RAW: Film
RAW: Inception – Film – 3.5K
Jul 21st
Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his team including Arthur (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), Eames (Tom Hardy) and Saito (Ken Watanabe), already experts in ‘excavation’ – penetrating and deducing the contents of people’s dreams – now decide to try their hand at ‘inception’, the planting of an idea in the sub-conscious. Their target is the son (Cillian Murphy) of a family patriarch (Pete Postlewaite) in order to stop that family’s company dominating world energy supplies. To do this they enlist the support of student, Ariadne (Ellen Page) but in the process find Cobb’s own sub-conscious demons a barrier to progress once they start entering the various levels of the dreams they come to possess.
Sound complex? Well it is, exceedingly! Right from the start, writer and director, Christopher Nolan has Inception burst forth and many may find they lose their way from early on. The dreams are multi layered, each existing in its own time zone and all possessing baddies with guns who don’t seem to be able to aim straight. But as much as the dreams are constructs of the imagination, the inconsistencies of plot add to the viewing dilemmas with the impact of dying in a dream just one imponderable.
In many ways, this film has its similarities with DiCaprio’s Shutter Island from earlier this year but none of the acting finesse he showed in that. This is for the most part a one fast pace anxiety fix for DiCaprio. Page adds a pretty face and Gordon-Levitt is excellent as the straight laced technician of the team. The sets are extraordinary as is the imagination that dreamt this up. But at the end one had to ask why all the bother. Sci-fi fans will love it and a second viewing may assist in understanding but many I suspect will allow the non-stop action to entertain well after the machinations of the plot have passed them by.
Kryztoff Rating – 3.5K
RAW: The Runaways – Film – 4K
Jul 15th
Reviewed By Lucy Campbell
For anybody with even the slightest of grasps of The Runaways music can probably guess that this film is a romped up biopic of Joan Jett and Cherie Currie, the infamous duo to front the all-girl rock phenomenon of the 70s. The Runaways centres heavily around the performance of the two leads; teen hype machine Kristen Stewart as Jett and child actor workhorse Dakota Fanning as Cherie Currie. Luckily both actors do a fine job as the superstar teens, with Stewart in particular proving she’s made of stronger stuff than the ‘Twilight’ bamboozle. The best performance goes to Michael Shannon for his acidic, aggressive and egotistical Kim Fowley; manager dash collaborator.
Runaways has all the plot one would expect from such a biopic: the inevitable drug problems, sex, alcohol abuse, relationship meltdowns and eventual breakup, and it suffers from hovering between too sexy, offensive and dark for a teen audience and a little too tame for the real rock n roll romp it should be. Nevertheless the film looks beautiful, and the time and place have been lovingly captured by writer/director Flora Sigismondi, with the relationship between Jett and Currie as believable, tangible and not overplayed. Despite the second half, which goes on far too long and focuses on the least interesting of the two rockers (Currie, whose Dakota Fanning saucer-eyes and drug-fuelled clichés lack the passion and energy of Jett) The Runaways is still an enjoyable if un-subtle glance into the world of 70s rock n roll, and to a lesser extent the role and influence of women in a male dominated industry.
Kryztoff Rating 4K
RAW: Tim Burton – The Exhibition – ACMI Melbourne
Jun 30th
Any lover of modern, edgy media or graphic design will wish to make a bee line to Melbourne for Tim Burton – The Exhibition at the Australian Centre for Moving Image (ACMI) in Federation Square before 10th October.
This exhibition, straight from the Museum of Modern Art in New York, is the complete retrospective. To its credit, and what is usually rare from such a display, is copious material from his pre-fame days when growing up as the outsider kid in Burbank, Ca. The first two rooms highlight the array of Burton’s mental and physical doodling and concepts that would become consistent and now famous motifs of his work, all well before he carried studio support – the dark settings, the wiry fingers, arms and legs, the bits that stick out from heads, his love of black and white working together in rings and leafless, winter beaten trees.
Also fascinating is the almost child-like way he presents film concepts to producers and his, at times, very clever sense of humour. Certainly Burton has a distinctive personal artistic vision evoking humour, fantasy and nightmares, living often in between worlds. While some regress to child like stories and fantasy as a comfort zone, Burton says his films are not an attempt at recapturing a childish impulse but a way to make the world fresh and interesting.
While mentioning at the outset media buffs and graphic designers will wish to ensure they see it, a great many other starting points will also attract attendance. Kids will love it, though this is probably more for adults than may be expected, psychologists will have a field day and film buffs generally will be intrigued. Certainly, as much as Burton’s genius is front and centre in his films, one comes to appreciate there are standout performances that actually make those movies hits such as from Michael Keaton (Beetlejuice), Johnny Depp (various) and Jack Nicholson (especially as the Joker).
There is great deal to do on any weekend in Melbourne this winter but this should be a priority.
Kryztoff Rating 4.5K
RAW: Farewell – Film
Jun 30th
In the early 1980s, the Cold War for the Russians is being increasingly held together only by intelligence about western people, missiles and bases. Sergei Gregoriev (Emir Kusturica), in the Soviet intelligence services, has decided that should all change through sending back to the West all they know about them and the names of the Russian agents operating there. His mission is to make the Russian world a better place for his son, Igor. To do this, he enlists the help of Pierre Froment (Guillaume Canet), a Frenchman living in Moscow, in an operation codenamed ‘Farewell’.
This is a terrific espionage film, based on the factual account in the book by Serguei Kostine. Director and co-writer, Christian Carion, builds the tension silently but inexorably throughout until the last scenes are nearly unbearable to watch, so involved in the machinations and the lives of the players involved has one become.
Both the main actors do a great job and are well supported by Sergei’s ‘family’ (son, wife and mistress) and Pierre’s wife, Jessica (Alexandra Maria Lara). There is no James Bond or Jason Bourne in this drama and conflict between ‘duty’ to the cause and honesty and trust in the family is compellingly portrayed. Cliche portrayals of President Reagan and the CIA are upturned in the end as the real goings on get revealed.
Don’t miss it.
Kryztoff Rating 4.5K
RAW: Food Inc. – Film
Jun 29th
Food Inc is an unsettling and uncomfortable expose of the corporately controlled US food industry which no doubts has many parallels in Australia. As such it sits as an excellent companion piece to End Of The Line, the recent documentary about global fishing stocks.
Like EOTL, Food Inc wastes no time and nuance in quickly establishing who the villains are. Writer and director, Robert Kenner, names and shames in ways the US legal and political system no longer much allows it seems. Images of suffering animals due to pens, genetic modification or their food intake abound and the disconnect between consumer perceptions about their food and reality is hammered home.
However, again like EOTL, hope for the future is sustained, this time through the growing organics industry, (though no doubt the definition of this will be attacked and made meaningless over time such as the concept of ‘free range eggs’ is under at present in this country.)
These types of documentaries are at times glib, very biased in their view but they do get your blood boiling and make for compelling entertainment. Food Inc is one such in that mould but any kernel of truth that helps propel change is a good thing and the case for the power of the individual to make a difference keeps it interesting.
Kryztoff Rating 4K
RAW: Love In A Puff – Film
Jun 25th
Reviewer – Lucy Campbell
It isn’t very often that Chinese cinema reaches our shores. The 1990s decline in the Hong Kong industry has never seen it truly recover, and it’s unlikely that Pang Ho-Cheung’s ‘Love in a Puff’ will do much to resurrect it.
The premise itself is an interesting one, if a little thin: workers ostracised due to smoking laws huddle in designated smoking zones, swapping jokes, stories and little bits of their lives. Two of these smokers, Cherie (Miriam Cheung) and Jimmy (Shawn Yue) strike up a relationship. That really is the entire storyline; the rest of the film is a compilation of long conversations and stories and snippets of the first seven days of their relationship. The truthfulness of the unwritten modern dating rules is key: the muddled texting, Facebook editing, swapping phone plans and the awkward and uneasy conversations. But somehow, Love in a Puff seems lost in translation and the nuances of their conversations are forgotten in the cultural wash.
However gentle and charming ‘Love in a Puff’ may be, it still is pretty uninteresting when all is said and done. Points are laboured and the characters are sketches. It seems like a Chinese attempt at French-style cinema, but lacking the intricacies of the latter it loses interest mid-way. ‘Love in a Puff’ is awkward, a mish-mash of borrowings from other films and although there is an element of modern Chinese culture that is revelatory, as a film rather than a cultural essay ‘Love in a Puff’ proves to be a work in progress.
Kryztof rating 3K
RAW: Grown Ups – Film – Out Thursday
Jun 22nd
When their high school basketball coach dies, his old and only successful team reunites after 30 years to mourn and celebrate the July 4th weekend. Lenny (Adam Sandler) is now a successful Hollywood agent and his wife, Roxanne (Salma Hayek) is big in fashion. Rob (Rob Schneider) is into natural medicines and therapies while Marcus (David Spade) is still a rampaging single. Together they join with teammates Eric (Kevin James) and Kurt (Chris Rock), their wives and children in a lakeside cabin, the boys’ old hunting ground. From there some predictable mayhem ensues.
Directed by Dennis Dugan and co-written by Sandler this is no classic but ideal school holiday fare. The humour is a combination of sight gags and potty jokes but they keep on coming and the film never lets up the fun even in its more sombre moments. As such parents will enjoy as much as the children and the poignancy of how the generations of children have moved on as wealth and status needs have escalated are well handled and will resonate with the older generation. All the icons of holiday season in the US are there – the lakeside retreat, water fun parks, July 4 fireworks and the total mix of characters ensures chaos reigns supreme.
A light, fun and agreeable school holiday flick with Sandler, Spade and Schneider in great form.
Kryztoff Rating 3.5K
RAW: I Am LOve – Film – From Thursday 24th June
Jun 22nd
When an industrial baron leaves the Recchi business to both his son, Tancredi (Pippo Delbono) and grandson, Edoardo (Flavio Parenti) tensions appear in this Milanese family. Edoardo is young, highly principled but somewhat naive and when he introduces his former athletic competitor, Antonio, into the house as chef, his mother, Emma (Tilda Swinton) seeks solace with him in place of Tancredi, her cold but devoted husband.
Written and directed by Luca Guadagnino, I Am Love is superbly shot with lavish sets and scenes that invoke all the wonders of enormous wealth and northern Italy. Swinton dominates the film and does a supreme job, in Italian. Her role is sure to win many prizes. Parenti is also excellent and his expose of the wealthy son wishing the best in the world and for his family is convincing. The clash between what is meant to happen in such a family and the reality is magnificently conveyed. The musical score also adds mightily, making nuanced emotions turning points and bringing together the enormity of the film’s conclusion.
The trouble is Swinton overly dominates the picture and at times the pace drags almost to a halt when more time spent on the motivations and experiences of the very many bit characters may have been more useful (or don’t have them at all.) Her husband, a key player, is hardly known at all by the end.
A visual and emotional treat, especially for Swinton fans.
Kryztoff Rating 3.5K
RAW: Get Him To The Greek – Film
Jun 16th
When plump Aaron Green (Jonah Hill), working in a struggling record company, comes up with the idea for his boss, Sergio, (Sean ‘P. Diddy’ Combs) of a ten year reunion concert for Aldous Snow (Russell Brand), a kind of Jim Morrison / Michael Hutchence tribute, things come together except for the fact that Aaron must get Aldous from London to New York and then Los Angeles (home of The Greek auditorium) in 72 hours.
When he arrives, he (and we all) finds Aldous has the maturity of an eight year old and the self discipline of a tearaway undergrad. From there the main threads holding this mess together are jokes centred around the mid-drift, front and back and for both genders. Sex, drugs, rock’n’roll and no shortage of vomit keep us enthralled for the next 90 minutes.
Frat boys may see this as the new Animal House. Oldies may reflect on Spinal Tap, while others still will see nothing much more than another road movie with a Vegas romps in the middle and all the production values of The Room.
But to draw comparisons with classic films like these would be odious. Undergrad males may revel in the coarseness and lack of subtlety (the language used often would make even Andrew Johns blush). Brand holds his part together well and to be sure there were some humorous things said, though most of these for me seemed to sail way over the heads of those around me at the screening who were delighting in the film generally.
This film offers little new and even less left for the imagination.
Kryztoff Rating 3.5K for Frat Boys; 1K for the rest of us
RAW: Bunny and the Bull – Film
Jun 16th
Reviewer – Tom Bowden
First things first, this film is written and directed by Paul King, the director of the Mighty Boosh. But don’t be put off by the Boosh link, this is not in any way a Boosh film.
The general storyline is very simple. Stephen (Edward Hogg) has agoraphobia and hasn’t left his house in years. His life is carefully structured, with every aspect of his existence being catalogued in boxes that line every wall of his tiny flat. One day, Stephen and his friend Bunny (Simon Farnaby) take an imaginary holiday inside his apartment, based on mementos and memories of an earlier vacation.
The visuals in this film, as you would expect from King, are incredible. In a world dominated by CG and special effects, it’s refreshing to see things done the old fashioned way. Sure, there’s a lot of CG in there but used differently to how it’s abused in most movies today.
The storyline is brilliant – funny, sad, ridiculous and tragic. There is so much to this film; it’s not simply just another comedy. The acting is great and the relationships between characters are explored and explained well. All of the elements that go into making a great film are here, and they’re all in the right place.
In a market flooded with so much rubbish, it’s exciting when every now and then something amazing comes along. Make sure you catch it! It will be the next big thing.
Kryztoff Rating – 4.5K