Filmbiz blog

Wild Thing I Think I Love You

by Yumi Stynes | December 01, 2009 13:30

Zombieland, Paranormal Activity and Where The Wild Things Are...

Ever since Woody Harrelson played Mickey Knox in Oliver Stone's Natural Born Killers the madness glinting in that hillbilly smile became apparent to those previously dazzled by his country boy charm in Cheers. It lurked around the edges of his No Country For Old Men cameo, was employed to great effect in this year's special effects blockbuster 2012 where he played a nutty DJ specialising in conspiracy theories, and is on show in the perfect vehicle for a man with a knack for incipient insanity; the ZOMBIE MOVIE!

 

Zombieland is being called the best zombie comedy since Shaun of the Dead and, just like all Arnie movies must include the line, "I'll be back," all zombie movies must include new and more gross ways to kill zombies. Zombieland does not disappoint! See it with someone who can laugh at dismemberment.

 

Paranormal Activity has been getting loads of hype but let me ask you this: Would you want to watch The Blair Witch Project again? Ever? No? Then don't bother with Paranormal Activity. Unless you're a young filmmaker looking for instructional insights into how to make a low-budget multiplex movie, this is mostly an exercise in lost opportunity. They could've put so much more characterisation in there - just one laugh, perhaps? But the two actors Katie Featherston and Micah Sloat are charmless and I'd be surprised to see much more of them in future.

 

The big film out that you need to see is the long-awaited, much-anticipated Where The Wild Things Are. Directed by Spike Jonze and shot for the most part in Victoria, this film is an adaptation of the classic children's storybook by Maurice Sendak.

 

Is it a kid's film? 

 

I'm not sure. My infant daughter used to make me read the book over and over until I was hoarse. Taking her along as a now-7 year-old felt wild and special and we both cried! It may surprise viewers by taking them to sad and complex places they didn't expect from the book. It surprised us.

 

The story centres on Max, a young boy who's wrestling with feelings of isolation and abandonment. He's the younger brother and still very much a child while his sister has moved into teenagehood and his parents' marriage has collapsed. Everything that plays out in the place where the Wild Things are has its metaphorical roots in Max's real world. The two Wild Things that Max tries desperately to help, Carol and KW (voiced brilliantly by James Gandolfini and Lauren Ambrose), are just like his parents and no amount of desperate effort can solve their issues.

 

Depending on your commitment to the allegory, Where The Wild Things Are can actually be a pretty heartbreaking film. It's also terrific entertainment. Original music is by Karen O from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and the legendary composer Carter Burwell (who does all the Coen Bros films).

 

I guess the film surprised me - I've been seeing all the Hollywood children's movies for the past seven years and they have in common an unwillingness to acknowledge the sadness and dirtiness of the world. They're kind of like the kindergarten teacher with the permanent fake smile and the baby voice, smiling, smiling through gritted teeth. This film, even though it's sort of meant for adults, allows itself a long and heaving sigh, a deep and serious frown, and gives children the chance to ask, "Is death scary?" and "Why does everything have to be so messy?" 

 

As we left the cinema I told my daughter, "That's the first grown-up film you've seen." She's probably going to remember it for the rest of her life.

What If?

by Rhiannon Sawyer | November 19, 2009 13:09

You can keep your Kodak and your Grauman’s Chinese theatre, when it comes to Australia the Oscars have absolutely nothing on the Kodak Inside Film Awards which were held at Sydney’s iconic Luna Park last night.

Against the backdrop of the sparkling harbour on a beautiful Spring evening, actors directors, models, producers, entertainers and all of Australia's spectacular filmmaking talent strolled down the red carpet chatting to the press and waiting for the celebrations to begin. The red carpet throng may not have been as busy as the Golden Globes, which Oscar winning Catherine Martin ensured goes on for over an hour and half but there were enough cameras flashing and mics poked in faces for the event to have that official feeling.

 

Robert Connolly (director of Bailbo) was looking forward to enjoying the evening and commented that win or lose, the talent that he was up against made him proud to be among the nominees for the awards. Accompanied by his star Damon Gameau, they wondered where the fantastically short shorts from the film had gone and whether or not they should have sported them this night.

 

A bustle awaited the big name stars such as Megan Gale and Sam Worthington but it was the imposing figure of Warwick Thornton whose smiling face betrayed no nerves and his shy star Rowan McNamara that the punters were banking on. Samson and Delilah may be Australia's Oscar hope for 2010 but it was sure to take home a few IF awards last night. Unsurprisingly, and deservedly, the film swept the floor. Samson and Delilah won Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor and Actress, Best Music and Best Script. Nick Giannopoulos (Wog Boy) ensured everyone kept their heads when he announced Best Actress, forgetting to first list the nominees and jumping straight to the winner. As the awards were being recorded for television, the announcement had to be remade but the crowd managed to remain just as excited to hear Marissa Gibson declared the winner (again).

 

Inside the media room there was chaos as the first of the winners began to emerge, clutching their huge bunch of flowers and their blue and white statuette. Adam Elliot sparked a giggle when announcing the winner of Best Animation (Eddie White and Ari Gibson for The Cat Piano) but giggled himself when he emerged as winner for Best Production Design for Mary and Max, presented by the glamorous Megan Gale who Elliot gushed over when accepting his award.

 

Australia's biggest film in the last year, Australia, wasn't to go home empty handed when it took out The Cutting Edge IF Award for Box Office Achievement and Baz once again got to take the stage when he accepted the Kodak Living Legend IF Award. His speech was full of thanks to his wife and those that had helped him in his career but mostly he echoed the sentiments of nearly everyone present on the night: that this year's stock of Australian films were a magnificent legacy for 2009 and the talent that has emerged will ensure a thriving industry in the years ahead.

 

While some of the attendees were on the promotional trail (Jeremy Sims was out in force talking up his war feature Beneath Hill 60 due out in the first half of next year with what seemed like half the cast also in attendance), others were content to just sit back and relax such as the radiant Deborah Mailman (Bran Nue Dae), who didn't just have a pregnant glow about her but also a shining smile due to her Best Short Film win for her directorial debut Ralph. In the hustle and bustle backstage she was also not too busy to procure some chocolate for the hungry press. We hail you Deborah.

 

As the last few awards were revealed and the media began to subside, the crowds flooded the Crystal Ballroom where the after party was kicking off and the alcohol was flowing. Despite the many sore heads today, Sydney can be proud of the sparkling event held last night and Australia's film industry can hold their heads high as we head into a new decade, awaiting the possibilities.

 

Box Office Theory 1.01

by Yumi Stynes | November 18, 2009 11:54

The devil is in the details.

It's been said that Nicole Kidman's manicure in Cold Mountain was what did her out of an Academy Award. Her character Ada Monroe was meant to be a hard-working frontier woman, washing her own clothes, hoeing her own vegetables - oh, and it's also the middle of the Civil War. So why has she got perfectly polished, clean and groomed fingernails? Similarly, Hilary Swank's hairdo in Amelia could be accused of keeping audiences away in masses from the biopic. Something's gotta be responsible; the film's been out a week and they're staying away.

 

Another film to be avoided is Franklyn - a messy and disjointed comic book story starring (and here's an indication of how it misses the mark) Ryan Phillippe. A critic from The Guardian in the UK described the film as "up itself" which is succinct if not entirely accurate! If you can make sense of it please email me.

 

I was lucky enough to see half an hour of Avatar before I interviewed Aussie star actor Sam Worthington on the red carpet of the IF Awards. Avatar has been the subject of more internet chatter than Blair Witch and Jennifer's Body combined and a lot of that chatter so far, has been negative. They're all haters, I say. James Cameron may be a weirdy beardie egomaniac but you can't argue that he hasn't made popular and excellent films.

 

THE JAMES CAMERON TOP 5:

Aliens

Terminator 2

Terminator

Solaris (as Producer)

Titanic

 

I took my two dwarves to see Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs - the title of which they profoundly did not understand and still do not understand having seen the film but fortunately titles matter little for small ass-kicking girls under 10 years-old. They loved it and this film is going to be massive for the Australian summer. I don't think it really matters whether the characters are engaging or the message contains truth: kids just wanna see it for that moment when a giant pancake flattens the school. During the screening a rainstorm blew up and as we left the cinema I kept expecting a giant meatball to go rolling down the main street. Enjoyable if not overly memorable.

Precious Time

by Yumi Stynes | November 09, 2009 10:28

Sometimes heading out to a film with no idea what you’re in for can be a treat. Sometimes it’s a shocker!

Last year, I headed off to see The Reader knowing nothing about it except that it starred Kate Winslet. I had vague visions of a glossy romantic comedy where Kate was shiny and gorgeous and blonde and worked in a fantasy office space and was horribly but sexily misunderstood by some handsome, misunderstanding Dermot Mulroney-type guy who knew how to treat her mean and had bogloads of money, a gym-fit body, and only a handful of mental problems. Whoa, was I wrong! The Reader was a gut-wrenching, emotionally devastating film set before and after WW2 about a fleeting oasis of love in two ruined lives. Excellent film, but I had to be shovelled out of the preview suite, and scraped off the floor as a blubbering mess looking like one of those dead bodies that they used to find in the Murray River all swollen and wet.

Anyway, it was after that experience that I decided that a little bit of information about each film screening may, in fact, enhance the experience. But time being a bit short, work being a bit busy, and with all those John Mayer tweets to read, I had to gallop off to see the new Eric Bana movie The Time Traveller's Wife with nothing to go on but a glance at the movie poster artwork. Luckily, the artwork revealed Bana and his co-star Rachel McAdams lying in embrace looking all airbrushed and professionally gorgeous. The movie was sure to be, in a word, gooey.

German director Robert Schwentke (Flightplan) steers this long, elaborate tale based on Audrey Niffenegger's bestselling book about a man who inexplicably leaps back and forth in time. He even goes back in time and introduces himself to his future wife when she is a very young girl. It's complicated. It's poignant. Much like the book, it's working hard on the weepy angle.

Is it gooey? Hell gooey, but it's compelling too. Rachel McAdams plays sad rich girl Clare, who stands by her man come what may. I guess it's a meditation on loyalty and true love, and it's made for middle-class white people. The bad news about The Time Traveller's Wife is that although Eric Bana spends a fair bit of the film naked, he actually looks better with his clothes on! Damn!

Since he starred in the Spike Lee film Summer Of Sam, I've been fascinated by actor Adrien Brody. Even those expensive-looking ads that he does in magazines are kind of fascinating. He looks so soulful and intelligent and tormented, even when he's spruiking shoes. In Summer Of Sam (1999), he played a mixed up Bronx teenager who found expression for his sexuality through the punk scene, affecting a cockney accent and dancing in gay clubs. It's an excellent characterisation. Three years later, he won an Oscar for his performance as the title character in The Pianist. Since then, his career has slightly misfired - he's had solid supporting roles in movies like King Kong and The Village, but no starring roles in successful films. The Brothers Bloom is his latest vehicle, and he teams up with Mark Ruffalo as the younger, sweeter brother in a swindling con duo. The film aims to be kooky and cute, and if you're patient, you'll find a lot to enjoy.

Maybe you're patient enough to read books and will therefore recognise and appreciate the literary references packed into the story - for example, Brody's character is called Bloom, his brother is Stephen and their love interest, played by Rachel Weisz, is Penelope. All three characters also appear in Ulysses. Did you know that? No, me either: I don't even have time to read movie synopses!

Space Case

by Yumi Stynes | October 22, 2009 16:15

Yumi Stynes checks out the latest releases and discussed why she likes the odd olive.

I have an older sister who can't stand olives. She's never liked them and finds them disgusting but what cracks me up is that she's aware she's missing out on something. So whenever I taste a really good one, I get her to try it just in case it's the one olive that can convert her.

 

If there's a chance you feel about Woody Allen films the way my sister feels about olives, maybe it's time you gave his latest film a chance.

 

Whatever Works stars television legend Larry David as an alternative universe Woody Allen. He's cranky, neurotic and bobsledding into old, old age. So it's a shock to his world when he meets the simple and winsome Melodie (Evan Rachel Wood) and they manage, in spite of his resistance, to form a friendship.

 

I guess if you find obnoxious old Jewish guys hard to take, you'll be spitting out this olive - but there is much to love and laugh with in this sweet comedy. And if you like it and you're looking for a new boxset, check out Larry (creator of Seinfeld) David's other work with Curb Your Enthusiasm - in its tenth year, still shooting and terribly clever. My hope is that once you find your way into Woody Allen you can work your way back through his revered and rewarding catalogue of an astonishing 40 films!

 

Case 39 is the new thriller starring Renee Zellweger and fronted by German director Christian Alvart. This is Alvart's first English-language film. In it Zellweger plays Emily Jenkins, a social worker with a few social problems of her own. She starts coming out of her shell when her lioness instincts are provoked by a needy and vulnerable little girl. Lillith (Jodelle Ferland, soon to be seen in Twilight Eclipse) is in danger from her psychotic parents and Renee Zellweger is on the case: Case 39.

 

There's something pointless and rudimentary about this film. If you feel like you've seen it all before then pleasure (as it were) must be found in the minor details. Zellweger, for instance, best known as Bridget Jones and for her inexplicable ability to land hot guys (Jack White from The White Stripes no less) appears to be one of very few 40 year-old actresses wearing the face God gave her. Her suitor in Case 39 (and, if NW is to be believed, in real-life) is latest it-boy actor Bradley Cooper - hilariously miscast as the saintly best friend who will wait til Emily sorts her head-mess out before kneeling at her feet. He's also a child therapist with a crazy-hot body. The best things in the film are the little girl's parents, Kerry O'Malley, a TV actor (Brotherhood) and Canadian actor Callum Keith Rennie. As the only two people aware of their daughter's ‘specialness', they invest so much creepiness into their roles that they manage to imbue the film with a little as well.

 

Astro Boy was a disappointment for my two daughters, who are massive fans of the ‘80s TV series. In the ‘80s version (and the original B&W sixties version), Astro Boy was voiced by a female and often dealt with matters of the soul. There were comedic elements to his adventures and Astro's heroics were usually performed with disarming modesty and reluctance. When he metamorphosed into an updated, 2004 TV version, he was more butch and agro and clearly pitched at the kind of boys who enjoy clubbing one another on the head with large sticks. The Astro Boy film is another giant leap further away from Astro's original intent and while the film may satisfy young kids with no investment in his legacy, for the rest of us this is a sad corruption.

 

Finally, I have to confess to a bit of Michael Jackson fatigue after the media and the Foxtel channel I work for went nuts for Michael Jackson after his death on June 25. Actually, I thought I could die happy never hearing ‘Billie Jean' ever again! Nonetheless, the trailers and sneak peeks I've been given of the film This Is It got me excited to farewell the great singer by checking out the stage show that was meant to resurrect his reputation, restore his fortune, and remind new generations of what a truly class act looks like. From all reports the film is exhilarating so try catching it during its two-week season.

 

Adios.

 

I Wish I Had a Surrogate

by Yumi Stynes | October 07, 2009 10:21

Yumi Stynes checks out the latest releases and discusses why she'd like a robot to take over her life and why she doesn't feel a need to head to Couples Retreat.

In the Couples Retreat universe all the women are extremely fit, and work hard on their physical appearances and all the men are jowly, sour and overweight. Whoooo-hoo! I can't wait to grow up and head to that couples retreat!

 

This strange new comedy is relatively light on laughs, and in spite of a stand-out cast of accomplished actor-comedians, trawling through the length of this film is an ordeal that could send a couple into therapy.

 

Vince Vaughn is with Malin Akerman, John Favreau is ‘married' to Sex and the City's Kristin Davis, and they're all dragged to an idyllic couples retreat by their friends, a self-satisfied white couple made up of Jason Bateman and Kristin Bell. Does anyone care as they sit around and discuss their relationship problems? I don't. As Jason Bateman said when I interviewed him last week for MAX, "It's a short film. It's not too long." 

 

Couples Retreat did do some good though. It reminded me of my long-standing love for Jason Bateman, a man whose mid-life career resurrection has only been rivalled by John Travolta's and maybe Mickey Rourke's (Mickey Rourke needs to do one other good film besides The Wrestler for it to truly be a resurrection, otherwise by definition it's just a fluke).

 

Bateman enjoyed a career resurrection after a decade in the wilderness when his TV show Arrested Development became a cult hit and lasted three seasons.

 

Top 5 Most Excellent Jason Bateman Characters:

 

1.     Michael Bluth - Arrested Development. 

Michael Bluth was the straight man struggling to keep it together as his conniving and crazy family bicker and try to sleep with each other. Incest never looked so appealing as celebrity lesbian Portia de Rossi plays his sizzling hot sister, and in one episode Jason's real-life sister Justine Bateman plays his potential lover.

 

2.     The Doctor - The Invention of Lying (in cinemas November 26)

This movie is just about to come out and stars Ricky Gervais as the only man on earth who can lie. In a brief but awesome cameo, Jason Bateman plays the Doctor and uses his amazing face to silently convey repressed thoughts, a technique he perfected in Arrested Development.

 

3.  Rip Reed - Smokin' Aces

This Joe Carnahan crime comedy should've been a lot bigger than it was if for no other reason than Joel Edgerton's hilarious portrayal of a luggish henchman and Jason Bateman's film-stealing cameo as a degenerate boozy loser stuck in a hotel room in his underwear.

 

4.     Dominic Foy - State of Play

A pretty forgettable thriller starring Russell Crowe and Ben Affleck was made slightly palatable for the few short minutes Bateman appeared as an effete and treacherous hustler Dominic Foy. 

 

5.    Mark Loring - Juno

Okay, so Mark Loring is not an excellent guy, but Bateman gives excellent characterisation as the potential adoptive father of Juno's unborn baby who spends more time bonding with the pregnant teenager than is completely socially appropriate.

 

An Australian actor in big time Hollywood is Radha Mitchell, who first came to our attention in the heroically successful Aussie indie-film Love and Other Catastrophes. She's done loads of cool films that include the big croc adventure of Rogue and Woody Allen's Melinda and Melinda. Her latest silver screen adventure is in a Bruce Willis vehicle called Surrogates that has an interesting premise: what if our online avatars could represent us all the time, and have all our experiences for us?

 

There are terrific ideas that could've been explored with this concept - at what point in your youth do you first use a surrogate? And how do humans relate to their real bodies after that? What does life feel like through a surrogate and how does one settle on a particular identity?

 

Unfortunately the philosophical potential is abandoned from the outset as plot and terrible acting take over. Bruce Willis now seems to choose roles based on the attendant hairpiece. I recommend you wait for this to screen on cable.

 

The Only Way Is Up

by Yumi Stynes | September 17, 2009 09:23

Yumi Stynes puts the animated world under the microscope.

3-D cinema is genuinely mind-blowing when it works and I've heard industry innovators talking about the looming spectre of 3-D television. From what I can tell it will mean punters will have to buy a whole new TV set but, like DVDs, which at first seemed unnecessary when we all already had VCRs, the technology will eventually sell itself. That is, when there's enough content to make it worthwhile. Maybe pencil in 3-D TV for ten years from now.

 

Meantime, if you can, check out what the master filmmakers at Pixar Studios are doing with 3-D with their latest blockbuster Up.

 

Rumour has it that when the idea of Up was announced, shares in the company actually dropped because investors were disgusted by the lack of merchandising opportunities with a film that starred a grumpy old guy and a fat Asian kid. I love it! So crass. Investors were wrong, of course, because everything this studio has put out has been a monstrous success. From last year's WALL-E to their first film Toy Story in 1995, and everything in between, people can't get enough Pixar.

 

I'd be curious to know what you think are their best and worst films, so please post below your thoughts. Here are their films to date:

 

TOY STORY

A BUG'S LIFE

TOY STORY 2

MONSTERS INC.

FINDING NEMO

THE INCREDIBLES

CARS

RATATOUILLE

WALL-E

UP

 

Like most parents in Australia, I can safely assure you that (with the exception of Up) I have seen every one of those films more than five times. Yep. Think about that the next time you have unprotected sex.

 

Anyway, Up was a blast visually but I must say I am starting to find all this Hero's Journey stuff a little predictable. At the point in Up where the villain reveals himself I felt my whole body disengage from the story and I started thinking about whether cooking schnitzel was respectful to the life and flavour of said chicken, and what exactly is Chicken In A Biscuit? If the film caught my attention I'd wonder - why do I like that goofy dog so much? (Is it because he reminds me of the dog Sam in True Blood?) My kids were sufficiently engaged to go the distance but lack of a good theme song helped the whole thing drop off the radar the instant it was over. 

 

I am a huge fan of the films of Japanese director/auteur Hayao Miyazaki. He created two of the greatest animated films ever made: Spirited Away and My Neighbor Totoro. They're appropriate for children but teenagers and adults love them as well, not least because they address matters of the soul in ways that don't embarrass us and his (mostly female) characters find ways to be noble and fabulously heroic without ever shooting anyone. If you have never seen one of his films I urge you to seek them out - the joy and audacity of this man's imagination is truly delightful.

 

His latest film Ponyo could be a good starting point although of all his films, this one is probably pitched at the youngest audience. It tells the story of a 5-year-old boy, Sosuke, who finds a magical goldfish princess in the sea and names her ‘Ponyo'. They become fast friends and their friendship leads to wonderful adventures.

 

An interesting idea is buried in this film and it's one that I particularly like, about the heroism of motherhood. In the English-language version of Ponyo the mother character is voiced by Tina Fey (30 Rock) and scenes where she is racing her boy away from a devastating storm in her little car are exhilarating. She is awesome, but not in a showy way as she fights the daily war of parenthood without time to so much as glance down at her hands. I hope many mothers recognise themselves in her.

 

It's funny that people are saying the new rom-com (500) Days of Summer turns the genre on its head because the female lead is more insensitive than the male. Who are these people? I have a whole army of fabulously insensitive female friends - come over some time, we will beat the crap out of you idiots! Zooey Deschanel plays the insensitive love interest to Joseph Gordon-Levitt's caring, cardigan-wearing, Smiths-listening guy and the best moments in the film are underscored by music from Melbourne band The Temper Trap. Good? Good.

 

And finally, the sad news that Dirty Dancing star Patrick Swayze has passed away. It is with this in mind that I would like to remind you that he wasn't actually that good. The man appeared in way more stinkers than good films but there were enough to get a Top 5.

 

Top 5 Best Patrick Swayze Films

 

Dirty Dancing

This is actually a pretty terrible film and if Patrick Swayze really was Baby's dancing teacher, it's pretty dodgy that he slept with her (played by Jennifer Grey), even if she was super-cute before her nose job. It was, however, a good opportunity for horny housewives to cop an eyeful of the man's upper torso - some of the best perving since Welcome Back Kotter was axed.

 

Ghost

If nothing else, Ghost bought the Righteous Brothers a few houses with its use of their hit ‘Unchained Melody' in the climactic (cough cough) scene where Patrick Swayze's ghost gets sexy with Demi Moore at a clay wheel. And Whoopi won an Oscar.

 

The Outsiders

From 1983, this screen adaptation of the classic novel by S.E. Hinton was chock full of hot young actors including Matt Dillon, Emilio Estevez, C Thomas Howell, Ralph Macchio, Rob Lowe, and the then 30 year-old Swayze in a small part as Ponyboy's older brother Darrell.

 

Point Break

He is so weird in this film! As the bleached-blonde badass Bodhi, he shows undercover FBI guy Keanu Reeves how to catch his first tube, be at one with the sea, and how to rob banks. We see Patrick in a whole new light as a baddie and director Kathryn Bigelow proves yet again that she's awesome at testosterone.

 

Donnie Darko

Patrick's role was small and creepy as Jim Cunningham, a motivational speaker who comes to represent all the hypocrisy Donnie Darko rallies against. The closing montage sequence to Gary Jules' version of ‘Mad World' is moving and unforgettable and makes us reconsider Swayze's character all over again. 

 

RIP PS

 

Funny Scarred People

by Yumi Stynes | September 02, 2009 14:12

FILMINK's resident blogger Yumi Stynes checks out the latest in the film world.

My friend and compadre, Chit Chat, from nineties band Machine Gun Fellatio, once told me that it's lucky emotional scars aren't visible because it would take all the fun out of watching porn. Girls with inflated boobs and devastating emotional scars have long been the staple of the adult film industry. That means it is all the more interesting when one of them crosses over into mainstream film or TV acting. It's hard to ascertain whether their performances are jarring because they are no longer surrounded by the similarly scarred or is it because they carry with them the taint of their pasts?

 

Watching porn stars acting in regular films is kind of like opening up a parallel universe of What Ifs? where their childhoods are miraculously Vitamin E'ed away and they can get on with being beautiful and compelling without enduring athletic sex with guys who didn't make it past year 9 at school.

 

Sasha Grey is the star of the new Steven Soderbergh film The Girlfriend Experience. She started working in the adult film industry shortly after turning 18 and has been described by the New York Times as "distinguished both by the extremity of what she is willing to do and an unusual degree of intellectual seriousness about doing it."

 

The Girlfriend Experience stars Sasha Grey as a prostitute who offers more than just sex: she provides the whole girlfriend experience. You need someone to listen? She can. You need someone to take out for dinner and then sex? She does conversation.

 

It's a great stunt to cast a porn star in the role - but sadly, not a great film. Grey is flat and dead-eyed. Maybe that's the character. Maybe it's those scars.

 

I was somewhat scarred by sitting with my children through the truly terrible Adam Sandler film Bedtime Stories - which was truly terrible in the same way that Logies ceremonies are truly boring or this year's Australian Idol singers are truly lame. Bedtime Stories was so truly terrible I vowed to never again sit through another Adam Sandler film. This was a vow I quickly broke because he stars in the new Judd Apatow comedy Funny People.

 

Judd Apatow, in case you don't know, is funny. He's the guy behind The 40 Year Old Virgin, Knocked Up and the truly genius cult TV show Freaks and Geeks. The lesser-known story is that Judd used to live with Adam Sandler back when they were young and still hungry, and have remained friends since. The character of George Simmons, a jaded and selfish film comedian, was created specifically with Sandler in mind (- I choose to interpret this casting as a roundabout apology for Bedtime Stories and a celebration of the vastly superior Happy Gilmore, ie., I like your old stuff better than your new stuff). In supporting roles are the almost indistinguishable Seth Rogen (the skinnier, older one) and Jonah Hill (from Superbad). Apatow even has the good sense to cast our own Eric Bana in a minor but manly role.

 

What can I say? The film is good but it's like two good films pasted together. The first half is perfect in terms of pitch, pace and scripting. The second half is like a blowsy, long-winded round-up of the final act in a romantic comedy. Separately: not so bad. Together? A bit of a mess. There is fun to be had nonetheless.

 

 

You Are What You See

by Yumi Stynes | August 19, 2009 10:23

FILMINK's resident blogger Yumi Stynes gives us her run down on this week's films.

District 9 is this week's unmissable movie. It's a science fiction treat out of South Africa and a stunning debut from director Neill Blomkamp. South African-born and Canadian-trained Blomkamp is an accomplished animator, illustrator and filmmaker who made a version of District 9 as a 6-minute short film called Alive in Joburg in 2005. The ideas and design in District 9 can be seen clearly in Alive in Joburg (which can be found on YouTube) and even features a short appearance by District 9's star Sharlto Copley (who incidentally co-produced the short).

Sharlto Copley plays Wikus van der Merwe, a hapless bureaucrat at the frontline of dealing with alien intruders. It's a frightening and confronting job as Wikus is forced to go from shack to shack of District 9 to entice alien residents into signing eviction notices, sometimes using bribes and threats, sometimes lies. His drone-like hard-working cheerfulness make him an unlikely lead character but his story arc as he changes is freakin' wonderful to behold!

He starts as a cardigan-wearer with a gentle loathing of the aliens and ends with sufficient rage to power a Robocop. Do. Not. Miss. This. Movie. It reminded me of Children of Men and 28 Days Later in the way that a grimy, dystopian future created from the ground up never feels shaky or Hollywood. It's so convincing and the computer generated animation works seamlessly amongst the squalor and dust.

A movie you could easily miss is Orphan which is a paint-by-numbers horror about a creepy kid. Starring as the creepy kid's adoptive mother and main rival is Vera Famiga, who first came to our attention as Leonardo DiCaprio's object of desire in The Departed. She wore this amazing bra during the love scene with DiCaprio. Ten points for the bra. Zero points for Orphan which co-stars the perennially creepy Peter Saarsgard, an actor whose performances often suggest that off set, moments before cameras were to roll, someone punched him in the mouth. The one genuinely creepy bit in the film is when Esther, played by 12-year-old Isabelle Furhman, puts on one of her Mom's dresses and make-up and starts getting loose with her Dad. Maybe wait for Orphan to screen on cable to savour that moment...

Inglourious Basterds, Quentin Tarantino's latest, is a reflexive romp you'll find either amazing or infuriating, but either way, you'll have to admit that as a director, the basterd is audacious.

It's a fantastic conceit for a filmmaker to gallop through history, high-fiving historic giants from Hitler to Winston Churchill and to then turn around and simultaneously redefine Jewish identity and completely rewrite history. The inclusion of Brad Pitt as a major character lends the film a bit of an Ocean's 11 stupidity but luckily the lesser-known supports, most particularly German sexhorn Til Schweiger, who plays Sgt. Stiglitz, and 26-year-old French actress Melanie Laurent, who plays the adult Shoshanna, make a pretty good movie happen in Pitt's absence.

Basterds unfolds in the spirit of fun but with an undercurrent of savagery and vengefulness so fierce it's bewildering. Not for children or the fainthearted! And it's long, too, so pack snacks!

 

Finally, a couple of docos I caught recently: The Cove - a brilliantly-made espionage thriller from real life about Japanese fishermen slaughtering dolphins for their meat and the lengths one man, Ric O'Barry (former dolphin trainer on Flipper), will go to expose it. This film has won prizes all over the world but for some reason it left me with an unholy craving for sushi. I know, I know, I'm a disgrace. My Japanese half was mortified. (And hungry.)

The other documentary getting wide cinema release is The September Issue which tells the story of the most important issue of New York's style bible Vogue. What you see in this film are clever and powerful women at the top of their game who are confident and hard-working, interesting and fulfilled - and barely any plastic surgery or even make-up among them. Truly amazing. I'm not being flippant either: You never, ever see women like this represented on film or television. They're shamelessly old. It's fantastic.

Speaking of fantastic, please make sure you get out to see ANVIL: The Story
of Anvil when it's released on September 10. There may be no better feelgood buzz all year.

Thank you and goodnight.  x x -

 

 

BRAN NUE LAST DAY

by Anthony Roberts | August 10, 2009 14:52

FILMINK’s MIFF correspondent gives us the latest on the festival’s fantastic films.

The last session of the 2009 Melbourne International Film Festival began with Amreeka, a comedy/drama from first-time feature director Cherien Dabis. Amreeka, which is Arabic for ‘America', revolves around Muna and Fadi, a Palestinian mother and her teenage son who decide to emigrate from the military-occupied West Bank and start a new life with their family in suburban Illinois.

 

Set in 2003 and right at the beginning of the US invasion of Iraq, this film follows the plight of these two fish out of water as they struggle to comfortably assimilate to the Midwest USA way of life. Muna, after losing their life savings inside a box of cookies at the airport, struggles to find a job despite two university degrees and ten years of banking experience. She reluctantly takes employment at a White Castle Fast Food restaurant. Fadi on the other hand has a typically hard time fitting in at school, subject to the ironical taunts of a class bully who rants about the virtues of a war which will bring freedom to the very person he oppresses. Things aren't dandy for Muna's sister Raghda either, as she and her husband Nabeel, a doctor, must deal with a flurry of patients leaving his practise.

 

Dabis does a splendid job in her first feature film, bringing heart-warming humour to dark subject matter. Muna's interactions with her blue-haired White Castle co-worker Matty make for amusing scenes, as does her side gig of selling diet supplements to random people she meets. There is also Muna's budding romance with the school principal who happens to be a Polish Jew, which is subtle and just downright sweet. Dabis is also great at creating this warm, yet seemingly realistic family dynamic, which we might assume is taken from real life (Dabis dedicated the movie to her family in the end credits). This runs all the way from Muna's overbearing mother and her obsession with cucumbers to her nieces, one of them referring to Fadi as an FOB (Fresh off the Boat).

 

Dabis has also assembled a superb cast with wonderful on-screen chemistry. Nisreen Faour does an excellent job as Muna, balancing her character with convincing vulnerability and strength, while Melkar Muallem as Fadi is terrific in portraying the impressionable teenager living in a new world that slowly changes him. Hiam Abbass (who you may remember from The Visitor), Yussuf Au-Warda, Joseph Ziegler and Alia Shawkat are also great in supporting roles.

 

The final film of the festival was Bran Nue Dae, the lavish Aboriginal musical which was also the official MIFF Closing Night film. Directed by Rachel Perkins, this colourful outback spectacular is adapted from the popular Jimmy Chi musical which was first performed in Perth back in 1990.

 

Set in 1967, the story follows a young man by the name of Willie, who loves his hometown of Broome and wants nothing more than to spend his days fishing and canoodling with the love of his life Rosie. But his mother has other ideas, and sends him off to Perth to become a priest under the tutelage of the despotic Father Benedcitus. But Willie has other ideas, and flees the convent, journeying his way back to Broome by any means necessary. Along the way he encounters a cast of vibrant characters, from drunkard Uncle Tadpole, to the hippie pairing of Annie and Slippery, all the while being pursued by Benedictus.

 

While earlier this year Samson and Delilah gave us a bleak, fairly harrowing portrait of the rural aboriginal landscape in this country, Bran Nue Dae is very much at the opposite end of the spectrum, and at its heart is just a bit of fun. Simply put, this is a heart-warming love story with singing and dancing. I'm sure there will be some that attempt to tunnel deep into the recesses and extract some poignant meaning to the song Nothing I Would Rather Be (Than To Be An Aborigine), but it's going to be a stretch. This is also a musical that can be enjoyed for those who don't have a penchant for characters that simultaneously burst into song, with the musical interludes not really dragging out too long.

 

Bran Nue Dae is a visually stunning film, with the colour and vibrancy of the outback exploding off the screen. Geoffrey Rush is at his eccentrically wicked best as Father Benedictus, while Missy Higgins and Tom Budge are perfectly coupled as the Kombi Van driving wild childs of the outback. Jessica Mauboy oozes plenty of on-screen charisma as the sweet singing Rosie, as does newcomer Rocky McKenzie in the lead role of Willie. But it's Ernie Dingo in his turn as Uncle Tadpole that really steals the show, reprising his on-stage role from nearly two decades ago. Also look out for a short and memorable cameo from Magda Szubanski as the frisky owner of a Roadhouse.