Film No. 84 (2023) BOTTOMS. 20th Nov.

 

Film No. 84  (2023)  November 20th.  6:30 PM BACKLOT Cinema, West Perth W.A.

"I just want teenage queer girls to have the fun they deserve as they navigate the shitty years of high school, then college." (Emma Seligman in a YouTube interview in 2023).

WINNER: Programs Award (Emma Seligman), Sidewalk Programmers Film Awards.

BOTTOMS is not made for Baby Boomers like me. That is a certainty. But, if you are a millennial, you will likely laugh out loud at the rapid fire, crass, scripting of this comment on U.S. high school life and how the meek can inherit the Campus. I think you guys will not be wasting your allowance on a visit to the cinema, here.

Baby boomers and Gen Ys', I fear, may be disappointed with your choice of entertainment when it comes to, BOTTOMS. Crass, immature, juvenile, silly are terms that immediately come to mind. But, the reviews on socials from our younger audiences suggest they can't get enough of it. That is a good thing. Hey, I loved the Cheech and Chong franchise of the 70's and 80's. I listen to them now and smile only when I think in terms of "what was I thinking back then?"

Anyway, Emma Seligman and Rachel Sennott are reunited after their brilliant turn  in SHIVA BABY. Here Emma directs and co writes with Sennott. They've worked, here, to create a film to celebrate fun and sexual awakening for queer girls in high school . I'm sure life for some would not have been as fun as  BOTTOM'S portrays. The film's strength is that P.J. and Josie (Ayo Edebiri) have no issues with who they are. They simply need to gratify their sexual urges. Creating a Fight Club is an imaginative extra curricular activity to meet those needs!! Well, that's their theory.

The strength of BOTTOMS is the empowerment it exudes. If that empowerment strengthens the resolve of minorities in high schools then all hale, BOTTOMS and films like it. I'm so pleased with its success. Films on the big screen creating a buzz amongst 16 to 22 year olds is a great thing.  10GUMS (Mells/GenY's) 5GUMS (Boomers) .

Film No. 86 (2023) MY NAME IS ALFRED HITCHCOCK (Palace Australia British Film Festival) 24th Nov.

 

Film No. 86  (2023)  November 24th.  11:30 AM  LUNA LEEDERVILLE,  Cine 1, Leederville.

 

"I'd like you to look at Janet in that lonely, remote shower, and see yourself in her. Her hope, your vulnerability." (Alfred, via the voice of Alistair McGowan, instructs his audience to interpret the key scene in PSYCHO through actress Janet Leigh).

OFFICIAL SELECTION: Best Feature (Anand Tucker) Toronto Film Festival.

Alfred Hitchcock could play games with his audience like no other. His films have a transfixingly dream like quality. This documentary cleverly reveals his secrets; you'll be mesmerised in the same way so many of his scenes' cast a spell .

You need to be warned, however, MY NAME IS ALFRED HITCHCOCK, is written and directed by Mark Cousins (THE EYES OF ORSON WELLS), the Belfast born master of film analysis. Cousins puts such an expert interpretation, here, one might want to become familiar with a few of Hitchcock's films beforehand. Maybe PSYCHO, NORTH BY NORTH WEST and REAR WINDOW are good starting points. I watched MY NAME with 3 film loving buddies. We are all unabated Hitchcock devotees. Cousins could not have given us a better time. 

Using the voice of Alistair McGowan, (likely the world's leading Hitchcock impressionist) Cousins tricks us, in the same way Hitchcock manipulated his audience, into taking a playfully personal journey into how Hitchcock became the phenomenon he was. Using a 6 chapter structure, he brings clarity to why Hitchcock wanted us to feel the way we do, via specific scenes through many of his classic films. Cousins will give you greater clarity as to why the label of genius was so often tied to A.H. 

Cousins is dedicated to bringing the world the reasons why film makes such an impression. He is an academic when it comes to film study, but he passes on his knowledge generously, and in terms easily digested. It is his gift.  Passing on his gift here, through Hitchcock, in such a clever way is a tribute to his  documentary film making prowess. Hitch himself would share a wink with you, no doubt, Mr Cousins!  10GUMS.

    

    

Film No. 85 (2023) STEWART (Palace Australia British Film Festival) 21st Nov.

 

Film No. 85  (2023)  November 21st.  11:30 AM  LUNA SX, Cine 2, Fremantle.

 

"Life has been like a rocket ship, where the deepest of dark colours go with the deepest of bright colours!" (Stewart voices a summary of his life, punctuated by Formula One driving, in a most dangerous era).

Good documentaries, profiling greats (whatever their talent) all have one common element. Their subject is an A Type personality who stops at nothing to achieve their dream. The doco then adopts an approach that makes that subject interesting. So is STEWART a good documentary? Yes!

This is a Sky Production so there is no shortage of file footage and grainy cut-aways but Sky don't make documentaries of this nature without commercial help. So, whenever Jackie Stewart (the 80 something year old version) is trackside or preparing to wave to fans, or pressing the flesh, a certain Dutch beer or Swiss watch, is front and centre. There are compromises. Do we get to learn something new about a living icon of world motor racing? Yes we do!

Stewart's reputation as a crusader for safer racetracks and cars is a major theme here. Three time world champion ('69, 71 & 73), Jackie and wife Helen, lost over 50 friends and acquaintances, in an era when simple things like seatbelts and safety barriers weren't mandatory to the sport. The theme runs as a rich vein through the story of this likeable Scotsman, but the secret he held back from all, including his life long partner (he had acute dyslexia) made his story all the more fascinating. Aged 43 and 9 years after retirement, he received his diagnosis. 

The man is a legend in so many senses of the word. This documentary is a fine tribute. It does Stewart justice, but the hands of a Asif Kapadia (SENNA) I'm sure we would have seen something deeper, more revealing and less commercial. Helen Stewart fills the screen (file film only) with her beauty with such regularity,  I was waiting for her back story. Her dedication and love for her husband and young boys is unquestioned. It was never on show. A quick Google will tell you why they are major contributors to the dementia cause. STEWART is not a great documentary but it is a good one.  9GUMS. 

 

   

     

 

 

No. 81 (2023) THE KILLER. Nov. 12th.

 

Film No. 81  (2023)  November 12th.  3:50 PM  EVENT CINEMAS, Recliner, Cine 10,  Innaloo.

"I find music a useful distraction. A focus tool. Keeps the inner voice from wandering." (Our killer introduces himself via some of his techniques for carrying out his work).

NOMINEE: Best Film (David Fincher) Venice Film Festival.

Perhaps better titled, The Anatomy of an Assassin but; THE KILLER works. This film,  holds our attention by letting us in on the intimate thoughts (voice over) of its subject as he unleashes mayhem. THE KILLER enhances the B Grade genre. You expect that from David Fincher, utilizing the skills of Michael Fassbender in the lead role. There is Neflix, and the budget available, of course.

Revenge thrillers make for great entertainment. Fincher is, perhaps the premium storyteller when it comes to feature thrillers. ZODIAC and SEVEN who can forget them? I've heard commentary that Fincher here, has created a very personal profile sketch, through Fassbender's assassin. The internal dialogue (voice-over) has a haunting feel, as our killer tries to come to terms with fallibility. Are we to believe THE KILLER may be an analogy of Fincher losing his touch as the creator of tense cinema? Surely not. If THE KILLER is any guide, then David needn't worry in the least.

Most of us will meet Fassbender's killer on the small screen. Netflix is streaming TK as I type. The audience reviews appearing on IMDB are in the main scathing. Words like boring, laborious and glacial are being used extensively in descriptions of the movie. None of those words ring true for me, but I experienced THE KILLER on a Vmax screen, sporting impeccable sound. But I understand the sentiments. 

Fincher /Fassbender fans won't miss this. I doubt they'll be disappointed. The fact our killer is losing his touch, but makes up for it in a slow burn series of events, well I find that an interesting premise, don't you?  And let's not forget, THE KILLER, likely, wouldn't have been made without Netflix $$$$.  10GUMS.

     

  

Film No. 83 (2023) GOLDA. (Palace; Australia British Film Festival). 14th Nov.

 

Film No. 83  (2023)  November 14th.  1:50 PM  LUNA Windsor,  Cine 1, Nedlands.

 

"You forget. In Israel we read from right to left!" (Golda responds to Kissinger's instructions with regard to his priorities as an American representative; not as a Jew).

NOMINEE: Discovery of the Year (Dascha Dauenhauer) World Soundtrack Award.

 

Here is a dry interpretation of the 18 day conflict between Egypt and Israel in 1973. The conflict, better known as the Yom Kippur War, is seen from an Israeli view point, more specifically through Prime Minister, Golda Meir's eyes. Helen Mirren is Golda. Put simply, historians and film lovers who love actors, and the methods by which a craft is delivered, will be the greatest beneficiaries of this dark film. It is not a Mirren biographical portrait of who Golda Meir was. Mirren gives us a chain-smoking Golda, and the pivotal role she played during the conflict.

It is an historical document and a film for all, but many will be disappointed.  Helen M reminded me more of Nicole Kidman's, Virginia Wolfe, in THE HOURS, than Meryl Streep, in THE IRON LADY.  Maybe it was the prosthetic nose and make-up. Mirren doesn't have a whole lot to do (lighting fags excluded). Director Guy Nettiv is an Israeli film maker who, one senses, feels the need to reveal his insight of the significance of this war as part of the ongoing Israeli / Arab conflict. He was never to know how the timing of GOLDA'S release would meld with the devastation currently occurring. His Golda, in the care of Mirren, makes an interesting parallel with Netanyahu, the "iron fisted" current P.M.

So does GOLDA do a good job from an entertainment POV? Not really, but from a film lovers' standpoint, revelling in another Mirren masterclass there will be a fascination. Is it a competent documentation of a forgotten time in history that has current ramifications? Absolutely it is. The high point of the film is the sliding doors moment when U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger (Liev Schreiber, excellent) intervened on the Israeli side. Israel may have toppled without his influence.  8GUMS.

       

    

No. 80 (2023) THE TASTING (LA DEGUSTATION). Nov. 8th.

 

Film No. 80  (2023)  November 8th.   6:30 PM  LUNA LEEDERVILLE,  Cine 5, Leederville.

 

"Your heart is fragile. Wine weakens it!" (The wise words of Jacques doctor as he deals with dizzy spells).

WINNER: Moliere Award (Ivan Calberac) Moliere de la Comedie Awards.

This sweet French Rom/Com is made to charm you into believing in fairy tales. LA DEGASTATION helps us to escape the drudgery of life and instils in us a  belief that good, lonely people with assorted "baggage" can find each other and live happily ever after. Well, we never see that far into the future but we assume they live happily ever after!

The poster sets us up, yeah? Hortense (Isabelle Carre) and Jacques (Bernard Campan) meet in his wine store. They look into each others' eyes and know there is an attraction, but can their worlds of secrets and regrets meld so that they might become one? Of course they will. This isn't a reinvention of a genre.  The best bits of DEGUSTATION are the comic moments. A combination of dry wit and slapstick gives this worn genre piece a fun lift. There is a fresh feel care of  Writer/Director Ivan Calberac. 

Ultimately DEGASTATION could do with another cut. Excellent, 85 minute films of this light, feel-good variety should be the norm. We know where light tales of the heart are headed early on. How they craft a "two hander" (LA DEGASTATION) into something memorable is the key. THE TASTING very nearly strikes that excellent chord.   8GUMS.

         

Film No. 82 (2023) SALTBURN. 13th Nov.

 

Film No. 82  (2023)  November 13th.  6:30 PM  EVENT CINEMAS, VMax, Cine 3,  Innaloo.

"I think you're a moth. Quiet, harmless, drawn to shiny things." (Venetia gives Ollie her summary of who she thinks he is).

WINNER: Audience Award (Emerald Fennell) Savannah Film Festival.

Don't seek out a viewing of SALTBURN if you've already decided what you're getting, chances are, you'll be in for a surprise. And while I'm issuing advice, block your ears if someone, in their excitement, starts telling you what SALTBURN is all about. 

Barry Keoghan broke our hearts in THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN, it seems he's got the same aim here. Oliver (Keoghan) is desperate to belong, as we meet him on day one at Oxford University. He's a scholarship winner, it's the only way this working class boy could afford to be an Oxford student. Enter the charismatic and astoundingly popular Felix (Jacob Elordi) who repays a kind act of Ollie's by inviting him to his family estate, Saltburn, for the summer. I know, BRIDESHEAD REVISITED; you've seen it all before. Well, you haven't, not when it comes to The Cattons'. Very definitely, you haven't.

Emerald Fennell is an actor turned film-maker. Her debut, PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN won her best screenplay at The Oscars. SALTBURN proves she is no "one hit wonder". Fennell will be a reason film lovers of of Gen Y will be lining up to be entertained. She writes sharply and with cutting humour. Are these the lines she craved in the scripts she recited as an actor? Rosamund Pike delivers a character, Elspeth, Felix's mother, that she will surely cherish for years to come. Pike steals every scene she's in.

What are we to think of the lavishness that comes with Saltburn? Is it a marker to prove these people, born into extreme privilege lack contact with the rest of the world? And how is the grounded Felix, so well grounded? And while I'm  asking questions, who is this Cary Mulligan character, Pamela? What is the significance of her exit? Was Mulligan suddenly called away to a new project? The throw-away line as to her fate is  part of the film's puzzle. 

Was THE TALENTED MR RIPLEY one of Fennell's favourite films? Stop with the questions. I'm asking too many. I should be recounting Ollie's journey into Saltburn. But no; I won't. SALTBURN deserves to be enjoyed on a big screen by those with an open mind. Go back to my questions, post viewing.  11GUMS.

    

 

No. 79 (2023) THE CRITIC. (Palace; Australia British Film Festival). Nov. 3rd.

 

Film No. 79  (2023)  November 3rd.  6:30 PM  LUNA LEEDERVILLE,  Cine 1, Leederville.

 

"It may well be that sticks and stones cause far more damage than Nina might well have first thought!" (A modern day critic sums up THE CRITIC).

OFFICIAL SELECTION: Best Feature (Anand Tucker) Toronto Film Festival. 

This dark, costume drama is built around a legend of the screen, Ian McKellen. It's melodrama, it's uneven but never the less compelling. Jimmy Erskine (McKellen), the critic for London's The Daily Chronicle,  can impact on an actors career at the stroke of his pen. Gemma Arterton is Nina, an ambitious performer who craves some "love" from Erskine. Those reviews are not forthcoming. Nina must devise a strategy to change this. 

If you enjoyed THE GOOD LIAR, where McKellen showed his range as a dastardly character and you hold an appreciation for Arterton and Mark Strong's on-screen charisma, then there is plenty to like in THE CRITIC. Not least,  Patrick Marber's (NOTES ON A SCANDAL) layered script. THE CRITIC is based on a Novel, Curtain Call by Anthony Quinn which reads like a pulp novel from the 30's. Clever, considering Quinn wrote the book only 8 years ago!

The real star of THE CRITIC is its visuals. The film is richly designed. Film is all about escaping to another world. Here we enter an era where the cinema has a responsibility to give it's audience a sense of a time nearly 100 years ago. Accolades  must be extended to Lucienne Suren (Production Design) and Amanda George (Set Decoration). Darkness, with the possibility of a macabre twist, is what the THE CRITIC is all about.  9GUMS.

  

No. 78 (2023) SICK OF MYSELF. Nov. 1st.

 

Film No. 78  (2023)  November 1st.  2:40 PM  LUNA LEEDERVILLE,  Cine 1, Leederville.

 

"Narcissists are the ones who make it!" (Signe comments on the people she notices, who most represent who she aspires to become).

WINNER: Best Feature (Krostoffer Borgli) Volladolid IFF. NOMINEE Un Certain Regard Award (Kristoffer Borgli) Cannes IFF.

I so look forward to the line up of Un Certain Regard nominees from the Cannes IFF each year. That line up always gives a cross-section of fresh films headed for cinema release. In 2022 there was the Scandi/French epic GODLAND and the mysterious Australian drama, THE STRANGER. Both impressive.  SICK OF MYSELF was also there. It has been a late starter as far as international distribution is concerned but late starter or not, the wait has been worth it.

In a world now inundated with young people wanting to be noticed , we meet Signe (Kristine Thorp). We are not meant to like Signe. We feel for her plight as an indecisive, apprentice narcissist. She is a young girl who can't find a way to realise her full potential through hard work and imagination, so she gives into the premise "if you can't beat them, join them".  It's a bad move.  Kristoffer Borgli controls his film and us meticulously.  We become witness to a "car crash". 

The "car crash" that is Signe and her journey of self-destruction cleverly holds a mirror up the vulnerable many who crave attention. The jealousy so many vulnerable people feel as they watch others who they perceive to be popular can be corrosive to the mind. Feeling comfortable about ones self, takes skill. Positive self-awareness skills.  Borgli makes no bones about his view on this subject. The brilliance here comes through his delivery. Laugh out loud scenes, as we laugh at Signe changing physically, pose insightful questions. Is some of his audience laughing at friends or indeed themselves as they reflect on personal experiences? 

For those who cringed but were also entertained by INGRID GOES WEST (2017), don't miss, SICK OF MYSELF. These films are great examples of the Educainment genre. Films with a real message which sits within for days. 10GUMS. 

     

 

  

No. 77 (2023) DUMB MONEY. Oct. 29th.

 

Film No. 77  (2023)  October 29th.  3:40 PM  EVENT CINEMAS,  Recliner: Cine 2,  Innaloo.

"Man, you've got rich dudes pissing in their pants right now." (Keith's brother Kevin, reveals the gravity of his brother's upbeat view on the stock, Game Stop).

The underdog story is a staple when it comes to attracting audiences to the cinema. Sport is the platform most often in-play for these stories. HOOSIERS is still one of my favs! Here, in relatively recent times, the GameStop short squeeze is played out. Small investors bring big hedge fund companies to their knees; it's a less conventional underdog story but an intriguing one never the less. Director Craig Gillespie (I, TONYA) excels with stories from recent history. 

During the pandemic of early 2021, Gillespie (I,TONIA) watched, first hand, how trading in GameStop (GME) shares caused havoc on Wall Street. His son was part of the small investor "tidal wave" who created the Short Squeeze based on the vlog philosophy of Keith Gill, better known as Roaring Kitty. Gillespie thought it a tale worth telling and considering the actors lining up to work his stories, why wouldn't he?

The film is busy. It's worth having an understanding of what a short squeeze is, before tuning into DUMB MONEY. The portraits of small stock holders who are part of the wave, occupy many scenes, but they never really get fleshed out. We get a sense of what happened, through them, but they remain at arms length. It was a minor frustration for me. The script is tight though, and rarely is a word wasted.   

The real story is held in the hands of Paul Dano (Gill) and Shailene Woodley (Caroline). They play the grounded husband/wife couple who lead us on this adventure. Woodley is particularly credible as the supportive wife. Considering her star profile, DUMB MONEY gives her licence to really show her range. Their family circle, including Pete Davidson as Keith's brother Kevin, bring humour and a real world feel to the phenomenon that was the GameStop Short Squeeze. A very entertaining underdog story.  9GUMS.