Film No. 20 (2016) Eye In The Sky March 14th.

Film No. 20 (2016) March 14th.  6.30 PM LUNA WINDSOR Nedlands.

"If they kill 80 people, we win the propaganda war, if we kill one child, they do".(Just some of the diplomatic banter exchanged during the decision making process).

Once upon a time war movies were the staple diet of cinema goers throughout the world. A War Movie had everything; good conquering evil, the seeking of revenge against the odds and romance under difficult circumstances. Eye In The Sky may be the film to rekindle the genre via and age old ingredient; suspense.


Modern warfare is a complex game in 2016. We only have to stream a news station to absorb the latest random mass bombing or shooting to comprehend this fact. Eye in the Sky propels us into a situation which legitimizes aspects of this complex game. What this film does well, even if it's a little far fetched, is bring a human face and the "what if" factor into the narrative. 


Colonel Katherine Powell(Helen Mirren) has tracked a British subject turned terrorist, Aisha al Hady, to a small fortress in Somalia, Africa. The methods of tracking and the devices used in the process range from a drone stationed kilometres above, strategically placed hi definition cameras and electronic flying bugs. They are elaborate and by themselves worth the price of a ticket to this film. Time is ticking and Powell needs to eliminate her target.


Mirren returns to her "hard arse" persona (Jayne Tennison, Prime Suspect) here and is effective. The real intrigue comes in the scenes where diplomacy holds the key. As Powell waits for the decision allowing her to move, circumstances arise that complicate the decision making process. We meet the highest ranking diplomats all weighing up their options depending on their agendas. Eventually a couple of rookie drone pilots (Aaron Paul and Phoebe Fox), sitting in a shack in the Nervada desert, hold a crucial key. In the end there are more questions asked than answered and this added to the thrill.  10GUMS.   








   

Film No. 19 (2016) My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 March 9th.

Film No. 19 (2016) March 9th.  7.00 PM HOYTS Carousel Cannington.

"Don't let your past dictate who you are, but let it be a part of who you will become". (The combined musings of Nia Vardalos and John Corbett prior to the release of M.B.F.G.W.2)

Excuse my ignorance, but I hadn't realized that the original My Big Fat Greek Wedding remains the highest grossing romantic comedy in the U.S. Well there you go. With that, I would be surprised if this sequel overtakes that standard. M.B.F.G.W. 2 tries to be everything the first is but unfortunately it falls short. 


If you loved the original and you're not expecting much more than catching up with friends you haven't seen for 14 years then M.B.F.G.W.2 is a must see. All your old friends are still on screen but be warned, most of them come fresh from surgery; but who hasn't been nipped and tucked these days?


The story-line, 14 years on, brings together three generations of Nia's family. Her father and mother are unmarried due to a convenient twist, she and husband Ian are in a marriage without sparks and daughter Paris (Elena Kampouris) is being hassled about "keeping it Greek" when it comes to boys (the same way Nia was in M.B.F.G.W.1). And so the lovable, adorable characters jostle with each others emotions in the nicest possible way for the nicest possible outcome. A marzipan sandwich is only slightly sweeter! 


But hey, No.2 will have a following. Rita Wilson and Tom Hanks are still involved (producers) and hopefully there will be upside for the Greek economy. It's a film with its heart in the right place. 6GUMS.


   















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Film No. 18 (2016) The End of the Tour February 28th.

Film No. 18 (2016) February 28th.  8.00 PM THE PINES Outdoor Cinema Joondalup.

"The more people think you're really great, the bigger the fear of being a fraud is". (Wallace's parting words to Lipsky after their 5 day tour).

A film based on events depicting a celebrated writer, David Foster-Wallace (Jason Segal), being profiled by Rolling Stone journo David Kipsky (Jesse Eisenberg) may not have people stampeding to cinemas but there is something profound about this simple tale capturing one man's (Wallace) complicated emotional state of mind.


The naturalistic style of Tour, takes us on a documentary like journey to the heart of a unique relationship which smoulders then ignites as Lipsky fans the embers during a 5 day road trip through the ice-cold landscape of mid western USA.  


If you know of Lipsky's writings about this adventure, or have read Infinite Jest, the book by Wallace which sparked this tour or if you are simply a fan of either, you are bound to love The End of the Tour. I knew little to nothing of either and I enjoyed this film immensely. 10GUMS. 

Film No. 17 (2016) The Daughter February 27th.

Film No. 17 (2016) February 27th.  10.45 AM LUNA Leederville. 

"Well it's not the life I expected at 19, I guess I'm lucky" (Christian (Paul Schneider) comments on his past and present predicaments).

At last comes another classy, moody Australian drama in the realms of Lantana. Like Lantana, as with so many great narrative dramas, The Daughter has been adapted to screen from the stage. Henrik Ibsen wrote The Wild Duck in 1884 and Simon Stone adapted Ibsen's masterpiece to the stage. The adaptation ran to rave reviews in Sydney throughout 2015 and now The Daughter comes to our screen. And let me tell you, it is an outstanding contribution to world cinema; I'm chuffed that it happens also to be Australian.


The Daughter, like Lantana, tells the story of people intertwined via relationships and circumstance all living everyday existences albeit, in this case, that the lifeline of the community is about to be removed with the logging mill giving notice it is to close. 


Henry (Geoffrey Rush) is the mill owner. He is on the eve of marrying Anna (Anna Torv)a much younger woman. His son Christian (Paul Schneider)  returns from the US to play best man. Oliver (Ewen Leslie) is married to Charlotte (Miranda Otto) and their daughter Hedvig (Odessa Young) they along with Oliver's dad Walter (Sam Neill) live on the outskirts of town and have historical links with Henry, Christian and Henry's late wife. The impending marriage sparks an unearthing of secrets; secrets which test the character of all the players.


Enough said. I'm not aware of the content of Ibsen's play. I imagine it follows themes related to the human conditions of regretful behaviour leading to betrayal and finally the hope that the repercussions have minimal effects. Yes there is a duck in The Daughter but it's role is minor except for a scene late in the film which gives us an intimation of what is to come. The Daughter is a handsome brooding film, which has some legitimacy issues but what film doesn't? When they are that good, one often starts looking for holes.  10GUMS











  

Film No. 16 (2016) The Big Short. February 25th.

Film No. 16 (2016) February 25th.  6.30 PM GREATER UNION Innaloo.

 

"Banks have conditioned us to trust them. What have we got from that? 25% interest rates on credit cards. They have screwed us on student loans we can never get out from under". Mark Baum (Steve Carell) outlines the state of play with regard to the U.S. financial landscape).

Everyone in the world was affected in some way or another by the  Global Financial Crisis stemming from the fraudulent banking methods which took place in the U.S. leading up to the "bubble bursting" in mid 2007. The Big Short sets out, in the simplest terms it can muster, to try to explain why and how this happened. I'm a little the wiser but I'm still mulling over the facts portrayed in varying terms on screen.

 

The poster for The Big Short and the preamble prior to the film's release gave me a false sense of how it may play out. I was looking to see 4 big stars (Bale, Carell, Gosling and Pitt)combining to  bring the banks of the day down because they could see a housing bubble occurring based on a banking system lending money to people who in some cases didn't even have an income. In some ways this is what I got but the intertwining method director Andrew McKay (Anchorman) used to filter the information through each of the characters made for a more exciting experience.

 

The fact is, The Big Short is based on real life characters who did  make big money from their knowledge. How do they make big money from a crisis of epidemic proportions? Well that is all in the title. Short selling is a method of making money in a falling market. For the method to be successful, the players need to have good research and possess great courage. The film does a great job of building tension via all of the players and their varying temperaments. Christian Bale's Michael Burry is brilliant as the autistic genius who takes his financial employer to the brink. Burry lights the fuse from which the rest of the script sizzles.

 

The Big Short is chock full of facts about a time we are still paying for. If some of those facts are still unknown to you then The Big Short may help you to better understand a system so corrupt and ultimately unjust it will make your blood boil. Carell's Mark Baum keeps us morally grounded throughout. The Big Short is an important story well told; it has a couple of Oscar nominations but maybe that is where it will come up short. Bale may surprise however. 9GUMS.