghetti Western retrospective mini-program. I've not really seen a lot of classic Westerns but I do enjoy the elements in a Western. Young Guns is one of my favourite movies so I thought I'd go and have a look at the older movies which have a much more serious point of view and often times policital statements being made.
The Mercenary is a fairly political movie, dealing with a Mexican revolution, rising up against the rich white businessman coming across the border to run the mines and forcing the locals to work in poor conditions. However while this is the theme, it's not too bleak as the focus is actually on the relationship between revolution leader Paco Romano and a Polish immigrant mercenary named Sergei but referred to mostly as 'the Polak' for his origins. It's a love/hate relationship that makes for a lot of fun. Essentially Sergei comes across Paco early on in his revolution and basically masterminds the whole thing for a series of escalating payments from Paco, but allowing Paco to take all the credit/infamy. The army and a rich dandy named Curly (played by a very young Jack Palance with a full head of thick, curly black hair!) are all after Paco, Sergei and their crew - will they be able to escape and carry on with their dream?
All the elements of a good Western are present and correct here - the lone gunslinger (Sergei), a fantastic Ennico Morricone soundrack (love that whistling), the beautiful scenery,the fesity woman, the struggle and grit, plus those trademark activities - gambling, drinking, brawling and shooting. All of the parts are assembled beautifully for a rollicking ride backwards and forwards across Mexico. I'm looking forward to seeing Django tomorrow now!
The Mercenary is a fairly political movie, dealing with a Mexican revolution, rising up against the rich white businessman coming across the border to run the mines and forcing the locals to work in poor conditions. However while this is the theme, it's not too bleak as the focus is actually on the relationship between revolution leader Paco Romano and a Polish immigrant mercenary named Sergei but referred to mostly as 'the Polak' for his origins. It's a love/hate relationship that makes for a lot of fun. Essentially Sergei comes across Paco early on in his revolution and basically masterminds the whole thing for a series of escalating payments from Paco, but allowing Paco to take all the credit/infamy. The army and a rich dandy named Curly (played by a very young Jack Palance with a full head of thick, curly black hair!) are all after Paco, Sergei and their crew - will they be able to escape and carry on with their dream?
All the elements of a good Western are present and correct here - the lone gunslinger (Sergei), a fantastic Ennico Morricone soundrack (love that whistling), the beautiful scenery,the fesity woman, the struggle and grit, plus those trademark activities - gambling, drinking, brawling and shooting. All of the parts are assembled beautifully for a rollicking ride backwards and forwards across Mexico. I'm looking forward to seeing Django tomorrow now!
BIFF Movies #9 and #10
Where am I up to? Oh yeah, Monday, seems so long ago. First movie of the day was 'Loveless'. I was excited for this movie as it was the first film directed by Kathryn Bigelow (Hurt Locker, Point Break), was Willem Dafoe's first feature role, and it was about rockabilly biker dudes invading a small town to fix one of the gang's broken bikes on the way to Daytona. Problem is, it was just kinda dull. There were a few moments of excitement, a few laughs at the rockabilly talk (cool your jets, daddy-o etc etc) but mainly it was just long slow takes of a pensive looking Willem Dafoe. All mood and style but not a lot of substance here.
More fun was movie #10 for the week, 'Dirty Ho'. When the credits started, I instantly knew this was gonna be good - it's a "Shaw Brothers" movie! The renowned production company that has made hundreds of kung fu films from the late 50s and even up to today. This one was from 1976. Set in ancient China, the 11th prince Master Wang has abandoned royal life and lives among the people as a social gadabout, drinking fine wine and collecting antiques. His kung fu skills must be disguised to avoid being recognised. The film opens with a scene where he comes up against common thief Ho in competition for the attention of women with his gifts of jewellery and 'drafts' (whatever those are). A fight breaks out which Wang wins with the most subtle kung fu and fighting skills you will ever see. Ho decides to track Wang to recover his jewellery (itself stolen) and they get into a series of funny stoushes, with each other and with others (the three cripples scene is hilarious) until Wang eventually takes on Ho as an apprentice without him even realising it. With the upcoming naming of the heir to the dynasty, the greedy 4th prince decides to take out the 11th prince and then the real fights begin. Eventually Ho realises his master's true identity and skill and begins training in earnest to help him get back to the palace alive and in one piece for the ceremony.
Don't mistake this as a serious fight flick though, it's a comedy from start to finish, that just happens to have some superb choreography and almost balletic fights. The movie lets the storyline unfold in chronological order with no gimmicks - it needs none other than the main theme of Wang's subtle skills. I'm glad I knew what this was about because in the beginning, you might even have realised what he was doing if you weren't watching closely. Really funny, really cool and really fun. And a lot of nice beard smoothing in between fights as well! I went home happy.
More fun was movie #10 for the week, 'Dirty Ho'. When the credits started, I instantly knew this was gonna be good - it's a "Shaw Brothers" movie! The renowned production company that has made hundreds of kung fu films from the late 50s and even up to today. This one was from 1976. Set in ancient China, the 11th prince Master Wang has abandoned royal life and lives among the people as a social gadabout, drinking fine wine and collecting antiques. His kung fu skills must be disguised to avoid being recognised. The film opens with a scene where he comes up against common thief Ho in competition for the attention of women with his gifts of jewellery and 'drafts' (whatever those are). A fight breaks out which Wang wins with the most subtle kung fu and fighting skills you will ever see. Ho decides to track Wang to recover his jewellery (itself stolen) and they get into a series of funny stoushes, with each other and with others (the three cripples scene is hilarious) until Wang eventually takes on Ho as an apprentice without him even realising it. With the upcoming naming of the heir to the dynasty, the greedy 4th prince decides to take out the 11th prince and then the real fights begin. Eventually Ho realises his master's true identity and skill and begins training in earnest to help him get back to the palace alive and in one piece for the ceremony.
Don't mistake this as a serious fight flick though, it's a comedy from start to finish, that just happens to have some superb choreography and almost balletic fights. The movie lets the storyline unfold in chronological order with no gimmicks - it needs none other than the main theme of Wang's subtle skills. I'm glad I knew what this was about because in the beginning, you might even have realised what he was doing if you weren't watching closely. Really funny, really cool and really fun. And a lot of nice beard smoothing in between fights as well! I went home happy.
Tuesday 20 November 2012
BIFF Update #8 - Doco double play
On Sunday I took it pretty easy, only attending the double documentary session at lunch time. The first one was 'Glitter Dust: Finding Art in Dubai' which was a fairly critical look at the art scene in Dubai. For me, I didn't quite get the purpose of this documentary, it seemed to be trying to do two different things at once. It was looking at the art scene in Dubai and saying how difficult it is for art to compete with the completely materialistic culture springing up in Dubai (where a $10,000 handbag is regarded as the ultimate in beauty). Which is strange given the deeply religious base in the UAE but it really does seem to be all about what you wear and what designer goods you hold and own. On the other hand, the doco looked at 3 artists and how they are struggling to get a foothold in the art community. What I think would have been better would have been to spend more time focusing on these people and using their experiences to reflect the wider issue. But it was a good look into the burgeoning world city - it's amazing how much construction is going on there right now.
The second doco was much more affecting. 'The Love of Books: A Sarajevo Story' was a true eye opener, telling the tale of a group of dedicated library workers who moved over 10,000 books from the main library in Sarajevo to a safe place during the siege of Sarajevo. Following Bosnia and Herzogovina winning independence from Yugoslavia, Serbian forces moved in 1992 to surround and blockade the city. The siege lasted until 1995. I remember hearing about this and occasionally seeing key moments on the news, but this doco blends re-enactment of the events with real footage, and it had my mouth literally hanging open in shock. The Serbian forces were arrayed in the hills surrounding the cities where they could fire shells into the city at will, plus they planted many snipers in outlying buildings to pick off innocent civilians at will. The way that the Sarajevan people managed to carry on with their lives in this environment is amazing, continuing to go to work and try to live normally while running across open spaces under threat of sniper fire.
As a lover of books myself, I have so much admiration for this small group who risked their lives on a daily basis to move 10,000 books (carried in banana boxes which would later cause problems due to the hunger in the city) from the main library, firstly to the madrassa (a university type institution) and then later to an even safer concrete basement. This is because the shells being fired could set any building alight at any time. The collection of ancient manuscripts at the library had not been microfilmed or copied at that stage, so these were the only copies of some of these writings and they needed to be saved. It really gives me a new appreciation of the modernisation of libraries, which in the past I have grumbled as making today's uni students a bit lazy (just look it up on Google has replaced the hard yards I had to do at the uni library looking up reference numbers and then sitting and leafing through books and magazines to find references for assignments) but now I see as a great thing for the preservation of knowledge. As long as the computers and servers are all well backed up of course!
Sadly, many books at the library were not saved and the building was eventually bombed and set on fire, destroying a large quantity of books. That this courageous group saved 10,000 very precious manuscripts at risk of their own lives is still a massive achievement, as some of the re-enacted scenes were quite harrowing. What ended the siege in 1995 I can't tell you. I'm just so glad it did end, as 11,500 people lost their lives unneccessarily and there was so much destruction of what had been a beautiful, peaceful, multicultural city up to that point. What a lucky country we live in that this has never happened and is never likely to happen.
The second doco was much more affecting. 'The Love of Books: A Sarajevo Story' was a true eye opener, telling the tale of a group of dedicated library workers who moved over 10,000 books from the main library in Sarajevo to a safe place during the siege of Sarajevo. Following Bosnia and Herzogovina winning independence from Yugoslavia, Serbian forces moved in 1992 to surround and blockade the city. The siege lasted until 1995. I remember hearing about this and occasionally seeing key moments on the news, but this doco blends re-enactment of the events with real footage, and it had my mouth literally hanging open in shock. The Serbian forces were arrayed in the hills surrounding the cities where they could fire shells into the city at will, plus they planted many snipers in outlying buildings to pick off innocent civilians at will. The way that the Sarajevan people managed to carry on with their lives in this environment is amazing, continuing to go to work and try to live normally while running across open spaces under threat of sniper fire.
As a lover of books myself, I have so much admiration for this small group who risked their lives on a daily basis to move 10,000 books (carried in banana boxes which would later cause problems due to the hunger in the city) from the main library, firstly to the madrassa (a university type institution) and then later to an even safer concrete basement. This is because the shells being fired could set any building alight at any time. The collection of ancient manuscripts at the library had not been microfilmed or copied at that stage, so these were the only copies of some of these writings and they needed to be saved. It really gives me a new appreciation of the modernisation of libraries, which in the past I have grumbled as making today's uni students a bit lazy (just look it up on Google has replaced the hard yards I had to do at the uni library looking up reference numbers and then sitting and leafing through books and magazines to find references for assignments) but now I see as a great thing for the preservation of knowledge. As long as the computers and servers are all well backed up of course!
Sadly, many books at the library were not saved and the building was eventually bombed and set on fire, destroying a large quantity of books. That this courageous group saved 10,000 very precious manuscripts at risk of their own lives is still a massive achievement, as some of the re-enacted scenes were quite harrowing. What ended the siege in 1995 I can't tell you. I'm just so glad it did end, as 11,500 people lost their lives unneccessarily and there was so much destruction of what had been a beautiful, peaceful, multicultural city up to that point. What a lucky country we live in that this has never happened and is never likely to happen.
BIFF Movie #7 - West of Memphis
After the massive high that was 'Mission to Lars', 'West of Memphis' was the ultimate downer. And not just because it is about a gross miscarriage of justice leaving the true killer of 3 young boys able to walk free for the rest of time, but also because this movie was overlong and a bit dry and contained some very confronting real footage of the dead bodies. OK, I had a killer headache that was preventing me from sitting still and concentrating at a high level, but still I don't think I was the only one thinking it.
The documentary tells the tale of the "West Memphis Three" from the very beginning up to the present day. This is a case of a horrific crime in 1993 where three Arkansas 8 year old boys went missing and were found drowned in a creek, arms and legs tied, and their bodies cut and mutilated in some areas (particularly genitals). The police immediately decided that this must be a satanic cult related killing and soon arrested three local teenagers - Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Miskelley Jr. Because these guys were pretty alternative, had some petty crime convictions (vandalism and shoplifting), Damien had spent some time in a mental institution and his diary contained writings about being depressed and wanting to drink blood etc. The policy had basically made their minds up that these were the guys. They got a confession from Jessie Miskelly Jr that they had done it, and there you go, case closed.
1. Never mind the fact that Jessie's 'confession' was riddled with inconsistencies and didn't match the facts of the case. When you hear the tape of the interview, you can see that the police involved were feeding him facts and leading him towards the true information whenever he had something wrong. There was some indication that Jessie may not have 100% mental faculty and was probably intimidated into that confession.
2. Never mind the fact that one of them was not even in the county that night (corroborated by multiple witnesses).
3. Never mind the fact that despite being offered a generous deal if he ratted on Damian, Jason said 'no' because they were both innocent and went to trial.
4. Never mind the fact that there was no evidence, including DNA, to link any of the 3 to the crime scene.
Despite the above facts being tendered in the boys' defence, all 3 were convicted of the murders, with Damian being given a death sentence as the alleged ringleader, and the others being given life sentences. An appeal against their conviction in 1994 failed. After about 10 years of research and investigation by various people engaged by the family and friends of the men, a growing movement believed they were innocent and the police had bungled the crime scene and used inappropriate methods of questioning the defendants and witnesses. A key witness recanted her statements saying they were all lies under coercion by police. New DNA testing in 2007 strengthened the view that they were not guilty, and turned the attention to Terry Hobbs, step-father to one of the young boys who was amazingly never questioned by police or treated as a suspect. There may have been some jury misconduct.
Damien made a request for a retrial in 2007 but the hearing was continually put off. Finally in 2010 the Supreme Court ordered a lower judge to consider the evidence and decide whether a re-trial should occur. In August 2011, the re-trial was ordered but the defendants immediately put in a plea known as an 'Alford plea'. This allowed them to maintain that they were innocent of the crime (which they had all done over the many long years in jail) and still plead guilty. The judge then sentenced them to the time already served, so they walked free that day.
The real injustice of all this, other than the 17 years these men spent in prison for a crime they claim they did not commit and it does seem that the police just had it in for them, is that the true killer has never been found and never will be since there are three people who have been convicted of the crime. Someone cruelly killed three children and got away with it. It's sickening really.
As for the movie itself, it's a fairly even-handed look at the whole thing, with interviews with the police and prosecutors balancing out those of the friends and family. It's long because there is so much detail, even though not all details have even been included. It has some high-profile supporters' thoughts, including Henry Rollins (the only humourous part), Eddie Vedder and Peter Jackson (who executive produced this movie and it emerges that he and his wife probably financed a large part of the 2007 request for re-trial and subsequent legal bills). It's not sensational at all, although towards the end it seems to be firmly pointing the finger at Terry Hobbs, so in that way it is probably the best way to present the story. This is not really a cautionary tale as there's probably nothing that could've changed the outcome, but it does serve as an indictment of the 'judge a book by its cover' mentality.
The documentary tells the tale of the "West Memphis Three" from the very beginning up to the present day. This is a case of a horrific crime in 1993 where three Arkansas 8 year old boys went missing and were found drowned in a creek, arms and legs tied, and their bodies cut and mutilated in some areas (particularly genitals). The police immediately decided that this must be a satanic cult related killing and soon arrested three local teenagers - Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Miskelley Jr. Because these guys were pretty alternative, had some petty crime convictions (vandalism and shoplifting), Damien had spent some time in a mental institution and his diary contained writings about being depressed and wanting to drink blood etc. The policy had basically made their minds up that these were the guys. They got a confession from Jessie Miskelly Jr that they had done it, and there you go, case closed.
1. Never mind the fact that Jessie's 'confession' was riddled with inconsistencies and didn't match the facts of the case. When you hear the tape of the interview, you can see that the police involved were feeding him facts and leading him towards the true information whenever he had something wrong. There was some indication that Jessie may not have 100% mental faculty and was probably intimidated into that confession.
2. Never mind the fact that one of them was not even in the county that night (corroborated by multiple witnesses).
3. Never mind the fact that despite being offered a generous deal if he ratted on Damian, Jason said 'no' because they were both innocent and went to trial.
4. Never mind the fact that there was no evidence, including DNA, to link any of the 3 to the crime scene.
Despite the above facts being tendered in the boys' defence, all 3 were convicted of the murders, with Damian being given a death sentence as the alleged ringleader, and the others being given life sentences. An appeal against their conviction in 1994 failed. After about 10 years of research and investigation by various people engaged by the family and friends of the men, a growing movement believed they were innocent and the police had bungled the crime scene and used inappropriate methods of questioning the defendants and witnesses. A key witness recanted her statements saying they were all lies under coercion by police. New DNA testing in 2007 strengthened the view that they were not guilty, and turned the attention to Terry Hobbs, step-father to one of the young boys who was amazingly never questioned by police or treated as a suspect. There may have been some jury misconduct.
Damien made a request for a retrial in 2007 but the hearing was continually put off. Finally in 2010 the Supreme Court ordered a lower judge to consider the evidence and decide whether a re-trial should occur. In August 2011, the re-trial was ordered but the defendants immediately put in a plea known as an 'Alford plea'. This allowed them to maintain that they were innocent of the crime (which they had all done over the many long years in jail) and still plead guilty. The judge then sentenced them to the time already served, so they walked free that day.
The real injustice of all this, other than the 17 years these men spent in prison for a crime they claim they did not commit and it does seem that the police just had it in for them, is that the true killer has never been found and never will be since there are three people who have been convicted of the crime. Someone cruelly killed three children and got away with it. It's sickening really.
As for the movie itself, it's a fairly even-handed look at the whole thing, with interviews with the police and prosecutors balancing out those of the friends and family. It's long because there is so much detail, even though not all details have even been included. It has some high-profile supporters' thoughts, including Henry Rollins (the only humourous part), Eddie Vedder and Peter Jackson (who executive produced this movie and it emerges that he and his wife probably financed a large part of the 2007 request for re-trial and subsequent legal bills). It's not sensational at all, although towards the end it seems to be firmly pointing the finger at Terry Hobbs, so in that way it is probably the best way to present the story. This is not really a cautionary tale as there's probably nothing that could've changed the outcome, but it does serve as an indictment of the 'judge a book by its cover' mentality.
Monday 19 November 2012
BIFF Movie # 6 - Mission to Lars (Ulrich)
Saturday morning in late spring and the predictions were that we were going to have a massive storm cell bringing severe storms over Brisbane on both Saturday and Sunday. Driving home from a morning appointment, the storm clouds were following me ominously and I just had time to pull in, collect the papers, bring in the washing and then BANG, big storm with lots of lightning, thunder and heavy rain. But it was over in a pretty short time, nothing too bad. So we jumped in the car to go into the city and see a couple of movies at Palace Barracks Cinema. The warnings all said there were more storms to come, but luckily the Barracks carpark is undercover so we could just relax and enjoy our movies. On the drive in, we realised that we had been lucky, as the inner-city looked like it had been completely smashed by a storm, trees down everywhere and huge amounts of water around.
Movie #6 was 'Mission to Lars' and I don't think I've seen a more heartwarming movie ever. It brought a little bit of sunshine to a dark and stormy day. Brother and sister Kate and Will Spicer have a 40 year old brother Tom who has Fragile X syndrome, a form of autism. He is a huge Metallica fan and continually tells his family and carers that he wants to 'meet Lars'. Lars Ulrich, Metallica's drummer, super businessman, artist, destroyer of Napster. Seems unlikely.
So Kate and Will decide to embark on a mission to bring Tom to America, see Metallica in concert, and if they are lucky, arrange a meeting with Lars Ulrich, all to be filmed for a documentary. And the fantastic part of this movie is that the most difficult part of this mission is not actually arranging the meeting with Lars - it's getting Tom to actually go to the meeting! You see, Tom's syndrome means that he needs routine and consistency, doesn't like to be around conflict and he hears noises more loudly than other people do so imagine him at a massive rock concert by Metallica! But just getting him on the plane looks difficult, as Kate wakes up late and it throws Tom out completely. It's fascinating to see how these siblings have so many problems adjusting their own behaviour to suit their brother, but eventually they do find a more relaxed pace where they can start to enjoy the family trip and make him feel comfortable. But get him to the concert? That is still an impossible dream!
It's hard to review this movie without giving away what happens, so I will say 'Spoiler Alert' so you can look away now.
Finally hitting on the right approach, Kate gets Tom to the venue and into the backstage area, where they wait and wait and it looks like the meeting is now not going to happen. We all feel really disappointed, as we have really grown attached to Tom as the movie progressed. But then, it happens, and Lars is so nice, and so cool and he goes well beyond just a 10 minute meeting. Yay! The look on Tom's face is amazing, when you think back on it you can just start tearing up. This is such a heartwarming movie and one that was very worthwhile seeing.
It also made us think a lot more about giving further support to charities like Young Care (http://www.youngcare.com.au/) which aim to get young people who need care into facilities that are more appropriate for their age, instead of nursing homes and aged care facilities. I'll certainly be supporting more than I have before. You should too!
Movie #6 was 'Mission to Lars' and I don't think I've seen a more heartwarming movie ever. It brought a little bit of sunshine to a dark and stormy day. Brother and sister Kate and Will Spicer have a 40 year old brother Tom who has Fragile X syndrome, a form of autism. He is a huge Metallica fan and continually tells his family and carers that he wants to 'meet Lars'. Lars Ulrich, Metallica's drummer, super businessman, artist, destroyer of Napster. Seems unlikely.
So Kate and Will decide to embark on a mission to bring Tom to America, see Metallica in concert, and if they are lucky, arrange a meeting with Lars Ulrich, all to be filmed for a documentary. And the fantastic part of this movie is that the most difficult part of this mission is not actually arranging the meeting with Lars - it's getting Tom to actually go to the meeting! You see, Tom's syndrome means that he needs routine and consistency, doesn't like to be around conflict and he hears noises more loudly than other people do so imagine him at a massive rock concert by Metallica! But just getting him on the plane looks difficult, as Kate wakes up late and it throws Tom out completely. It's fascinating to see how these siblings have so many problems adjusting their own behaviour to suit their brother, but eventually they do find a more relaxed pace where they can start to enjoy the family trip and make him feel comfortable. But get him to the concert? That is still an impossible dream!
It's hard to review this movie without giving away what happens, so I will say 'Spoiler Alert' so you can look away now.
Finally hitting on the right approach, Kate gets Tom to the venue and into the backstage area, where they wait and wait and it looks like the meeting is now not going to happen. We all feel really disappointed, as we have really grown attached to Tom as the movie progressed. But then, it happens, and Lars is so nice, and so cool and he goes well beyond just a 10 minute meeting. Yay! The look on Tom's face is amazing, when you think back on it you can just start tearing up. This is such a heartwarming movie and one that was very worthwhile seeing.
It also made us think a lot more about giving further support to charities like Young Care (http://www.youngcare.com.au/) which aim to get young people who need care into facilities that are more appropriate for their age, instead of nursing homes and aged care facilities. I'll certainly be supporting more than I have before. You should too!
Sunday 18 November 2012
BIFF Fri-day night, creepy night
Movies #4 and #5 were on tonight and I must say I inadvertently picked a very complementary double bill of movies, both taking a look at the impact on others of people with sick and twisted minds.
First up was 'Sound of my Voice' which is the latest film co-written and starring Brit Marling (from last year's great drama 'Another Earth'). I think this girl is going to be a big star in the near future, particularly for her ability to write unique, small dramas with a little dose of sci-fi. The movie opens with 2 people being admitted to a cult, who we soon find out are actually a film-maker couple who are out to bring down the cult leader from the inside. The cult leader is Maggie (Brit Marling) who claims to be from the future and has come back to help lead people (read: true believers) to a safe place to avoid the never-explained apocalypse that will occur. What follows is an interesting exploration of how even the most sceptical person can have their views changed by charismatic people, even ones like Maggie who offer little evidence and what they do offer is ridiculous - a funny scene where Maggie sings 'a song from the future' but it turns out to be Dreams by the Cranberries. The movie unfortunately raises more questions than it answers in the conclusion, but it was an interesting little film nonetheless.
It definitely made a good segue into the next movie, 'Compliance'. It was set almost entirely within a fast food joint called Chickwich (mmmmmm chicken sandwich) on a very busy day when the store was low on bacon and pickles and they knew they had a shadow shopper franchise quality control person possibly visiting. The manager receives a phone call after lunch from a police officer advising her that he has a victim who has reported having $1,500 stolen out of her wallet by a counter employeed, plus several witnesses. He's too busy to come down to the store right now to interview the girl, so he asks the store manager to follow his instructions. The girl, Becky, denies taking the money, saying it's not even possible. So they check the girl's pockets and purse to try to find the money. When that reveals nothing and still protests innocence, the police officer tells them they have to stripsearch her. Both parties are reluctant but the police officer talks to Becky and convinces her to cooperate so it will be over sooner, which she ultimately does and the stripsearch occurs. Still they find nothing. The girl must then be detained and her clothes left out in the manager's car for the police to search properly. Oh, and a male employee must be used to stand guard over her since the manager has to go back out to the store.... The demands become increasingly creepy and while all the various employees and relatives who become involved over the space of an afternoon and evening seem reluctant and suspicious at first, for some reason they comply with this disembodied voice' instructions and things escalate quite far.
Now here's where you might be thinking - why didn't they realise it's not a real cop and just hang up? And I agree, I felt the same way. But the thing is that you don't really know how you'd react unless it really happened to you. You would definitely like to think that you would be suspicious, you'd ask for a number to call back to prove it really is a policeman and not a prank call, you would just refuse to do the things you're asked. And if you're Becky, you like to think that you would firmly resist what happens, scream, yell, run away. And the catch with this movie is that is is based on true events that occurred in America. And not just in one store, once. Apparently this heinous, malicious, sick individual got 70 people in America to believe him, to the point at least of stripsearching their employees - there were 70 reported cases of similar incidents.
The movie really speaks to the fact that most of us want to believe that we are good people, we follow the rules and laws and want to be seen as helpful and good. We don't want to be seen as not co-operating with the police. That there are some people out there who can smooth talk people into doing otherwise unthinkable things, who have an answer for everything you throw at them and know just what to say and when. Think about it, you probably know one. I'm sure I wouldn't have done any of those things, but after deep reflection I think I might only be 95% sure, there might be a small chance I could have been convinced. How many times have we given out info over the phone without really checking that the person who's called us really is from that legitimate place needing to confirm our details? This is a lot further than that scenario, but unless it happens to you, do you know that you would do the right thing? A good cautionary tale, a little confronting to watch at times (certainly not worth of the walkouts that are being used to 'hype' the movie though) and not a fun night out. Thought provoking indeed.
First up was 'Sound of my Voice' which is the latest film co-written and starring Brit Marling (from last year's great drama 'Another Earth'). I think this girl is going to be a big star in the near future, particularly for her ability to write unique, small dramas with a little dose of sci-fi. The movie opens with 2 people being admitted to a cult, who we soon find out are actually a film-maker couple who are out to bring down the cult leader from the inside. The cult leader is Maggie (Brit Marling) who claims to be from the future and has come back to help lead people (read: true believers) to a safe place to avoid the never-explained apocalypse that will occur. What follows is an interesting exploration of how even the most sceptical person can have their views changed by charismatic people, even ones like Maggie who offer little evidence and what they do offer is ridiculous - a funny scene where Maggie sings 'a song from the future' but it turns out to be Dreams by the Cranberries. The movie unfortunately raises more questions than it answers in the conclusion, but it was an interesting little film nonetheless.
It definitely made a good segue into the next movie, 'Compliance'. It was set almost entirely within a fast food joint called Chickwich (mmmmmm chicken sandwich) on a very busy day when the store was low on bacon and pickles and they knew they had a shadow shopper franchise quality control person possibly visiting. The manager receives a phone call after lunch from a police officer advising her that he has a victim who has reported having $1,500 stolen out of her wallet by a counter employeed, plus several witnesses. He's too busy to come down to the store right now to interview the girl, so he asks the store manager to follow his instructions. The girl, Becky, denies taking the money, saying it's not even possible. So they check the girl's pockets and purse to try to find the money. When that reveals nothing and still protests innocence, the police officer tells them they have to stripsearch her. Both parties are reluctant but the police officer talks to Becky and convinces her to cooperate so it will be over sooner, which she ultimately does and the stripsearch occurs. Still they find nothing. The girl must then be detained and her clothes left out in the manager's car for the police to search properly. Oh, and a male employee must be used to stand guard over her since the manager has to go back out to the store.... The demands become increasingly creepy and while all the various employees and relatives who become involved over the space of an afternoon and evening seem reluctant and suspicious at first, for some reason they comply with this disembodied voice' instructions and things escalate quite far.
Now here's where you might be thinking - why didn't they realise it's not a real cop and just hang up? And I agree, I felt the same way. But the thing is that you don't really know how you'd react unless it really happened to you. You would definitely like to think that you would be suspicious, you'd ask for a number to call back to prove it really is a policeman and not a prank call, you would just refuse to do the things you're asked. And if you're Becky, you like to think that you would firmly resist what happens, scream, yell, run away. And the catch with this movie is that is is based on true events that occurred in America. And not just in one store, once. Apparently this heinous, malicious, sick individual got 70 people in America to believe him, to the point at least of stripsearching their employees - there were 70 reported cases of similar incidents.
The movie really speaks to the fact that most of us want to believe that we are good people, we follow the rules and laws and want to be seen as helpful and good. We don't want to be seen as not co-operating with the police. That there are some people out there who can smooth talk people into doing otherwise unthinkable things, who have an answer for everything you throw at them and know just what to say and when. Think about it, you probably know one. I'm sure I wouldn't have done any of those things, but after deep reflection I think I might only be 95% sure, there might be a small chance I could have been convinced. How many times have we given out info over the phone without really checking that the person who's called us really is from that legitimate place needing to confirm our details? This is a lot further than that scenario, but unless it happens to you, do you know that you would do the right thing? A good cautionary tale, a little confronting to watch at times (certainly not worth of the walkouts that are being used to 'hype' the movie though) and not a fun night out. Thought provoking indeed.
Saturday 17 November 2012
BIFF Movie #3 - Miami Connection
This has to be the best bad movie I've ever seen! Absolutely no budget whatsoever, the most ridiculous storyline, corny dialogue spoken by non-actors who didn't even get a script, gaping plotholes and giant leaps in logic. But fun, funny and hugely entertaining? Hell yeah.
Miami Connection was a movie that the Alama Drafthouse in Texas (co-run by Lars Nilsen who was out here at the Film Fest last year curating a mini-program from his own 'Fantastic Film Fest') bought for $40 off eBay sight unseen. Running it in their annual marathon of watching the first scene of each movie in their vault, they realised what an amazing opening scene this movie had and investigated further, until they were able to release it to cinemas. The story behind the movie is pretty amazing - a guy with no money talks a bunch of tae-kwondo instructors into paying him $10,000 each and in return they get to star in the movie. The director then disappears part way through filming, so one of the tae-kwondo guys decides to finish it himself despite having no filmmaking experience at all and barely speaking English! And he does a terrible job of his scenes, making the other guy look almost competent.
Set some time in the early 80s in Miami, Florida, the movie inexplicably circles around a group of five friends and martial arts experts who are in a rock band called Dragon Sound. They write cool songs about being best friends forever, fighting ninjas etc etc. One of the guys starts dating a girl whose brother is a leader of a gang of goons trying to help a gangster take over the cocaine distribution racket in Miami. The band then has to continually fight this gang who want them all dead (why? I don't know), another gang led by the disgruntled leader of the former house band at the club, and a pack of black-clad, motor cycle riding ninjas. Why the gangster bothers with the incompetent goons and doesn't just go straight to the deadly ninjas, we'll never know - except that wouldn't make a very long movie.
Despite the ludicrous plot and the poor direction and editing which means scenes just end and start with no connection, I found it thoroughly enjoyable. The bad fashion kept me entertained just on its own. The fight scenes were awful but some of the tae-kwondo practise scenes were pretty good and the big fight at the end with the ninjas was pretty cool and they tried to a get a bit of gore in there with some arms hacked off by swords. The dialogue was mostly made up by the cast as it was fairly random and stupid, but this gave some of the biggest laughs. Yes, we were laughing AT you, not WITH you, but who cares? A fun night out - I'm gonna go check eBay and see if I can find it.
Miami Connection was a movie that the Alama Drafthouse in Texas (co-run by Lars Nilsen who was out here at the Film Fest last year curating a mini-program from his own 'Fantastic Film Fest') bought for $40 off eBay sight unseen. Running it in their annual marathon of watching the first scene of each movie in their vault, they realised what an amazing opening scene this movie had and investigated further, until they were able to release it to cinemas. The story behind the movie is pretty amazing - a guy with no money talks a bunch of tae-kwondo instructors into paying him $10,000 each and in return they get to star in the movie. The director then disappears part way through filming, so one of the tae-kwondo guys decides to finish it himself despite having no filmmaking experience at all and barely speaking English! And he does a terrible job of his scenes, making the other guy look almost competent.
Set some time in the early 80s in Miami, Florida, the movie inexplicably circles around a group of five friends and martial arts experts who are in a rock band called Dragon Sound. They write cool songs about being best friends forever, fighting ninjas etc etc. One of the guys starts dating a girl whose brother is a leader of a gang of goons trying to help a gangster take over the cocaine distribution racket in Miami. The band then has to continually fight this gang who want them all dead (why? I don't know), another gang led by the disgruntled leader of the former house band at the club, and a pack of black-clad, motor cycle riding ninjas. Why the gangster bothers with the incompetent goons and doesn't just go straight to the deadly ninjas, we'll never know - except that wouldn't make a very long movie.
Despite the ludicrous plot and the poor direction and editing which means scenes just end and start with no connection, I found it thoroughly enjoyable. The bad fashion kept me entertained just on its own. The fight scenes were awful but some of the tae-kwondo practise scenes were pretty good and the big fight at the end with the ninjas was pretty cool and they tried to a get a bit of gore in there with some arms hacked off by swords. The dialogue was mostly made up by the cast as it was fairly random and stupid, but this gave some of the biggest laughs. Yes, we were laughing AT you, not WITH you, but who cares? A fun night out - I'm gonna go check eBay and see if I can find it.
Friday 16 November 2012
BIFF Update - Sons of Anarchy
Punk rawk! I kicked off my 'official' festival experience last night with 'Sons of Norway', a funny and sweet movie about a kid just trying to rebel by getting into punk rock in the late 70s, foiled at every turn by his dad's liberal views. If you like punk music, you'll love this entertaining and very funny movie as I did.
Nikolaj is a young boy, I'd guess about 14, brought up in Norway by a loving but slightly oddball family. His dad is a bit of a hippie with extremely liberal views on many things, and his Mum is a very loving and tolerant lady who indulges her husband and kids. At the beginning, Nikolaj and his friends dress like normal kids in flared jeans and t-shirts but they are already interested in music such as The Stooges and the Sex Pistols. Following a tragic accident with his mother, Nikolaj increasingly turns to punk as a way of life that resonates for him and rebels against society, police and parents. The only problem is that his Dad, Magnus, not only is not offended by Nik's clothing and behaviour, he doesn't even comment on some of it and as time goes on he even openly embraces the ethos and actively encourages the boys to continue. Needless to say, acceptance isn't what Nik is looking for from his dad and you wonder what is going to happen to these two lovable misfits.
The things I loved about this movie were the nostalgia for the 70s punk explosion, the humour and the fact that the Dad was actually the most anarchist person in the group. My friend Mat accompanied me and I think he summed it up well in saying that it was great because it wasn't a typical Hollywood structure of a movie. If this was your typical Hollywood movie, the dad would be disapproving and there'd be a struggle and then everyone would kiss and make up at the end, but instead the dad is liberal to the extreme and the boy has to come to terms with the fact that he really has nothing to rebel against. I think it's trying to say something about the punk movement's ethos with a guest appearance by Johnny Rotten (looking more and more like a caricature every day) but I didn't really get a clear idea of the conclusion it was drawing. Despite the slightly downbeat ending, I found this to be really entertaining and I remember having a big smile on my face almost the whole time.
Sons of Norway is screening again on Saturday 17 November (tomorrow) at 6:30pm. Check it out!
Nikolaj is a young boy, I'd guess about 14, brought up in Norway by a loving but slightly oddball family. His dad is a bit of a hippie with extremely liberal views on many things, and his Mum is a very loving and tolerant lady who indulges her husband and kids. At the beginning, Nikolaj and his friends dress like normal kids in flared jeans and t-shirts but they are already interested in music such as The Stooges and the Sex Pistols. Following a tragic accident with his mother, Nikolaj increasingly turns to punk as a way of life that resonates for him and rebels against society, police and parents. The only problem is that his Dad, Magnus, not only is not offended by Nik's clothing and behaviour, he doesn't even comment on some of it and as time goes on he even openly embraces the ethos and actively encourages the boys to continue. Needless to say, acceptance isn't what Nik is looking for from his dad and you wonder what is going to happen to these two lovable misfits.
The things I loved about this movie were the nostalgia for the 70s punk explosion, the humour and the fact that the Dad was actually the most anarchist person in the group. My friend Mat accompanied me and I think he summed it up well in saying that it was great because it wasn't a typical Hollywood structure of a movie. If this was your typical Hollywood movie, the dad would be disapproving and there'd be a struggle and then everyone would kiss and make up at the end, but instead the dad is liberal to the extreme and the boy has to come to terms with the fact that he really has nothing to rebel against. I think it's trying to say something about the punk movement's ethos with a guest appearance by Johnny Rotten (looking more and more like a caricature every day) but I didn't really get a clear idea of the conclusion it was drawing. Despite the slightly downbeat ending, I found this to be really entertaining and I remember having a big smile on my face almost the whole time.
Sons of Norway is screening again on Saturday 17 November (tomorrow) at 6:30pm. Check it out!
Tuesday 13 November 2012
BIFF is go! Movie #1 Down
Movie #1 at the 2012 Brisbane International Film Festival has happened! Before it even started! As with last year, the Festival has a couple of movies screening before the opening night event on Wednesday. Last night I went to see Hari-Kiri: Death of a Samurai 3D. I have to say that it was a slightly disappointing start for me this year. Only because I expect so much from director Takashi Miike, who is usually pretty extreme but this movie was more of a melodrama with a few extreme parts. Also the 3D was unwatchable, not sure whether it was the cinema projection, glasses or just me (normally I love 3D and have no problems) but I had to remove the glasses in any fast moving scenes. Luckily there weren't many (!).
This movie is a very good quality movie, just not what I was expecting really. After last year's '13 Assassins' which explored similar territory (the honour of a Samurai in post-feudal Japan) I was expecting something similar - an exploration of the issues but still with some crazy fighting scenes. Alas I was disappointed as the film chose instead to tell a sad and drawn out tale of a young man with a sick wife and baby and the lengths he will go to for them. It did have a good point to make about morality and humanity in the face of an honour bound society's expectations, told within an interesting structure for the film. However there were no real surprises to be found and I just missed that crazy edge his movies normally have. He's mellowing out!
This movie is a very good quality movie, just not what I was expecting really. After last year's '13 Assassins' which explored similar territory (the honour of a Samurai in post-feudal Japan) I was expecting something similar - an exploration of the issues but still with some crazy fighting scenes. Alas I was disappointed as the film chose instead to tell a sad and drawn out tale of a young man with a sick wife and baby and the lengths he will go to for them. It did have a good point to make about morality and humanity in the face of an honour bound society's expectations, told within an interesting structure for the film. However there were no real surprises to be found and I just missed that crazy edge his movies normally have. He's mellowing out!
Sunday 11 November 2012
Movie #25 - Argo
It's a funny word Argo. What does it mean? Nothing really. But it's the word on everyone's lips in the last few weeks, that's for sure! Everywhere I go I hear people talking about it and lots of people are asking me about here. So here without further ado is the review of Argo!
Argo is an excellent little political thriller drama that could potentially draw some Oscar nominations although it has probably been released too soon for that. Extremely taut and tense, this movie is really all about the story. There are no big showy action scenes, over the top performances or unnecessary sub-plots. And that's because the story is a cracker!
The movie is a dramatisation of real events around the 1980 Iran Hostage Crisis. The hostage crisis arose after a protest by Iranian citizens and students against America for a series of reasons, revolving around the US government's long running support of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (a cruel Shah who was installed after a military coup in 1953 took power from the elected prime minister) and granting asylum and medical treatment to him in his later years after he was finally deposed in the Iranian revoluation in 1979. While the taking of 52 hostages (who were ultimately kept for 444 days sparking one of the biggest diplomatic incidents in history) could be a cracking story in itself, this actually focuses on 6 US embassy workers who were able to escape the embassy building in the nick of time, and hide out at the Canadian ambassador's residence.
The 6 Americans are trapped in Iran as the insurgents look for any Americans in the country. Life isn't very fun trapped inside with certain death waiting if you go outside and no seeming way out. That is where the CIA came in, knowing through their Canadian friends that the workers were in hiding and trying to find a way to get them out of the country safely. Any screw up in the 'ex-filtration' could cause an even bigger diplomatic incident. Even with the best heads in the business, they can't come up with anything plausible. Until Tony Shaeffer, expert in ex-filtration, comes up with 'the best bad idea' which is to pretend he is making a sci-fi fantasy movie, scouting locations in Iran, and the 6 were his movie crew. Do you know how absurd that sounds? It's a completely outrageous idea but one that actually did happen, as this story was declassified by the CIA approximately 10 or so years ago.
Once the fake movie, named Argo, is approved then we have a very fun segment as Tony (Ben Affleck) enlists the help of Hollywood guys John Chambers (John Goodman as the makeup and effects whiz) and Lester Siegel (Alan Arkin as the big-shot director) to create a bit of hype about this fake movie to make the cover story more believable. This segment lets them take a bit of a pot shot at the Hollywood machine from within which is great fun but unfortunately must come to an end when they actually get down to the business of getting into Iran, meeting the group and trying to get them out. From there, it all gets very serious and very tense as you wonder whether they are indeed going to make it out of this very suspicious environment with their lives. And some of the diplomats are not doing the group any favours with their distrust of Tony and his scheme.
I really enjoyed the second half of this movie, as it keeps the focus tight on the story and characters and ratchets up the tension by the second as they attempt to get to the airport and out of the country. No spoilers here though! It is well worth a watch and as I said, probably could be up for some screenplay and directing Oscars. Ben Affleck has done a great job directing his third movie (after Gone, Baby Gone and The Town) and puts in a quiet, unflashy performance as the main character. Good support from Bryan Cranston as the CIA boss and the actors playing the embassy workers but nothing here is a standout performance. Just a strong ensemble telling a good story. Go see it!
Argo is an excellent little political thriller drama that could potentially draw some Oscar nominations although it has probably been released too soon for that. Extremely taut and tense, this movie is really all about the story. There are no big showy action scenes, over the top performances or unnecessary sub-plots. And that's because the story is a cracker!
The movie is a dramatisation of real events around the 1980 Iran Hostage Crisis. The hostage crisis arose after a protest by Iranian citizens and students against America for a series of reasons, revolving around the US government's long running support of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (a cruel Shah who was installed after a military coup in 1953 took power from the elected prime minister) and granting asylum and medical treatment to him in his later years after he was finally deposed in the Iranian revoluation in 1979. While the taking of 52 hostages (who were ultimately kept for 444 days sparking one of the biggest diplomatic incidents in history) could be a cracking story in itself, this actually focuses on 6 US embassy workers who were able to escape the embassy building in the nick of time, and hide out at the Canadian ambassador's residence.
The 6 Americans are trapped in Iran as the insurgents look for any Americans in the country. Life isn't very fun trapped inside with certain death waiting if you go outside and no seeming way out. That is where the CIA came in, knowing through their Canadian friends that the workers were in hiding and trying to find a way to get them out of the country safely. Any screw up in the 'ex-filtration' could cause an even bigger diplomatic incident. Even with the best heads in the business, they can't come up with anything plausible. Until Tony Shaeffer, expert in ex-filtration, comes up with 'the best bad idea' which is to pretend he is making a sci-fi fantasy movie, scouting locations in Iran, and the 6 were his movie crew. Do you know how absurd that sounds? It's a completely outrageous idea but one that actually did happen, as this story was declassified by the CIA approximately 10 or so years ago.
Once the fake movie, named Argo, is approved then we have a very fun segment as Tony (Ben Affleck) enlists the help of Hollywood guys John Chambers (John Goodman as the makeup and effects whiz) and Lester Siegel (Alan Arkin as the big-shot director) to create a bit of hype about this fake movie to make the cover story more believable. This segment lets them take a bit of a pot shot at the Hollywood machine from within which is great fun but unfortunately must come to an end when they actually get down to the business of getting into Iran, meeting the group and trying to get them out. From there, it all gets very serious and very tense as you wonder whether they are indeed going to make it out of this very suspicious environment with their lives. And some of the diplomats are not doing the group any favours with their distrust of Tony and his scheme.
I really enjoyed the second half of this movie, as it keeps the focus tight on the story and characters and ratchets up the tension by the second as they attempt to get to the airport and out of the country. No spoilers here though! It is well worth a watch and as I said, probably could be up for some screenplay and directing Oscars. Ben Affleck has done a great job directing his third movie (after Gone, Baby Gone and The Town) and puts in a quiet, unflashy performance as the main character. Good support from Bryan Cranston as the CIA boss and the actors playing the embassy workers but nothing here is a standout performance. Just a strong ensemble telling a good story. Go see it!
Saturday 10 November 2012
It's BIFF time again!
November brings the first hint of summer in Brisbane (although not today, a grey rainy day that is great for staying in and watching the box) and also the annual Brisbane International Film Festival. For it's 21st birthday this year, the Festival has again brought a massive range of films from around the world to our door, with a mix of obscure, indie and commercial movies.
Many people who know me have got used to November being 'movie time' and they enjoy following what I get up to in the 10 days of the Film Festival. But why not take it a step further and join me for a movie? You are likely to see something interesting, even if not the best movie you've ever seen. For those who don't have time to review the whole program of films, here is a list of what I'm going to see, brief synopsis and when.
Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai 3D - Monday 12 November 6:30pm.
- This is the latest film from Takashi Miike, a crazy Japanese director responsible for great films such as Dead or Alive, Audition, Sukiyaki Western Django and last year's slow burn, strong finishing 13 Assassins.
Sons of Norway - Thursday 15th 6:30pm
- Norwegian coming of age comedy drama with a 13 year old's attempts at punk rebellion being stymied by his easy going hippy dad's acceptance of everything.
Miami Connection - Thursday 15th 10:15pm
- A crazy sounding film where a martial arts rock band called Dragon Sound embark on a wave of roundhouse-kicking, crime-crushing justice against a band of ninjas running rampant through Miami, Florida.
Sound of my Voice - Friday 16th 7pm
- American indie with 2 filmmakers infiltrating a Californian cult only to be drawn in by charismatic leader Maggie. This one appeals to me as it is written by and stars Brit Marling, who co-wrote and starred in 'Another Earth' which showed at last year's festival and I really liked it.
Compliance - Friday 16th 9:45pm
- A film shocking audiences around the world. A compelling look at how people can be manipulated into performing shocking acts, as a fast food worker receives a strange phone call telling them a staff member has committed a crime and that they need to confine and strip-search her. Should be unsettling.
Mission to Lars - Saturday 17th 2:30pm
- Should be a cute movie as brother and sister filmmakers go on a mission to help their autistic brother meet his hero, Lars Ulrich of Metallica.
West of Memphis - Saturday 17th 4pm
- Up to date documentary by Peter Jackson (Lord of the Rings) about the 'West Memphis Three' case, where three guys were jailed for a lengthy period for a crime they didn't commit, mainly because they were a little bit alternative. The true killers have never been found.
Last Days Here - Saturday 17th 10:30pm
- Doco about Bobby Liebling, a member of 70s cult metal band Pentagram who became a long term heroin user. A fan (the maker of this movie) tracks him down and will he get a shot at redemption and musical fame after all?
Glitterdust + The Love of Books - Sunday 18th 11:45am
- Double play of documentaries. Glitterdust is about three middle eastern artists struggling to kick start their careers in the United Arab Emirates. The Love of Books tells the tale of the library director and a group of booklovers who run an underground network to save 10000 ancient manuscripts and books from Sarajevo during the civil war in 1992.
The Loveless - Monday 19th 4pm
- First film by Kathryn Bigelow (director of The Hurt Locker, Point Break Near Dark), it's a tale of rebellious bikers stopping into a small town on their way to Daytona. First feature role by Willem Dafoe, period 50s setting with early 80s style.
Dirty Ho - Monday 19th 6:30pm
- Not what it sounds like! A kung fu movie with a Manchurian prince and martial experts in disguise, having to defeat a thief with 'stealth kung-fu': lethal fighting skills while maintaining the illusion of clumsiness. Sounds like fun!
The Mercenary - Tuesday 20th 4pm
- An entry from the 'Spaghetti Western' retrospective mini-program showing a range of westerns from the 60s, starring Jack Palance, Franco Nero (the original Django). Many of the other films in this program would be worth a look if you like Spaghettie Westerns. Watch out for Sergio Leone's Clint Eastwoord starring trilogy A Fistful of Dollars; For a Few Dollars More; The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.
Miss Bala - Wednesday 21st 9pm
- Mexican thriller about a poor woman who enters a beauty pageant to escape her life but gets caught up with a local drug cartel. Based on 'an outrageous true story of a former Miss Hispanic America", this sounds like a pretty good glimpse into the horrific things going on in Mexico even to this day.
Show me the Magic - Thursday 22nd 6:30pm
- Doco on legendary Australian cinematographer Don McAlpine, showing what a cinematographer does on a movie. One for movie buffs. He's lensed many well known movies, including early Ausse gems such as Don's Party, Puberty Blues, Breaker Morant and then went on to become in demand in Hollywood doing films as diverse as Predator, Mrs Doubtfire, Patriot Games, Anger Management, X-Men Origins: Wolverine.
Following - Thursday 22nd 9pm
- The first movie by Christopher Nolan, that guy who directed a little trilogy called Batman Begins, Dark Knight and Dark Knight Rises. This is meant to be brilliant, so get along because this movie would be pretty hard to find otherwise.
Django - Friday 23rd 12:15pm
- Another spaghetti western, deemed one of the most violent movies ever released at the time in 1966. The introduction of the character 'Django' who has appeared in over 30 unofficial sequels plus other adaptations (such as Takashi Miike's unofficial tribute 'Sukiyaki Western Django') and possibly inspiring Quentin Tarantino's upcoming film 'Django Unchained'.
The Substance: Albert Hoffman's LSD - Friday 23rd 2pm
- A doco about the drug LSD and the scientist who discovered it and thought it would be the key to turning us in to our full potential - until the world realised there could be some pretty bad side effects.
God Bless America - Friday 23rd 7pm
- A man who discovers he has an inoperable brain tumor decides to go on a killing spree to remove some of the worst examples of stupidity in American society, teaming up with a young girl who feels the same way. This should be a wickedly funny satire. Empire gave this a 4 out of 5 star review.
Liberal Arts - Friday 23rd 9pm
- An indie rom-com by Josh Radnor, who plays Ted in sitcom How I Met Your Mother.
Maniac - Friday 23rd 11:30pm
- A remake of an 80s slasher film starring Elijah Wood, that cute little Frodo guy as the titular maniac. A mannequin restorer by day, scalp hunter by night. A selection from the "Monster Fest" mini-program.
Disturbing the Peace and So Sorry - Saturday 24th 4pm
- Double documentary from Chinese artist, activist and provocative filmmaker Ai Weiwei (known for designing the Bird's Nest Stadium for the Beijing Olympics, less well known for his films). These two movies promise to be a disturbing peek behind the tightly controlled media face of China, from a first-hand perspective of someone who has done jail time for airing his views.
Sinister - Saturday 24th 9:30pm
- Scary little supernatural thriller starring Ethan Hawke as a crime novelist in need of inspiration, who moves his family (unknowingly to them) into a house where a young family was killed but the crime was never solved. Are they alone in the house? BOO!
Inbred - Saturday 24th 11:59pm
- A gory splatterfest being compared to early classics 'Bad Taste' and 'Re-Animator', as a group of teen delinquents and their social workers head to a small English country town overrun by homicidal degenerates who don't really like the visitors!
The Reluctant Revolutionary - Sunday 25th 12pm
- A first hand view of the beginning of the 'Arab Spring' as filmmaker Sean McAlister was in Yemen in early 2011 documenting a decline in tourism when the sudden popular uprising began. This should be pretty astonishing as he follows local guide Kais as the Yemeni people stand up to the savage regime. Up for the BIFFDocs award prize.
American Mary - Sunday 25th 2pm
- From the Soska sisters who made the horror flick 'Ginger Snaps' a few years back, a disturbing gothic horror flick about a surgical intern by day, performer of radical body modification surgeries by night. But what is her motivation?
The Queen of Versailles - Sunday 25th 4:30pm
- One for my financial planning compadres, a doco described as the 'riches to rags' story of a billionaire couple's run in with the GFC. Promises to be a fascinating look at some pretty repulsive people. Also up for the BIFFDocs prize.
The Man with the Iron Fists - Sunday 25th 6:30pm
- General craziness from the pen of rap collective Wu Tang Clan's RZA. RZA also stars as the titular hero, a blacksmith with marial arts skills who defends a village against an army of arcane warriors. He's roped in Russell Crowe and Lucy Liu to lend some star cred, but the true interest here is that Eli Roth (director of Cabin Fever, Hostel and Hostel 2) took a co-writing and producing role and the film appears under a 'Presented by Quentin Tarantino' banner. Should be super violent and funny.
The ABCs of Death - Sunday 25th 8:30pm
- A mash-up of mini films where 26 directors were given a letter of the alphabet and a $5,000 budget, which they had to use to show different ways to die. One for the people who chortle in glee at the inventive deaths in movies such as Final Destination, Scream or indeed The Raid. Directors are mainly unknown, although the film should end with a blood soaked bang with Yoshihiro Nishimura doing 'Z' as he is the guy who directed the insane 'Helldriver' from last year's film fest (see blog post from November last year).
With such a packed schedule, even though most films are shown twice during the program there are a few I'm missing. The ones that should also be good but not listed above are Berberian Sound Studio, Save your Legs!, A Fulldome Odyssey (a group of 'full dome' films showing at the Planetarium at Mt Cootha), Ai Weiwei - Never Sorry, Once Upon a Time in the West, Sightseers, BabyCall, Errors of the Human Body, Robot + Frank. Check the program if any of the movies in my list appeal to you but the time doesn't, because most movies have a second screening at some stage.
The full program is available at the website www.biff.com.au so check it out.
Wow, I just realised I've listed 28 movies above. Some of these may drop off if I get too tired! This will be even more than last year! Which I didn't get tired of judging by my wrap up blog post, but this will be a lot to do. We shall see.....
Many people who know me have got used to November being 'movie time' and they enjoy following what I get up to in the 10 days of the Film Festival. But why not take it a step further and join me for a movie? You are likely to see something interesting, even if not the best movie you've ever seen. For those who don't have time to review the whole program of films, here is a list of what I'm going to see, brief synopsis and when.
Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai 3D - Monday 12 November 6:30pm.
- This is the latest film from Takashi Miike, a crazy Japanese director responsible for great films such as Dead or Alive, Audition, Sukiyaki Western Django and last year's slow burn, strong finishing 13 Assassins.
Sons of Norway - Thursday 15th 6:30pm
- Norwegian coming of age comedy drama with a 13 year old's attempts at punk rebellion being stymied by his easy going hippy dad's acceptance of everything.
Miami Connection - Thursday 15th 10:15pm
- A crazy sounding film where a martial arts rock band called Dragon Sound embark on a wave of roundhouse-kicking, crime-crushing justice against a band of ninjas running rampant through Miami, Florida.
Sound of my Voice - Friday 16th 7pm
- American indie with 2 filmmakers infiltrating a Californian cult only to be drawn in by charismatic leader Maggie. This one appeals to me as it is written by and stars Brit Marling, who co-wrote and starred in 'Another Earth' which showed at last year's festival and I really liked it.
Compliance - Friday 16th 9:45pm
- A film shocking audiences around the world. A compelling look at how people can be manipulated into performing shocking acts, as a fast food worker receives a strange phone call telling them a staff member has committed a crime and that they need to confine and strip-search her. Should be unsettling.
Mission to Lars - Saturday 17th 2:30pm
- Should be a cute movie as brother and sister filmmakers go on a mission to help their autistic brother meet his hero, Lars Ulrich of Metallica.
West of Memphis - Saturday 17th 4pm
- Up to date documentary by Peter Jackson (Lord of the Rings) about the 'West Memphis Three' case, where three guys were jailed for a lengthy period for a crime they didn't commit, mainly because they were a little bit alternative. The true killers have never been found.
Last Days Here - Saturday 17th 10:30pm
- Doco about Bobby Liebling, a member of 70s cult metal band Pentagram who became a long term heroin user. A fan (the maker of this movie) tracks him down and will he get a shot at redemption and musical fame after all?
Glitterdust + The Love of Books - Sunday 18th 11:45am
- Double play of documentaries. Glitterdust is about three middle eastern artists struggling to kick start their careers in the United Arab Emirates. The Love of Books tells the tale of the library director and a group of booklovers who run an underground network to save 10000 ancient manuscripts and books from Sarajevo during the civil war in 1992.
The Loveless - Monday 19th 4pm
- First film by Kathryn Bigelow (director of The Hurt Locker, Point Break Near Dark), it's a tale of rebellious bikers stopping into a small town on their way to Daytona. First feature role by Willem Dafoe, period 50s setting with early 80s style.
Dirty Ho - Monday 19th 6:30pm
- Not what it sounds like! A kung fu movie with a Manchurian prince and martial experts in disguise, having to defeat a thief with 'stealth kung-fu': lethal fighting skills while maintaining the illusion of clumsiness. Sounds like fun!
The Mercenary - Tuesday 20th 4pm
- An entry from the 'Spaghetti Western' retrospective mini-program showing a range of westerns from the 60s, starring Jack Palance, Franco Nero (the original Django). Many of the other films in this program would be worth a look if you like Spaghettie Westerns. Watch out for Sergio Leone's Clint Eastwoord starring trilogy A Fistful of Dollars; For a Few Dollars More; The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.
Miss Bala - Wednesday 21st 9pm
- Mexican thriller about a poor woman who enters a beauty pageant to escape her life but gets caught up with a local drug cartel. Based on 'an outrageous true story of a former Miss Hispanic America", this sounds like a pretty good glimpse into the horrific things going on in Mexico even to this day.
Show me the Magic - Thursday 22nd 6:30pm
- Doco on legendary Australian cinematographer Don McAlpine, showing what a cinematographer does on a movie. One for movie buffs. He's lensed many well known movies, including early Ausse gems such as Don's Party, Puberty Blues, Breaker Morant and then went on to become in demand in Hollywood doing films as diverse as Predator, Mrs Doubtfire, Patriot Games, Anger Management, X-Men Origins: Wolverine.
Following - Thursday 22nd 9pm
- The first movie by Christopher Nolan, that guy who directed a little trilogy called Batman Begins, Dark Knight and Dark Knight Rises. This is meant to be brilliant, so get along because this movie would be pretty hard to find otherwise.
Django - Friday 23rd 12:15pm
- Another spaghetti western, deemed one of the most violent movies ever released at the time in 1966. The introduction of the character 'Django' who has appeared in over 30 unofficial sequels plus other adaptations (such as Takashi Miike's unofficial tribute 'Sukiyaki Western Django') and possibly inspiring Quentin Tarantino's upcoming film 'Django Unchained'.
The Substance: Albert Hoffman's LSD - Friday 23rd 2pm
- A doco about the drug LSD and the scientist who discovered it and thought it would be the key to turning us in to our full potential - until the world realised there could be some pretty bad side effects.
God Bless America - Friday 23rd 7pm
- A man who discovers he has an inoperable brain tumor decides to go on a killing spree to remove some of the worst examples of stupidity in American society, teaming up with a young girl who feels the same way. This should be a wickedly funny satire. Empire gave this a 4 out of 5 star review.
Liberal Arts - Friday 23rd 9pm
- An indie rom-com by Josh Radnor, who plays Ted in sitcom How I Met Your Mother.
Maniac - Friday 23rd 11:30pm
- A remake of an 80s slasher film starring Elijah Wood, that cute little Frodo guy as the titular maniac. A mannequin restorer by day, scalp hunter by night. A selection from the "Monster Fest" mini-program.
Disturbing the Peace and So Sorry - Saturday 24th 4pm
- Double documentary from Chinese artist, activist and provocative filmmaker Ai Weiwei (known for designing the Bird's Nest Stadium for the Beijing Olympics, less well known for his films). These two movies promise to be a disturbing peek behind the tightly controlled media face of China, from a first-hand perspective of someone who has done jail time for airing his views.
Sinister - Saturday 24th 9:30pm
- Scary little supernatural thriller starring Ethan Hawke as a crime novelist in need of inspiration, who moves his family (unknowingly to them) into a house where a young family was killed but the crime was never solved. Are they alone in the house? BOO!
Inbred - Saturday 24th 11:59pm
- A gory splatterfest being compared to early classics 'Bad Taste' and 'Re-Animator', as a group of teen delinquents and their social workers head to a small English country town overrun by homicidal degenerates who don't really like the visitors!
The Reluctant Revolutionary - Sunday 25th 12pm
- A first hand view of the beginning of the 'Arab Spring' as filmmaker Sean McAlister was in Yemen in early 2011 documenting a decline in tourism when the sudden popular uprising began. This should be pretty astonishing as he follows local guide Kais as the Yemeni people stand up to the savage regime. Up for the BIFFDocs award prize.
American Mary - Sunday 25th 2pm
- From the Soska sisters who made the horror flick 'Ginger Snaps' a few years back, a disturbing gothic horror flick about a surgical intern by day, performer of radical body modification surgeries by night. But what is her motivation?
The Queen of Versailles - Sunday 25th 4:30pm
- One for my financial planning compadres, a doco described as the 'riches to rags' story of a billionaire couple's run in with the GFC. Promises to be a fascinating look at some pretty repulsive people. Also up for the BIFFDocs prize.
The Man with the Iron Fists - Sunday 25th 6:30pm
- General craziness from the pen of rap collective Wu Tang Clan's RZA. RZA also stars as the titular hero, a blacksmith with marial arts skills who defends a village against an army of arcane warriors. He's roped in Russell Crowe and Lucy Liu to lend some star cred, but the true interest here is that Eli Roth (director of Cabin Fever, Hostel and Hostel 2) took a co-writing and producing role and the film appears under a 'Presented by Quentin Tarantino' banner. Should be super violent and funny.
The ABCs of Death - Sunday 25th 8:30pm
- A mash-up of mini films where 26 directors were given a letter of the alphabet and a $5,000 budget, which they had to use to show different ways to die. One for the people who chortle in glee at the inventive deaths in movies such as Final Destination, Scream or indeed The Raid. Directors are mainly unknown, although the film should end with a blood soaked bang with Yoshihiro Nishimura doing 'Z' as he is the guy who directed the insane 'Helldriver' from last year's film fest (see blog post from November last year).
With such a packed schedule, even though most films are shown twice during the program there are a few I'm missing. The ones that should also be good but not listed above are Berberian Sound Studio, Save your Legs!, A Fulldome Odyssey (a group of 'full dome' films showing at the Planetarium at Mt Cootha), Ai Weiwei - Never Sorry, Once Upon a Time in the West, Sightseers, BabyCall, Errors of the Human Body, Robot + Frank. Check the program if any of the movies in my list appeal to you but the time doesn't, because most movies have a second screening at some stage.
The full program is available at the website www.biff.com.au so check it out.
Wow, I just realised I've listed 28 movies above. Some of these may drop off if I get too tired! This will be even more than last year! Which I didn't get tired of judging by my wrap up blog post, but this will be a lot to do. We shall see.....
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