[REC]2 Poster

[REC]2 is coming to NZ cinemas from Fri November 13th! The first one was one of the best horror movies I saw in 2007 so have no doubt this will be equally as terrifying!

For more info about the NZ release details as well as an awesome competition to promote it check out www.rec2.co.nz

Be Kind Rewind

This is why I love YouTube and hate Yahoo Movies.



Whenever a new trailer gets released over at Yahoo I can never watch it, mainly because my shite Telecom broadband cannot even handle streaming an SD version of the trailer, so I have to resort to YouTube. Still, you can find pretty much anything you're looking for on that site and it only took me a couple of minutes and there I had the first trailer for Michel Gondry's latest flick, 'Be Kind Rewind'.

If I wasn't excited about the project beforehand.. I am wetting my pants with anticipation now! It looks to be a little bit more mainstream friendly than his earlier efforts yet still retains that bizarre and quirky artistry that has won him fans all over the world. Seriously - can a pitch get any better than this movie? (two video store clerks have to remake a bunch of famous movies because they accidentally wiped them all) Jack Black and Mos Def look like they might have some great chemistry together and I cannot wait for this one.

Sunshine

So I unexpectedly got a half day at work today - and what did I do? You bet, I watched a movie. Now while I have only seen one of the previous weeks releases I was far more interested in seeing the ones that came out today and one of them happened to be on my 'must see' list for the year. That movie is 'Sunshine', the latest feature from director Danny Boyle (Trainspotting, 28 Days Later). I have always been a fan of his - LOVE Trainspotting and like 28 Days Later so was intrigued to see what he would bring to the table for a sci-fi genre film.

After watching it, it's clear that Boyle has used his experience with 28 Days Later to give us a near classic sci-fi thriller that is let down by a preposterous third act. A lot of people have called it 'Alien meets 2001' which I think is pretty spot on. The whole way through the film you will be on the edge of your seat, always with a sense of unease that disaster is just around the corner. Not many directors can manage to create that nailbiting tension - the sort of tension that is still around even in the most banal of scenes and I applaud Boyle for his use of close-ups, blur effects and an excellent score.

With a movie about one object - you wouldn't think the imagery would be one of the best things about the movie but Boyle suceeds in showing off how truly magical the Sun's beauty can be. Take for example the scene where Searle asks to have the observation room filtered to 3.1% of the Sun's true brightness. He's only allowed 30 seconds before lasting retina damage but the beauty it brings has an almost ethereal quality to it. I can see why they named the ship Icarus, after the fictional Icarus who fell to his death after flying too close to the Sun in order to better appreciate it's majesty.

While the plot for his latest movie is lifted straight from your run-of-the mill disaster flicks (It's 2057 and the Sun is dying - fast. A crew of 8 have been sent on the Icarus II to re-ignite the Sun before it's too late) he manages to distinguish this sci-fi disaster flick from the rest of them by having an ensemble cast that actually works well together and speaking lines that don't carry A grade cheese with them. Boyle wanted the cast to act as if they had been crampt in with each other for a very long time (They have been away from Earth for 16months) and in order to achieve this he got the principle actors to spend a couple of weeks in almost jailcell like conditions with communal living quarters - the whole shebang. It definately shows in the performances, with Cillian Murphy as the physicist and Chris Evans as the engineer peforming particularly well. There's something about Cillian's eyes which are totally disarming - they have a piercing and unreadable quality to them. I must also single out Cliff Curtis as the ships psychologist - I didn't detect the grating kiwi accent once. Oh and there's always the delightful Rose Byrne, providing some eye candy as the mission's pilot.

The desire to have the cast act as a believable crew was part of a larger goal for 'Sunshine' to shy away from the Star Wars and Star Trek world of Sci-fi and portray a plausible fiction. For the most part Sunshine acheives this sense of reality but there is a major problem in the third act when we are greeted with a bizarre plot twist from way out of left field which will alienate a lot of viewers. I won't give it away but it involves the Icarus I (Their ship wasn't called Icarus II for no reason). For all the scientific plausibility of the film it gets shot down by this ridiculous conclusion. I also didn't really love the ending - I don't know whether it's just me but when I watch movies like The Core (god I can't believe I am referencing that movie in a review or even acknowledging I saw it) or Deep Impact etc I like my endings to be full of spectacle and this one was a bit of an anticlimax. I can see where the director was coming from with the shot he closed with but I was hoping for something with a little more spark.

Would I reccomend seeing it? Definately, it's the best sci-fi to come out this year by a long way - a lot better than The Fountain which was too pretentious for its own good. Just be prepared to be let down a little by the ending.

A weak 4/5.

Movie Update: WCS and Junebug

So I have finally got back into my more regular movie watching habits - none of this 1 movie a week rubbish. I admit I was a bit jaded and all movie'd out for a while but now I am right back in there and can't get enough - only the fact it costs $14 to see each movie is deterring me from seeing anymore than 3 movies at this years World Cinema Showcase.


On Wednesday night I saw Black Snake Moan, the latest movie from director Craig Brewer (Hustle and Flow). Set in the deep South the movie revolves around a recently seperated black man, Lazarus (Jackson) who spends his days tending to his farm and listening to the blues. His routine is interrupted when he comes into contact with Rae who is left lying on the side of the road after being badly beaten by one of her lovers. Lazarus quickly learns the girl is deeply troubled, mainly with a rather bad case of nymphomania. He decides the best way to cure her of this dreadful disease is to tie her up to his radiator with a great big fuckoff chain. While she doesn't keep the chain on for that long it does make for some rather humourous scenes - especially when the local pastor comes round for dinner.

I didn't totally dig the film but I loved bits and pieces, like the scene where Lazarus plays the blues at the local joint to a rapturous crowd. Ricci gives an amazing performance as the nymphomaniac Rae, her Addams Family days are definately way behind her now. Also of note is Justin Timberlake, who gives a decent performance as her estranged lover/would be husband. It's not for everyone but I would encourage you to go see it when it comes out in a few months, especially if you liked Brewers first feature. Oh and you get to see Ricci in ALL her glory ;)


My next film for the Showcase was Suburban Mayhem - an Aussie film which stars talented local darling, Emily Barclay. She is unrecognisable from her role in In My Father's Den and her performance easily lives up to the hype her Best Actress award at the AFI's set up. The movie is part mockumentary and part dramedy, revolving around the aftermath of her father's homicide. The film opens with her talking to the camera and her penchant for fame and fortune is signalled to us right from the outset. As the movie progresses we learn even more about her fucked up pyschology - the fact her brother Danny chopped off a convenience store clerk's head, the accolade of having fucked a guy for every letter of the alphabet, getting her brothers mate to kill a friends dog - you get the idea.

The movie starts out as a very funny black comedy but ends up more on the drama end of things - which makes the eventual reveal of how her father actually died even more disturbing. I personally preferred it when it was content to laugh at the horrific nature of her personality, instead of confronting us head on with it. Later attempts at dark humour with her boyfriend Rusty didn't really work as well for me as the stuff at the beginning of the film. I guess the scriptwriters bust their wad a bit early. I really liked the movie though and you should definately try hunt it down - Emily Barclay is certainly our best actress working today which is more than enough reason to see it.


Lastly I finally saw Junebug, the acclaimed drama cum comedy that got critically praised throughout last year, ending up on a whole load of top ten lists. I can see why it got the praise but I didn't perhaps fall for it as much as others have. Don't get me wrong - Amy Adams is excellent in the movie, with scenes ranging from the hysterical to heartwrenching. The movie is based around Madeleine, an art dealer who comes to smalltown Southern USA to meet with an eccentric artist. It just so happens her partner's family live nearby so they figure it's as good a time as any to meet the parents. What follows next is a poignant look into the difference between how people live out their lives depending on their social circumstance.

It's clear that Johnny ( Ben Mckenzie - The O.C) is jealous of his brothers success, he has a beautiful partner, has a better sexlife and has had a good education. He is working at a run-of-the-mill job and living at home with his girlfriend and her parents. There is a really tragic scene between him and Madeleine when she trys to teach him about Huckleberry Finn to help him pass his English paper only to have her help misconstrued. Alessandro Nivola is good as her partner although half way through the movie I recognised him from Goal and then I kept thinking of him having a Newcastle accent the whole way through the movie.

It's not for everyone, while it's only 100 or so minutes the movie takes it's time in getting there and is punctuated by a lot of silences and shots of the landscape or various empty places around the house - I guess to signify the kind of stifling and isolated existance these characters live with. It's the whole ignorance is bliss thing I guess - I certainly couldn't live or relate to the people who live along the bible belt of the States but in their own way they do have a real humanity to them. Amy Adam's Ashley is testament to that.

Miyazaki's Latest Film Announced!

Had to post this, Miyazaki is one of my favourite directors so a new film from him sends me into a delirious state. The title of his newest film is 'Gake no ue no Ponyo' (Ponyo On A Cliff). The film is due out in Japan sometime in 2007 and is based on the story of the Princess goldfish Ponyo who dreams of becoming human and a 5 year old boy called Sosuke.

More info at Ghibli World

Can't Wait!!

World Cinema Showcase - March 15th - April 4th

For those of you wanting something a little different from what’s showing at the multiplexes at the moment and are hanging out for the annual International Film Festival that comes around each July, the World Cinema Showcase is here to help tide you over while you wait. In it’s ninth year now the showcase has built a reputation for screening movies that perhaps won’t get a proper theatrical release and giving audiences the chance to see some lost classics on the silver screen (this year it’s The African Queen). And if that isn’t your thing there is the opportunity to see films like Little Children and Black Snake Moan before they get a proper release.

This year has a particularly good lineup with almost 30 films showing. Whether it’s the American indie films, the powerful documentaries or European art house that floats your boat there is something to suit your tastes. The opening film this year is The Namesake, from director Mira Nair (Monsoon Wedding, Vanity Fair) – an adaptation of the novel by Jhumpa Lahiri. USA Today calls it ‘an engaging and moving film with a universal story about the bonds of family as told through two generations of a Bengali family.’

My personal picks for the fest include the 1951 classic, The African Queen – which was the first colour film for both Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn. Black Snake Moan, from the director of Hustle and Flow has had some great reviews and fans of Samuel L. Jackson should definitely check it out. With a plot that includes nymphomania, the blues and interracial sex it’s certainly intriguing. Out of the documentaries, ‘Dixie Chicks: Shut up and Sing’ catches my interest – mainly because of the furor they caused when they stated on tour that they were ‘ashamed’ that President Bush was from Texas (their home state) and consequently lost half of their fanbase.

I don’t want to end up listing the whole line-up (it’s hard though – believe me) but briefly I also plan on seeing Infamous – that other Capote film and Little Children, a movie about what goes on behind the façade of the upper middle class. Based on the novel by Tom Perrotta and with a cast that includes Kate Winslet, Jennifer Connelly and child star come good, Jackie Earle Haley you should definitely take a look. If I still have enough money left over I might also check out Lemming – if only for the chance to see Charlotte Gainsbourg act again as she was amazing in The Science of Sleep.

On the New Zealand side of things, Suburban Mayhem shows that Emily Barclay’s performance in 2004’s In My Father’s Den was not a one-off, winning the Best Actress award at the Australian Film Institute’s most recent awards ceremony. Waves, a documentary about Chinese international students at a New Zealand high school is screening again on the back of it’s success at the International Film Fest so don’t miss it the second time around.

The Showcase runs from March 15^th – April 4^th at the Academy Cinemas with ticket prices varying from $10-$14 depending on what time of day you want to go. There are booklets dotted around town with details on all the films plus the schedule for the whole showcase but you can also access the information online at their website. As an extra incentive if you visit the website there is a chance to win one of ten double passes to a screening of your choice by answering the question on the homepage. No I’m not going to tell you the answer – it’s incredibly easy.

More info at:

The World Cinema Showcase Website:

www.worldcinemashowcase.co.nz

Academy Cinemas Website:

www.academycinemas.co.nz

The Good German

Never one to turn down a free screening (hell I'd see Norbit if it was for free) when Rialto offered their Film Club the chance to see The Good German a day early I wasn't going to turn it down! For those of you who have been wondering just what the hell Steven Soderbergh (Traffic, Erin Brockovich, Oceans 11) has been up to lately The Good German is the answer. In a true homage to classical 1940's Hollywood Soderbergh's latest outing is a noir murder mystery in the spirit of films like Casablanca and The Third Man. In a remarkable move Soderbergh elected to film his homage using only techniques available to 1940's filmmakers. Some people will call this arrogance. I call it a filmlovers wet dream.

If you like your movies action packed with frenetic editing and gravity defying stunts you're in the wrong place. If however you recognise names such as Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Marlene Dietrich and know Casablanca for reasons other than it being at the top of Africa then I have a feeling you will dig the movie as much as I did.

Set in Berlin at the end of World War II we meet Jake Geismer (George Clooney, having no problems with looking like a 40's movie star) who is here to cover the Pottsdam Peace Conference. His driver Tully (Tobey Maguire - not so successful) is a typical product of the war, making the best of his situation by playing both enemies against each other and making money at every opportunity. We soon meet Tully's girlfriend Lena Brandt (Cate Blanchett - another amazing performance) who as the wife to an SS secretary is highly desired by both sides. When Tully claims he can bring the Russians her husband and ends up in the river with 100 grand on him and a bullet in the chest the film launches headfirst into a noir murder mystery of the highest order. Both sides want the whole thing to be forgotten but Jake is determined to get to the bottom of it, regardless of the cost.

The movie is, for the most part, a great homage to the 1940's noir and romance stories that characterised the golden age of Hollywood. The performances are solid - especially Blanchett as Lena Brandt, backing up an equally impressive performance in Notes on a Scandal. She is one of the few working actresses who have that classical beauty of the 40's and would have been right at home with the likes of Bergman and Dietrich. Soderbergh also uses Blanchett to remind us just how alluring black and white film can be. Clooney is very good too although his star status does make it a bit harder to maintain the illusion that we are watching a typical 40's film. Maguire was adequate but in my opinion it was a bad bit of casting, especially given the timing - Spiderman 3 comes out in May, making his spidey persona even harder to ignore.

The script doesn't help either - swear words which screenwriters of the time wouldn't have even dreamt of getting past the production code pop up far too often. This incessant swearing forced me out of the period illusion. Along with the swearing, the other major problem I had with the film was the sexual explicitness - which for most audiences probably won't matter as it is no worse than your typical Hollywood movie. However this is NOT your standard Hollywood movie and if you are trying to maintain the illusion of a 40's noir it would have helped to stick to the production code. Half of what made these films so great was the innuendo that you were bombarded with. With a far worse form of censorship than today, the Hays Production Code meant that screenwriters had to be increasingly cheeky and clever in getting across the same message without actually showing it on screen. When we see Tully straight out doggystyling Lena somehow the film loses just a bit of it's magic.

The Good German is not everyones cup of tea and if your film appreciation has a timespan that ends in the mid 80's you will find the pacing dull, the effects unrealistic, some of the acting melodramatic and the story increasingly hard to follow. For the rest of you - give it a chance, you might just discover the beauty of golden age Hollywood - believe me it gets much better than this one. And for the true filmlovers, you owe it to yourself to see this. Afterall unless you're very lucky it's the closest you will ever get to seeing Casablanca on the silver screen.

A tentative 4 stars.

Showing now at Rialto.

Best Week At The Movies In Ages!

Two main reasons:



1) The Science of Sleep finally gets a theatrical release after having premiered at the International Film Fest in July last year. If you missed it then you have no excuses - you owe it to yourself to watch this movie. If you loved Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind then you will totally dig it - Science of Sleep is easily on a par with that one. Not to mention it has Gael Garcia Bernal in one of his best roles to date :p Charlotte Gainsbourg (sp?) is also really good, I found her so damn attractive in this movie, I guess because she isn't what you would traditionally call attractive but I found myself drawn to her nonetheless.

I thought it was only going to come out at Rialto but it's actually showing at Queen St too so you you can't bitch about having to travel to go watch it. Watch it before Gael hits the mainstream and you can claim you owned him beforehand like I do with Scarlett hehe :p




2)The DESCENT!!!!! After what seems like an age it finally comes out in cinemas here. I saw it April last year when I was in England and even in broad daylight on DVD it was the scariest movie I have seen in a long, long time. I showed it to my friends at a movie night and they all agreed. If you want to see the first truly scary horror movie in a long time then go see it. I am tempted to actually watch this own again to see how an audience reacts to it - especially the viewfinder moment heh! Although the fucking advertising department had it in one of the trailers I saw recently before a movie - way to go ruin the best part of the movie nongheads.

Oh and it is the directors cut version not the stupid watered dawn typical Hollywood ending that US audiences got.

A few more reasons why this week rocks:



The Good German is out - Steven Soderbergh's homage to 1940's noir in the spirit of movies like The Third Man and Casablanca. Shot only with 1940's technology this is a filmlovers wet dream and the closest most will get to seeing Casablanca on the silver screen. Not to mention Cate Blanchett looks absolutely GORGEOUS mmmm. Black and White really does bring out some beautiful results. It's not perfect but I definately recommend it to most audiences. (Full Review forthcoming I think :p)

NEW Spiderman 3 footage - thanks to AICN and NBC you can watch an 8minute sequence of the upcoming film which features a kick-ass fight between Spidey and Harry Osborne (James Franco)

Link here:

http://www.aintitcool.com/node/31776

or direct download (be warned its 200+MB)

http://flash.sonypictures.com/video/movies/spiderman3/Spiderman3_480p_4000kbps.mov

Not sure if that link still works though, Sony might have taken it down already.

Only 1 WEEK till Hot Fuzz and Miss Potter come out!!!

Less than 1 MONTH till 300 and Pan's Labyrinth!!!