Category: Articles

Bits and Pieces: Writing is hard
Writing is hard.

Putting words down on paper or a screen is easy. If that’s all writing was, then the Man Booker Prize would go to some lorem ipsum every year. Putting them together in a way that’s both skilled and engaging is hard. Some of us never feel as though we’ve managed to get it right. Hitting ‘Publish’ on this post will probably be a matter of being ‘done’ rather than ‘finishing’ the musings here.

From the ShoeBoxBlog.com

Writing takes time. Carving out that time to write is probably one of the biggest challenges one faces between being a dedicated amateur and a pro. We all work for a living in one way or another. Then there’s all the wonderful media out there in the world. Work, bills, TV, eat, read a book, sleep, repeat. Before you know it, it’s Christmas and you start wondering what you’ve done with your year. As John Lennon once said “Life is what happens while you’re busy making other plans.”

(Of course, because I’m distracted enough to go down the clickhole of the Internet, I also know that phrase first appeared in a 1957 Readers Digest article attributed to Allen Saunders. Fun fact: Allen Saunders created the influential Mary Worth comic strip. See how easy it is to get distracted?)

So while it’s rapidly veering in that direction, this is not a woe is me piece. Instead, this is a remind to myself as much as it is to readers that writing, if it’s something you love to do, can’t be taken away from you even if life has a habit of getting in the way.

I recently got into a conversation on Twitter about trying to keep oneself motivated against a tide of self-doubt. Is my writing any good if it doesn’t get web hits or social likes? Maybe or maybe not. Yet it also got me thinking about a book I’d read recently: Mark Manson’s The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck.

After sitting on my shelf for a year (see: distractions), I finally gave it a read one Saturday. It’s sometimes repetitive and simplistic, but there was one really strong point I kept coming back to:

Our values determine the metrics by which we measure ourselves and everyone else…If you want to change how you see your problems, you have to change what you value and/or how you measure failure/success. – Mark Mason

In my example above, the conversation was about measuring ourselves against hits, clicks and likes. If that’s your goal, there’s strategies to go about improving all of those things. Yet the deeper question was about that deep-seated self-doubt of “Am I any good?” The trick I’ve tried is to try and either dull that voice or use it improve. What you mean by improvement, or how you even define “good,” is up to you. Pursuing likes and writing are separate things, but one can often be a means to an end. Just choose the one that’s important and realistic to you for the right reasons.

So where is this all going? I’ve recently had to reassess what my own metrics and goals are. Last year, I published my first book. It was never destined to be a bestseller, but I’m proud as punch that it’s out there. People have found it, it’s got almost universally positive reviews so far, and I’m working on something else with that publisher. Is it perfect? Of course not. I find something I’d change every time I pick it up. Nevertheless: it’s done. By the metric of ‘write a book about Green Arrow and publish it,’ I’ve met my scorecard measure.

Lately I’ve been finding it hard to write. Not just books but reviews and articles too. My output for The Reel Bits and Newsarama has started to look a little anaemic in comparison to previous years. I’m consuming lots of media: hundreds of films, scores of TV shows, over a 100 books so far this year. I’ve got at least half a dozen projects on the boil, but starting them/finishing them is a challenge. I’ve doubted the quality of everything and have been pretty hard on myself. Should I just give up this malarky and focus on earning money? (It turns out buying an apartment and moving twice saps a lot of your mental and creative energy!)

Then my partner found this video and sent it to me. (It’s 10 minutes but I encourage you to watch it all. Totally worth it).

Wow. Terrific, isn’t it? I’d never heard the work/life/career/vocation balance summed up better. Elizabeth Gilbert is absolutely right:

“I had a commitment to my vocation that said I will do this for as long as I breathe regardless of whether anything ever comes of it.” – Elizabeth Gilbert

I am lucky enough to have a day job that pays the mortgage bills, keeps me in LEGO and beer, and I don’t have to take home with me at the end of the day. So I have the mental space and the time to write.

So here’s my challenge to myself and to any other frustrated writers out there: let’s just keep writing. This ‘Bits and Pieces’ column is something that I’m going to keep doing as often as I feel it just to keep myself in the habit. I have a number of other things on the boil that future columns will reflect on as well:
- I’m editing a volume of essays on one of my favourite film series of all time. I’m also contributing a couple of pieces to it. The chance to collaborate with some terrific writers who share a common passion is so invigorating. Can’t wait to share this one.
- I’ve put my hand up to contribute to another book about a Popular Comic Book Character.
- My next solo book will be about the relationship between the reader and comics, multiverses, fan entitlement and the death of comics. You know, something small in scope.
November is #NaNoWriMo (or National Novel Writing Month), a challenge to write a novel in a month. You may not want to be as strict as that, but you can set yourself some goals too. My goal is to get the first chapter of my new book done and drafted by the start of December. Sounds like a reasonable metric, doesn’t it?
November 12, 2018
Best films of 2017

What a strange year. If the year had a theme, from global politics to the far more grounded world of cinema, then it was to expect the unexpected.

Looking back at my most anticipated list of 2017, it’s fair to say I may have hyped myself into a corner. Indeed, only 3 of those films appear here. As a geek, I’ve spent so much time pouring over the merest whiff of a hint on blockbusters like Blade Runner 2049, Alien: Covenant, Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, and of course, Star Wars: The Last Jedi. It was to be a golden age for fantasy and sci-fi! Hell, a friend and I took on the added challenge of reading 20-odd Stephen King books to fully appreciate the ultimately misguided adaptation of The Dark Tower.

Now you know this meme is dead.

So with a few notable exceptions, it’s unsurprising that the indie darlings, the locals, and Asia cinema dominate my favourite films of 2017. I say “favourites” rather than “best” because the former is at least honest in its subjectivity, and that’s all this game is really about. After all, film critics have taken a beating this year (oh poor us, I hear you cry), from Martin Scorsese’s spleen-venting about Rotten Tomatoes to the outcry over Lady Bird‘s RT score slipping from a perfect 100% due to critic Cole Smithey’s contrary stance. There is one “best” in the title, but you can’t blame me for an equally honest attempt at clickbait can you?

Speaking of Lady Bird, you’ll notice that it is absent from this list. Australia’s annual tradition of holding back awards favourites until the following January/February means I was unable to see it, or P.T. Anderson’s Phantom Thread, by the time I hit “publish” on this article. So while they may be lost to listicles of time, and therefore invisible to the world, they will be covered in the new year and assessed on their own merits. Or, you know, whatever the critical mafia tells me to write.

The favourites

From the art deco trappings of the Randwick Ritz to the modern multiplexes that dot the major cities, the 300+ films I’ve seen this year have taken me all over the country. The rain-soaked Sydney Film Festival will always be nearest and dearest to my heart, but it wouldn’t be a full year without a visit to MIFF, SUFF, KOFFIA, JFF, and my first trip to the amazing Adelaide Film Festival. Each has its own distinct flavour, even if the Venn diagrams overlap occasionally.

So how does a film stand out from the crowd? Two words: be original. A GHOST STORY certainly fits the bill. David Lowery’s haunting meditation on grief, life, and the relativity of time was made on a microbudget, its structure deftly recreating the relativity of time for audiences. (Read: Full Review) Similarly, Darren Aronofsky’s divisive MOTHER! is a modern allegory earns every inch of its titular exclamation mark. Here we watch creators delivering their souls to hungry masses, only to watch them destroy it and devour it (Read: Full Review).

What shouldn’t be divisive is the quality of the performances in THE FLORIDA PROJECT, a lyrical, intense, superbly shot and impeccably cast study of life on the fringes that mesmerises while taking you through the entire emotional spectrum. Willem Dafoe’s award-worthy performance is perhaps only eclipsed by newcomer Brooklynn Prince, a true force of nature. (Read: Full Review). That said, the ensemble cast of THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI are impeccable, as Frances McDormand leads an all-star cast in one of the most honest, heartbreaking, and surprisingly funny films of the year.

Australia’s own SWEET COUNTRY won big at Toronto and Venice, and the film arrived with a similar impact in Australia during the Adelaide Film Festival in October. A phenomenal western drama mixed with a legal procedural that searches through Australia’s past to find which one of the many shades of justice will lead us to reconciliation in the future. (Read: Full Review)

It’s not all microbudgets and character pieces. Taika Waititi’s approach to comic book adaptation THOR: RAGNAROK is one of pure absurdist fun that’s also reverential to the source material. The phenomenally good LOGAN transcends convention with its dark outlook and relentlessly violent narrative, it’s both an inevitable conclusion and a complete departure from the series to date.

Speaking of adaptations, Sofia Coppola’s version of THE BEGUILED melts away the facade of southern hospitality in a powder keg of understated horror that continues mounting until the very end. Yet it’s WONDERSTRUCK that is a masterclass in visual storytelling, a love letter to cinema, with other hyperbolic catchphrases equally apply to this stunning adaptation of Brian Selznick’s illustrated novel. Guillermo del Toro’s THE SHAPE OF WATER is equally indebted to cinematic history, blending spectacular visuals and captivating performances for one of del Toro’s most mature and accomplished films to date.

The animated

I’ve always loved animated films. When we think about our earliest film memories, it’s always the classic Disney films that pepper the highlights. So it’s no shock that COCO makes the list for my favourite animated film of 2017. Combining gorgeous animation with lively storytelling and lush settings, this animated feature is not just one of the best of 2017, but one of Disney•Pixar’s best in years.

Japan’s IN THIS CORNER OF THE WORLD is a war film where the conflict is kept in the background, allowing a moving microscopic view of how it impacts people on the fringes. The lead character’s artistic eye that uses gives an impressionistic view of events leading up to the Hiroshima bombing. As bombs go off in the sky, for example, Suzu sees them as angry paint splashes that segue into Van Gogh’s abstractions of Starry Night.

Speaking of Van Gogh, LOVING VINCENT has a slightly odd approach in its murder mystery narrative, but it is also one of the most ambitious pieces of animation of the year. The fully-painted animation gimmick is something that’s an initial shock to the system, but soon becomes an essential part of the storytelling.

Japan’s A SILENT VOICE may not have had the big profile of Your Name, but nevertheless remained a beautiful and impressionistic tale of second chances and inner turmoil that reflects on teenage interactions, bullying and the notion of self-worth.

Australia

Apart from SWEET COUNTRY, which rightfully deserves its place on every critical list this year, 2017 has been amazing for Australian cinema. It started out well with JASPER JONES, Rachel Perkins’ youth-centric film combining Harper Lee and Mark Twain in Western Australia, tackling race and prejudice full-on.

Proving that genre is king in Australian cinema, CARGO is a zombie film with a difference. Martin Freeman stars in a film that weaves traditional Aboriginal narratives into an unforgiving landscape for an experience that’s truly unique. Meanwhile, KILLING GROUND is an atmospheric bubble of slow-building tension, completely playing into tropes while quietly subverting them. Surprising the hell out of us was MY PET DINOSAUR, family film that makes terrific use of effects to turn the Blue Mountains in small town America in a joyous throwback to a Spielbergian adventure story. The TV spin-off DANCE ACADEMY is joyful reunion with an optimistic mix of dream pursuit and (naturally) some awesome dancing.

On the other end of the spectrum, Aussie comedy is often accused of being too broad and lowbrow. So 2017 proved that there are at least two other options. ALI’S WEDDING is original, hilarious and flat-out charming, taking on the conventions of the genre and uses them to hold up a mirror to a nation. Indie comedy THAT’S NOT ME is a heartfelt and quirky Aussie comedy about finding your place in the world, with some great inside industry references for film fans and aspiring stars alike. I’ve also loved chatting with the filmmakers throughout the year.

Rounding out the year for Australian film was an excellent slate of documentaries as well, including Warwick Thornton’s topical WE DON’T NEED A MAP, the powerful IN MY OWN WORDS, the essential art history of WHITELEY, and the THE GO-BETWEENS: RIGHT HERE made us get all of our Go-Betweens records out again.

Focus on Asia

Apart from Australia, my other main focus at The Reel Bits has long been on Asian cinema. Indeed, almost 50 of the films I saw this year fall into this box. It’s been amazing seeing so many Asian films released to Australian cinemas this year, so many that we can barely keep up with them all. Hong Sang-soo’s ON THE BEACH AT NIGHT ALONE is one of three releases from the director this year, delivering something that is part apology and part confessional in a glorious showcase for actress Kim Min-hee, once again turning the lens back on his private life for one of his most raw films to date. (See also: THE DAY AFTER)

A TAXI DRIVER was one of the most surprising releases of the year, shedding new light on the 1980 Gwangju Democratic Movement gets a sharp new focus in this raw slice of history that Jang Hoon brings to life in a way that alternates between charming and gritty. Japan’s Academy Award entry HER LOVE BOILS BATHWATER went straight for the tear-ducts.

The rest

There’s a couple here that I adored watching, and while they weren’t perfect, they’ll still be on high rotation on my Netflix or Blu-ray drawer for many years to come. Stephen King’s IT was a faithful and stylish adaptation, and it didn’t even have to include an underage orgy. Christopher Nolan’s remarkable DUNKIRK was an impressionistic blend of sound and fury that put us right in the action. Taylor Sheridan confirmed his talents as a writer and director with WIND RIVER, another atmospheric thriller that focuses on people on the fringes. On the flip side, BRIGSBY BEAR is a charming and disarmingly funny film. It’s about a person who is obsessed with a TV show made for an audience of one, but the film has universal appeal.

December 22, 2017
Online Film Critics Society 2017 Award Nominees
The Online Film Critics Society (OFCS) has released their nominees for the best films of 2017. Guillermo del Toro’s THE SHAPE OF WATER leads the pack with nominations in 8 categories, followed by favourites CALL ME BY YOUR NAME (6 Nominations) and GET OUT (6 nominations).

The full list of nominees for Best Picture are A Ghost Story, The Shape Of Water, Call Me By Your Name, Dunkirk, Get Out, Lady Bird, mother!, Phantom Thread, The Florida Project and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.

OFCS is a unique global organisation of critics distinguished by their online presence, truly global reach, and diversity of voices. A full list of nominees can be found below.

Nominees for the OFCS Award for Best Picture
- A Ghost Story
- Call Me By Your Name
- Dunkirk
- Get Out
- Lady Bird
- mother!
- Phantom Thread
- The Florida Project
- The Shape Of Water
- Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Nominees for the OFCS Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture
- Daniel Kaluuya, “Get Out”
- Gary Oldman, “The Darkest Hour”
- James Franco, “The Disaster Artist”
- Robert Pattinson, “Good Time”
- Timothée Chalamet, “Call Me By Your Name”
Nominees for the OFCS Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture
- Cynthia Nixon, “A Quiet Passion”
- Frances McDormand, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”
- Margot Robbie, “I, Tonya
- Sally Hawkins, “The Shape Of Water”
- Saoirse Ronan, “Lady Bird”
Nominees for the OFCS Award for Best Director of a Motion Picture
- Christopher Nolan, “Dunkirk”
- Greta Gerwig, “Lady Bird”
- Guillermo del Toro, “The Shape of Water”
- Jordan Peele, “Get Out”
- Paul Thomas Anderson, “Phantom Thread”
Nominees for the OFCS Award for Best Original Screenplay
- Greta Gerwig, “Lady Bird”
- Guillermo del Toro, Vanessa Taylor, “The Shape of Water”
- Jordan Peele, “Get Out”
- Martin McDonagh, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”
- Paul Thomas Anderson, “Phantom Thread”
Nominees for the OFCS Award for Best Adapted Screenplay
- Aaron Sorkin, “Molly’s Game”
- James Gray, “The Lost City of Z”
- James Ivory, “Call Me By Your Name”
- Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber, “The Disaster Artist”
- Sofia Coppola, “The Beguiled”
Nominees for the OFCS Award for Best Documentary
- Dawson City: Frozen Time
- Ex Libris: The New York Public Library
- Faces Places
- Jane
- The Work
Nominees for the OFCS Award for Best Foreign Language Film
- BPM (Beats Per Minute)
- Nocturama
- Raw
- Thelma
- The Square
Nominees for the OFCS Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture
- Armie Hammer, “Call Me By Your Name”
- Michael Stuhlbarg, “Call Me By Your Name”
- Patrick Stewart, “Logan”
- Richard Jenkins, “The Shape Of Water”
- Sam Rockwell, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”
Nominees for the OFCS Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture
- Allison Janney, “I, Tonya”
- Holly Hunter, “The Big Sick”
- Laurie Metcalf, “Lady Bird”
- Mary J. Blige, “Mudbound”
- Tiffany Haddish, “Girls Trip”
Nominees for the OFCS Award for Best Animated Feature
- Coco
- In This Corner Of The World
- Lego Batman Movie
- Loving Vincent
- The Breadwinner
Nominees for the OFCS Award for Best Editing in a Motion Picture
- Ben Safdie and Ronald Bronstein, “Good Time”
- Lee Smith, “Dunkirk”
- Paul Machliss, “Baby Driver”
- Sidney Wolinsky, “The Shape Of Water”
- Tatiana S. Riegel, “I, Tonya”
Nominees for the OFCS Award for Best Cinematography in a Motion Picture
- Dan Laustsen, “The Shape Of Water”
- Darius Khondji, “Lost City Of Z”
- Hoyte van Hoytema, “Dunkirk”
- Rachel Morrison, “Mudbound”
- Roger Deakins, “Blade Runner 2049”
Nominees for the OFCS Award for Best Ensemble in a Motion Picture
- Get Out
- Lady Bird
- Mudbound
- The Post
- The Shape Of Water
- Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Nominees for the OFCS Award for Breakout Star of the Year
- Brooklynn Prince, “The Florida Project”
- Dafne Keen, “Logan”
- Daniel Kaluuya, “Get Out”
- Tiffany Haddish, “Girls Trip”
- Timothée Chalamet, “Call Me By Your Name”
December 20, 2017
Best Film and TV Posters of August 2017

It’s the end of the month, so it is time to reflect, relax and rewind our way back through the one-sheets, banners, promotional artwork and posters released in the last calendar month. It’s a little section we like to call Best Posters.

As we approach the Fall season of television in the US, the number of TV shows in this column expands rapidly. Take Stranger Things, for example, which has two one-sheets included this month, both of which pay tribute to classic horror films. Netflix stablemate Bojack Horseman makes us work to find the hero in a Where’s Wally/Waldo? inspired piece, and American Horror Story has a permanent place here for almost all their glorious posters.

We’re also excited that the return of the illustrated poster, including Art Machine’s double-whammy of The LEGO Ninjago Movie and Wolf Warrior II. The Refinery’s Wonderstruck poster puts you in control, following a trend of adult colouring books that are a staple of all last minute birthday gifts.

Let us know in the comments below (or on Facebook and Twitter) if we’ve missed your favourite, if we got it wrong, or better yet, if we got it very right.

American Horror Story – Designer: Ignition

Bojack Horseman

Difficult People – Designers: P+A

Disjointed – Designers: Canyon Design Group

Ingrid Goes West – Designers: Brian Stauffer

Killing Gunther – Designers: Paul Shipper (Gravillis Inc)

The LEGO Ninjago Movie – Designers: Art Machine

Mother – Designer: James Jean

Stranger Things

Wet Hot American Summer – Designers: Andrew Kolb (Mondo)

Wolf Warrior II – Designers: Art Machine

Wonderstruck – The Refinery

September 1, 2017
Best Film and TV Posters of July 2017

It’s the end of the month, so it is time to reflect, relax and rewind our way back through the one-sheets, banners, promotional artwork and posters released in the last calendar month. It’s a little section we like to call Best Posters.

It was San Diego Comic-Con this month, so we have a stack of original illustrations gracing the posters, from Andy Park’s work on the Ant-Man poster to the epic triptych that made up the Avengers: Infinity War spread. So after a string of horrible pieces of Photoshoppery, Spider-Man: Homecoming finally gets a spectacular one-sheet from dab-hand Martin Ansin.

Speaking of photos, Akiko Stehrenberger makes beautiful use of the well-worn Instagram motif, one that is both highly appropriate and effective on the new poster for the fun Ingrid Goes West. The Australian-shot horror film Better Watch Out takes ugly Christmas sweaters to a new height. The Dark Tower and The Shape of Water showcase comic book artists Jae Lee and James Jean respectively. Bob’s Burgers is not only a fun use of illustration, but it’s educational as well!

Let us know in the comments below (or on Facebook and Twitter) if we’ve missed your favourite, if we got it wrong, or better yet, if we got it very right.

Ant-Man – Designers: Andy Park

Avengers: Infinity War – San Diego Comic-Con 2017

Better Watch Out – Designers: The Refinery

Bob’s Burgers – Designers: Fox

Brillo Box – Designers: Indika Entertainment Advertising

Burning Shadow

Coco – Designers: Morelia International Film Festival

The Dark Tower – Designer: Jae Lee

Dead Shack

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 – Designers: Ken Taylor (for Mondo)

Ingrid Goes West – Designer: Akiko Stehrenberger

Jigsaw – Designer: LA

The Snowman – Designers: Empire Design

The Shape of Water – Designer: James Jean

Spider-Man: Homecoming – Designer: Martin Ansin (for Mondo)

Star Trek: Discovery – Designers: bpg

Star Wars: The Last Jedi – Designers: LA

Suburbicon – Designers: BLT Communications

War for the Planet of the Apes – Designers: InSyncPlus

July 31, 2017
George A. Romero: a tribute in posters

The film community and fans around the world are saddened by the loss of George A. Romero, best known for the Night of the Living Dead (1968) and its sequels. The horror master died after a battle with lung cancer at the age of 77.

Romero’s films were subversive, satirical, and sharply aware of the political climate he lived in. Night of the Living Dead sparked a cultural phenomenon, largely seen as the birth of the modern zombie film. It also cast Duane Jones as the lead, during a time when it was not typical for a black man to be the hero in an American film. It’s sequel, Dawn of the Dead (1978) was a cutting look at consumerism, and is largely the model for almost all zombie films that followed.

Romero’s other films broadened his view of the genre, including Season of the Witch (1973), sometimes marketed as Hungry Wives, which was less of a horror film than it was an exploration of the occult. Knightriders (1983) was about a travelling renaissance fair troupe, featuring knights on motorbikes! Similarly, The Crazies (1973) was a sci-fi epidemic film, while vampire Martin (1978) is said the be Romero’s favourite film that he made.

Yet he would continue to return to the zombie genre, beginning with a Land of the Dead (2005), the documentary style Diary of the Dead (2007) and Survival of the Dead (2009). He was prepping the 2018 release of Road of the Dead, which he co-wrote with director Matt Birman, at the time of his death.

Here we’ve assembled a collection of posters from his films, paying tribute to one of the best cult filmmakers in the business.

July 17, 2017
Australian Academy announces first nominees for the 7th AACTA Awards
The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) has today revealed the first nominees for the 7th AACTA Awards presented by Foxtel. Nominees were announced in two categories: Best Short Fiction Film and Best Short Animation.

Some of the highlights include actor/writer/producer Josh Lawson’s THE ELEVEN O’CLOCK and Daniel Adgag’s LOST PROPERTY OFFICE, which won both the Robert Mamoulian Award for Best Director and the Yoram Gross Animation Award at the Sydney Film Festival this year.

Also in the animation category is the Tropfest Best Visual Effects winner THE WALL. Narrated by AFI Award winner David Wenham and sparked by Donald Trump’s plan to build a wall on the Mexican border.

A full list of nominees can be found below. The rest of the nominees will be announced later this year, with winners announced at a gala ceremony in December.

AACTA AWARD FOR SHORT FICTION FILM NOMINEES
- THE ELEVEN O’CLOCK Derin Seale, Josh Lawson, Karen Bryson
- MIRO Victoria Wharfe McIntyre, Fran Dobbie, Amadeo Marquez-Perez
- MRS MCCUTCHEON John Sheedy, Andre Lima, Jenny Vila
- SLAPPER Luci Shroder, Jason Byrne, Michael Latham, Stephanie Westwood
AACTA AWARD FOR SHORT ANIMATION NOMINEES
- AFTER ALL Michael Cusack, Richard Chataway
- BARBARA Larissa Behrendt, Marieka Walsh, Kiki Dillon, Michaela Perske
- LOST PROPERTY OFFICE Daniel Agdag, Liz Kearney
- THE WALL Nick Baker, Tristan Klein
July 14, 2017
The Reel Bits celebrates 7 years online

Happy birthday to us! On 4 July 2010, a mere 7 years and several lifetimes ago, we launched what is now The Reel Bits. Isn’t it nice of the US to be celebrating with fireworks in honour of our birthday?

Originally called the DVD Bits Blog, an offshoot of the now defunct DVD and Blu-ray review site, the blog soon took on a life of its own. Over 800 film reviews, dozens of news reviews, and thousands of articles later, THE REEL BITS is the magnificent empire that you see before you today.

With an international focus, but a particular interest in Australian releases and independent cinema, our comprehensive coverage of local cinema and festivals has made us a go-to guide for our legions of fans. Just ask the thousands of daily visitors to our tent-pole page, the Australian Release Dates calendar.

AOh, memories! Some of the changes to the site (and Richard) over the years.

We’ve undergone some massive changes in that time. Our focus has shifted from just reviewing to comprehensive articles, interviews, and multimedia coverage. It’s not all been peaches and cream, with an unfortunate hacking incident in 2013/2014 that harshed our mellow severely. We’ve happily drawn a veil over that an moved on. Cosmetically, we look much prettier than we used to. The same can not be said of the Editor.

Undoubtedly the highlights are the people we’ve met along the way, and interviewing people like Tom Hiddleston and Jaimie Alexander, Hugh Grant, Hugh Jackman, Barnaby Southcombe, Joe Cornish, Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum, Simon Pegg, J.J. Abrams, Rob Sitch, Jason Segel, Ivan Sen, Steve Carell, Jason Bateman, Colin Treverrow, and P.J Hogan have not only allowed us to hopeless name-drop, but filled a series of tick-boxes on our bucket list.

2017 has been a massive revival for us in a number of ways. Last month, we covered 51 films at the Sydney Film Festival, and are on track to our biggest year yet. Later this year, editor Richard Gray will release his first book, Moving Target: The History and Evolution of Green Arrow through Sequart Publishing.

We’d like to take the opportunity to thank the studios, PR companies, as we literally couldn’t do this without you, especially those of you who gave this online site a shot when nobody else would. You know who you are. Naturally, you Constant Readers need a big thank you, but like Spider-Man, action is your reward.

Here’s to another 7 years of random luck!

July 4, 2017
Best Film and TV Posters of June 2017

It’s the end of the month, so it is time to reflect, relax and rewind our way back through the one-sheets, banners, promotional artwork and posters released in the last calendar month, highlighting some of the ones we though were noteworthy. It’s a little section we like to call Best Posters.

Let us know in the comments below if we’ve missed your favourite, we got it wrong, or better yet, if we got it very right. Now to kick things off a little differently.

BABY DRIVER (Japan)

Edgar Wright’s new film has the web swooning with glee. While we felt that that it didn’t consistently live up to its own style, this Japanese poster is minimalist style defined. Part of a series (with another featuring the iconic iPod), this poster is style defined. Speaking of high-speed vehicles…

CARS 3

…here’s more cars! We weren’t the biggest fans of the third film in the cars franchise (we do like movies, we promise!), but we have to admit that this poster is like the dark nightmare in the wastelands version of Cars. The kind where we find out that the vehicles inherited the Earth after devouring the humans in an orgy of blood as they drag down the fury road towards the lightning scattered skyline. Now that is a movie we want to see.

CASTLEVANIA (Netflix)

The highly anticipated new Netflix series, written by the legendary Warren Ellis, comes with a sweepingly illustrated poster. Now we just want to know why the guy at the top is so angry. Is it because he doesn’t have a body? Or does he want a whip of his own? We’ll find out July 7.

FOOTNOTES – Designer: Matt Frost

Paul Calori and Kostia Testut’s musical comedy was inspired by the films of Jacques Demy and Stanley Donen. Matt Frost’s one-sheet for the US release of this French film beautifully captures the spirit of those classics. Plus, we love Frost’s attitude to art: “I’ll use any means necessary to produce a key image, photography, illustration, spray paint, burn things, break things, get a goat, get a gun, or get messy in one way or another. I love to go to the hardware store.”

FERDINAND – Designers: Proof

The classic story by Munro Leaf and Robert Lawson was previously adapted by Walt Disney in 1938 as the Ferdinand the Bull short. Proof’s alternative poster for the Blue Sky animation recalls the many illustrated promos for Disney shorts of the 1930s and 1940s. We just really want to see this film.

THE MONSTER (Short film)

Short films are a rarity on this list, mostly because they are harder to keep track of. Damien Kazan’s already onto a winning design that is better than most features. Except the other awesome ones in this column.

OKJA (Korea)

OKJA is currently the most expensive Korean language film ever made, and perhaps only Netflix would give Korean director Bong Joon-ho $50 million to make a primarily subtitled film about a giant pig. This poster is the antithesis of that expense, stripping the titles and the titular pig back to its barest pink bits.

SAFE PLACE

This startlingly minimalist piece might tell us that “You’re not safe here,” but simple style still has a home. The isolation of the three colours creates the seemingly contradictory state of claustrophobic isolation, which is really at the heart of all horror films.

STAR TREK: DISCOVERY – Designers: BPG

Star Trek is returning to our small screens for the first time since 2005, and because we’re now in the future it will be on the streaming services CBS All Access and Netflix. The simple warp trail and new ship is all this poster needs to get us excited about the future again.

SWISS ARMY MAN – Designer: Oliver Barrett

From the Mondo blog: “I loved the film’s unabashedly wild, ‘what the fuck?’ approach to tackling themes of isolation, shame, and loneliness. So, I had to strive to distill that approach into a single image that echoes the idea of being saved from that isolation, wrapped in a goofy fart joke.”

WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES

This ‘viral’ style poster is a little bit Banksy. If this is the graffiti that exists in the Planet of the Apes reality, that would explain why the apes on our Earth are spray-painting hippies on the wall.

WONDER – Designers: LA

If you know nothing else about the new film from Stephen Chbosky (The Perks of Being a Wallflower) then know this: Daisy IS The Dog.

June 30, 2017
Best Films of 2017: So Far
While the calendar will probably tell us it’s been six months, this year seems to have gone faster than the last one. Even so, we just can’t wait until December to deliver highly clickable headlines with ‘best of’ in the title, so we’ve gone ahead and listed the stuff we’ve liked so far. What does it all mean? Probably nothing. Or something. Either way, you’re here now so you may as well enjoy the ride.

Based in Australia, you’ll have to remember that the first two months of our calendar are spent going to the cinema to watch movies you all saw in the Northern Hemisphere in 2016. Moonlight and Silence, for example, came out here in January and February respectively. While the festivals keep us in celluloid and lower back trauma, we’ve mostly avoided their inclusion as some of those films haven’t been seen outside that rarefied air.

Did we get it wrong? Did you? Be sure to admit (y)our mistakes and let us know what your favourites are in the comments below!

A GHOST STORY

David Lowery’s haunting meditation on grief, life, and the relativity of time.Struggling musician C (Casey Affleck) and his wife M (Rooney Mara) live together in a small house. When C is killed in a car crash, he returns home as a spectre covered in a white sheet. The publicity aptly tells us “It’s about time.” This is the literal truth, with Lowery’s experimental structure deftly recreating the relativity of time for audiences. With this film, Lowery gives us a masterclass in how cinema can not only help us better understand time, but also ourselves. Read Full Review >>

THE BEGUILED

“Edwina, bring me the anatomy book.” This reworking of Thomas P. Cullinan’s book focuses on the Southern Gothic aspects, bringing psychological warfare delicately to the forefront. With glorious naturally lit landscapes and chambers, this hypnotic and intoxicating vibe is in no hurry to get to its mic-drop conclusion.Coppola transports Cullinan’s tale to her own ethereal plane, beguiling the audience with its beauty, and holding us captive with an understated horror that continues mounting until the very end. An absolute masterpiece from Sofia Coppola. Read Full Review >>

LOGAN

Transcending convention with its dark outlook and relentlessly violent narrative, it’s both an inevitable conclusion and a complete departure from the series to date. LOGAN would have been impossible to create in isolation of the rest of the series, but expertly crafts an entire world of its own. It’s up to the audience to fill in the gaps of what comes before and after, but is left with no doubt that this is the perfect and only ending that a hero of this standing should receive. This is the comic book adaptation all others will be judged against for some time to come. Read Full Review >>

BRIGSBY BEAR

A charming and disarmingly funny film about a person who is obsessed with a TV show made for an audience of one. This film, on the other hand, should appeal to just about everyone. Like the fictional TV show within the film, BRIGSBY BEAR will bring people together for a collective feeling that’s just magical. Filled with references and allusions to countless films, along with a pitch-perfect recreation of 1980s television, it’s the kind of film that will leave you with a big sloppy grin on your face, and an overwhelming urge to do something positive. Read Full Review >>

THE SQUARE

“If you put something in a museum, does it make it art?” Ruben Östlund’s film is sharp, satirical, and hyper aware of itself. A true gem and worth the accolades. Some may struggle with the back half of the film, where the narrative takes a darker and more somber turn. The ‘ape’ scene is both hilarious and uncomfortable, which is probably the best description of the film in its totality. This one is a little bit of a cheat, as it has only been screened at festivals to date, but it is hard not to include the Palme d’Or winner, especially when we were lucky enough to see it less than a month after its Cannes debut.

A SILENT VOICE

A beautiful and impressionistic tale of second chances and inner turmoil that reflects on teenage interactions, bullying and the notion of self-worth. As the film builds to a crescendo of animation and emotional confrontation, the film asks the audience for a bit of their own introspection. It’s rare that a film manages to tackle the intricacies of friendship and romance without hitting us over the head with it. Not just an essential anime, but a film that genuinely speaks to the disaffected. Read Full Review >>

JASPER JONES

Rachel Perkins’ youth-centric adaptation is a mystery that combines Harper Lee and Mark Twain in Western Australia, tackling race and prejudice full-on in a complex series of secrets and lies. Not just a great adaptation, but one of the best and most heartfelt Australian films of the last decade. Read Full Review >>

ZACH’S CEREMONY

After doing the Festival circuit in 2016, Aaron Peterson and Alec Doomadgee’s film was finally released to broader audiences in 2017. Cultural ambassador and media personality Doomadgee began filming his son Zach at the age of 10, and over the course of the next six years traced his journey towards a traditional initiation into manhood. An incredibly powerful journey that aims to combat a negative stereotype and achieve a greater good for all indigenous people around the world. A must see. Read Full Review >>

HONOURABLE MENTIONS
- LADY MACBETH is a chilling costume drama that could also be a horror film musing on the expected subservience of women in 19th century England. Read Full Review >>
- WE DON’T NEED A MAP opened the Sydney Film Festival this year. Exploring how symbols can be twisted and meaning lost, filmmaker Warwick Thornton brings some much-needed knowledge to an often impassioned debate. Read Full Review >>
- IN MY OWN WORDS: A powerful documentary about the positive changes a single community can make, as well as exploring the barrier that adult illiteracy represents to the Indigenous communities of Australia. Read Full Review >>
- COLOSSAL: Filtering alcoholism, abuse and violence through the lens of monster movies works surprisingly well, as inner struggle is writ large in this indie take on city-wide destruction. Read Full Review >>
MOST ANTICIPATED FOR THE REST OF 2017

LOGAN LUCKY (17 August) is Steven Soderbergh’s upcoming heist film, and the cast looks as amazing as the premise. Based on the comics of the same name, Luc Besson’s VALERIAN AND THE CITY OF A THOUSAND PLANETS (10 August) could go either way, but it’s set to be a visual treat regardless. After reading half of Stephen King’s output in preparation, you better believe we are excited for THE DARK TOWER (17 August), an adaptation/sequel to the author’s magnum opus. While part of us approaches long-awaited sequel BLADE RUNNER 2049 (5 October) with trepidation, we can’t wait to see what that world looks like with the benefit of modern SFX. On the flip side of the coin, Darren Aronofsky’s MOTHER! (12 October) won us over with a wonderful poster that shows Jennifer Lawrence really putting her heart into it.

WIND RIVER (10 August) is one we were lucky enough to see at the Sydney Film Festival. confirms Taylor Sheridan’s talents as a writer and director, this atmospheric mystery continues his fascination with people on the fringes, focusing on intense personal drama inside a taut and nuanced mystery/thriller (Full Review >>). Similarly, ALI’S WEDDING (31 August), another Festival favourite, takes the conventions of a genre and uses them to hold up a mirror to a nation. If this isn’t huge at the local box office, there’s no justice. (Full Review>>)

Disney has the double punch at the end of the year of COCO (26 December), the controversial but beautifully new animated film, and of course STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI (14 December). ‘Nuff said.
June 30, 2017