No. 106. (2019) KNIVES OUT. November 25th.

Film No. 106 (2019) November 25th.  6:45 PM EVENT CINEMAS  Innaloo.                        

"I suspect foul play and I cannot eliminate any suspects" (Blanc makes a stock standard statement to the family about his state of mind).

Could Knives Out be the first to rejuvenate the Whodunit genre in contemporary cinemas? Maybe, but I have my doubts. This is not to say there is little entertainment value here. It's highly entertaining and brilliantly cut. We are never in doubt which flashback time frame we are in as the plot builds, the suspects fingered and the prime sleuth, Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) cooly unmasked. I just found the set up and plot a little tired and the performances, particularly from Curtis and Collette, glaringly under-developed. Their characters, Lynda Drysdale and Joni Thrombey respectively, offer so much then fade to so little. Craig and Christopher Plummer however are both captivating. Knives Out doesn't pretend to be anything other than a colour by numbers Whodunnit, it delivers in spades, it is however no Gosford Park (2001) but certainly better than the accomplished Death Trap (1982). Don't miss it if Whodunnit films on the big screen is your passion. 9GUMS.

    

No. 105. (2019) MR JONES. November 17th.

Film No 105 (2019) November 17th.  2:45 PM  LUNA PALACE Windsor,  Nedlands . 

"Listen, I really need to talk to you. I've found something big. You can break this story wide open". (The fateful phone conversation Jones has with friend and U.S. journalist Kleb, stationed in Moscow, prior to his departure to Russia and ultimately Ukraine).

Like Katharine Gun (Keira Knightley) in Official Secrets this Australian program of British films (Palace Festival) serves up another hero of the people. This time it's Gareth Jones (James Norton), the British diplomat/journalist who revealed to the world the extent of the Russian (Ukraine) famine which took the lives of millions in 1932/33; world catastrophe Stalin doggedly tried to hide behind his "iron curtain".    

Shot in dark tones with a depth of bleakness rarely experienced in cinema, we are introduced to Jones; a journo who could best be described as being like a dog with a bone when it comes to seeking truth. After failing to convince a parliamentary committee in 1933 of the threat Hitler presented (he shared a private flight with Adolf) he turns his attention to Russia and the rumours of a human catastrophe occurring. 

For some, Mr Jones has been slightly too long, (140 mins) but not for me. This historical drama will have you researching the era for days afterwards. A highlight performance comes in the shape of Peter Sarsgaard as the award-winning but later disgraced New York Times correspondent Walter Duranty. Sarsgaard gives a decidedly creepy interpretation. Jones was thwarted in every way by Duranty. 

This is a quality costume drama to send a chill, quite literally, down your spine. Norton gives Jones the exact qualities of a hero of his time. The closing on-screen  paragraph describing the fate of Jones left me stunned. He deserves a special place in journalistic history, along with Woodward and Bernstein.  10GUMS.   

 

No. 104. (2019) TELL IT TO THE BEES. November 14th.

Film No 104 (2019) November 14th.  2:00 PM  LUNA PALACE Windsor,  Nedlands . 

"You should tell the bees your secrets then they don't fly away" (Dr Jean Markham tells young Charlie there is a lesson to be learnt from spending time with the bees in her front yard).

Tell It To The Bees is a costume melodrama meticulously  staged with a script and premise that do not match the visuals. Is it condescending to describe T.I.T.T.B as having its heart in the right place? Yes you say? Well let's just say T.I.T.T.B means well.

Director Annabel Jankel takes us into a small English town in the early fifties where people who didn't live within the bounds of conducting ones selves properly (whatever that means) were gossiped about, spat at or had graffiti splattered on their walls. And so we meet Lydia (Holliday Grainger) and son, Charley (Gregor Selkirk), struggling to make ends meet. When finally the ends fracture (violent, manipulative husband) they are sheltered by Dr Jean Markham (Anna Paquin). The doctor is aware of her feelings towards women she likes where as Lydia falls in love slowly. From here we are simply manipulated to ask, in our more tolerant times, why couldn't people just mind their own business?

Put simply, this film has exquise production values but the script, especially "the bee thing", is silly and the acting is wooden and predictable (Grainger easily the best performer). Tell It To The Bees would have been banned and a headline film, maybe even a BAFTA nominee, if it had been released in the late 60's but in 2019 most cinema goers are looking for a more sophisticated approach. 7GUMS.          

  

 

  

No. 103. (2019) THE IRISHMAN. November 11th.

Film No 103 (2019) Nov. 11th.  5:30 PM  BACKLOT CINEMA West Perth. 

"Hiya Frank, this is Jimmy Hoffa, my friend speaks very highly of you." (Hoffa makes contact by phone with Frank for the first time, it's the beginning of a long relationship).

Scorsese, what a legend. The man who created the "Wise Guy" shtik in cinema takes the genre to a new level this time with The Irishman.

The Irishman, Frank Sheeran, is a mafia fix-it man who rose to the rank of Teemster division president under the tutorship of none other than Jimmy Hoffa. Put simply Scorsese has taken a book (I Heard You Paint Houses; The Inside Story Of The Mafia, The Teamsters and The Last Ride Of Jimmy Hoffa) written by defence attorney Charles Brandt, placed De Niro, Pacino and Pesci in the leads and meticulously re-enacted, in its purest form the narrative of the book. The reason the content of the film can't be taken literally is because Sheeran, a sick (cancer) man, fixated on a book deal, told plenty of tall tales.

Added to the meticulous nature of Scorsese's script and costume mastery comes the CGI technology magically making actors (Pesci, Pacinao & De Niro) all in their late seventies look 30 to 40 years younger to add legitimacy to each era. It's a wonder created for modern cinema. 

Netflix gave Scorsese an open budget ($159M) to complete The Irishman after a couple of years dancing with major production companies who couldn't stomach the ballooning budget. If it weren't for Netflix then perhaps Sheeran's story may never have reached the screen. In my city (Perth, Australia) only one small boutique cinema was prepared to put this masterpiece on the big screen. The Irishman is a big screen film destined for the small screen (Netflix release 27/11). I'm concerned 210 minutes in front of a small screen will negate my glowing review. We live in different times, selfishly, I'm extremely pleased to have watched The Irishman in the dark on a big screen. 12GUMS.            

        

No. 102. (2019) LAST CHRISTMAS. November 6th.

Film No.102 (2019) November 6th.  6:45 PM EVENT CINEMAS  Innaloo.                        

"There is no such thing as being normal, it's just being a human being. It's hard" (Tom reacts to Kate's desperate confession of trying to live up to people's expectations, as she rests easily in his lap).

Tis the season for studios to release their cinematic gifts. Universal comes to the 2019 festive tree with Last Christmas and they will be pleased, in my humble opinion, with their thoughtful offering. But don't get me wrong, it's no Love Actually.  

Emilia Clarke, loaded with her Game of Thrones fame, plays selfish and slightly unhinged Kate (Katorina). Kate is first generation Slav still dealing with past health and current family issues. She is crying out to be taught a life lesson. So nothing new with this little festive rom-com. Enter Tom (Henry Golding), a change from her one-night stand escapades, he's thoughtful and caring with an armour that shines. The armour never stops shining but is it real? 

So how does Kate change her ways? It won't take you long to work it all out. You could start with listening to George Michaels (Wham) rendition of the title song. No, wait on, that would be too much of a spoiler. Emma Thompson steals a couple of scenes as Kate's wily old Slav mum, Petra. Thompson co-wrote the script. 8GUMS.

     

No. 101. (2019) Judy & Punch. November 5th.

Film No 101 (2019) Nov. 5th.  6:30 PM  LUNA PALACE Leederville. 

"He won't be winning any more." (Judy answers the question "Does that Punchy guy win all the time?" asked by one of her new allies).

I'm not sure I have ever seen so much violence in a film carrying such a powerful anti-violence message. Judy and Punch is a rich sumptuous fable which could be taken as the origins of the Punch and Judy phenomenon. But I doubt it.

We meet the legendary marionette masters Judy (Mia Wasikowsika) and Punch (Damon Herriman) in the fictional town of Seaside (a countryside town). Their show is a crowd-pleaser and plays to a packed ale-house nightly. The marionettes are spitting images of their talented handlers and it soon becomes evident the violent storylines reveal a home truth or two. The pair have an infant child and while Punch is sober and loyal, life and work holds an even keel. The problem is, he is easily tempted. Say no more. Punch soon becomes the definition of despicable. Judy, however is every bit his match.

J & P won't be to everyone's tastes. You have to wade through some uncomfortable violence to comprehend the anti violence sentiment. This is an imaginative Australian based project with universal themes. Actress Mirrah Foulkes (Animal Kingdom) directs this, her first feature, and whilst it's slightly uneven, she shows real flair and daring. I look forward to her next film. 9GUMS.

 

  

     

No. 100. (2019) Sorry We Missed You. November 3rd.

Film No. 100 (2019) Nov. 19th.  6:40 PM  PALACE CINEMAS  Northbridge. 

"So let's get a few things straight here shall we? You don't work for us, you work with us. Keep this happy. This decides who lives and who dies" (Ricky gets his first taste of what it will mean to be a courier driver for corporate U.K.- it's all in the electronic scanner).

Ken Loach (I, Daniel Blake), once again, holds a mirror up to his fellow Brits to show where all the warts and welts exist in the corners, so often forgotten, in the U.K.

Fresh from his success with I Daniel Blake, Loach takes us on an even darker journey, into the domestic and working lives of the Turner family. We just know these likable people, dad Ricky (Kris Hitchen), mum Abbie (Debbie Honeywood), adolescent son Seb (Rhys Stone) and lovable daughter Lisa (Katie Proctor) are going to stretch our compassionate sensory glands to points of despair. 

Ricky locks himself into self employment of the worst kind (franchise courier operator attached to corporate operator) working 14 hour days. Abbie, a contract nurse, busses from one homecare job to another. There are not enough hours in the day, no time for their kids and no money in the bank. The emotional stress pushes against the wall of what was once a giving, loving, fun family. The last 10 minutes rages at pace, on immediate viewing we sense little hope for the Turners but, look carefully, the hope is there, it remains in the walls of the home. 

Loach sets the standard for film-makers in countries across the world. He shows life as it is for the forgotten underclass. These forgotten ones don't have the time or energy to stand-up for themselves. Loach keeps their stories flickering. I'm Australian, I wish we had a Ken Loach on our filmmaking landscape. 10GUMS. 

 

            

No. 98. (2019) Brittany Runs A Marathon. October 31st.

Film No 98 (2019) Oct. 31st.  6:45 PM  LUNA PALACE Leederville. 

"You want to pull a medium sized working dog off of my body?" (Brittany reacts to her doctor's suggestion that she might try losing 55 pounds).

Paul Downs Colaizzo debuts as writer/director of Brittany Runs A Marathon with a pleasant enough, if slightly overstated, lesson in the vagaries of life. 

Comedian Jillian Bell steals the show as the 28 year old Jillian who decides she's a fat procrastinator, with little drive and few prospects. You guessed it; jogging may just be part of her remedy for change. Joining a running group and forming  friendships with stressed out neighbour Catherine (Michaela Watkins) and happily married gay guy Seth (Micah Stock) leads to a few surprising forks in the road for Brittany as she extends her ambitions relating to improved health by adjusting her jogging goal to the pinnacle of any jogger's ambition, completing the New York Marathon. 

Lots of positive life lessons here, sprinkled with a sharp script, a likeable lead in Bell and a thoughtful conclusion. 9GUMS.        

 

No. 99. (2019) The Report. November 2nd.

Film No 99 (2019) Nov. 2nd.  11:00 AM  LUNA PALACE Leederville. 

"They waterboarded him one hundred and eighty three times. Everything they got from him was either a lie or it was information they already knew" (Daniel Jones briefs senator Dianne Feinstein on information he had discovered while compiling The Torture Report on the senatror's behalf).

Adam Driver is such an accomplished actor. Much of his work has been seen in  minor productions such as Paterson and Lucky Logan, the exception is BlackkKlansmen (multiple best supporting nominations). I'm predicting a best actor Oscar nomination for his performance in this very important film, The Report. Driver plays Daniel Jones, the researcher employed by senator Dianne Feinstein (Annette Bening) to compile a report on the extent to which torture was carried out by the CIA in the immediate years post 9/11. 

Official Secrets impressed me for revealing the sheer courage shown by Katharine Gun. But because of the determined doggedness played out by Driver's Jones and the meticulousness of writer/director Scott Z Burns, The Report edges out O.S. as my pick. Oh, and Senator Dianne Feinstein (Benning is brilliant) is worth researching after the titles roll. She is the sort of democratic moderate the U.S. could use in these times  of vacuous rhetoric cascading from the White House.  10GUMS.