friday at the astor

i remember watching this film with my family when it first came out. it was the weekend family experience for the five of us. my early teen years were filled with weekend family dates. i kid you not, there were even occasions when we would all go roller-skating at the local rink, those were normally sunday afternoons for a couple of hours. how strange that may seem, it was pretty awesome seeing my dad and brother on skates. ha! my mum and little sister, who would've been about 4-5, also took classes to learn to skate at the same time.

anyway, back to raiders of the lost ark. love it, own it. and have seen it so many times i've lost count. but to see it on big screen at an art deco theatre was a treat i could not pass up. and yes, it was still awesome. and i can still hear my family (yes, in my memories) laugh out loud when indiana, after fighting so many men hand to hand, denies the large man brandishing a sword, takes out his pistol and shoots him dead. what an adventure.

funnily enough i still couldn't watch the ark scene where the "rays of god" struck down all the nazis - well, not the melty blowy up face bit at least. it's still gross. yep, still love this film.

26 and twenty seven films

this film made me damn hungry.directed by trevor graham make hummus not war asks the question "who owns the hummus heritage?" and he wonders if the love of chickpea eating could be the recipe for peace in the middle east. entertaining and morish.

we are legion: the story of the hacktivists takes an interesting look at the radical "hacktivist" collective anonymous. who, to be honest, i had not heard of before the doco. true, i had read about their world-wide exploits but this detailed the progress of the group from inception to world-wide notoriety. truly interesting times that we live in.

22, 23, 24 and 25

how much fun was paranorman? this much fun. again i'm completely over 3d and i don't think it really added anything extra to the mix but it was a film about not judging a person or zombie by their appearances. like i said, a lot of fun.

i expected something more from berberian sound studio, don't know what exactly but half way through i wanted something to happen and it just didn't.

okay, if berberian was just eh, sound of my voice was distinctly painful and self-indulgent. aarrghhh... i should've known what i was in for considering my dislike of marling's last film, another earth. it dragged.

this was loud and postering fun. the documentary something from nothing: the art of rap led us along the streets of american cities alongside ice-t as he conversed (and rapped) with the heart and soul of hip-hop. nice way to end a saturday night.

twenty and twenty one

okay, what initially sold me on this film was it's director, dexter fletcher, he of press gang fame. of course he has done many other things since then but wild bill is his directorial debut. i liked this film. it wasn't a big story, but one of family, redemption and trying to do the right thing. strong performances and comedy amongst the drama.

a love story that battles through an addiction. keep the lights wasn't really a new story, just that the lovers happened to be two men.

18 and 19

i really enjoyed the chilean film, no. shot almost in a documentary style, it felt like we could have been watching what really happened in the lead up to the 1988 referendum that ended the pinochet regime. all told from the position of a marketing campaign. the film was shot on 80s film stock which added to the authenticity of the story. a big NO (in that yes way) from me.

shutup and play the hits chronicles the final concert of the band lcd sound system. i was aware of the music but not a big fan at the time, it is definitely something to shake your booty too. well, not now since the band is no more but i hear there are still cds available. ha!

14, 15, 16 & 17

i honestly bawled my way through most of bully, a doco by lee hirsch. okay, maybe not bawled but silently wept. it was so hard to watch the specific stories of these children and teenagers and knowing that there are so many out there in similar positions. those a little different in the way they dress, or look, or behave. it was hard to hear the parents of those kids, not knowing what to do to help their child, and many not finding answers or assistance from the schools or legal system. is this getting worse or has it always been there? everyone should see this. i know it's a hard sell on the subject matter and the fact i cried so much my sleeves were damp when i walked out (didn't have tissues), but you should see bully.

chicken with plums is a film about memories, tying those memories to objects and what happens to your heart when you lose those objects. i loved the imagery of this film, directed by marjane satrapi and vincent paronnaud. set in the 1950s, tehran was depicted in a magical, dream-like manner with a parisian elegance and old-worldliness. a sweet story.

golden slumbers was a doco focussed on the cambodian film industry of the 60s and 70s, up until the khmer rouge took over the country and destroyed most of the country's history and art. only a small number of actors and filmmakers survived this period, no full length film did. liked the subject matter but the doco was not strong enough to support it. difficult to do when there is no visuals remaining from the golden era of cambodian film making, a few posters and leaflets. the bones were there but not enough substance for me.

seeking a friend at the end of the world was entertaining but nothing extraordinary. sometimes that's what you need so i didn't expect much from it, and received exactly that.

twelve and 13

a quiet and harrowing sort of story. shadow dancer, written by tom bradby and directed by james marsh (he of last year's MIFF project nim) looked at "the troubles" in the uk. specifically at one woman and how she's forced to choose between family and the British secret service. betrayal and loyalty of this kind is difficult to fathom until you walk a mile in their shoes. i can't comprehend it.

how to survive a plague - a documentary of activism in the face of the AIDS epidemic in the 80s and 90s. using footage from the period that was shot by members of ACT UP and TAG (treatment action group), it is a heart breaking and inspiring story of how a group of people, many of whom were faced with a possible death sentence, fought to get government and pharmaceutical companies to hear what they had to say. they were fighting for their lives, the lives of their friends and the lives of people unknown. hard to watch at times but an amazing story.

eleven

the czech republic animation drama, alois nebel was really interesting. The story was set in the 1980s but the characters looked back on the period after the second world war. I liked the slow building story and the style of the animation suited the story perfectly.

7, 8, 9 & 10

billy bob thornton's latest film, jayne mansfield's car was really enjoyable. a southern usa tale set in alabama in 1969. three generations of men have gone or are going to war and the death of a mother re-married, that introduces the rival family from the other side of the atlantic - counter and cultural clash.

a fascinating doco for those interested in the business of film-making, side by side looks at film versus digital and the strengths and weaknesses of both. directors, cinematographers and editors feature heavily and there's a great conversation had. liked this, but i'm a bit of a geek with film.

south korean film, in another country was a bit of a mish mash for me. i liked the odd humour but couldn't get my head around not tying up the concept of the film student who was writing the three stories that were told.

definitely a crowd pleaser, people would have been squished in the aisles if they could have. the sessions, directed by melbourne bred ben lewin, was a really lovely film. telling the story of mark o'brien (played by john hawkes) who has polio and wants to lose his virginity. at 38 he makes it happen. the relationships between mark and his attendees, his sex surrogate (helen hunt) and his priest (william h macy) were heartfelt and funny and real. this one will definitely get a general release, so don't miss it.

3, 4, 5 & 6

so the doco, room 237, claims to dissect stanley kubrick's the shining in "amazing and unexpected ways". i guess that's true when the interviewees seem to be completely off the planet, one believing it's kubrick's confession to faking the moon landing, another the holocaust and yet another links it to the plight of native americans (because of the tins of baking powder that happens to display the head of a 'red indian' on it's label). played from a scratched dvd and the last couple of minutes was white snow. still don't want to watch the shining.

definitely hoping for something more than the documentary shock head soul offered up. based on shreber's autobiography of madness, i was expecting more from the slow moving and really, uninteresting facts divulged. i cat-napped through the 86 minutes.

then it was onto acmi and a couple of early french silent films, one being the fall of the house of usher. the second film was directed by jean epstein from a tale by edgar allan poe. interesting watching 20s silent films. i think we still have a lot of re-learn from the days of silents.

the world premiere of ian darling's documentary, paul kelly: stories of me. i was amazed at how many of his songs i actually know. yes, the soundtrack to many australian lives.

1 & 2 of miff 2012

the new wes anderson film, moonrise kingdom was just lovely. a lot of quirky moments, sublime colouring and it was beautifully filmed as one now expects from anderson. a great way to ease myself into two weeks, three weekends of movies.

"wanted: someone to go back in time with me. this is not a joke". safety not guaranteed, written by derek connolly, again was a nice film. it tempted me with it's sci-fi label but this was only evident in the last 30 seconds of the story.

loosely based on a real story

a freebie film at nova. it was nice, nothing special, just nice.

two shocks, one night

so last night i sat in a cinema to watch a horror film. first time since 1985 when a nightmare on elm street visited my town (yes, a year after it was released, but we're talking kalgoorlie, western australia here). i am not a horror fan. in fact, i go out of my way to avoid them. but this was joss whedon so i had no choice. it was a funny kind of horror, though i was still made to jump and look at my lap (and close my eyes), i enjoyed it. written by whedon and drew goddard, it made me laugh. of course it did. it was saying all sorts of things but i'll give it a few days to try and make sense of it. but i liked it and no, there's no real chance of me getting more interested in horror films. i don't see the sense in them.

the second shock was also during the viewing. we had an earthquake. well, i didn't know it was a tremor then - what i assumed was that someone was tapping their foot/ leg on the ground and it was vibrating the seats. it lasted for 30 odd seconds so it was lengthy. it was only when i got home that the news came in that a 5.3 quake had it's epicentre in moe, a town about 130km east of melbourne.

easter at the astor

how i love this film, the magic of henson creations, the imaginings of brian froud, music by bowie. just fabulous. the astor has a remastered digital copy of the original 1986 film. i remember watching this at the viewway cinema when it first came out, and even though i have my own dvd copy, it was awesome to watch it on the big screen again.

and what says easter more than a red tulip humpty dumpty egg? thanks mum. (yes, it was easter egg chocolate for breakfast - i don't care, i will never change). happy easter holiday everyone.

AAWWEESSOOME

loved it. nothing more needs to be said. i was caught up in the action all the way through... went along to melbourne central to watch it at one of the first sessions of the day so had my pick of seats (yah). i could've watched the next installment straight away, but i must wait. sigh. if you're going to see it and you should, make sure it's on the big screen with a good sound system, it's worth the ride.

golden oldies

i liked this film. it was lovely to watch. nothing jaw dropping or eye popping, just nice. thursday after work at the nova, what a jolly idea.

after school special

i've recently found out for those of us with nova membership cards, each thursday release of a new film means a big, fat saving. i tell you paying $11 for a movie instead of $17-18 will ensure that i get to as many thursday films as possible. unless it's a freebie of course, then the sky's the limit.

margin call. intensely thrilling, but not in that psycho death or car chase way. a really well written and directed film by j.s. chandor. it had me engaged the whole way through, except for those few times when i had my film-writer cap on and just marveled how one small action replaced the need for a whole lot of dialogue. blah blah blah. i know, me and films. anyway, a great ensemble piece lead by kevin spacey. see it. it's clever. oh and it's about the players of an investment bank the night/ day leading up to the financial crisis in 2008. not as dull as it sounds, honest.

an afternoon movie

over to the other side of town for a free film, the lengths i'll go. an interesting story on the relationship between freud and jung but i still don't really like keira knightley as an actress. she did look quite freaky in her "mad" scenes however.

skipped dancing for a movie

bad decision number one for the week, don't miss dancing next time. kind of didn't like this film. kind of turned me cold, even with the full frontals and the swaying and the menage a trois. i just didn't like the characters, had no empathy for them whatsoever. there was no satisfying resolution for the story or me as a member of the audience. it was nice to catch up and talk film and writing though.

late night at the nova

i didn't know if i could stay awake to make a late night screening of a film on a school night. but surprisingly i was chipper and thankful i didn't miss this. 50/50, i really really enjoyed this. the story of a man in his late 20s who seemed to be sleep walking through his life with a beautiful but annoying artist girlfriend, a best friend from highschool and a smothering mother, discovers he has a rare form of cancer. the odds aren't looking good, hence the title. i wasn't expecting to like this as i'm not a fan of seth rogan but i did. it made me laugh and cry.  a well written script that enabled such touching performances.