No. 92 (2018) Boy Erazed October 24th.

Film No 92 (2018) Oct. 24th.  6:45 PM  LUNA PALACE Leederville . 

"Your parents have signed you up for a program to fix you, but Jared you are a perfectly healthy, normal teenage boy." (The words of Dr Muldoon, Jared's psychologist).

Lucas Hedges adds another feather to his performance cap with a calm, measured performance in Boy Erased as a confused young man (Jared Eamons), the son of a baptist preacher, coming to terms with his sexuality. Conversion therapy still exists in 36 U.S. states and this fact alone, revealed in the closing titles, is the exclamation mark on Jared's story, which is based on the book of the same name. Director and actor Joel Edgerton (Victor Sykes), presents Erased in very earnest terms however the light he shines on tolerance, and the questions asked of outdated aspects of christian beliefs, should be applauded. Crowe, (Marshall Eamons), isn't nearly as convincing as Hedges and Kidman (Nancy Eamons) but his hulking presence has a cumulative effect to his dilemma. Erased is slightly heavy handed but well worthwhile. 8GUMS. 

             

No. 90 (2018) Halloween October 23rd.

Film No 90 (2018) Oct. 23rd.  6:30 PM  READING CINEMAS Belmont. 

"He is a killer, but he will be killed tonight." (Laurie Strode prepares herself for the inevitable confrontation).

The ultimate sequel to the original (1978). Jamie Lee Curtis returns as Lawrie Strode still recovering, in her own way, from her ordeal as a babysitter in the late seventies. Michael Myers has been chained and locked away in a psychiatric prison since the mayhem he caused 40 years earlier. John Carpenter returns in a production role and the sound, (music mainly) which made the original a ground breaker, set the same tension for the 2018 version. Lawrie has lived her life preparing for the day when she knows she'll bury both Meyers and her demons. Her house is a fortress, it's a metaphor for the protective cocoon she has placed around her daughter, Allyson (Andi Matichak) and granddaughter, Karen (Judy Greer). While all around her see Lawrie as a crack-pot, only she knows preparation is everything when it comes to a maniac like Myers. Halloween is "killing" it at The Box Office. 8GUMS.             

No. 89 (2018) Beautiful Boy October 20th.

Film No 89 (2018) Oct. 20th.  11:00 AM  LUNA PALACE Leederville . 

"When I tried it I felt better than I ever had so I just kept on going." (Nic sits on his hospital bed and tries to explain to his Dad how his addiction began).

Beautiful Boy is a two hour trial of your emotions, but it is all for a greater cause. This insight into the effects on a family of the epidemic that is meth addiction will strike a chord, particularly if you are a parent of adolescents or young adults. Journalist David Sheff (Steve Carell) and son Nic (Timothee Chalamet) detailed their heart wrenching journey in two separate books; Beautiful Boy is the melding of their stories into a two hour screen experience. Carell is good but Chalamet is exceptional. The point of BB is to create awareness. An awareness that Meth addiction is an animal with its own beating heart. The change in Nic as we take this journey  is more than that of a young man who needs to change his ways, it parallels Linda Blair's Regan from The Exorcist. Beautiful Boy is frighteningly real and could well be the most important film of 2018. 10GUMS. 

     

No. 88 (2018) In Like Flynn October 16th.

Film No. 88 (2018) October 16th.  10:00 AM EVENT Cinemas Innaloo.                        

"Ripper of a show you put on today. A shame to see you depart so soon." (The mayor of Townsville makes it clear Flynn and his boffins are no longer welcome in his town).

This messy retell of Errol Flynn's back story; the short years before he headed for Hollywood, is boring. The poster pointedly suggests it's a rollicking yarn in the vein of Flynn's swashbuckling adventures. I get what director Mulcahy was aiming for and he possibly achieves it, I just couldn't get enthused. The cheesiest performance of all must go to Australian screen icon David Wenham. Wenham plays the corrupt mayor of Townsville as if he was a dastardly pantomime villain. I cringed often, but as I say, the story reflects the legend that became Flynn, so maybe the characters had to mirror the comic book caper they frolicked through. The fact is, I couldn't stop looking at my watch! 4GUMS.

           

No. 91 (2018) Backtrack Boys October 1st.

Film No 91 (2018) Oct. 1st.  10:00 PM Private Preview Screening @ Home via Vimeo link . 

"They have been pushed aside by society. They have a tattoo on their forehead which says "no fucking good".(Bernie describes to camera the plight of the boys in his program).

A heart-warming documentary for the true believers; believers in the theory that all humans can be caring contributors to the world no matter their circumstance. Enter Bernie Shakeshaft, a great Australian who combined his love of training wild dogs with giving  brash, rough around the edges kids, a chance to love and be loved. Backtrack Boys unfurls a simple therapeutic regime which works. Street wise but vulnerable young adolescents become focused through love and acceptance because they care for their dogs. It's as though the dogs, like a medicinal potion, heal the antagonistic core of these young tearaways. In the end you'll be deeply affected, moved and more tolerant of the plight of others. The film follows a standard formula but the subject matter is anything but mediocre. Shakeshaft is a genius who will be recognized for his contribution; this film is a small step towards the accolades he deserves. 10GUMS.   

       

No. 87 (2018) Bad Times At The El Royale October 1th.

Film No 87 (2018) Oct. 14th.  Noon  PALACE CINEMAS Raine Square,  Perth City . 

"It's a game and it all starts with a simple choice." (Prophetic words indeed from the mouth of cult leader Billy Lee).

If you liked Tarantino's The Hateful Eight; you know, the concept of a series of complicated characters meeting in one place, each revealing their back stories which finally crescendos in a climax of surprising proportions. Given this, El Royale only holds a flickering candle to Django. The opening sequence sets the scene for El Royale. We watch, in a "one take", voyeuristically, as a guy enters a motel room, removes floorboards for the purpose of concealing a satchel, from there we project 10 years on. The satchel under the floor is just one of the story strands as the place where Nevada meets California (quite literally with the red border line cutting through reception) slowly peels back the scab of what lies underneath each deeply complicated character (bar one; and that's part of the mystery). Cynthia Erivo as Darlene has some show stopping moments and not a backing instrument in sight. Be entertained by El Royale. 9GUMS.

                   

No. 86 (2018) My Generation October 11th.

Film No. 86 (2018) October 11th.  6:45 AM  PALACE CINEMAS  Northbridge. 

"All I wanted was to get a true cockney character on the big screen and I got the chance to do it." (Typical of the Michael Caine voiceover forming the historical observational documentary, My Generation).  

Who better to bring us a history lesson (through his artistic eyes) on how the 60's were such a watershed decade in the breaking down of the class stigma in the U.K. than Michael Caine. His insights using friends Paul McCartney, Mick Jagger, Roger Daltry, Twiggy, Mary Quant, Joanna Lumley etc etc is legitimate and encapsulating. His observations make so logical sense and and in such a comic way I would have been pleased to sit for another 20 minutes in the company of his influential mates. The arts were everyone's domain, so when a cockney like Caine and scousers like The Beatles gained followings in their multitudes, the entitled had no alternative but to notice and in many cases look silly as they verbalised their "toffy" views. The story of how Maurice Micklewhite became Michael Caine is a hoot, and a story new to me. A brilliant observational doco is My Generation. 9GUMS.