No. 24. (2020) BLOW THE MAN DOWN April 23rd.

Film No. 24 (2020)  April 23rd.  2:10 PM. Amazon Prime streaming. Redmond Theatre, Ocean Reef. 

"I try to protect these girls, but I can't be expected to do everything". (Enid explains part of the responsibilities she accepts as the employer of working girls in her care).

Here is another little gem streaming from the Amazon Prime platform. Oh, and what a little gem it is. This might be a good time to reflect on all the small films to miss major accolades in minor or major festivals around the world this year. COVID-19 guarantees that! Blow The Man Down is certain to go reasonably unrecognized in 2020. But not by me.

To begin with ... BTMD is a powerful vehicle for the Me Too movement, the message delivered with such subtlety and power, it doesn't become obvious till well after the credits have rolled. So how does the Me Too message colour a seedy mystery thriller with the pessimism of Fargo and the quirkiness of The Trouble With Harry? The plot revolves around 6 women who each have a secret wherein, the first to blink might lose.

Margo Martindale (The Americans, Sneaky Pete) is Enid, the town Madam, who provides a service mainly for the men of the local seafaring community. Her partner in business Mary Margaret Connolly has died suddenly and so we begin the story. Daughters Connolly, Presilla (Sophie Lowe) and Mary Beth (Morgan Saylor) are of very differing personalities and become embroiled in a deed so dastardly they are at some time going to be called to account. Then there are the three elderly women of the town who notice everything. It's all you need to know. 

It's a tight regional tale with a catch. Blow The Man Down is a guilty pleasure you can stream (Amazon Prime). It's so good, set yourself a time, watch it with other film buffs in a dark room, with a 95 minute space in your diary. I do hope Writer/Directors' Danielle Krudy and Bridget Savage Cole collaborate on something else in the future. 10GUMS.       

       

No. 24. (2020) GENERATION WEALTH April 20th.

Film No. 24 (2020)  April 20th.  7:55 PM.  AMAZON Prime, Living Room, Mt. Hawthorn. W.A. 

"I know the names of the Kardashians but I don't know the names of my neighbours". (Greenfield's son Noah makes an observation about an aspect of life in his world).

Photographer and film-maker Lauren Greenfield (The Queen of Versailles, Thin) takes us, in a slightly muddled fashion, on a journey into the lives of people who have experienced wealth, fame and or popularity through stages of their lives. Greenfield photographed them (I say them, but it was more, some of them) as young up and comers in the mid eighties; a time (Reaganomics) when "GREED WAS GOOD".

 

Some subjects hold us more than others, depending on our interests. For me, cigar smoking investment banker Florian Homm, struck a chord. He was at the seat of reasons for the Global Financial Crisis. Life for him in 2018, is very different, even bringing him to tears at one stage. Wall Street mogul, Suzanne Murphy, with distracting wide blue eyes, also made fascinating viewing, as time passed, her maternal instincts pushed her financial ambitions to one side.

Toddlers and Tiaras star Eden Wood was profiled briefly but the more interesting story probably lay with her mother. That wasn't explored. So it's here that the documentary failed to fully satisfy. There was so much content, Greenfield didn't know where to concentrate her attention. The subjects weren't all about wealth either, the theme seemed more about becoming a better person through time and experience. Wealth and fame was a common denominator for some.

Meanwhile Greenfield herself draws on her own family experiences, slotting them in randomly throughout the film. The reasons for her personal interludes is never fully revealed. At one point her son Noah makes an honest heartfelt comment that Greenfield is not prepared for. Maybe that could be another film for her to pursue. So do I recommend G.W.? If you love watching film about how the other half lives; don't miss it. 7GUMS.  

    

   

No. 23. (2020) THIRTEEN April 15th.

Film No. 23 (2020)  April 15th.  1:45 PM. Redmond Theatre, Ocean Reef. 

"It's too late now, you have to play". (Vince suggests it is time for him to leave after finding out what he has let himself in for, his chief backer has other ideas).

Writer/Director Gela Babuani shot his first feature 13 Tzameti (French), prior to this effort. He won an award (World Cinema Jury) for Tzameti. Why he needed to repeat the same film five years later doesn't make a good deal of sense. Maybe the fact he managed to secure the services of Jason Statham and Ray Winstone guaranteed a mighty income. It was shot for a fortune and returned investors a little over $3M, total! Babuani quite likely has a sad story to tell about how this film set his career back.

Vince (Sam Riley) is a good, loyal family boy. An opportunity arrives where, if he assumes the identity of a stranger he just might solve his family's dire decline into poverty. Has he a clue about the risk factor of his decision? No, it would seem. We are talking the ultimate risk factor here. And it really should be more gripping.    

13 is, quite simply a poor man's version of a Ritchie/ Tarantino fable with an overpowering soundtrack that will quite possibly have you pressing the exit button on your remote 15 minutes in. Jason Statham fans may even struggle to get through this one. Now that's saying something. 4GUMS.   

 

  

No. 22. (2020) GALVESTON April 18th.

Film No. 22 (2020)  April 18th.  7:45 PM. HBO Fox/Apple TV, Living Room, Mt. Hawthorn. W.A. 

"I've got something going on where I might be able to be a little bit of a help to you". (Roy offers Rocky the opportunity of a financial lift to take her away from the life she was inflicting up herself and little Tiffany).

This COVID-19 period is a distraction none of us desire, but it provides a time to forage for unsung film gems. Galveston (2018) is one such delightful discovery. A film seen in the U.S. on release but rarely viewed internationally. HBO/Fox (rent on Apple TV) has rectified that, thankfully.

Ben Foster (Hell or High Water), a hit man Roy, with a lung disease, lives a life to mirror what we assume reflects a battered past. During a job gone wrong he takes pity on Rocky (Elle Fanning), a hostage, he releases and takes with him during a hasty retreat. Roy doesn't require any company at this stage of his life but gradually his bond with Rocky tightens, Roy becomes her guardian reluctantly at first, but there is an inevitability about matters of the heart he can't control. 

Galveston is from the creative mind of True Detective creator Nic Pizzolatto. Pizzolatto won third prize for Galveston in the Barnes Noble Discovery Award in 2010 and  he teamed with highly acclaimed French actor/director Melanie Laurent (Inglorious Basterds) to bring this earthy, Samaritan story to the screen.

The final 7 minutes is a little muddled but I guess it's easier to capture the essence of all that's on Roy's mind in first person on the page than it was to capture the same emotions on screen. 9GUMS.

   

No. 21. (2020) THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO April 8th.

Film No. 21 (2020)  April 8th.  7:45 PM. SBS World Movies, Living Room, Mt. Hawthorn. W.A. 

"Maybe you need to learn to be more sociable. Why don't you start with me?" (Salander's probation officer Bjurman has only deviant thoughts about how he is about to treat his subject).

The Swedish original (2009) still wins the duel for best film in this, the Millennium franchise (without subtitles). It was inevitable this world famous adventure fable would get the "Hollywood" treatment and the verdict for this effort is positive.

TGWDT, English style, is entertaining but fractionally sillier. Daniel Craig as Blomkvist is more vulnerable than his James Bond alto ego and most importantly Rooney Mara's Salander is the equal to Noomi Rapace's in the original. What's great about this yarn is, for those film buffs who can't do films with subtitles, they get to experience this world famous fiction adventure.

There is nothing like the book however. Stieg Larsson first published this story in 2005. It's a masterpiece of pulp storytelling with far more detail on the page than on screen. Meanwhile Craig and Rooney are an unlikely couple, but have the chemistry to make this iconic duo compelling. An easy, 150 minute edge of the couch ride. As if you were riding pillion with Salander! 8GUMS.

       

No. 20. (2020) MADE IN BELFAST April 6th.

Film No. 20 (2020)  April 6th.  8:20 PM. Amazon Streaming, Living Room, Mt. Hawthorn. W.A. 

"Do all the poofs in Paris have their top button done up?" (Brother Petsey welcome's Jack home with a classic, who do you think you have become?, welcome).

Amazon would have secured this humble regional drama for a song I imagine and because of our current exceptional,lock-down, isolation circumstances, Made in Belfast will be building a following.

Writer/Director Paul Kennedy introduces us to Jack (Ciaran McMenamin), a successful writer living in Paris. Home (Belfast) is calling due to the impending death of his father, Kevy (Lalor Roddy). A relationship Jack would rather forget. To please brother Petsey (Shaun Blaney) he does return, but old wounds are opened between family, friends and a jilted lover, Alice (Shauna Macdonald).

The script is fresh with bite and good humour. The relationships are legitimate. Every scene has purpose. Maybe the ending is a little pat but we are never totally sure. I thoroughly enjoyed Kennedy's work, his first feature. Sadly, for the moment, his only. 8GUMS.