Film No. 48 (2024) July 22st. 1:00 PM EVENT CINEMAS, Cine 9, Innaloo.
"I've seen the devil, stalking me. I can feel his power" (Maxine comes to terms with her vulnerable self, or does she?).
NOMINEE: Best Feature Film (Ti West) Neuchatel International FFF.
Isn't it so, so good that A24 hitched their wagon to Ti West? Absolutely, as MAXXXINE completes the trilogy he promised his fans and the loyal A24 distribution company. Their loyalty is paying off brilliantly!
West set out with Xand then PEARLto pay homage to the 70's B grade slasher films. They were A grade productions. West is mostly about style, and the substance (colour, script, images, setting) of these films is well delivered. MAXXXINE takes us into the 80's. This time West's focus is the ambitious Maxine (Mia Goth). Mayhem follows as she propels from porn star to major star. And do you reckon Maxine doesn't have a past?
If you're a Ti West fan then you won't be missing MAXXXINE. I'm that fan. I loved X and PEARL. I liked MAXXXINE. Yes, liked. But, should I have expected more from the ending? I still think it concludes underwhelmingly - but I'm told I've missed the point. When to comes to Ti West, then maybe I have. 9GUMS.
Film No. 47 (2024) July 20th. 11:00 AM LUNA CINEMA, Cinema 1, Leederville.
"Do you want to do something for your son? Get yourself to LA. Jimmy Kimmel wants to book you" (Max's agent Jayne slips the good news to him using his son as a cover).
WINNER: Audience Award (Tony Goldwyn) Sun Valley Film Festival. NOMINEE: Knight Marimbas Award (Tony Goldwyn) Miami FF.
Is EZRA simply an unimaginative, continuation of the popular autism trope so prevalent in films these days? I'm not sure about unimaginative, but another film focused on autism and the effect on family life, it is.
EZRA just has too much going on. The title would suggest our entertainment will come from learning about a boy, (on the spectrum, and uninhibitedly going about living in a world still coming to terms with behaviours outside the expectations of most) but it's mostly about a father and mother, Ezra's father and mother, shouting at one another while they battle to cope. There is a grandfather grappling with something from his past. There is a legal side-line, a step-father caught in the middle, and finally a road trip.
Cannavale (Dad), Byrne (Mum), Goldberg (Agent), Farmiga (an Ex) and DeNiro (Gramps) are all worth the watch. William A Fitzgerald (Ezra) nearly steals the show. It's just a mishmash of random scenes; some good and some irrelevant and it concludes with a forced, feelgood ending. Don't take it from me, though. Most folk are loving EZRA. 7GUMS.
Film No. 46 (2024) July 16th. 6:30 PM LUNA CINEMA, Cinema 1, Leederville.
"Sorry I don't have the answer to that." (Sol's mother Lucia responds to her daughter's question, asking when the world will end).
WINNER: Ecumenical Jury Prize (Lila Aviles) Berlin Int. FF. WINNER: Best Direction (Lila Aviles) Durbam Int. FF.
How clever is the film-making when it only allows us, the audience, a chance to know as much as it is allowing its 7 year old key character to know? In TOTEM'S case, very clever and particularly moving.
Sol, played brilliantly by Naima Senties, is our control. Lila Aviles directs with a deft hand, as she controls the levers all the adults pull as they filter and soften the inevitable hurt Sol will face. The hurt she is being protected from revolves around Tota (Mateo Garcia), her father. He is dying of cancer, and the surprise birthday party, in his honour, is the backdrop to this sad but celebratory drama.
TOTEM, unfurls in a series of chaotic set pieces which may be confusing at first. Senties creates a series of one take scenes which build our familiarity with the characters; all friends and family who love Tota. They all know the inevitability of his illness - all except Sol, but she is as intelligent as any 7 year old you'll see on-screen this year. 10GUMS.
Film No. 44 (2024) July 13th. 11:30 AM LUNA CINEMA, Cinema 1, Leederville.
"For nearly a century we've been told, this place is nothing without a king." (Director Elaine narrates her preamble to provide understanding of the origins of this coal community she grew up in).
WINNER: Special Jury Prize (Elaine McMillion Sheldon) Seattle Int. FF. NOMINEE: Next Innovator Award (Elaine McMillion Sheldon) Sundance FF.
What makes a good documentary? There are so many excellent answers to this question. KING COAL isone answer; it is a refreshing film full of beauty, revealing people of substance from this West Virginian coal town. The place where our film maker once lived.
Creator Elaine McMillion Sheldon won the very prestigious Innovation Award at Sundance (2023) for KING COAL. To watch this beautiful study is to understand the love and respect she has for her roots. Watching a recreation of her young self (we assume) we exist in this 82 minute document with a vibrant, spring-haired 11 year old girl (Lanie Marsh), living her uncomplicated life in Central Appalachia; a region owing its existence to coal. If this subject matter is not to your interest, but you love insightful documentaries, I suggest you catch KING COAL anyway. It documents ordinary people, interestingly!
Sheldon(RECOVERY BOYS) has a knack of focusing her camera on people who live life with a purpose. She is a native of West Virginia and gives insight into her region - she knows the people. Her affiliation is obvious. KING COAL is a masterclass in depicting the human spirit. 10GUMS.
Film No. 45 (2023) July 15th. 6:30 PM PALACE Raine Sq, Cinema 6, Perth City.
"When I'm back tomorrow evening, I'm going to break-up with Klara." (Didi makes a commitment to his new love Una. A commitment which cuts to the heart of what lies ahead).
NOMINEE: Un Certain Regard (Runar Runarsson) Cannes FF (2024).
Does LJOBROT (WHEN THE LIGHT BREAKS) present a text book example of why the first 10 minutes of a film sets up its audience for a dramatically, riveting experience? Yes, and the set up is such a quietly staged scene, on the rocks of a Reykjavik beach.
Any film chosen to open the prestigious Un Certain Regard strand at Cannes, is often a film of unique quality. WHEN THE LIGHT BREAKS deserved its place here. The 24 hours we spend in the hands of both director Runar Runarsson and her lead Elin Hall (playing art student Una) gives an insight into young love and how an event of the worst kind, changes everything. The unresolved issues which accompany this event make for an unrelenting day for Una. Will this make or break her vulnerable soul?
Digital technology is the revolution that has brought the Icelandic film industry to the rest of the world. Runarsson (SPARROWS) exemplifies the naturalistic compassion he, along with the likes of Hakonarson (RAMS) and Kormakar(REYKJAVIK), bring to international festivals. 10GUMS.
Film No. 43 (2024) July 11th. 6:45 PM LUNA SX, Cinema 2, Fremantle.
"It's best not to think of the girls as wives and mothers. It might be beyond them." (An old "inspector" gives matron a few words of advice about the plight she faces).
NOMINEE: Most Anticipated Film (Paul Goldman) Aust. Film Commission.
Can a film of such simple story tropes be worth viewing simply for its art and sound design? Absolutely, and KID SNOW is a perfect case in point. It's just a shame that the story treatment is ... well ... lame!
I'm a kid from Western Australia's rural 60's. Boxing troupes came to town annually and there was much excitement. The boxers, the roadies and the travelling hordes were mainly has-beens but they arrived as celebrities. They brought, cheap brutal fun to a sleepy community. Well, KID SNOW (KID) is a brilliantly produced depiction of just this; but the script can't match its sound and images. At 127 minutes, people around me were peaking at their phones.
Paul Goldman (EGO: THE MICHAEL GUDINSKI STORY) created SUBURBAN MAYHEM (2006) an interesting feature. A story full of a unique narrative. Surely he must have seen story flaws in KID? But the art and sound qualities are excellent. KID is worth seeing for those qualities alone! 8GUMS.
Film No. 42 (2024) July 10th. 7:00 PM LUNA CINEMA, Cinema 5, Leederville.
"That's all right for her. She is an up and coming, hardly done anything, actress." (Jane Badler discusses her resistance to completing a scene she will be required to be naked alongside a rookie performer).
WINNER: Best Use Of Bubble Wrap; Promo (Saara Lamberg, just ask her!) Perth Revelation Film Fest 2024.
What is Saara Lamberg going on about here with THE LIES WE TELLOURSELVES (LIES)? It's a good question, and one I put to her at a recent showing. Her answer, "I'm not sure but I'm sure you can draw your own conclusions".
Experimental in nature, the film takes a journey through the mind of Lamberg. There really isn't a lot of structure or sense to her musings, but, letting the whole silliness of her images and eccentric characters roll over you, may make for an amusing, but soon forgotten, 90 minutes. Her tongue in cheek effort to gain funding for the film we are in-fact watching, (from an unlikable executive), is the film's cleverest trope.
So, the very likable Lamberg is right. Take away from LIES what you will. You better do it quickly however, because you'll have forgotten most of it by the time you reach the carpark. 7GUMS.
Film No. 41 (2024) July 5th. 4:45 PM LUNA CINEMA, Cinema 1, Leederville.
"It's best not to think of the girls as wives and mothers. It might be beyond them." (An old "inspector" gives matron a few words of advice about the plight she faces).
WINNER: Narrative Feature (Josephine Stewart - Te Whiu) SXSW FF 2024.
Can a young cast of rookie performers elevate a film to heights where a "must see" tag is attached? Well, WE WERE DANGEROUS is no STAND BY ME, but the three young actors who drive it are magnetic.
RABBIT PROOF FENCE set a standard for making ones blood boil over Australia's repression of indigenous children; DANGEROUS takes us into what we assume is the Kiwi's dark past. A time when religious based education set harsh boundaries for teenage girls, in particular. Young performers Erana James (Nellie), Manaia Hall (Daisy) and Nathalie Hall (Louisa) take on a journey of resilience, friendship and belief.
You've got to love a film that makes its point in just 82 minutes. Josephine Stewart-Te Whiu directs with earnest intention here. It is her second feature and her willingness to tell a story reminding us that women were always shaking the shackles of repression is a worthy pursuit. It's a solid feature full of humour and hope. 8GUMS.
Film No. 40 (2024) July 2nd. 6:30 PM LUNA CINEMA, Cinema 1, Leederville.
"From the beginning? ... Well, there was the golden age of bike-riders. I never felt so out of place in all my life." (Kathy begins her tale. The tale that concretes the foundation for the origins of The Vandals motorcycle riders).
WINNER: Directing (Jeff Nichols) Mill Valley Feature Film Festival. 2024.
Is THE BIKERIDERS (RIDERS) a depiction of how motorcycle gangs, of the despicable kind, came into existence? Considering this story is based on actual cornicles by Danny Lyon, who also co-wrote the screenplay, aspects to Jeff Nichols version can be taken very seriously.
NOTE: The Vandals, this version, do not set out to be despicable.
The fact is, the big studio, star driven shtick, that is RIDERS, does dilute the real story. But the magnetic qualities of Hardy, Comer and Butlergive this film a "don't miss" tag. Comer's Kathy grounds the film as the prime witness to this macho, needing to belong, culture. Was Hardy's Johnny the original pioneer of motorcycle gang "business"? No! Is Butler's Benny a reinvigoration of James Dean (REBEL, GIANT)? Yes - but there was only oneDean!
Nichols created LOVING, and MIDNIGHT SPECIAL. Both these films had big hearts' and were intelligently nuanced. RIDERS, too, creates empathetic feelings towards our chums, however violent they become. Nichols is back making a feature after eight years; that's also a good thing. 10GUMS.
Film No. 39 (2024) June 26th. 11:30 AM LUNA CINEMA, Cinema 5, Leederville.
"I've told you I don't remember." (Salvador tried to deflect Fernando's continual questioning about the accident which killed their father).
NOMINEE: BEST FILM (Mariana & Santiago Arriaga ) Venice Int Film Fest.
If the road trip/teen-age/coming of age genre of cinematic experience rates highly in your preference for story-telling, then would this Mexican "potboiler" be worth a look? Yes; most definitely, YES!
The son and daughter of Guillermo Arriaga (BABEL), Santiago and Mariana, have combined their talents to create a drama of immense substance. We meet brothers Salvador (Theo Goldin) and Fernando (Maximo Hollander) along with their step-sister Paula (Frederica Garcia) in a stress-laden, household. Most of this is a result of the boys unresolved grief and anger over the death of their much loved father. Fernando has a plan to overcome his grief. Retribution.
These three rookie performers resonate brilliantly with audiences. We know there are life lessons to be imprinted upon our heroes and we can't wait to be moved via their plight. 10GUMS.
