latest notices
La Mirada Announces Special Guests
La Mirada Film Festival 2010 is delighted to announce multi award winning actor ANTONIO DE LA TORRE and acclaimed director JOSE ANTONIO SALGOT as special guests of the 2010 festival. Antonio de la Torre will present the films, Fat People (Gordos)...
New Direction For ABC TV's Indigenous Content
(Nationwide)
Jocelyne Saabs 'What's Going On?' World Avant Premire
(QSL)
Screen Australia Releases Revised Program Guidelines
(Nationwide)
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Creative Collaboration
Stills photographer Lisa Tomasetti has collaborated with cinematographer Seamus McGarvey for her latest project
A Film to Tweet About
Director makes a unique debut feature film inspired by social networking sites
Another Win For Carmilla Hyde
A revenge thriller takes out Best Feature at the 2010 South Australian Screen Awards
Calling All Screenwriters
A new social networking site claims to help aspiring screenwriters showcase their work to industry professionals
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Space Case
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.