Film No. 7 (2016) Spectre January 24th.

Film No. 7 (2016) January 24th.  8.00 PM CAMELOT Outdoor Mosman Park. 

"And I thought you came here to die" (Is the summation from the mouth of "bad guy" Franz (Christoph Waltz) in a short exchange with 007 (Daniel Craig))

Why did I find Spectre so underwhelming? Is it because Goldfinger is still my favourite Bond film of all time and nothing will ever change my mind about this? Or is it that because action films are now so encrusted with CGI images that money isn't available for script development? or is it just the fact Spectre is merely a mediocre, 007 effort?


Honestly, I think there are elements of truth in each of the above questions but in the main, Spectre tries too hard to encapsulate every aspect a Bond movie has and comes up as a master of none of them. It's a shame because if this is to be Daniel Craig's exit performance from the franchise, then he'll be disappointed he didn't exit on a high. 


Right, so what happens? We catch up with Mr Bond, in Mexico at a Parade of the Dead. Prior to the opening titles Bond wreaks havoc on a mega scale, as we would expect, after which he is relieved of his duties. While in the naughty corner he receives a cryptic message which leads him on the trail of Spectre, an evil organization controlled by Blofeld (Christoph Walz). Meanwhile M (Ralph Fiennes) and Q (Ben Whishaw) are battling C (Andrew Scott) to prevent the shutting down of MI6 and the 00 program. Director Mendes takes us from the moody, linear story-line (Skyfall) to a parallel narrative. 


And then there are the girls. Eve Moneypenny (Naomie Harris), Dr Madeleine Swann (Lea Seydoux) and Lucia (Monica Bellucci) are gorgeous and talented like all good Bond girls should be but there is nothing original about their presence. It may be however, that I might have nodded off at an odd key moment, so I'm not certain the girls were under achievers throughout. The few awards it has won or been nominated for relate to the music, best song (Sam Smith) won a Golden Globe. The song runs for 4 minutes so maybe that is the highlight. As previously stated, perhaps at the impressionable age of nine, Goldfinger made too big an impression on me.  6GUMS.     

Film No. 6 (2016) Anomalisa January 23rd.

Film No. 6 (2016) January 23rd.  10.45 AM LUNA Leederville. 

"Look for what is special about each individual, focus on that and remember there is someone out there for everyone" ( the introductory voice over of Michael Stone (David Thewlis)as he comes to terms with his life predicament).

 

 

Seriously, if some one said to me that I had to go and see an animated film (po mo movement) about a depressed guy who flies to a large American city (Cincinnati) for 24 hours to deliver a motivational talk based on his self help book How May I Help You To Help Them, I'd  have doubts. Such a description would lead me to think the film lacked substance. In the case of Anomalisa nothing could be further from the truth. Charlie Kaufman takes his audience on a journey that only Kaufman can deliver.

 

A week on and I still have flashbacks of Anomalisa. It is a part of the Kaufman Experience as we meet Michael Stone (voiced by David Thewlis) who is sitting in an plane staring out the window at another plane flying alongside just prior to descent. Be sure to keep an eye on this plane as you pass the last cloud (yet another small Kaufman puzzle). Stone is a puppet in more ways than one. He's a puppet put together in defined segments (visually) and he is a puppet to his own self indulged, middle aged emotions. We spend 24 hours with a fellow we grow to dislike more and more as the minutes pass.

 

So why spend the 90 minutes with Michael Stone? Well because it is the insignificant moments in Anolalisa one remembers. The shower scene, the sex scene, the lobby and lift scenes remind us of those days we arrive in a four star hotel and play the "getting to know your room" ritual we all know. The Kaufman factor is then weaved through the simple momentum of the film. There is the aptly named  Frigoli Hotel (research the name post film), the same voice (Tom Noonan) for all characters other than Lisa (Jenifer Jason Leigh) excepting for a brief moment (significant) and the "toy" he buys his son. 

 

Charlie Kaufman never acknowledges publicly what he intends for his audiences. The word is that Kaufman delights in receiving feedback - not to reaffirm his ideas but to delight in ideas he never thought of but sees the relevance of. The overwhelming theme in so much of his work is to depict "man in an emotional mess", the highly unlikable Michael Stone may just be his high (or low) point to now. Bravo Charlie Kaufman! 10GUMS               

Film No. 5 (2016) The Belier Familty January 19th.

Film No. 5 (2016) January 19th.  11.00 AM LUNA SX Fremantle. 

"It's a division of labour, she smiles and I talk" (Is the response by Paula (Louane Emera) to a customer asking why Gigi (Karin Viard), Paula's mum, says nothing in response to a question while selling their produce at market).

Some of the most original ideas in film making come via the vibrant French industry. Hollywood loves to absorb these new ideas, translate them into English, re name them then market the film as something newly concocted. The Birdcage, Cousins and the tastelessly named Dinner for Schmucks are just a few. The wonderfully, crowd pleasing The Belier Family will undoubtedly become the next remake. 


The simple premise of a teenage girl, Paula (Louane Emera), translating for her deaf brother and parents in all areas of normal school,family and business life is a great idea in itself. The key then is to bring great warmth and humour through the characters without relying on soppy sentiment when dealing with such themes. 


The very moving final stanza of The Belier Family is wonderfully effective. The 100 minutes we have spent enjoying the company of every character in this film lead to the truly satisfying ending we so often crave. Well bonded families dealing with change is a common theme for many well told stories. The fact that The Belier's have relied so heavily on the interpretive skills of Paula makes that change mean so much more. There is a coming of age moment for all of us.


Jaques Tati created a unique foundation for portraying the comic character in French film. His influence via Rudolphe, Gigi and Paula's music teacher Fabien (Eric Elmosnino) is evident via some very humorous off beat slapstick moments. If Tati had been of this era, I feel sure he'd have approved of the script for La Famille Belier. Dads' who cherish their relationships with their children will wilt at the beautiful outdoor father/daughter scene late in the film. It leaves a lasting impression. I said it before, I'll say it again, this film will have pricked the interest of Hollywood, just you wait and see. 10GUMS.  





    
  








   

 

 

Film No. 4 (2016) Room January 16th.

Film No. 4 (2016) January 16th.  10.45 AM LUNA Leederville. 

"I see windows and hundreds of cars and birds and grandma and grandpa" (Jack ,Jacob Tremblay) tells of his new experiences in a world beyond Room)

Room reminds me why regular visits to the cinema ranks so highly as one of my preferred pastimes. It's themes will not appeal to huge audiences world wide but it will open the hearts and minds of those who choose to venture to a film depicting the repercussions of one of the most heinous crimes known to mankind, child abduction and rape.


Room(a garden shed) is the only world Jack (Jacob Tremblay) has experienced when we meet him and his mother Joy (Brie Larson). Joy was kidnapped from the street when she was seventeen and held in the shed in a suburban back yard for 7 years during which time she gave birth to Jack, who is just about to turn five. From here we take a journey with them in planet Room as we comprehend the power of human devotion. In such excruciatingly distasteful circumstances there is great sanity in the relationship we build with Jack and Joy.


Written by Amanda Donoghue as a novel of the same name in 2010, its subsequent success lead Donoghue to writing her first screenplay and she has excelled. Larson has won The Golden Globe for her performance, an accolade which must surely have given Donoghue a warm and fuzzy feeling but Jacob Tremblay's work as Jack is the crowd-pleaser. The film relies heavily on the legitimacy of Jack and this is where Donoghue and Tremblay work in tandem with great effect.


So what if a young girl is taken from the street one day and held against her will for 7 years in a space no bigger than a common garden shed? How does she survive such an horrendous ordeal? When she has a child during that time, how does she deal with bringing that child up in such restrictive circumstances? This may be the true test of the concept that Love Conquers All. Room plays out in two halves, for good reason, you may find the answers to some of these questions in this brilliantly paced film. 10GUMS.   


   










   


  

Film No. 3. (2016) Suffragette January 12th.

Film No. 3 (2016) January 12th.  6.30 PM  FENWICK 3 Cimenas  Esperance.

 

"All my life I've done what men told me, I can't have that anymore" (Maud Watts (Cary Mulligan) tells it from the heart)

As the screen goes to black after experiencing this handsome, well crafted film the real truth about the plight of women to secure voting rights through the ages and varying cultures is revealed. The young nations of New Zealand and Australia lead the world (turn of the century)in giving women the vote. It was the established European societies including France (1944), Italy (1945), Switzerland (1971) which surprised. This led me to think The Suffrage movement of the early 1900's certainly sped up the process for equality in the U.K. This film cleverly tells some of their story.

We are given a sometimes excruciating journey into the plight of these brave women via the fictitious Maud Watts (Cary Mulligan) and her confidant, pharmacist Edith Ellyn (Helena Bonham-Carter). Watts, a working class East Ender who slaved for thirteen shillings a week in a grotty laundry and is forced to give up her family for the cause. Edith and Violet (Anne-Marie Duff) are allies who offer differing backgrounds, repressions and sacrifices thus giving weight to Abi Morgan's meaty but sometimes cliched script.


Suffragette cleverly uses the fiction depicting Maud, Edith and Violet to fold the legendary figures of the movement, Emmeline Pankhurst (Meryl Streep) and Emily Davidson (Natalie Press), into the story. This gives the film a clarity and a toehold in a time we've only witnessed via sepia photographs and grainy film vision. The passion by which our fictional characters (the foot soldiers) devote their lives to gaining the vote for women brings a greater clarity to the roles played by Pankhurst and Davidson in real life.


So even through our experiences with Maud up until 1913, it was another 5 years before parliament passed a bill to allow women of 30 years and older the vote. It was another 10 years before the right was extended to women over 21 years of age. It only goes to show the rage which must have continued amongst the likes of Maud, Edith and Violet as they sacrificed what little place in society they had. We can learn so much of history via film, Suffragette is yet another powerful contribution to this notion. 9GUMS. 

Film No. 2. (2016) The Dressmaker January 9th.

Film No. 2 (2016) January 9th.  4.30 PM  FENWICK 3 Cimenas  Esperance.

 

"You can transform people, so use it!". (Molly Dunnage (Judy Davis) gives yet another piece of advice to her daughter Tilly (Kate Winslet)).

I have to admit to taking my time getting to the cinema to catch The Dressmaker. My excuse being that there were other films I had prioritised in front of this pot-boiling handsome fable of a film. Well, luckily I caught the very last showing in my favourite small rural Western Australian (Esperance) cinema and I must say, I'm so glad I did. 


So let the legend of Tilly Dunnage begin. Well, you see, Tilly was run out of her native town of Dungatar at a young age. It was easy to do to a young girl, from the wrong side of the tracks and more importantly who had no recollection of her involvement in (due to shock) the tragic incident which saw a boy killed. But now she is back to seek revenge but not revenge of a conventional kind. Her weapon of choice in this life affecting assignment would be a sewing machine.


The recreation of Dungatar on the sweeping crop plains of outback Australia is stunning. The meticulously built high street becomes the backdrop to this dark, comic tale where those (and of course no one has left town) who sinned will pay a price for leaving an innocent child to fend for herself at such a young age. The characters of Dungatar are woven into the fabric of Tilly's plan one at a time, each of them dysfunctional in their own unique way. Tilly is now worldly and talented so they all must pay, except her mother Molly (Judy Davis) who has been ignored by the town and left for dead.


It is all very silly really but that's the point. The film is big, bold, colourful and entertaining. The plot has gaps as wide as the wheat paddocks in which the film is shot but it has a cast of charismatic characters which meld brilliantly. Judy Davis gets most of the well timed laughs but the combination of writer / director Morehouse (Proof) and writer Hogan (Muriel's Wedding) brings the film an ambivalent but serious chord. I'm often critical of outsiders playing Australians, but Winslet is perfect, even if she is 15 years older than Liam Hemsworth in the real world. 8GUMS.