No. 79. (2019) Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood. August 27th.

Film No 79 (2019) August 27th.  1.30PM  PALACE CINEMAS Raine Square,  Perth City . 

"So, is this your son? " (Al Pacino's Marvin Schwarz ironically asks Rick Dalton who this bloke at the bar is, the Brad Pitt, Cliff Booth).

"No, he's my stunt double, Cliff Booth." (Responds Dalton, without a single sense of embarrassment).

 

I'm a child of the sixties. I'm a devoted fan of Tarantino. I'm a believer that Jackie Brown is his smartest and most accomplished film. So it was going to be entirely probable Once Upon A Time ... in Hollywood was going to be thoroughly entertaining, enjoyable and an altogether fulfilling experience. And it was. My interpretation of OUTIH, Quentin's fantasy, will be different to many, and none of us will be wrong. This unique film-maker presents an homage to the 60's; via the year 1969, a year Tarantino quite obviously depicts as the turning point for different times ahead. 

Tarantino uses DiCaprio's Rick Dalton and more pointedly Pitt's Cliff Booth (Dalton's stunt double and personal assistant) as conduits through which to lather us in an era people of a younger generation may see as simply make believe. The fairytale factory was Hollywood. Dalton and Booth were both cowboys of a kind in that factory. Tarantino plays with us as scene after scene plays out randomly, and not necessarily with great continuity, but with dialogue which is never wasted. We meet interpretations of Steve McQueen (Damian Lewis), Charles Manson (Damon Herriman), Sharon Tate (Margot Robbie) and Bruce Lee (Mike Moh) as Tarantino surmises what he thinks was going through their minds at the time.

Then there is the Tarantino commentary along the way - like riddles embedded into the narrative. Is Rick's smoking habit an ironic reference to The Marlboro Man? DiCaprio is noted for his dedication to method acting, Dalton gets a lesson from an unlikely source in a brilliant scene. Was T.V. even taken slightly seriously by Hollywood as he extracts scenes from The FBI and Combat? Tarantino is continually creating food for thought. Oh, and then there is his ultimate twist to bring the curtain down, beautifully played out.

Yes this is more than just my usual Sliver but for good reason; there is simply so much to digest. There has been a very mixed response to OUATIH. I'm part of the adoration team. I now have two favourite Tarantino films; Once Upon A Time In Hollywood and yes, Jackie Brown. 12GUMS. 

   

      

                

No. 78. (2019) Angel of Mine. August 26th.

Film No 78 (2019) August 26th.  6:45 PM  LUNA PALACE Leederville. 

I had a little girl once. A little baby. She was in an accident. A fire. (Lizzie explains herself to the subject of her obsession, Lola).

A tightly scripted, well cast, psychological thriller with a twist that wasn't entirely surprising. Using a universal theme of character sanity against the odds, Kim Farrant, director of Strangerland, has delved back into a world of misconstrued view-points, culminating into an ending that satisfies to a point. Lizzie (Noomi Rapace) is on medication to dull the tragedy of 7 years previous which has made her unable to function normally from day to day. Claire (Yvonne Strahovski) meets Lizzie by chance and it's her daughter Lola (Annika Whiteley) that becomes the target of Lizzies obsession. Farrant cleverly uses close-ups, mainly of the slightly unhinged but beautiful Rapace to build a tension and to heighten our experience of Lizzie's delusion. We are hopeful, like her family supporting her, she can move on and allow time to heal her deep psychological wounds. There is a twist of course and while we are never quite sure how it will end, the twist is not totally surprising. 9GUMS.

             

No. 77. (2019) Amazing Grace. August 23rd.

Film No 77 (2019) August 23rd.  6:45 PM  LUNA PALACE Leederville. 

It's the closest thing to witnessing a miracle - just some cameras, a crowd and a voice touched by god. (Peter Travers of Rolling Stone magazine gives a snapshot of his impression of Amazing Grace).

This is a must see for Franklin fans who I imagine are entwined in the magic that gospel music brings to the world.

The film is not a biographical study of the legend, it's the culmination of a vision and a recording that took place in Los Angeles in 1972 when a 29 year old Franklin performed for her own Baptist congregation over two days culminating in the album Amazing Grace; her biggest selling album of all time. Why then has it taken 47 years to surface and have audiences spellbound by it's magnificence? Well the story goes that Sydney Pollack (Tootsie, Out of Africa) filmed the event but was unable to edit it as the analogue soundtrack did not sync with the vision. How does that change things? Digital technology, that's what. So without further ado, please enjoy Amazing Grace. Sadly Aretha and Sydney, the stars behind the film's brilliance are no longer with us. This will serve as a magnificent tribute. 10GUMS.

        

No. 76. (2019) Dogman. August 20th.

Film No. 76 (2019) Aug. 20th.  6:40 PM  PALACE CINEMAS  Northbridge. 

"I know he's a friend of yours. Whatever you do, don't trust a word he says" (Marcello's friend, the jeweller, warns him that his friendship with Simoncino could cause him harm).

Director Matteo Garrone (Gomorrah) loves this dour southern Italian coastal strip as a backdrop to his often "based on fact" tales of human fragility. Dogman tells the tale of a crime which reviled Italians in the 80's but as Garrone says, this film only used the story as its starting point. Marcello Fonte plays Marcello, a dog groomer and petty criminal living his life out of a dirty, damp shop in a stark unkempt town on the coast of Campania. A human wrecking ball, Simoncino, rules over the town but more particularly Marcello. We invest emotionally with Marcello in the hope he'll wrestle back his independence, but given his small stature and gentle nature, his challenge may be insurmountable. Fonte won the ultimate individual gong at Cannes for this role. Garrone is a filmmaker with an innate talent for bringing unique regional Italian stories to the world through the eyes of vulnerable characters. Dogman is raw, bold and brilliant. 11GUMS.          

    

No. 75. (2019) The Nightingale. August 17th.

Film No 75 (2019) August 17th.  11:00 AM  LUNA PALACE Leederville. 

THE LANGUAGE SPOKEN BY THE TASMANIAN ABORIGINALS IN THIS FILM IS PALAWA KANI. IT IS NEAR EXTINCT AND MARKS THE FIRST TIME EVER SPOKEN IN A MAINSTREAM PICTURE. (A little known fact revealed about The Nightingale which empelishes the heart of this fine film).

Jennifer Kent follows up her internationally acclaimed, The Babadook, with a different kind of gripping cinematic experience. This time more unnerving because The Nightingale is based on an actual event in Australia's dark convict past. So let me begin by saying, as an Australian, I'm torn between pride and shame in reflecting on this dark tale. I'm proud that such a deeply affecting, brilliantly made and important film has been released to the world. I'm shamed by many of the scenes which have been researched and ratified as historic fact. Scenes which stain our past but also serve as a reminder that being better people is the key to our future. 

In short, Aisling Franciosi stars as convict, Claire, a young wife and mother, eeking out an existence as domestic help for one of the military officers of The Empire. Brutal things of heinous proportions leave her hellbent on revenge. She can't achieve this without the help of Billy (Baykali Ganambarr) a black tracker. It's the power of their partnership which  encapsulates Kent's message. I recommend The Nightingale to all rusted on film lovers and those looking for film with meaning, but some scenes will test your stamina. 11GUMS.   

 

    

No. 74 (2019) Night Life. August 12th.

Film No 74 (2019) August. 12th.  1.20PM  LUNA SX  Fremantle.

"Oh, I'll use a trash can, there's hardly any trash in it, oh it kind of comfortable, better than a chair" (Molly, responds to being asked to take a seat by Katherine on a male dominated table where there is no place for her).

The Late Night promo poster is screaming out "I'm a slick, smart comedy with clipped, sharp scenes laced with dialogue to match and a soundtrack setting the ebb and flow of mood throughout". Well that's what you get, and maybe that is the cleverness of Late Night. A film about a writer's room established by a network specifically to write gags for their flagship late night host, Katherine Newbery (Emma Thompson) created by a lone writer Mindy Kaling who, significantly, plays the co-lead Molly Patel. Molly is the "token" woman assigned a seat at Newbery's writers room. Newbery's style is becoming stale on the late-night TV landscape. The network has a plan to replace their star. Newbery either fought or folded. I dare say you can guess the rest. Slick, smart, spicy drama which is soon forgotten. 8GUMS.  

    

No. 73. (2019) Who You Think I am (Celle que vous croyez). August 11th.

Film No 73 (2019) August 11th.  6:40 PM  LUNA PALACE Leederville. 

"I can't keep helping you if you're lying". (Dr. Catherine Bormans wonders how she can possibly remain a tool in Claire's emotional recovery).

This French story emanating from the novel by Camille Laurens of the same name doesn't quite live up the literary thrill of the best seller. It is often the case, but the film is definitely an excellent interpretation of teacher Claire Millaud (Juliette Binoche) playing the "catfish" game on-line as 24 year old Clara; a game she is never in completely controls, or so we are lead to believe. But then again, through clues dropped along the way, just maybe she has a much greater adenda. Claire has been abandoned by her husband for a younger woman and most of her feelings and actions are fully disclosed to her psycho-therapist Dr. Bormans (Nicole Garcia). The significance of this relationship is blurred in the beginning and while the interchange has more gravity later, the film version doesn't quite match the thrill depicted in the pages of the best-seller. Binoche and Garcia carry the film and team to make Who You Think I am well worth a visit to the cinema.  8GUMS.

            

No. 72. (2019) Stieg Larsson: The Man Who Played With Fire Aug. 6th.

Film No. 72 (2019) Aug. 6th.  6:20 PM  PALACE CINEMAS  Northbridge. 

Part of The Scandinavian Film Festival presented by Palace Cinemas; Perth chapter July 17th til Aug. 7th.

"Stieg's view was that they (Neo-nazis) should be dragged into the daylight, put under the microscope and exposed." (A Stieg sympathiser describes why Larsson was so hellbent on revealing how Swedish society should respond to right-wing extremists).

Without this documentary, profiling the amazing adult life of humanist Stieg Larsson, I might have maintained my deluded impression that the author of The Millenium-trilogy led some form of playboy life paralleling the rollicking ride depicted in his novels. Not so, Henrik Georgsson, better known for his work in Scandi T.V. production (Bron Broen, Wallander) gives his audience an insight into the manic life, or better still, manic lifestyle of Larsson. Using minimalist docu-drama snippets with interview outtakes of the people closest to him we learn of the lengths Larsson went to inform his fellow Swedes of the dangers posed to Swedish society by Neo-nazists. Larsson wrote (360 page version of Girls With The Dragon Tattoo) to relieve the stress of his everyday vigil. With initial "prodding" from his partner he pounded out the three best-sellers with more in mind, and then died suddenly. Not surprising, considering his lifestyle. Like so many prodigious talents who die before their time, Larsson is a legend in the realms of Ian Fleming but without the playboy tag. 9GUMS.

 

   

        

No. 71. (2019) Deigo Maradona. July 29th.

Film No 71 (2019) July 29th.  6:40 PM  LUNA PALACE Leederville. 

"For me a football is a most beautiful toy. It was my salvation". (The great man describes his feelings).

Much like Amy Winehouse in the captivating Amy, Diego Maradona is immortalized by Asif Kapadia, impartially, in a warts and all portrait. In true Kapadia style audiences are treated to unique (some never before seen) footage from Maradona's family, zoomed enhanced football action, and a plethora of candid footage of Maradona in varying social and door-stop situations. Football fanatics will relish the chronological editing tracing Diego's dirt poor upbringing, his prodigious talent, the forced move from Spain (Barcellona) to Italy (Napoli), then becoming a god in the southern italian city. It's his italian connection that shaped his life, for better, then worse. His legendary World Cup performances are layered throughout with the 1990 campaign having significant ramifications on his life. Kapadia has a special way of catching fractured stars in a heartfelt manner but without a voiceover or cliche in sight. Audiences, especially fans or fanatics, will walk away knowing how the enigma that is Diego Maradona became a legend. 10GUMS.