Archive for June, 2010
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
RAW: Exit Through The Gift Shop (A Banksy Film)
Jun 16th
Reviewed By Lucy Campbell
Exit.. traces Thierry Guetta, an eccentric French self made filmmaker, stumbling upon the clandestine world of street art. His fascination with the danger and grey legality of the artist’s world turns into a recorded journey as Guetta slowly becomes invaluable to them; his willingness, enthusiasm and daredevil attitude are reciprocated with permission for him to film them. Guetta records stacks of unwatched tapes as street art gradually receives recognition in the art community, spearheaded by the enigma of British artist Banksy.
The film really begins when Guetta forms a friendship with Banksy, which leads to a series of misadventures and Guetta’s own fame and fortune as he becomes “Mr Brainwash” and hoodwinks the art world in a flurry of LA hype to become one of the biggest street artists to never really exist. Banksy has gone about cutting down thousands of hours of Guetta’s meandering, loose home video work into a succinct, hilarious and fascinating documentary of the accidental hero.
Guetta is the real star of the film; his eagerness and complete faith, eccentricities and innocent desire to be one of the gang is charming in an odd, compelling way. Exit.. is one for everybody with a sense of humour and a desire to know how stencils get to the tops of buildings.
Kryztoff Rating 4K
Lucy Campbell
RAW: Film – Lou
Jun 15th
In desperate straits, a young mother of three (Emily Barclay) takes in her former husband’s father and Alzheimer sufferer, Doyle (John Hurt), over Christmas. Oldest daughter, Lou (Lily Bell-Tindley), yearning for her absent father, develops a strange relationship with him where he believes her to be his long departed wife and Lou plays along with the fantasy, using her bond with Doyle against her mother.
At one level this is an engaging story of three people each looking for rocks of dependence in their lives. Hurt does an excellent job and Bell-Tindley, stunningly beautiful, gives a terrific debut performance. However, at deeper levels the story has inconsistencies that fail it. For a family on the bread line they possess a large LCD TV and the three children seem to have an endless collection of clothes. The oft used images of sugar cane burning lacked relevance, never seemed to apply the cane adjoining this family’s property and in any case Christmas is not cane harvesting time. Further, it is not clear over what time the changing relationships evolve as late in the film the Christmas tree is still in view.
While the cinematography is passable, there seemed lost opportunities to film in some terrific country that sugar cane parts of the world present.
Lou is not without merits but lacks the cogency and vision to acclaim it great.
Kryztoff Rating 3.5K
RAW: Film – Mother and Child
Jun 15th
Three women’s lives are intertwined though none has met the other. A 50 year old woman, Karen (Annette Bening), her daughter, Elizabeth (Naomi Watts) given up for adoption at birth and Lucy (Kerry Washington) looking to adopt find their lives merging in surprising ways. Rodrigo Garcia has written and directed a superb film made by stunning performances not only by the three main female leads but also by Samuel L. Jackson, S. Epatha Merkerson and Jimmy Smits.
This is about the psychological profiles that come from abandonment, abandoning and yearning and how those profiles change as circumstances change. These are hard and damaged women, removed from the happy nuclear family, looking for release from their emotional straight-jackets and sometimes doing whatever it takes to get there, including acting recklessly.
These performances and subject matter will no doubt resonate more with women (of all ages) than men but they too will have cause to reflect on their lives and parental relationships and enjoy this film immensely. Watts, Bening and Washington craft their roles on screen in compelling ways that mix both empathy and antipathy allowing us to view the yin and yang of their lives, where one’s gain can be another’s loss.
Mother and Child is a strong contender for film of the year.
Kryztoff Rating 4.5K
Peaches n Gin Nexus 12 June
Jun 14th
Peaches n Gin are the newest ladies in the Adelaide burlesque revival. Peaches n Gin feature Luna Eclipse and Sapphire Snow and supporting dancers in a smorgasboard of traditional burlesque, swing, belly dance and modern interpretative. An entertaining two hours had the full house at Nexus roaring and whistling, with eager audience participation. Highlights included original costumes, a tightly run pace overseen by MC Kara and a variety of song and sauce. Enjoy the frivolity!
RAW: Waiting for Godot – Her Majesty’s – June 9 – 12
Jun 12th
Directed By Sean Mathias
Reviewed By Miriam Keane
Samuel Beckett’s famous composition often leaves individuals struggling to provide a description of just what it is about. In Beckett’s own words, it’s two men “blathering about nothing in particular”. A more accurate summary might be that it explores the themes of life, death, and the waiting game that we all play in-between the two.
On a gloriously bleak set, never defined in time and space, we meet Estragon (Ian McKellen) and Vladimir (Roger Rees). They have come to this place with the usual issues plaguing old men – ill-fitting shoes, bladder control and memory lapses – but there is also the bigger problem of needing to pass the time until Godot comes to meet them. Into the mix come the intimidating and brash Pozzo (Matthew Kelley) and his tethered, downtrodden servant Lucky (Brendan O’Hea); travellers who provide a welcome distraction.
This play has the potential to be very boring. Happily, this was never an issue in the hands of the wonderful talent involved in this particular outing of the piece. Taking Beckett’s complex and often repetitive dialogue, the players turn it into an engaging, and frequently amusing, snapshot of the characters and their plight. Indeed, it is the non-verbal aspects of the performances which are most enthralling and highlight the calibre of those involved.
Exploring the hopelessness and pointlessness of the human condition, this play leaves audiences thinking, while also managing to avoid making them morose. Rather, spirits are lifted by the undeniable feeling of having witnessed something great.