then 31 & 32

film 31: being 'em back. i loved this doco about the melbourne tram conductors. the beloved "connies". never got to experience them myself, but i love the idea of them. so i'm definitely all for bringing them back. there were a couple of them moving through the crowd handing out tickets and change while we were waiting to go into the film. it would've cost me 20c to get home (though when i'm not sure as he didn't tell me) but handed me a half penny in change (from 1964). though it wasn't of the highest production value, it definitely had heart and human interest. bring 'em back.


film 32: beeswax. mumbling mumblecore. this word appeared a month or so ago (thanks dave) and hasn't left. i only watched this film because it was touted as mumblecore. story of two sisters, though you really don't know it til most of the way through the movie and it also ended abruptly. it was okay. seen worse, seen better.

28 & 29, 30

you know, the one bad thing about sitting centre of centre... really there's only one. can you guess? yes, it's if the movie is bad and you really want to leave but can't because you're too damn polite to interrupt the other movie-goers. three bad movies in a row. i have only myself to blame for picking them, but ugh! i will never get this night back again, and i have a sore neck to boot.


film 28: garbo: the spy at kino with andrew. we both managed to micro-nap our way through this doco. you think i'm kidding?? nope, all true.


film 29: chicks (life at the ranch). i have no idea what this was about.


film 30: certified copy. tried to sell itself as a grownup version of before sunrise. the closest it came was being shot on the same continent, that's it.

26 & 27

film 26: bill cunningham new york at acmi (i do think the seats are getting worse). but this doco was AWESOME. i love this guy. a photographer of people who express themselves with clothes. bill is in his 80s, so full of passion for his life of taking photos of people, it's all he has time for. he rides his bike around the streets of new york, clicking madly away. absolutely beautiful man with an amazing smile.


film 27: matching jack is a new australian film by nadia tass and david parker. the team who made malcolm. remember?? this is fabulous film. funny and touching and sad and glorious. shot in melbourne which looks stunning and the acting was tremendous. i cried along with the rest of the audience. a q&a with david parker after the screening. sniff... SEE IT!

best night of films so far. these two are on the top of my list.

morning melbourne

i have a meeting in the city this morning. i woke my usual time, followed my normal routine of ironing the clothes i wear for the day (yes, i know there could be time saved if i ironed it all once or twice a week, but it's just not my way) and then went and parked at VU in the city. walked along flinders lane at 7.15, not many people around at that time but sounds of the city waking. i'd like to work downtown again for a bit. i like watching people half asleep tumble into work. right now i'm sitting at the collins starbucks, waiting for time to pass before i head off to face the world again.

& 25

film 24: wild target with alex and chris at the forum. a light black comedy, so really it was murky grey in colour. a film about an assassin who falls for a young thief he's been hired to take out. i found it a strange pairing of bill nighy and emily blunt, but who am i to question the decisions of the casting agent?? ha! and i must be slowing down because i was suppose to watch another two films after this one, but since jill piked on the 9.30 film i didn't want to watch a scary one by myself so went home. it was novel being at home before 8pm. even managed to have dinner at pellegrinis - which was just fantastic. haven't done that in ages.

24 (yep, only one)

film 24: oil city confidential with jamie, mark, jill, susanne and andrew. i will not be saving 5 seats again. just a bit much. but a good doco on the UK band from the 70s, dr feelgood. they reminded me of the sounds of australian pub bands of the time. i enjoyed this a lot.

20, 21 & 22, 23

film 20: the invention of dr nakamats with alex and jenni. a funny documentary about a very egocentric japanese inventor, dr nakamats. there were definitely some laugh out loud moments.


film 21: jean-michael basquiat: the radiant child. interesting doco on the life of the artist, set mostly in new york in the late 70s, early to mid 80s. i'm still not particularly fond of his style but it's reminiscent of a few australian modernist painters, so that was interesting. (damn, i need to get to the NGV for the European Winter Masterpiece exhibition and the Tim Burton exhibition at ACMI before they're over... and Heide, when was I last there??)


film 22: the wedding party. new australian rom-com. a nice gentle film that doesn't require much thought at all. about love, sex and relationships wrapped up in one family.


film 23: four lions. UK film about muslim terrorists. funny but scary too. fundamentalists all apparently born in England, yet decide to be suicide bombers in the country they were born. i don't understand that. obviously. some hilarious moments but they get you thinking about the possibility of this hitting too close to the truth of it all.