Film No. 59 (2017) Hamstead. August th.

Film No. 59 (2017) August 14th.  6.30 PM LUNA WINDSOR Nedlands.

"If you wait too long you'll shrivel up like an apricot sitting on the shelf in Waitrose". (Emily receives yet another piece of ill-conceived advice from friend Fiona).

Director Joel Hopkins (Last Chance Harvey) tries again to master the bringing together of the crumpled, older, odd couple. He didn't master it with Hoffman and Thompson and he's made a slightly bigger mess of things with Keaton and Gleeson here with status and environmental issues relating to a couple of oldies trying to live less complicated lives. The story is based on Gleeson's real life character Donald but it's Keaton's fictional Emily who gets the best lines. Brendan never gets the dialogue he deserves and it shows. A repetitive, saccharine soundtrack elongates the film painfully. 4GUMS          

Film No. 58 (2017) The Big Sick. August 8th.

Film No. 58 (2017) August 8th.  3.45 PM  LUNA Paradiso, Northbridge.

"I'm not that kind of girl, I only have sex once on a first date." (Emily makes her feelings felt after a pleasant evening in the company of Kumail).

Yet another social drama with a Judd Apatow (Producer) feel  and that's a good thing.  The story is a retell of how standup Kumail Nanjiani (playing himself) met his wife Emily (Zoe Kazan) in a terrorist tense U.S. The real warmth of the story comes when a sliding doors incident (Emily's illness) brings Emily's parents, Terry (Ray Romano) and Beth (Holly Hunter) to town (Chicago) to care for their daughter. Nanjiani also cares but there is a subtle competition of care until a warmth of respect for one another prevails. And of course as the reality of life would suggest everyone is living happily ever after. 9GUMS.     

Film No. 57 (2017) Maudie. August 2nd.

Film No. 57 (2017) August 2nd.  6:30 PM Greater Union Event Cinema,  Innaloo.

"I got everything I want with you Ev, everything". (Maude responds to her husband's words stating she could do a lot better than him).

A love story of the highest order set in the film rich landscape of Nova Scotia, Canada. Ethan Hawke and Sally Hawkins play the real life couple Everett and Maud Lewis in a story so rich with emotion only the hardest hearted will walk from the cinema un-moved. There's little back story to Maudie but the film will have you googling this world renown folk artist within minutes of the titles. Both Hawkins and Hawke convincingly build this unlikely romance; their brilliance may well secure each an Oscar accolade. This heart-warmer will have travelers passing through Nova Scotia seeking out the Halifax gallery where the largest display of Maud Lewis's pieces are held; pieces which she never sold for more than $10 while she lived. Maudie is a cracker! 10GUMS.       

Film No. 56 (2017) Perfect Strangers. July 29.

Film No. 56 (2017) July 29th.  11:00 PM Entertainment Centre Cinema Bunbury.

"We don't have any secrets". (Eva brings the dinner party to a silent pause as she states where she and Rocco's relationship stood).

This crowd pleasing Italian morality tale unravels as a stage play treating its player's frailties and secrets in the same way a rolling snowball careers out of control.  Friends gather for a dinner party at Rocco (Marco Giallini) and Eva's (Kasia Smutniak) on a once in a lifetime eclipse where a dare is played out. All at the dinner must reveal each call or message they receive during dinner. Each smart phone is laid on the table for all to view. No secret is easy to predict and there is a twist or two along the way. Then finally there is an ending that will have you guessing. See this with friends, leave your phone at home and swap theories as you exit. 8GUMS.      

Film No. 55 (2017) Baby Driver. July 28.

Film No. 55 (2017) July 28th.  6:30 PM Greater Union Event Cinema,  Innaloo.

"It uses music the way the rest of us use air". (one U.S. critic's summary snap-shot).

 

Perhaps this is the beginning of a new style of film. A movie conducted like a symphony using genre (crime in this case) as its platform for story telling. It works but don't go if it's a taut moody thriller (Gosling's Drive) you have in mind). Baby (Ansel Elgort) is a romantic, has Tinnitus (ringing in the ears), and he owes the crooked but loyal Doc (Kevin Spacey) a debt. Each action packed scene is played out to the rhythm of the soundtrack as Baby wills himself through this fairytale in the hope of getting the girl and living happily ever after. 8GUMS. 

Film No. 54 (2017) Little Wing (Tytto nimeta Varpu). July 27.

Film No. 54 (2017) July 27th  6.30 PM  LUNA Paradiso, Northbridge.

"Can I sleep in your bed?" (Siru asks daughter Varpu, as a favour, to help her sleep).

Yet another film showcasing the talent of a highly competent child actor. Linnea Skog plays Varpu, a quietly precocious 12 year old keen to meet her father under her own steam in the cold, wet Finnish countryside. She is a rock for her slightly unhinged mother, and in so many way shows maturities and abilities beyond her years. But will there be more questions than answers behind the doors she knocks on seeking to find her father? The film belongs to Skog and her interpretation of playing an old soul in a twelve year old's body. 9GUMS.