Tag: Better Than Average Bear

Review: Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol

[stextbox id=”grey” caption=”Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol (2011)” float=”true” align=”right” width=”200″]

Director: Brad Bird

Runtime: 132 minutes

Starring: Tom Cruise, Simon Pegg, Brad Bird, Paula Patton, Jeremy Renner, Michael Nyqvist

Distributor: Paramount

Country: US

Rating: Better Than Average Bear (?)

More info

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By the time a film series hits its fourth entry, it’s not just another sequel but a franchise entry. That comes with all the expectations and burdens of the previous chapters, for better or for worse. Based on the 1960s television series, Brian De Palma’s 1996 Mission: Impossible film refashioned the popular memory of the classic series into a taut modern action film. Despite its commercial success, John Woo’s sequel failed to connect with critics, pushing the boundaries a little too far and failing to add any substance to the style. The series got back on rails with J.J. Abrams’ debut film as a director used his sensibilities from TV’s Alias to reinvigorate the films, and it is Abrams who serves as a producer on this latest entry, Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol.

After a mission goes awry, and the Kremlin is bombed by terrorists, the IMF is disavowed and agent Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise, Knight and Day) and his colleagues Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg, The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn), Jane Carter (Paula Patton, Jumping the Broom) and analyst Brandt (Jeremy Renner, The Town) must fend for themselves. Ethan must not only clear his name, but hunt down the culprits behind the bombing, put a stop to an explosive nuclear plot by an extremist (Michael Nyqvist) and work with a team of operatives that he doesn’t fully know or trust yet.

Brad Bird may not habe been the most obvious choice for a big action epic, given that his background to this point has been with the superior animated films The Iron Giant, Ratatouille and The Incredibles. Yet Bird brings with him a kentic approach that has served to make his previous films a success, and in many ways this is the logical successor to The Incredibles. Coming to live action for the first time, Bird proves to be adept at handling large scale scenes, launching himself in at the deep end with massive set piece sequences using the large-format IMAX camera. These really come into their own during a sequence hanging off the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai. Instantly noticeable is the command that director Bird and his cinematographer Robert Elswit (The Town, Salt, There Will Be Blood) have of the large format screen. As the vertigo-inducing shots take us quite literally over the edge, Bird’s flawless command of action editing is something that sets this Mission: Impossible apart from previous entries.

It is the action that is first and foremost, after all, and while it is pleasing to see that an interesting and eclectic group of characters have been brought together for this film, including the surprising expansion of Simon Pegg’s Benji Dunn from Mission: Impossible III and the franchise-altering possibilities of Jeremy Renner, these character arcs are almost tangential to the moment-to-moment action that characterises this fourth outing. Lurching from mission to mission, the team scours the world from Moscow to Dubai and India, each place presenting a new background to do something really complicated in. Despite his success with the larger scenes, it is the smaller moments that do a pale imitation of the Bourne films, complete with wobble-cam. While incredibly cool, and undoubtedly borrowing from Bird’s animated background, there is also a sense of the familiar with a chase sequence in an automated parking lot.

Ghost Protocol doesn’t have the third film’s sense of a complex scheme running in the background, and Nyqvist’s generic evil guy is a poor substitute for the intensity of Philip Seymour Hoffman, and he too often gets lost in the background noise. Yet there is an energy that sustains the film, and flows naturally from the previous entry. It is pleasing to see that in a world populated by the extremes of increasingly dark and brutal action on one hand, and ridiculous over the top Transformers action on the other, there is still room for a globetrotting caper that mixes old-school charm with modern gadgetry.

[stextbox id=”custom”]Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol is a mission that you should choose to accept, sustaining much of the momentum of the previous entries and creating some new possibilities on the way.[/stextbox]

Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol is released in Australia on 15 December 2011 from Paramount.

December 8, 2011
JFF15 Review: In His Chart

[stextbox id=”grey” caption=”In His Chart (2010)” float=”true” align=”right” width=”200″]

Director: Yoshihiro Fukagawa

Runtime: 128 minutes

Starring: Sho Sakurai, Aoi Miyazaki, Mariko Kaga

Country: Japan

Rating: Better Than Average Bear (?)

More info

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It seems that there is a medical-themed drama every year at the Japanese Film Festival, including 2009’s Pandemic and last year’s A Lone Scalpel. Director Yoshihiro Fukagawa has already made an appearance at this year’s JFF with the token food film Patisserie: Coin de Rue, so it is only fitting that the director also has the annual medico-drama with In His Chart (神様のカルテ). Based on an award-winning novel by a young doctor, Sosuke Natsukawa, it has been adapted to the screen by noted TV screenwriter Noriko Goto (The Homeless Student).

Dr. Ichito Kuriharai (Sho Sakurai, Yatterman) is a dedicated physician at a clinic in Nagano Prefecture. Known for never knocking back any of the many patients the hospital receives, he would love to be able to specialise at a teaching hospital and spend more time with his wife Haruna (Aoi Miyazaki, Solanin). However, when terminal cancer patient Kyoko Azumi (Mariko Kaga, Patisserie: Coin de Rue) falls under his care, Kuriharai begins to ruminate on what is important in his life and where he will make the most difference.

There is an air of predictability to In His Chart, from the moment the terminal Azumi is introduced. However, within the confines of this well-worn formula, Goto’s script still manages to take us on an emotional journey, and touches on a number of social aspects that aren’t often seen in cinema. Just as A Lone Scalpel shone a spotlight on the issues around brain-death not being legally recognised for a number of years, the issue that Kuriharai is faced with is whether to focus on just those in front of him or enter a teaching hospital where his research could potentially save thousands. On the intimate scale, the film avoids the tensions caused between Kuriharai’s dedication and his absenteeism from his wife. She is a strong personality in her own right, and supportive of his growing dedication to patient Azumi. Not only is this dynamic refreshing, it manages not to fall into the trap of creating a minor drama for the sake of it.

Star/idol Sakurai is a bit of a jack of all trades in Japan, having appeared in various guises as a singer, actor, newscaster (!), host and radio host. Over the last few years, he has been steadily building a portfolio as a leading man in Takashi Miike’s Yatterman and Yuichi Satō’s Last Promise. He solidifies that reputation in his initially vague portrayal of Kuriharai, who is introduced to us as emotionally disengaged and kind of scruffy-looking. As the film progresses, so too does the character, which is a small miracle in a formula film such as this. The award-winning actress and activist Miyazaki will need little introduction to lovers of contemporary Japanese cinema, and while her role is somewhat sidelined, her presence lights up the screen and her warmth provides a counterpoint to some of the more clinical aspects of the film. Kaga is never the victim, although the melodrama that the film does allow itself is solidly around this character. In His Chart is not one of those films designed to elicit tears, but a few may be shed by the end regardless.

[stextbox id=”custom”]A film with genuine heart, set against the beautiful mountain backdrop of Nagano’s mountains will hopefully help people to reaffirm what is important in their lives.[/stextbox]

In His Chart is playing at the Japanese Film Festival on 21 November (Sydney) and 3 December (Melbourne) 2011 at the 15th Japanese Film Festival in Australia.

November 25, 2011
JFF15 Review: Gantz – Perfect Answer

[stextbox id=”grey” caption=”Gantz: Perfect Answer (2011)” float=”true” align=”right” width=”200″]

Director: Shinsuke Sato

Runtime: 141 minutes

Starring: Kazunari Ninomiya, Kenichi Matsuyama, Takayuki Yamada, Yuriko Yoshitaka

Country: Japan

Rating: Better Than Your Average Bear (?)

More info

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Almost immediately following the January release of Gantz in Japan came the sequel Gantz: Perfect Answer. The first film came with an intriguing concept, that of a group of recently ‘deceased’ people given a second chance of life by a mysterious black orb known as Gantz. In return, they must assassinate aliens living on Earth. Based on a long-running manga by Hiroya Oku, much of the first Gantz builds to towards this sequel, and on this level that film came to a wholly unsatisfying conclusion for a number of viewers. Very little time is wasted in launching into the action for this second outing.

It has been five months since the events of the first film, and Gantz has let Kurono (Kazunari Ninomiya, The Lady Shogun and Her Men) return to a semblance of a normal life. Tae (Yoshitaka Yuriko, Kaiji 2) wants to begin a relationship with him, but he is still distracted by the disappearance of Kato (Ken’ichi Matsuyama, Norwegian Wood). In reality, Kato was ‘killed’ in one of Gantz’s missions against the aliens. With those same aliens now on the offensive, Gantz recalls everybody to its plane of existence before it is too late. Yet there is something different about Gantz, and things may change forever.

One of the complaints of the first film was that it took a terrific setup, some magnificent action pieces and complicated exposition before ending up nowhere. Gantz: Perfect Answer lives up to its title and responds to this criticism directly with a high-octane action film that very rarely pauses for breath. The first hour does a magnificent job of taking Gantz’s ball and running with it, building on the premise of the first film and expanding our knowledge of the mysterious and enigmatic titular sphere. This includes not only developing the newer characters such as sexy fighter Eriko (Ayumi Ito, Solanin), but following the detective Masamitsu Shigeta (Takayuki Yamada, MILOCRORZE – A Love Story) as he tracks down the people who have gone missing as a result of Gantz. This builds up to a set-piece aboard a train where all of these new and existing storylines intersect, and the resulting bloodbath is one of the finest pieces of action ever filmed.

This action-packed approach is, like the weaponry carried in the movie, sometimes a double-edged sword. While it undoubtedly pleases a wider audience, much of the subtlety of the first film is forgotten what amounts to almost 141 minutes of gun and swordplay. It is magnificent too, with the reported 4 billion Yen (US $45 million) budget clearly being put into this second half of the saga where the effects, action and production design are flawless. It is amazing that this is a fraction of what a Hollywood blockbuster would be made on, and it is virtually impossible for a casual viewer to be able to spot the difference between the production values. By the same token, like a Hollywood blockbuster, it suffers from a similar popcorn mentality, assuming that more of the cool stuff is better. There are moments when the extended action feels oppressive, as there is only so much kablamy one can take before it all starts to look like a slick black blur.

However, as with the first film, it is difficult to take either Gantz film in isolation. This is not simply dispensing with the drama or intrigue in favour of the action, but it is the action pay-off to the setup of the first chapter. Unlike Matrix Reloaded or Matrix Revolutions, with which there are some obvious comparisons, Gantz: Perfect Answer never betrays the feel of the first film. There is certainly more of the same, with no less than two Ken’ichi Matsuyamas, but it is a slick affair with the kind of action money shots that will send geek and idol worshippers alike all aflutter.

[stextbox id=”custom”]Gantz: Perfect Answer is designed to be pure box office fodder, and on this level it succeeds magnificently. Some may find the endless action sequences trying, and non-series fan need not apply, but for a pure adrenaline rush it is difficult to go past this flick. [/stextbox]

Gantz: Perfect Answer is playing at the Japanese Film Festival on 19 November (Sydney) and 2 December (Melbourne) 2011 at the 15th Japanese Film Festival in Australia.

November 22, 2011
The complete Life In A Day now available online

YouTube has made their co-produced crowd-sourced documentary, Life In A Day, permanently available for free on their mammoth site.

Choosing a single day, due to McDonald’s belief that “a day is the basic temporal building block of human life—wherever you are”, the majority of footage comes from user submissions from YouTube, each giving their personal observations on a single day. The remainder of the footage comes from cameras sent out to the developing world, to get a broader perspective on what life means around the world. Editing down 4500 hours worth of footage from 80,000 submissions in 140 nations around the world, the film acts as a giant mashup of YouTube clips.

Life In A Day is a historic film capturing for future generations what it was like to be alive on the 24th of July, 2010. Executive produced by Ridley Scott and directed by Kevin Macdonald.

The film was previously live-streamed in January, and following a theatrical run, it has now been archived on YouTube permanently with subtitles in 25 different languages.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JaFVr_cJJIY

For more information on Life In A Day, visit http://www.youtube.com/lifeinaday.

November 1, 2011
Review: The Hunter

[stextbox id=”grey” caption=”The Hunter (2011)” float=”true” align=”right” width=”220″]

Director: Daniel Nettheim

Runtime: 101 minutes

Starring: Willem Dafoe, Frances O’Connor, Sam Neill

Distributor: Madman

Country: Australia

Rating: Better Than Average Bear (?)

More info

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When Sleeping Beauty was released earlier this year, Julia Leigh proved that as a filmmaker, she makes a great novelist. Managing to churn out a technically beautiful, but ultimately lifeless, film about a pseudo-prostitute, it was perhaps wise that someone sporting the screen credentials of TV’s crime-drama Rush , along with the producers of the over-praised Animal Kingdom, was brought in to helm the adaptation of her first novel The Hunter.

Martin David (Willem Dafoe, Daybreakers) is a mercenary sent from Europe to the remote bushland of Tasmania, with a highly lucrative offer to track down what is believed to be the last remaining Thylacine, or Tasmanian Tiger. Boarding with the family of Lucy Armstrong (Frances O’Connor, Blessed), the self-medicated and practically comatose mother of two precocious children, Martin learns that her evironmentalist husband has gone missing. Martin soon encounters the hostilities of the local industry workers, convinced that he is another ‘greenie’ sent to shut them and their highly profitable operation down. Yet with the potential goldmine of a Thylacine at stake, Martin can afford few distractions in reaching his goal.

The Hunter is something of a curiosity, with all of the setup of a major thriller, but none of the pacing. Nettheim, by way of Alice Addison’s screenplay, has in fact crafted an incredible intimate film set against the impressive backdrop of Tasmania’s uncharted wilderness. It is true that the film emphasises the mystery and thriller elements of the novel, setting up a sinister shadow organisation from the start that continually rears its head in unexpected places. Yet in the casting of Dafoe, one also gets a physically compelling presence, one that intrigues simply by his ‘otherness’.

Dafoe stands out in a sea of familiar local faces that also include Sam Neill, and of course O’Connor, as much as any international award-winning actor would on the Australian scene. He also brings with him a commanding presence of being the ultimate outsider, and one that could legitimately go against the tide of aggression he is met with in the film. He did play Jesus in a Martin Scorsese film, after all. When the film shifts gears as Lucy awakens from her hibernation, an intimate family drama unfolds. The strength of Dafoe’s performance is in his flexibility, and his ability to allow us to believe these dual personas.

Shot entirely on location in Tasmania, cinematographer Robert Humphreys (A Heartbeat Away) does not always make the most of his stunning landscape, shooting it in cold and sterile blues and greens, perhaps to reflect the clinical mind in which Martin views this strange new world. It is still cast as a mysterious place, shades away from being an Australian gothic piece like Kriv Stender’s Lucky Country, and the slow-pace of the film only adds to the mystery of the landscape. The finding of the Tasmanian Tiger is secondary to the journey, both physical and personal.

[stextbox id=”custom”]The Hunter is an intriguing, and often gripping film, with an intimacy that is rare in such a thriller. Filled with mesmerising imagery, it is much like footage of the last Tasmanian Tiger, in that it will haunt you long after you’ve left the cinema.[/stextbox]

October 6, 2011
80s Bits: Teen Witch

Welcome back to 80s Bits, the weekly column in which we explore the best and worst of the Decade of Shame. With guest writers, hidden gems and more, it’s truly, truly, truly outrageous.

[stextbox id=”grey” caption=”Teen Witch (1989)” float=”true” align=”right” width=”220″]

Director: Dorian Walker

Runtime: 90 minutes

Starring: Robyn Lively, Dan Gauthier, Joshua John Miller

Studio: Trans World Entertainment (TWE)

Country: US

Rating: Better Than Average Bear (?)

More 80s Bits [/stextbox]

The 1989 teenybopper fantasy romance Teen Witch proves that anything is possible by just being you. For most clumsy teenagers discovering this is never a straightforward journey, particularly when on your sweet sixteenth birthday you discover that you are a spellbound witch. So what would you do if you discovered that you had magical abilities? Fame…Fortune…Love?

Louise Miller (Robyn Lively, The Karate Kid III) is an awkward geeky gem who just can’t seem to break into the in crowd. Her thoughts are consumed by winning the heart of football captain Brad and dreams of being the most popular girl in school. Louise puts her newly found powers to good use by changing her bratty annoying brother into a dog, turning the cheerleaders into truth telling catty bitches and casting a voodoo doll striptease on her stuffy arrogant teacher in front of the class for revenge. Having mastered her spells Louise is now ready to transform her life to rock star status all simply by getting a piece of clothing, a record, a potion to sprinkle all over herself and spin around 13 time at 45 rpm counter clockwise. Then BAM she becomes the teen idol of the school.

Some of the film’s most memorable moments are the musical numbers where the film goes Glee 80s style. Pre-MC Hammer and Vanilla Ice, we have three white rappers that prove white men can’t rap. These three douche-bags pop up rapping randomly throughout and hit a high point in the flick with the love rap-off “Top that!”. With slicked hair, vests, braces and Hawaiian jackets the boys put NKOTB to shame. Another hilarious breakout is captured during the cheerleader’s locker-room scene where they declare through song and dance that they “like boys”. To top off the musical vein, Louise models her mystical transformation on sassy singer superstar, Shana (Cindy Valentine), a possible lovechild of Taylor Dayne and Susanna Hoffs (The Bangles).

Some familiar appearances include Dick Sargent, best known as husband Darren in Bewitched. Here he plays conservative Frank Miller, father to Louise. Marcia Wallace who’s voice is recognisable as Edna Krabappel in The Simpsons, plays Ms. Malloy, a free spirited drama teacher who sees herself in the young teen witch and embraces her talents. Zelda Rubinstein (Poltergeist, Poltergeist II) plays witch, psychic and guide to the new apprentice spell caster. The lead male role of Brad Powell played by Dan Gauthier captures the jock role perfectly, being a better looking home brand Tom Cruise.

[stextbox id=”custom” caption=”The Reel Bits”]Teen Witch is about 5 years behind its time as far as 80s teens comedies go, but it is super entertaining from start to finish.[/stextbox]

We’d normally put a trailer here, but for your collective enjoyment, here is the “Top That!” rap sequence:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_a5Mvw0j1rY

September 30, 2011
Review: Cave of Forgotten Dreams

[stextbox id=”grey” caption=”Cave of Forgotten Dreams (2010)” float=”true” align=”right” width=”220″]

Director: Werner Herzog

Runtime: 90 minutes

Starring: Werner Herzog

Distributor: Rialto

Country: Canada/US/France/Germany/UK

Rating: Better Than Average Bear (?)

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Filmmaker, documentarian and nutter Werner Herzog has a hard-earned reputation in all three of those fields. From the magnificently staged feature films (Fitzcarraldo) to the more mainstream fare (Rescue Dawn), Herzog has always pushed the boundaries. On several occasions, he’s also pushed the boundaries of good sense. Yet it is with documentaries that Herzog seems to have a special affinity, achieving a parallel level of success in this field that only a handful of other filmmakers have managed to do. His non-fiction works can be shocking (Grizzly Man), epic (Encounters at the End of the World) or intensely personal (My Best Fiend). With Caves of Forgotten Dreams, he manages to combine all of these passions into one, using the 3D format for the first time in his career.

In 1994, the Chauvet-Pont-d’Arc Cave was discovered in southern France, significant for having some of the earliest cave paintings in human history, and also being magnificently preserved. Herzog goes inside the caves, along with a small group of scientists and historians he interviews, to discover their meaning.

Turning back to the documentary form after fictional features Bad Lieutenant: Port Of Call – New Orleans and the little-seen (at least in Australia) My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done, Herzog’s continues his fascination with the gaze. Typically it is Herzog’s distinctive lens that is casting its eye, and Herzog’s unmistakeable voice, over the sometimes seemingly mundane, making them fascinating and endlessly rewatchable. Here Herzog’s subject is one that does not have its own voice in the traditional sense, but tells a story from the very birth of civilisation or as Herzog drones in his narration, “the beginnings of the modern human soul”. It’s as if the first humans left their stamp on the walls to scream across time that “we were here”. Or maybe it’s just some much younger pretty pictures on some rocks. Either way, Herzog uses his uncanny and often brilliant ability to tap into those human connections, and his true strength lies in his constant search for answers.

Actually finding a decent use for the 3D format for the first time in – let’s be honest – the history of the technology, Herzog and his small crew make the most of their limited access to the cave system. Herzog’s distinctive narration can occasionally grate, and in typical Herzog fashion searches for meaning where there may be none. In a possible callback to his Bad Lieutenant closing line (“Do fish have dreams?”), Herzog takes a massive aside during the postscript to examine some albino crocodiles that are the result of nearby nuclear power plants. He ponders what they would make of the cave painting, then goes one step further in asking “Are we truly the crocodiles who look back into the abyss of time?”. Maybe we are, Werner. Maybe we are.

[stextbox id=”custom” caption=”The Reel Bits”]A fascinating and innovative documentary about a forgotten piece of human history, occasionally derailed by a lack of direction. Either way, Herzog’s aim is to open the audience to questions and Cave of Forgotten Dreams accomplishes this with expert delivery.[/stextbox]

September 19, 2011
Review: Life in a Day

[stextbox id=”grey” caption=”Life in a Day (2011)” float=”true” align=”right” width=”220″]

Director: Kevin Macdonald, Natalia Andreadis, Joseph Michael

Runtime: 95 minutes

Starring: Cindy Baer, Moica, Caryn Waechter, Jiraoki Aikawa

Studio: Transmission

Rating: Better Than Average Bear (?)

More info

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The phenomenon of web-based social networking, most notably through Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, has given everybody the ability to share their every waking moment with the world, whether we want them to or not. On the 24 July 2010, YouTube, director Kevin McDonald (State of Play, The Eagle) and Ridley Scott’s Scott Free Productions gave users the opportunity to use this power to upload a “glimpse of your life on camera”. The resulting footage from the Life in a Day Project would form the basis of the first major experiment in a user generated feature, using the most compelling footage from the submissions.

Choosing a single day, due to McDonald’s belief that “a day is the basic temporal building block of human life—wherever you are”, the majority of footage comes from user submissions from YouTube, each giving their personal observations on a single day. The remainder of the footage comes from cameras sent out to the developing world, to get a broader perspective on what life means around the world. Editing down 4500 hours worth of footage from 80,000 submissions in 140 nations around the world, the film acts as a giant mashup of YouTube clips.

Life in a Day may be the first time that Ridley Scott’s name appears alongside YouTube in the production credits, and it certainly is a bold experiment. User-generated content has transformed the web and social interaction in a way that didn’t seem possible over a decade ago, and emphasises that humans are by their very nature storytellers. Indeed, YouTube claims that over 48 hours worth of video is uploaded to their servers every minute, and the wealth of potential features here is limitless. Life in a Day doesn’t concentrate on the majority of the videos on YouTube, which mostly range from videos of kittens to videos of cats, but rather the personal accounts of those electing to submit videos. Therein lies some of the problems with Life in a Day, as it can’t completely claim to be an objective exploration of a day in the life of planet Earth, as the majority of the people have chosen to submit these videos. As such, this isn’t so much the voyeuristic side of YouTube as the exhibitionist one, and in some cases the footage is only an “average” day for somebody used to talking to or appearing on camera. Indeed, some of people appearing on the credits of IMDB have additional listings as short filmmakers, photographers or other industry professionals.

This isn’t true of all the footage of course. One particularly heartbreaking sequence comes from a Japanese father who looks after his young child in a messy capsule apartment, with their lives evidently having fallen apart with the death of his wife. A more local entry comes in the form of a dying man, candidly discussing his views on life. Similarly, the commissioned footage of developing and rural areas is a fascinating look at different cultures using the same observational power that could be found in this year’s Babies, and demonstrating that YouTube and user generated videos can be so much more than an extended Funniest Home Videos montage. There is skydiving, intimate moments and heartfelt confessions, although some of these feel less like a typical day than something for the cameras. Indeed, a final straight-to-camera piece laments that nothing particular special happened in her day, and one can’t help but feel that if the camera wasn’t there, the need for “something” to happen wouldn’t be so immediate.

Then again, finding meaning in nothingness is perhaps what Life in a Day is mostly about. McDonald’s considerable talents as a storyteller manages to hold these disparate elements together as a cohesive whole, and at the end of the day, viewers are going to interpret what they will from this crowd-sourced collection. These may not be typical elements in a day, but they did happen to hundreds of people around the world, and for the moment it is the closest we have to a truly user-generated movie.

[stextbox id=”custom” caption=”The Reel Bits”]A fascinating, if somewhat flawed and inconsistent, experiment in group storytelling. Now all we need is the YouPorn parody version.[/stextbox]

Life in a Day is released on 1 September 2011 in Australia from Transmission.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8S4gGI4nRo

August 30, 2011
Review: The Help

Despite the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863, and the UN Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, institutionalised indenture existed in the southern United States throughout the civil rights movement in the 1960s. In many ways, the African-American population of Mississippi and similarly inclined states were more a part of white society’s lives than the bigots of the day would care to admit. The black “help” were not simply housekeepers, but nannies to the children and as The Help writer/director Tate Taylor would emphasise, de facto mothers to neglected children at the expense of their own families. As the ever-present but invisible members of southern society, their desires were not considered. Based on Kathryn Stockett’s 2009 novel of the same name, The Help attempts to give this marginalised group a voice.

In 1960s Mississippi, Aibileen Clark (Viola Davis, Eat Pray Love) is an African-American maid who has recently lost her son but continues to serve as housemaid and nanny to the rich white family of Elizabeth Leefolt (Ahna O’Reilly). Similarly, Minny Jackson (Octavia Spencer, Dinner for Schmucks) is an outspoken maid who has been repeatedly fired from jobs, but is an excellent baker. When Eugenia “Skeeter” Phelan (Emma Stone, Easy A) returns home from college seeking work as a journalist, she is dissatisfied with the jobs she is able to get, but also the disappearance of her beloved childhood maid. Awakened to the rampant discrimination going on around her, and the vacuous nature of the lives of her friends – including snooty ringleader Hilly Holbrook (Bryce Dallas Howard, Hereafter) – Skeeter determines to write a book from the perspective of “The Help”, and begins to enlist the aid of the maids of the town.

Modern America is certainly not free of the kinds of racial issues that once completely divided a country, with recent events such as Hurricane Katrina revealing the disparity between rich and poor, not to mention black and white, in the Deep South. Mississippi was known for its genuine dangers to those that spoke out against the system, as the 1963 murder of Medgar Evers, referenced in the film, is evidence of. Indeed, much of the criticism levelled at the movie could be the overly uplifting view that the film takes, as it it were Mississipi Burning by way of Oprah Winfrey. Indeed, the film builds to a positive conclusion in 1964, the same year that the infamous murders depicted in Alan Parker’s 1988 film took place. While the film would have us believe that the telling of these stories indelibly change the lives of black people across the great state of Mississippi forever, the real world events that the film runs parallel to are indicative that the south still had a long way to go. Politics aside, if such a thing can be done in a film like this, The Help works best a character piece.

Despite looking shockingly like (a pre-crisis) Lindsay Lohan, Stone brings her characteristic energy to the role of Skeeter, clashing with the local princesses. Howard in particular has fun with her bitchy role, and Sissy Spacek is delightful as Hilly’s soused mother. An almost unrecognisable Jessica Chastain (Take Shelter, The Tree of Life) brings a vibrancy to her role as the singularly upbeat ditz who is the polar opposite of the southern women. Yet it is “The Help” themselves, in particular Davis and Spencer, who carry most of the emotional weight in the film. Through them we experience the highs and lows of their respective lots in life, but also the strongest aspects of the film.

[stextbox id=”custom” caption=”The Reel Bits”]The Help is may not deliver a cutting-edge examination of slavery in modern America, but it does provide a heartwarming character piece set against one of the most important eras in the last century of the United States’ history.[/stextbox]

The Help is released on 1 September 2011 in Australia from Disney.

August 28, 2011
Review: The Loved Ones

It has already been a bumper year for Australian film, with the likes of Animal Kingdom and The Waiting City getting rave reviews across the board. Yet let’s not forget the backbone of Australia’s film history: the exploitation genre. As Not Quite Hollywood informed us a few years ago, while Picnic at Hanging Rock was making nice on the international scene, the likes of Patrick and The Man from Hong Kong were quietly putting bums on seats in drive-ins across the country. In that proud tradition, we may now add The Loved Ones.

In rural Victoria, Brent (Xavier Samuel, The Twilight Saga: Eclipse) is slowly getting over the death of his father, killed while Brent was driving. Asked to the school dance by the ‘quiet one’ in the school, Lola (Rebecca McLeavy), he turns her down as he already has a loving girlfriend Holly (Victoria Thaine). However, Lola has other plans for the dance. She has been preparing for this for quite some time, and the little matter of Brent’s lack of enthusiasm isn’t going to dampen hers.

Bloody and sticky, what is most surprising about The Loved Ones is just how funny it also is. Billed as ‘Pretty in Pink meets Wolf Creek‘, but there should also be a nod to the Texas Chainsaw Massacre films in there. A scene in which Brent, Lola, her dad and ‘Bright Eyes’ sit around the dinner table has the grotesque humour of Tobe’s Hooper’s second entry in that series, or more recently the films of Rob Zombie. Maybe ‘Prom Night meets Texas Chain Saw Massacre’ doesn’t quite fit on the poster as well, but nor would that description adequately capture the quirkiness of what may be an instant cult classic.

The Loved Ones is Australian horror at its most fun, filled with the kind of over the top splatter that horror fans will flock to. Sean Byrne (who’s previous screen credits frighteningly include the self-help video The Secret) injects his debut theatrical feature with a cast of colourful characters. The real find here is McLeavy (48 Shades), who is perfectly cast as the unhinged Lola, with a daddy wrapped around her pink varnished little finger. Imagine if Napoleon Dynamite‘s Deb had snapped and gone off the deep end. While the story believability levels may stray at times, and the gore levels certainly won’t be to all tastes, it stays on just the right side of the torture porn genre with a few genuine twists to boot. You’ll never guess what is in the basement.

Following in the tradition of the Sperig Brothers’ Undead (who also brought us Daybreakers this year), The Loved Ones is the kind of genre piece that we should be seeing more often on local screens. Australians, rise up and demand buckets of blood and power drills on more marquees! You may never listen to Kasey Chambers in the same way again!

Overall rating: ★★★½

The Loved Ones is out in Australia on 30 September 2010 from Madman Entertainment.

July 26, 2010