No. 101 (2017) Logan Lucky December 2th.

Film No. 101 (2017) December 29th  9.45PM Virgin In-Flight Entertainment.

"4. Establish Clear Communications." (Rule 4 of the Top Ten rules for robbing a bank attached to Jimmy Logan's fridge).

Didn't Steve Soderbergh say he was finished directing feature films 4 to 5 years ago? Thank the good lord (I'm starting to sound like Channing's Jimmy Logan already) he hasn't followed through on his promise. Lucky Logan brings not just a smile to the face but a downright laugh out loud quality, a quality missing from many films in 2017. Think of Oceans Eleven without the Hollywood polish. The magic here comes via a dead pan delivery from a cast connected to a heist idea founded on rules attached to a fridge by a magnet. Soderbergh is perhaps the master of the heist genre. Lucky Logan is the exclamation mark to this claim. 10GUMS. 

No. 100 (2017) Paddington 2 December 2nd

Film No. 100 (2017) December 2nd.  10:15 AM Greater Union Event Cinema,  Innaloo. (Guest Critic:  Steve O'Connor)

"Paddington wouldn't hesitate if any of us needed help! He looks for the good in all of us." (Henry Brown sums up Paddington's character).

Paddington 2 was an absolute delight and follows on wonderfully well from where our hero left us two years ago. This time the story takes an interesting and entertaining turn. Paddington can't be a thief! He is arrested however for allegedly stealing a book and serves time in jail, mixing with the hardest of criminals. But part of the aura of Paddington is his charm and those crims soon become his allies, important in assisting him to prove his innocence. Hugh Grant playing the dastardly Pheonix Buchanan is equally entertaining with his disguises being the centre of our mirth. This fluffy bear of a movie is a hit for children and adults alike; a must family outing. 10GUMS.

No. 99 (2017) Borg McEnroe December 23th

Film No. 99 (2017) December 23rd.  8.00 PM SOMERVILLE U.W.A. Nedlands.

 

"It's the perfect rivalry. The baseline player and the net rusher" (A commentators view in the lead-up the Wimbledon final of 1980).

 

Advertised as a double bill, much like the titanic contest of 1980, but really becoming more of a Borg centric story comparing the enormous determination factors played out through very different on-court temperaments. Retelling high profile sports moments on screen can be fraught with danger. Only the real-life heroes can play the legitimate brand of tennis but Borg McEnroe nearly pulls it off. The tennis is passable. It's the character work of Gudnason (Borg) and Labeof (McEnroe) which stokes the fire here. I was hoping for more McEnroe family portraits. Borg got too big of a slice in my view. And finally, if you can't remember the result, don't look it up. The final tense scenes will be more rewarding if you don't. 8GUMS.

No. 98 (2017) Detroit December 20th

Film No. 98 (2017) December 20th.  3.10 PM  LUNA Paradiso, Northbridge

"You don't talk about this to anyone ever, do you understand?" (Police Officer Krause makes a suggestion to hostages as the siege comes to an end).

Katherine Bigalow's depiction of the events which occurred in Detroit during the race riots of 1967 is a masterclass in docu-drama film-making, important as a reminder to us all  as to why we still have much to learn when it comes to injustice, and more specifically, racism. There is a clever opening sequence, presented as a short lesson in Detroit's past, told in simple animation which sets a solid foundation for the events leading to the unwarranted deaths of three black Americans. Bigelow subtly blends her talented ensemble cast through sliding door moments which lead them to The Algiers Motel in the riot torn 12th Street district. So what happened? From all accounts Detroit does the story justice, but another form of justice is truly lacking for the real victims. 10GUMS.        

No. 97 (2017) The Teacher December 19th

Film No. 97 (2017) December 19th.  3.40 PM  LUNA Camelot, Mosman Park.

"I will now read out your names, each of you will stand up and tell me where your parents work". (Teacher Maria introduces herself, then begins her trek into the lives of others).

What if you were a parent of a child in a school in repressed Prague, Czechoslovakia, in the early eighties and your child had a teacher that knew how to gain favours by using them as a pawn? The Teacher is a wonderfully dark film with so many layers of human emotion rubbed raw by a character, Maria (Zuzana Maurery), who displays an array of  psychopathic tendencies as she manipulates her way through her professional life at Bratislava Suburban School. The best acting energy comes from the adolescent cast. Young wrestler Filip (Oliver Oswald) has a small role but gives us the sort of hero The Teacher needs. This is unique story telling which gives us a greater understanding of stressed people trying to do what is right for themselves and their children. 10GUMS.    

No. 96 (2017) Good Time December 12th

Film No. 96 (2017) December 12th.  8.00 PM  PIAF Film Festival, The Pines Joondalup.

"I told you about my brother yeah? I told you about the program he's forced to attend, and how he shouldn't be there?". (Connie talks about his brother Nick's predicament as he makes plans for a better future).

This riveting, if somewhat unnerving, film could well be the launch pad for bigger things for two new film makers; the Saftie brothers Benny and Josh. Good Time takes us into the mind of Connie (Robert Pattinson), a chaotic bank robber who's loyalty to his brother gives the film its spice. The robbery seems to go smoothly until there's a hitch. Connie and Nick are separated, and Nick gets arrested and put in prison. Connie needs to reunite with Nick (Benny Sadie) through blind loyalty and love. His endeavours to save Nick from prison are spine chillingly chaotic and ill-conceived. Pattinson is receiving, and for good reason, nominations aplenty for his brilliant work as Connie. Subtlety as a means to show the strength of loyalty to family is often committed to film, I'm attesting that there is nothing subtle about Good Time but it is no less powerful for that. 10GUMS.      

Film No. 95 (2017) The Secret Scripture December 10th

Film No. 95 (2017) December 10th.  3.40 PM  LUNA Paradiso, Northbridge

"Do you not understand the power you have over men". (Rose is lectured by her aunt as courters fight and fall to gain her favour).

The Secret Scripture will have a following due to its lavish production and outstanding big name cast but I for one walked away disappointed by the saccharine script on offer. Jim Sheridan (My Left Foot) seems to have traded his earthy narrative footprint for a big budget matinee story; the story of Rose (Mara and Vanessa Redgrave) and the mystery behind her incarceration in a Northern Ireland asylum. You guessed it, we begin with an elderly  Rose who clunkily tells her story; meet young Rose (Mara) as an attractive, but fractured girl living in a Northern Irish village. It's lavish, it's predictable and could make you cry in the end. The discerning film goer, looking to be challenged, will be disappointed. 6GUMS.       

Film No. 94 (2017) The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected) December 4th

Film No. 94 (2017) December 4th.  8.10 PM NETFLIX Lounge Chair,  Leederville. 

"It'll be nice to spend time with dad, you know; I didn't get to spend a lot of time with him growing up". (Danny tells his girlfriend the days ahead, in the company of his aging dad, might be fun).

Matthew (Ben Stiller) and Danny (Adam Sandler) Meyerowitz continue to strive to gain positive recognition from their father, Harold (Dustin Hoffman); positive recognition that's never coming. But then there's an incident, it's a game changer. Just maybe there'll be some healing of old emotional wounds. The real game changer may be the fact that Netflix could be about to receive its first best film Oscar. It's all in the finely tuned Noah Baumbach written dialogue, dare I say it, funnier and with more depth than modern day Woody Allen. There I said it. Stiller is Stiller but Sandler is more, Punch-Drunk Love more. 10GUMS. 

Film No. 93 (2017) Wonder December 3rd.

Film No. 93 (2017) December 3rd.  3.45 PM LUNA WINDSOR,  Nedlands. 

"Stare, let them stare. You are the toughest kid in that school". (Via, Auggie's sister reaches out to her little brother to give him strength).

Films like Wonder are wonderful springboards for parents, guardians, friends and relatives to introduce their loved ones to the movies. Movies which elicit human emotions and ultimately spark compassionate feelings towards others are a great start to any young person's film going life. Auggie (Jacob "Room" Tremblay) is born with a facial deformity. He grows up being home schooled by his mum (Julia Roberts) to say nothing of his hospital visits as surgeons worked to give Auggie a better life. Eventually Auggie must face the real world and as a start, school life. Quality family movie going. 9GUMS.  

Film No. 92 (2017) Lucky November 25th.

Film No. 92 (2017) November 25th.  6.45 PM LUNA PALACE,  Leederville. 

"Realism is the practice of accepting a situation as it is". (Lucky recites the definition as he seeks to solve a crossword puzzle).

Harry Dean Stanton plays the role he's been destined to play all his life and thank goodness he did because months after the film's completion he passed away in a manner befitting his final screen character, Lucky. John Carroll Lynch, better known as an actor (playing the husband of Frances McDormand's Marge Gunderson in Fargo), directs a unique film made up of philosophical, insightful scenes paralleling the meaning of life with Lucky's stroll through his final years after a health scare makes his mortality real. But it's not morose and it's laced with irony; a runaway tortoise and a potted cactus play starring roles. It's never clear why he's named Lucky but it makes for plenty of thought afterwards. Harry Dean fans should not miss this unique gem.  10GUMS.       


    

Film No. 91 (2017) The Man Who Invented Christmas November 23rd.

Film No. 91 (2017) November 23rd.  6.30 PM  LUNA Paradiso, Northbridge

"A Christmas Ghost story, something like that". (Dickens responds to the question asked about the title of his new story).

So what if there was a theory about how Charles Dickens came to write A Christmas Carol in the mid eighteen hundreds? Well The Man Who Invented Christmas was first written as a piece of fact from the pen of historian Les Stanford in 2008 so there must be an element of truth in this cinematic retell. The story goes that before the release of A Christmas Carol, compassion for those less fortunate was rare and as for a holiday on the 25th; no way! Dickens wrote his story in a month or two, self published it then personally distributed the iconic book. It's a clever take on the legendary author and the anxious fantasies (Christopher Plummer as Scrooge) he played out to shape his tale. 9GUMS.