No. 66 (2023) THEATRE CAMP August 28th.

 

Film No. 66  (2023)  August 26th.  6:30 PM  LUNA LEEDERVILLE,  Cine 5, Leederville.

 

"You guys are so talented, so unbelievable this will break you. This will fully destroy you." (Rebecca-Diane preps her new students prior to auditions for the end of camp Production!).

WINNER: (Nick Lieberman) U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Prize; Ensemble. Sundance Film Festival.

If you are feeling a little low, and movies are a proven method for improving your emotions,  THEATER CAMP will tickle your funny bone from the opening scenes. That's a testament for any film blatantly promoting itself as a laugh out loud comedy. Audiences may be cynical about such claims but, THEATER CAMP does live up to its claim, even if it's a little "uneven".

Christopher Guest mastered the art of the Mockumentary. He is the father of this feature comedy genre. THIS IS SPINAL TAP is spoken of in legendary terms, so much so, critics talk of attending the preview screenings and being convinced they were watching a documentary for at least the first 10 minutes. THEATER CAMP is more aligned with BEST IN SHOW when it comes to Guest comparisons.

Molly Gordon (THE BEAR) and Ben Platt take the lead here as Rebecca-Diane and Amos a duo of dedicated, young, wanna-be performers who cling onto a drama camp they attended as youngsters and can't cleanse their attachment to it from their psyche. They direct the final night production which punctuates all that has gone before. THEATER CAMP documents all that goes before, so the performance ties up the "unfinished business" in a clunky but fun-filled manner.

The list of challenges these likeable show-offs have to overcome in the lead up to the finale include the untimely illness (opening scene) of camp founder Joan (Amy Sedaris), the incompetence with which Joan's son, Troy (Jimmy Tatro) fills her shoes, the pressure of a take-over bid from a nearby drama academy and finally an emotional split between the co-directors. But you guessed it, as disjointed as it is at times, THEATER CAMP ends happily. It's a fun watch.  9GUMS.

        

    

No. 65 (2023) BIOSPHERE August 26th.

 

Film No. 65  (2023)  August 26th.  11:00 AM  LUNA LEEDERVILLE,  Cine 1, Leederville.

 

"We know that there are things that happen that we cannot explain." (Profound words indeed from the voice over introducing, BIOSPHERE).

I do look forward to each new project involving The Duplass Brothers Production house (YOUR SISTER'S SISTER, SAFETY NOT GUARANTEED). They are all about introducing new cinematic concepts to storytelling. BIOSPHERE does not fail in this area, but this time, Mark (co-writer)  in particular, brings more serious themes to the Duplass "wheelhouse". I'm not sure they hit the right notes for me here. But I am still thinking about it.

Let me say, this is not a negative review of BIOSPHERE. I'm glad I saw it but I'm suffering a classic case of being "over trailered". I must have seen the shorts ten times. I'd built up my hopes for a light, entertaining 85 minutes of a dystopian world where a couple of buddies involve themselves in pastimes, maintaining their survival, while figuring out what's next in a world where they are the only ones left. That's all down to me and preconceived notions, I know. BIOSPHERE is some of that, but a whole lot more. The underlying theme of procreation and sustaining a future for mankind is less slapstick and more of a concept to be taken very seriously.

 

Billy (Mark Duplass) and Ray (Sterling K Brown) are indeed close buddies but their reason for being the only souls surviving and left with life's ultimate responsibilities are scripted tightly and revealed in the first 15 minutes. The democratic mind of Duplass and his writers leaves its mark when one thinks about U.S. presidents in recent times. So what comes next, and is never alluded to in a trailer, is unexpected, thought provoking and partially entertaining. The biosphere our "buddies" occupy forms the set for 105 mins. Here is another cinematic, theatre piece, a two hander that needs a meaty script, a pair of strong performances and a thought provoking ending. 

BIOSPHERE has all of this. I just couldn't quite get on it's page. But a Duplass brothers devotee won't be missing this.  8GUMS. 

No. 64 (2023) BLACKBERRY August 20th.

 

Film No. 64  (2023)  August 20th.  3:45 PM  LUNA LEEDERVILLE,  Cine 4, Leederville.

 

"There is a free wireless internet signal, all across North America, and no one has figured out how to use it. It's like, 'The Force'. Sorry, have you seen Star Wars?" (Doug tries to explain to Jim the unlimited potential of his and Mike's invention).

NOMINEE: (Matt Johnson) Best Film, Sloan Science on Screen Award. WINNER: (Glenn Howerton) Best Actor The Hollywood Assoc. Midseason Awards.

AIR was a wonderfully entertaining film about the rise and rise of a sports shoe, via the ingenuity and marketing of an executive with an outlandish vision. Well, BLACKBERRY is also a highly entertaining feature about ingenuity and marketing, but this time the vehicle is the world's first smartphone. BLACKBERRY is the story of the rise and FALL (meteoric fall) type. It doesn't try to be as slick as AIR, but it is equally compelling.

BLACKBERRY is a Canadian story, so it's pleasing the film uses actual Ontario precincts (Waterloo University, Toronto, Hamilton) and includes lesser known provincial actors, who give brilliant performances. Be warned, it is a male driven vehicle. There are few female participants. But the phenomenon that was, The Blackberry, did revolve essentially around inventors Mike Lazaridis and Doug Fregin and marketer Jim Balsillie. The story is very much a male tale, played out in testosterone fuelled work-labs and boardrooms.  

Interestingly director and co-writer Matt Johnson plays Doug Fregin with the caveat that the real Fregin declined to play any role in the film's development. Johnson openly states that BLACKBERRY is a work of fiction. But there is no question, it's an under-dog story with an ability to rivet an audience to the screen. The fact that the rise and fall of a gadget, so ground-breaking, occurred in the blink of an eye (and just before the rise of a generation very reliant on IPhones and Androids) makes the story an entertaining historical document. 

The hand-held nature of the shoot may deter the odd, more traditional, cinephile, but it adds to its documentary style. Blackberry is a low budget film, but so were, IN THE THICK OF IT and 127 HOURS each telling stories  motivated by actual events. For those who have never heard of a Blackberry and are addicted to their smartphone, here the inventors realised that a palm held devise had the capability to use a new, free service: the internet. The Blackberry created that magic we now base our day to day life around. Fascinating, don't you think?  10GUMS.

          

 

 

No. 63 (2023) RYE LANE August 10th.

 

Film No. 63  (2023)  August 10th.  7:30 PM  Disney Plus,  Front Room, Mt Hawthorn.

 

"Are you just going to sit there and let her say that to me?" (Dom's ex challenges her new man to stick up for her, even though Yas has complimented him on his arms!).

NOMINEE: (Raine Allen-Miller) Best Feature Film. International Narrative Competition.

"Not another romcom, promising something different from all that has come before!" Well, yes RYE LANE is  a romantic comedy, and yes it does offer something more than most that have preceded it.  In fact RYE LANE is a refreshingly, entertaining and exhilarating feel good film about young love. It's a beauty is, RYE LANE.

Yas (Vivian Oparah) and Dom (David Jonsson) are likable twenty somethings who have recently exited from reasonably toxic relationships under very different circumstances. So, in the sliding doors moment where they make connection for the first time, in a unisex  toilet with Dom in a cubicle and Yas at the basins, the set up is unique both visually and comically, we feel the remaining 80 minutes should be fun. It definitely is!

Director Raine Allen-Miller, in her first feature, and comedy writers Nathan Byron (BAD EDUCATION) and Tom Melia (BLOODS) have combined to create RYE LANE and make it more than a dialogue driven relationship film. I'm loathe to use Wes Anderson as a marker for this visual delight, but there you go. I have. Every scene here has a colour pallet and background activity that is absolutely the equal of Anderson's, ASTROID CITY. RYE LANE screams out for a second viewing. It wasn't till half way through I began to pick up on background set ups. Then there is the impromptu BBQ karaoke, the Colin Firth cameo and bums in background windows. Every one a delight.

But maybe the star is the precinct of Peckham and Brixton, South London. Allen-Miller has raised these, sometimes maligned, communities on her shoulders and highlighted the  uniqueness of the spaces as vibrant, welcoming communities. Forty years ago these centres were the venues of vicious, racial hate riots. A new generation has had a say in what positive community relations can look like. Here Allen-Miller plays a leading role in that continued repatriation.

I would love to have seen RYE LANE on the big screen. It is a Disney Plus backed project so you will need a subscription. My recommendation is, take out a Free Weeks' sub just so you can catch RYE LANE.  11GUMS. 

   

  

No. 62 (2023) PAST LIVES August 12th.

 

Film No. 62  (2023)  August 12th.  11:00 AM  LUNA LEEDERVILLE,  Cine 1, Leederville.

 

"There is a word in Korean. In-Yun. It means providence or fate." (Nora explains to Arthur a saying Korean's use as a technique to seduce someone).

WINNER: (Celine Song) Best Indie Film. WINNER: (Greta Lee) Best Actress The Hollywood Assoc. Midseason Awards.

After my 100 minutes with PAST LIVES, I'm struck by a thought; is there a country producing films of such quality, per capita, as South Korea is currently doing? In PAST LIVES, Celine Song has created another gem to fall in line with recent S.K. contributions of the likes of, HUNT, THE BROKER and DECISION TO LEAVE.  

From the opening scene where the three key characters are introduced to us with such irreverence, we know there is going to be something special about what we learn via Nora (Greta Lee), Jung (Teo Yoo) and Arthur (John Magaro). This very clever prologue adds spice to this simple story. The scene give us a clue as to where we are headed, but we are left with no idea of the significance or the depth and breadth of emotion that will carry us there.

 
So, post prologue, Song presents a film in 3 Acts. Nora and Jung are teenage classmates in school in Seoul in the late 90's. It's a sweet relationship which ends suddenly. Nora's family decides to leave for Canada. They part with Jung seemingly sadder than Nora (her newly adopted western name). 12 years on Jung finds Nora via facebook. They connect again, digitally. It's here that as adults they need to resolve the emotional distance between them that has arisen since their sudden parting as teens. Song handles the next 50 minutes with perfect care and timing. I'll not reveal any more.  

Some films finish and you are left wondering why they pushed so many emotional buttons with such quiet precision. PAST LIVES left me in a quiet, melancholy state as the titles rolled. And it wasn't that I was wondering what might come of  Nora and Jung, it was more to do with thoughts relating to similar bonds struck through chapters in ones own life. Sliding door moments where  some of the Korean philosophies just seen on screen ring true! Really good films can do that, don't you think?   11GUMS.

  

No. 61 (2023) COPENHAGEN DOES NOT EXIST; Palace Aust. Scandinavian Film Festival August 9th.

 

Film No. 61  (2023)  August 9th.  11:00 AM  LUNA LEEDERVILLE,  Cine 3, Leederville.

 

"Was it your idea? To just disappear!" (Porath, Ida's father, continues his interrogation of Sander. He seeks to find out the whereabouts of his daughter).

WINNER: (Jacob Moller) Best Cinematography; Sven Nykvist Cinematography Award. NOMINEE: (Martin Skovbjerg) Best Nordic Film; Dragon Awards.

This heart breaking love story has affected me well beyond the brilliant final shot. Martin Skovbjerg, in directing only his second feature, has created an atmosphere so complicatedly heartfelt, we know there can only be one outcome. He rivets us to his story, then poses questions about mental illness, family and loneliness as we sit there, emotionally drained. I was so reminded of the brilliant SOMERSAULT 2004, a small Australian film by Cate Shortland that broke my heart 20 years ago.

Ida (Angela Bundalovic) and Sander (Jonas Holst Schmidt) are loners in life, but each are trapped as islands for different reasons. Ida has a wealthy family looking out for her, Sander, next to no emotional connections. Ida has ambition and is highly intelligent but her eating disorder is having both physical and mental repercussion's. Sander is an unambitious, likeable slacker, rudderless on his course in life. So when they meet, like ships in the night, the ensuing devotion to one another is all consuming. The prospect of long term compatibility themes are never confronted. The story of their meeting then the relationship is all told in flashback, mainly through the words and imagination of Sander. 

Why flashback, I hear you ask? Well the initial scenes establish the fact Ida has gone missing. Porath, her father and Viktor her brother want answers and Sander is their only hope. Porath's wealth allows for an apartment space in the city to become a holding house for Sander. These scenes are never threatening despite these descriptions, but Sander is going nowhere.  Through Porath and Viktor's interviews, discussions, we learn about the relationship between Ida and Sander, our modern day Romeo and Juliette.

So as this puzzle called KOBENHAVN FINDES IKKE unfolds, sometimes as a low key thriller, puzzle pieces are placed on screen, scene by scene which answer so many questions first set up by the opening stanza. We are taken on a random tour of a vacant, high ceilinged apartment. Bare and soulless. And then comes a rich love story so brilliantly crafted I'm not sure warnings about some of the themes shouldn't precede the opening titles! This is innovative, cinematic story-telling.  11GUMS.

   

   

No. 60 (2023) SANCUARY August 7th.

 

Film No. 60  (2023)  August 7th.  6:30 PM  LUNA LEEDERVILLE,  Cine 5, Leederville.

 

"This is quite a big deal. This is not a good idea to keep doing this!" (Hal breaks the news to Rebecca that he plans to cease their arrangement).

NOMINEE: (Zachary Wigon) Knight Marimbas Award,  Miami Film Festival.

"Be careful what you wish for" was the saying that kept coming to mind as I immersed myself in the very intriguing play for the screen, SANCTUARY.

Let me explain. I say play for the screen because we spend 95 minutes with Hal (Christopher Abbott) and Rececca (Margaret Qualley) in an upmarket hotel room. It's played in 3 acts and very dialogue driven, incorporating a good deal of physical theatre. This does not distract from the film. I think it would be equally effective in either medium. The key to SANCTUARY is the lead performances and director Wigon (THE HEART MACHINE 2015) in only his second feature nailed his choices. Qualley (particularly Qualley) and Abbott are brilliant in this steamy set piece.

Put simply, Hal is a lonely, immature rich boy (family money) who can buy what he likes. In this case its the services of Rebecca. He requires her to dominate him, on appointment, via a series of set scenarios. We meet them months, maybe years into their arrangement. Some appointments are scripted. It may take the form  of a job interview or a lovers argument but there are always mind games and their meetings are beginning to infect their minds. Most red-herrings come in the form of Rebecca's lies, thus neither we,  nor Hal, are sure about all that is unfolding. Come act 2, Hal, through circumstance, has news re the future of their arrangement. It's here that the drama changes gear! 

SANCTUARY, if enjoyed on the first viewing has the potential to be liked even more on the second. I'm still coming to conclusions about some of the sliding door moments that governed the ending. I think I can solve those queries with another viewing. I'm looking forward to Zachary Wigon's next effort. He creates a spell binding atmosphere here!   10GUMS.