Hunger Games: Catching Fire ★★★ ½

Hunger Games: Catching fire feeds the multitude

Opens in Australia: 21st November, 2013
UK: 21^stNovember 2013 
USA: 22^ndNovember 2013

Other Countries: Release Information

   Okay everybody you can stop salivating and wishing the time away. Hunger Games: Catching Fire has arrived with a bang.  It topped the box office in Australia, ahead of its release in the USA with a staggering 65% increase from the first film’s result and the second biggest opening day for 2013 behind Iron Man 3.

Fans of Suzanne Collin’s dystopian series will not be disappointed. It follows the book closely, covering the politics and the lives of the love triangle of Katniss, Peeta and Gale. Directed by Francis Lawrence (I Am Legend, Constantine, Water for Elephants), reviewers and audiences are claiming it is better than the first film. The last book of the trilogy has been split into two films and will also be directed by Lawrence.

After winning the 74^th Hunger Games, Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) and Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson) return to District 12 as victors.  Part of their job is to participate in the propaganda surrounding the Hunger Games, embarking on tours of the other Districts (think an Olympics homecoming but with a dour crowd).  Peeta and Katniss, who used the ruse of “being in love” to avoid being killed at the games, must continue to perpetrate the lie. On a visit to District 11, (young Rue’s district who was Katniss’ murdered friend in the first games) Katniss and Peter make the mistake of going off script and speaking from the heart. This incites the crowd to demonstrate their “hope” by whistling the notes Katniss used to contact Rue in the games, along with a three finger salute. As they travel through the districts the unrest continues, with the salute and the whistle its trademark.

With Katniss as its figurehead, President Snow (Donald Sutherland) views this demonstration of solidarity and hope as a threat to the supremacy of Pan Am. He devises a plan with the new gamesmaker Plutarch Heavensbee (Philip Seymour Hoffman) to create a special games for the Quarter Quell (75 years of Hunger Games). The tributes will be chosen from the victors this time. Just when it seems Katniss will finally have a chance to be with Gale(Liam Hemsworth), she and other angry victors must return to an even more dangerous arena.

Stanley Tucci is a knockout as commentator Caesar Flickerman.  Elizabeth Banks is again fabulous as Effie Trinkett.  All the team are still there: Wood Harrelson as Haymitch, Lenny Kravitz as Cinna, Toby Jones as Claudius Templesmith along with new tributes.

It’s a dark drama, and even though an enjoyable watch, the first half of the film covering the politics does drag until the games begin. When they do, they pack a wallop with real edge of your seat thrills (if you call watching young people kill innocent others thrilling). Just like the first, it ends with the promise of the next film. These films are box office gold. The producers will certainly not be going hungry.

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Film Review Round Up 16th November 2013

It’s the good, the bad and the ugly this week.  Enough Said is a cute one, Fifth Estate the badly done Assange story, and ugly, well that would be Jackass presents Bad Grandpa. Who knew I would be laughing at fart jokes this week, but hey it surprised me.

(My movie Pick of the week)

Enough Said ★★★ ½

Opens in Australia:      14^th November, 2013

Other Countries:          Release Information

Perth, Australia:                   See at Luna Cinemas

OUR THOUGHTS

This is a pretty cute film.  I like the setup and it’s rather prophetic in that the character, Eva, played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus, keeps hassling the love interest Albert (James Gandolfini) about his weight. As we know, sadly, Gandolfini died this year from a heart attack.  I am struggling to say a lot about Enough Said, though, because it’s a film like most of these indie romantic comedies… the acting is wonderful, its good, not great, you won’t hate it, you won’t love it. You probably won’t even remember it in a year.

After I saw it, it created the question for me: Should film going patrons pay the same price for this film, that clearly didn’t cost much to make, as Thor The Dark World costing hundreds of millions? I don’t think so.  And that’s why indie films like Enough Said will come and go with few people seeing them, which is a shame because they deserve their audience but that audience should be charged accordingly.

STUDIO BLURB

Directed by Nicole Holofcener, starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus, James Gandolfini (in one of his final film roles), Catherine Keener & Toni Collette.

A divorced and single parent, Eva (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) spends her days enjoying work as a masseuse but dreading her daughter's impending departure for college. While at a party she meets Albert (James Gandolfini) - a sweet, funny and like-minded man also facing an empty nest. As their romance blossoms, Eva befriends Marianne (Catherine Keener), her new massage client. Marianne is a beautiful poet who seems "almost perfect" except for one prominent quality: she spends much of her time complaining about her ex-husband’s annoying habits. Suddenly it all comes together as Eva realizes that Albert is Marianne’s ex and finds herself doubting her own relationship with Albert as she learns the “truth” about him from Marianne!

Jackass presents Bad Grandpa ★★★ ½ stars

Opens in Australia:   14^th November, 2013

Other Countries:          Release Information

OUR THOUGHTS

How can “so wrong” be so right. My first thought when I received the invite to Bad Grandpa was, Nope, not my cup of tea, but I’ve a teenage boy and I thought, maybe he would like it.  So, I relented and toodled off to the preview expecting to bemoan a waste of time while I sat through stupid antics by idiotic people. Well, wasn’t I surprised?  It is very funny, although some of the gags didn’t hit home as much as the filmmakers thought they might.  Included are a couple of scenes so funny your stomach will hurt.  The audience with us laughed uproariously throughout.  If you are Jackass fan add an extra star to my review. Overall, not bad Mr Knoxville.  I am still not a Jackass fan but Grandpa isn’t so bad.

STUDIO BLURB

86 year-old Irving Zisman is on a journey across America with the most unlikely companion, his 8 year-old Grandson Billy in "Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa." This October, the signature Jackass character Irving Zisman (Johnny Knoxville) and Billy (Jackson Nicoll) will take movie audiences along for the most insane hidden camera road trip ever captured on camera. Along the way Irving will introduce the young and impressionable Billy to people, places and situations that give new meaning to the  term childrearing. The duo will encounter male strippers, disgruntled child beauty pageant contestants (and their equally disgruntled mothers), funeral home mourners, biker bar patrons and a whole lot of unsuspecting citizens. (c) Paramount

The Fifth Estate ★★ ½

Opens in Australia:      14^th November, 2013

Other Countries:          Release Information

OUR THOUGHTS

      I found this a very dull version of the Julian Assange story.  In fact, I am uncertain whether I want to know more about this man. I’ve seen several films this year about him, and nobody seems to have pinned down what he is really about.  “Damages” scriptwriters quite blatantly used Assange as a basis for their main antagonist in their last season. He comes across as a creep who cares about nobody.  In this one, the writers offer a line suggesting he has Asperger’s.   Yes Benedict Cumberbatch is good as Assange in a creepy sort of way, but by the end of the film I felt like I’d seen a very shallow take on a man who must be, in reality, a complicated, layered human being. This is a very unsatisfying and one dimensional film that has a couple of exciting bits and that’s it. 

STUDIO BLURB

Triggering our age of high-stakes secrecy, explosive news leaks and the trafficking of classified information, WikiLeaks forever changed the game. Now, in a dramatic thriller based on real events, "The Fifth Estate" reveals the quest to expose the deceptions and corruptions of power that turned an Internet upstart into the 21st century's most fiercely debated organization. The story begins as WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange (Benedict Cumberbatch) and his colleague Daniel Domscheit-Berg (Daniel Brühl) team up to become underground watchdogs of the privileged and powerful. On a shoestring, they create a platform that allows whistleblowers to anonymously leak covert data, shining a light on the dark recesses of government secrets and corporate crimes. Soon, they are breaking more hard news than the world's most legendary media organizations combined. But when Assange and Berg gain access to the biggest trove of confidential intelligence documents in U.S. history, they battle each other and a defining question of our time: what are the costs of keeping secrets in a free society-and what are the costs of exposing them?"(c) Disney

What have you seen this week? Did you find our comments helpful or do you disagree? Share your thoughts with us.

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Film Review Roundup 9th November 2013

THIS WEEK'S PREVIEWS

A couple of true life films this week which I think will be touted in the awards season that is just around the corner.  The Butler will please most and Fruitvale Station, though a small indie film, packs a punch.  And then there’s The Counselor. What can I say, except it will be at the bottom of my worst list. I hated it. Don’t see it.  It only encourages these crazy people to keep making dribble like this.  It will hurt your eyeballs and put images in your mind that you don’t want there.

  

(My movie Pick of the week)

The Butler ★★★★ 

Opens in Australia: 31st October, 2013
Other Countries:          Release Information
Perth, Australia:        See at Luna Cinemas

OUR THOUGHTS

       The Butler is an enjoyable story of an ordinary man in a remarkable position to witness history as butler to the presidents of the United States. What is remarkable is that this humble man also influences history by just being himself. I found Oprah’s portrayal of Cecil Gaines wife a little shaky in the beginning. Once she gets her teeth into the role though, she really gives a winning performance.  Its an awards season film. And rightly so, nominations for Forest Whittaker’s portrayal will be well deserved.  If you enjoy true story dramas this one is well worth seeing. And yes, that is Jane Fonda as Nancy Reagan and it’s a fabulous cameo.

STUDIO BLURB

        Based on a true story, Lee Daniels (Precious) directs a stellar ensemble cast who between them have garnered 18 Academy Award nominations, including Forest Whittaker, Oprah Winfrey, Jane Fonda, John Cusack, Robin Williams, Alan Rickman, James Marsden, Live Schreiber and Melissa Leo.

        For three decades, Cecil Gaines (Academy Award Winner Forest Whitaker) served as the chief butler for eight consecutive US presidents, including Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan. Working intimately with these world leaders at the White House, from his unique vantage point Cecil Gaines witnessed radical transformations in American history through the civil rights movement to the Vietnam and the Cold War - and how those changes affected his life and family.

The Counselor -117★stars (the running time that it took from my life) 

Opens in Australia: 7^th November, 2013
Other Countries:          Release Information

OUR THOUGHTS

The Counselor is an unmitigated disaster, and I don’t say that lightly. I respect every person involved but, together, what the hell have they done? It’s easily the worst, most pretentious thing I have seen in several years. Don’t blame the cast. They tried hard. Blame the crazy, sometimes genius, revered author Cormac McCarthy (The Road) who wrote the incredibly ridiculous screenplay. Why Ridley Scott allowed his name to be attached to this may come out in interviews later.

Maybe they are friends. Maybe they are simply dirty old men who frequent sex joints together because the entire film seems to be about discussing sex while demonstrating the most bizarre ways you can indulge in it. Even though its full of sex talk, trust me there is nothing titillating in this one, just plain ugly thoughts. I will forever be emotionally scarred by the vision of Cameron Diaz on the windscreen of a car supposedly having sex with it (much to the horror of Javier Badem’s character and the audience I suspect).

At this point in a review I usually give you a short outline of the story but, sorry folks, there is no story—just an onslaught of long monologues delivered by A-list actors who were probably thinking, What the hell am I doing here?

It makes no sense, is horribly miscast, costumed by someone who mistakenly thinks they know how drug people dress (in poor taste, apparently, despite their wealth), and it makes no attempt to tell a story. Cormac McCarthy should never be let near a screenplay again. If this is what Ridley thinks is entertainment, then I hope his film rights lapse to my friend Hugh Howey’s brilliant Wool trilogy.

Don’t go near a cinema where it is showing. Don’t tell yourself, but it has my favorite actors. (You won’t be happy at how unattractive and dopey they made Brad Pitt or what they did to Javier Badem’s hair.) Don’t even rent it on DVD. If you want to watch a great drama about drug cartels, watch re-runs of Breaking Bad. I want my 117 minutes back (and why I gave a minus star for every minute I was stuck enduring it). I will never look at a windscreen the same way again and that is just not right.

STUDIO BLURB

Legendary filmmaker Ridley Scott and Pulitzer Prize winning author Cormac McCarthy (No Country for Old Men) have joined forces in the motion picture thriller THE COUNSELOR, starring Michael Fassbender, Penélope Cruz, Cameron Diaz, Javier Bardem, and Brad Pitt. McCarthy, making his screenwriting debut and Scott interweave the author's characteristic wit and dark humor with a nightmarish scenario, in which a respected lawyer's one-time dalliance with an illegal business deal spirals out of control. (c) Official Site

FRUITVALE STATION ★★★★

Opens in Australia: 7^th November, 2013
Other Countries:          Release Information
Perth, Australia:        See at Luna Cinemas

OUR THOUGHTS

There is something special about this story of a true shocking incident that shone through for me. However, my husband was left bored and wondering what all the fuss was about.  What I liked was the character portrayals and the way the filmmaker caused you to care about Oscar, through following him through the last few days of his life. When the inevitable shocking scene of the shooting occurs you feel it in your gut.  Not many films do that to you.  This is awards season, so I expect to see this one pop up in a few categories. However, I am not certain it is for everyone. I think many people will wonder “what’s so good about this?” while others will be like me, deeply moved and angered.

STUDIO BLURB

Winner of both the Grand Jury Prize for dramatic feature and the Audience Award for U.S. dramatic film at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, director Ryan Coogler's FRUITVALE STATION follows the true story of Oscar Grant (Michael B. Jordan), a 22-year-old Bay Area resident who wakes up on the morning of December 31, 2008 and feels something in the air. Not sure what it is, he takes it as a sign to get a head start on his resolutions: being a better son to his mother (Octavia Spencer), whose birthday falls on New Year's Eve, being a better partner to his girlfriend Sophina (Melonie Diaz), who he hasn't been completely honest with as of late, and being a better father to Tatiana (Ariana Neal), their beautiful four year-old daughter. Crossing paths with friends, family, and strangers, Oscar starts out well, but as the day goes on, he realizes that change is not going to come easily. His resolve takes a tragic turn, however, when BART officers shoot him in cold blood at the Fruitvale subway stop on New Year's Day. Oscar's life and tragic death would shake the Bay Area - and the entire nation - to its very core. (c) Weinstein

What have you seen this week? Did you find our comments helpful or do you disagree? Share your thoughts with us.

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Perth Film Fans... Win tickets to JACKASS PRESENTS BAD GRANDPA

UP FOR GRABS MY PERTH FILM FRIENDS

5Double passes

to the exclusive preview screening of

To celebrate the release of JACKASS PRESENTS BAD GRANDPA

ONLY AT THE MOVIES FROM NOVEMBER 14

An Adventure in Film, together with Paramount Pictures, is offering you the chance to win 1 of 5 double passes to the preview.  Simply fill in your details below for your chance to win!

DETAILS OF PREVIEW:

Wednesday 13 November

6.30PM

Reading Cinemas, Belmont, PERTH

Website:        www.JackassMovie.com.au   

Twitter           #BadGrandpaMovie

Facebook     facebook.com/JackassMovie.AU

Competition closes Midnight WA Time Saturday, 9^th October

Winners will be notified by email by Monday 11^th October

JACKASS PRESENTS BAD GRANDPA IN CINEMAS FROM NOVEMBER 14

          86 year-old Irving Zisman is on a journey across America with the most unlikely companion, his 8 year-old Grandson Billy in "Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa”. This November, the signature Jackass character Irving Zisman (Johnny Knoxville) and Billy (Jackson Nicholl) will take movie audiences along for the most insane hidden camera road trip ever captured on camera. Along the way Irving will introduce the young and impressionable Billy to people, places and situations that give new meaning to the term childrearing. The duo will encounter male strippers, disgruntled child beauty pageant contestants (and their equally disgruntled mothers), funeral home mourners, biker bar patrons and a whole lot of unsuspecting citizens. Real people in unreal situations, making for one really messed up comedy. 

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"Marvel's" Thor The Dark World ★★★★

THE GODS ARE SMILING AND SO IS THE AUDIENCE

Opens in Australia: 31st October
USA: 8th November  UK: 30th October

Other Countries: Release Information

     Let’s face it, Thor (thanks to Chris Hemsworth) is the best looking hero of the Marvel film franchises, and the studio could just rest on that.  We girls would be happy.  However, not content to rest on a pretty face, they’ve taken the time to bring in the right crew to work on number two, Thor The Dark World. 
Christopher Yost (screenplay) has been head writer on many “Marvel” animations and contributed to the original Thor. Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely (screenplay) together wrote Captain America: The First Avenger and have just completed Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and have also penned all three of The Narnia Chronicles.  Then you have Emmy®-winning director, Alan Taylor, who has worked on highly acclaimed shows like Sopranos, West Wing, Six Feet Under, Mad Men and, most recently, Game of Thrones.

Together, they’ve pulled off a worthy sequel, something very difficult to do in a franchise which has created such high expectations; achieving this by ensuring all the key ingredients from the origin story-humor, action, and realism while progressing the story line and character development.

We follow on from The Avengers’ “New York” conclusion where Thor (Chris Hemsworth) has returned to Asgard and his father, Odin (Anthony Hopkins), with Loki (Tom Hiddleston) in tow, to imprison his adopted brother for his misbehavior on Earth.  But, dealing with his wayward son is the least of Odin’s problems. An alignment of the Nine Realms (occurring once every 5,000 years) is imminent, and it will open a portal between the worlds-Earth being one of them. 

Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) is attempting to forget Thor, whom she hasn’t seen for two years. While investigating an anomaly, created by the impending alignment, she is dragged into the dark world where she inadvertently reignites a war, waged thousands of years previously, between one of Asgard’s greatest adversaries, Malekith.

As leader of the dark elves, Malekith was defeated by Odin’s Father, but he returns to take advantage of the realm’s alignment to take over Asgard and cause havoc throughout the universe.  Thor must create unlikely alliances and defy his father to defeat Malekith and restore peace to the Realms and, of course, once again save Earth.

The worlds are beautifully imagined and created, heightening the realism.  The director, Taylor, and filmmakers created this authenticity while filming scenes as much as possible on location and creating enormous, realistic sets; some taking months at a time to build.  Natalie Portman felt the scale of the sets harkened back to a different filmmaking era and commented, “It’s really like the old days of cinema. You walk on to the set and you think ‘Wow, we’re making a movie’.”

True to previous “Marvel” films, the story line is again interwoven between one franchise and another, following on from The Avengers and leaving the door open for the next. There are guest cameos from the first film's characters and other Marvel characters, including an extremely amusing spot from Dr Erik Selvig (Stellan Skarsgård)—remember he the only one who understood the Tesseract weapon in The Avengers? Of course, fans of Loki will not be disappointed with his role.  He may not be quite as princely and beautiful as Thor (pretty close, though), but he delivers all the best lines. 

It’s an extremely entertaining blockbuster movie which serves, also, to whet the appetite for the next installment, Captain America: The Winter Soldier.  If the “notorious” Marvel credits scene inserts (two: one in the middle and one at the very end, so make sure you stay) are anything to go by, there are many more films to come. The Gods and the fans will be pleased.

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Weekly Film Review Round Up 26 October 2013

THIS WEEK'S PREVIEWS

Click here to purchase
             from Smashwords

Click here for Amazon Kindle Version

Only two new films for you this week… Captain Phillips is a drama of the high seas, literally, and if you are looking for a good comedy you will enjoy Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa. Catch up on some of the good ones in the past few weeks too, like Prisoners, Gravity, and About Time because just around the corner we have releases of some top notch films.

Now I interrupt my normal film proceedings for an advertisment... my husband has told me that I must share with you all, that I have written a book. He keeps telling me that I have spent money and time writing it and then having some very professional and talented people edit it, so I should tell people about it. It's not quite a book, but a novella which is about 120 pages.  Behind the Fire  is a creepy little Stephen King type story. As well, I’ve thrown (at no extra cost) a short story which was previously published in an anthology.

If you enjoy my film reviews, perhaps you may enjoy my book. It is only 99 cents.  I am keeping it inexpensive, because if you don’t like it then at least you won’t get too upset when spending less than a dollar.  Get it while its still only 99 cents, because when I write that blockbuster I may put this one up to $1.99! I’ve put the link below the images to make it easy for you to grab a copy. Its also available at iTunes. Let me know what you think. 

(My movie Pick of the week)

Captain Phillips ★★★★ ½
Opens in Australia:      24th^th October, 2013 
Other Countries:          Release Information

THOUGHTS

You want to see this on the big screen. It’s a helluva trip when Somalian pirates take on Tom Hanks as Captain Phillips. It’s a true story and an incredible one.  I often mock, how in films, the Americans are portrayed as the only people who can save the world. But, in this, when the navy arrives, you certainly understand why they are the best people to get the job done.  You also feel for the pirates who must resort to such a terrible and dangerous way to survive. And, a great job by screenwriter Billy Ray, in giving us such character depth. Tom Hanks will receive many award nominations for this performance. The music and cinematography are equally worthy. I am seeing it again.

STUDIO BLURB

Captain Phillips is director Paul Greengrass's multi-layered examination of the 2009 hijacking of the U.S. container ship Maersk Alabama by a crew of Somali pirates. It is – through Greengrass's distinctive lens – simultaneously a pulse-pounding thriller and a complex portrait of the myriad effects of globalisation. The film focuses on the relationship between the Alabama's commanding officer, Captain Richard Phillips (two time Academy Award® winner Tom Hanks), and his Somali counterpart, Muse (Barkhad Abdi). Set on an incontrovertible collision course off the coast of Somalia, both men will find themselves paying the human toll for economic forces outside of their control. The film is directed by Academy Award® nominee Paul Greengrass, from a screenplay by Billy Ray based upon the book, A Captain's Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy SEALs, and Dangerous Days at Sea, by Richard Phillips with Stephan Talty. The film is produced by Scott Rudin, Dana Brunetti, and Michael De Luca.

Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa★★★★ 

Opens in Australia:      24^th October, 2013

Other Countries:          Release Information

Perth, Australia:                  See at Luna Cinemas

OUR THOUGHTS

If you are British you will already love Alan Partridge, and I won’t have to convince you this is a lot of fun. I’d never heard of this English show, so I went along as an Alan Partridge virgin.  What a hoot!  Once it amps up, there are many scenes where you will cry with laughter. Steve Coogan has popped up in so many films this year, and in so many varied roles, he has certainly demonstrated his breadth of ability. If you want a fantastic treat of a comedy (and they are few and far between lately), go meet Alan Partridge.

STUDIO BLURB

Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa, at last, brings an enduring comic creation to film, pitching Alan headfirst into a desperate battle for survival that’s both literal and figurative, as he becomes caught up in a siege at his radio station.

What have you seen this week? Did you find our comments helpful or do you disagree? Share your thoughts with us.

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Weekly Film Review Roundup 17th October 2013

What a week it’s been for reviewers, we’ve seen some really great films. Prisoners is not for the faint-hearted; its gripping. If you want something lighter go fall in love with About Time.  Girls, go treat yourselves and watch at Gold Class, La Premiere or one of those luxury cinema experiences.  For those who want a solid Australian drama, take a trip to Mystery Road. Remember, also, it’s the last week of the Italian Film Festival running across Australia.  Make it a night out with pizza, wine and a wonderful Italian film.

(My movie Pick of the week)

About Time ★★★★

Opens in Australia: 17^th October, 2013

Other Countries:          Release Information

OUR THOUGHTS

Richard Curtis, screenwriter for some of the most memorable romances in the past few decades—Notting Hill, Bridge Jones Diary, Four Weddings and a Funeral, and War Horse—wrote the screenplay and directed for About Time. So going in, you know what to expect. It’s blatantly sentimental and filled to the brim with lovely, sweet moments.  

Nerdish Tim Lake (Domhnall Gleeson) is sat down on his 21^st birthday by his offbeat father (Bill Nighy) and given the secret man’s talk—the men in their family have the ability to travel through time. The deal is he can only change things in his own life, so he uses it to change the one thing uppermost in his mind—score a girlfriend (Rachel McAdams).

Of course, true love, or life for that matter, never runs smoothly, but Tim can fix that by jumping back in time. However, he comes to realize that it’s not as easy as he thinks and he is faced with some large dilemmas. Some of the best moments are between Tim and his Father. Bill Nighy’s quirky character portrayals never get old.

It may not be Notting Hill, but there are so few of these sentimental romances around these days that About Time was a surprisingly enjoyable film. It’s a lovely commentary, too, on family, the bond between father and son, and a reminder we should savor each day.

STUDIO BLURB

At the age of 21, Tim Lake (Domhnall Gleeson) discovers he can travel in time... The night after another unsatisfactory New Year party, Tim's father (Bill Nighy) tells his son that the men in his family have always had the ability to travel through time. Tim can't change history, but he can change what happens and has happened in his own life-so he decides to make his world a better place...by getting a girlfriend.

Sadly, that turns out not to be as easy as you might think. Moving from the Cornwall coast to London to train as a lawyer, Tim finally meets the beautiful but insecure Mary (Rachel McAdams). Tim finds out that his unique gift can't save him from the sorrows and ups and downs that affect all families, everywhere. About Time is a comedy about love and time travel, which discovers that, in the end, making the most of life may not need time travel at all. (c) Universal  

Prisoners★★★★

Opens in Australia: 17^th October 2013

Other Countries: Release Information

OUR THOUGHTS

This film is intense… no, I mean, REALLY INTENSE.  If you have children it will ask you all kinds of questions you won’t want answered, and you hope will never be asked of you.

I think it’s one of the best performances by Hugh Jackman I’ve seen. He really is a great actor. The final act has a few plot-holes, but you will be so shaken up by then you won’t think about them until later.  It’s a good film but I can’t say I enjoyed it.  It’s too grim, too terrifying, and too relentless. But, if that’s what you like, this one is definitely a “go see it.”

STUDIO BLURB

PRISONERS, from Oscar (R)-nominated director Denis Villeneuve, stars Oscar (R) nominees Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal in a story that poses the question: How far would you go to protect your child? Keller Dover (Jackman) is facing every parent's worst nightmare. His six-year-old daughter, Anna, is missing, together with her young friend, Joy, and as minutes turn to hours, panic sets in. The only lead is a dilapidated RV that had earlier been parked on their street. Heading the investigation,  Detective Loki (Gyllenhaal) arrests its driver, Alex Jones (Paul Dano), but a lack of evidence forces the only suspect's release. Knowing his child's life is at stake, the frantic Dover decides he has no choice but to take matters into his own hands. But just how far will this desperate father go to protect his family? (c) WB

Mystery Road ★★★ 

Opens in Australia: 17^th October, 2013

Other Countries:          Release Information

Perth, Australia:      See at Luna Cinemas

OUR THOUGHTS

Ivan Sen has done a remarkably solid job in creating a real sense of dread in this small town murder mystery. The Australian cast is a “who’s who” of talent, and all deliver their best.  It’s a touch uneven in pace, but is still a good drama. Aaron Pedersen has a powerful screen presence, as the small town cop who follows his instincts while being confronted by prejudice and the challenges of his family. If you live outside Australia you will find this peek into Australian outback town life fascinating. And it’s a bloody good product from our country that you will enjoy tremendously.

STUDIO BLURB

An Indigenous detective investigates the murder of a teenage girl in a small town in the Outback. Ivan Sen (Toomelah) crafts a mesmerising thriller with a stellar Australian cast including Aaron Pedersen, Hugo Weaving, Ryan Kwanten and Jack Thompson.

Honey ★★★½

Australian Lavazza Italian Film Festival

(Festival: 2^nd – 22^nd October­­­—varies in your state)

Visit Lavazza Italian Film Festival Websitefor info on the Festival

Perth Festival: Screening details: Click here

Other Countries: Release Information

OUR THOUGHTS

Honey is a controversial film in its topic matter. Dealing with euthanasia it is not an easy

film to watch. Although, those who brave it will be rewarded with thought provoking arguments. Is euthanasia for mental illness justifiable. As one of the characters poses the question: Just because you can’t see the illness, is it not still an illness? 

It’s well-rounded and beautifully filmed and directed. Not for everyone but definitely a conversation starter.

STUDIO BLURB

Irene, nicknamed 'Honey', has devote herself to people looking for help, and tries to alleviate their suffering even when they make extreme decisions. One day she meets Grimaldi and his invisible malaise. An official selection of Un Certain Regard at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival, Honey has been applauded for Golino’s stylish direction and Trinca’s breakout performance, making this multilayered and beautifully nuanced film an unmissable festival highlight.

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