Into the Wild

I absolutely loved this film. Sean Penn did the screenplay and directed it. It's based on a true story about a young man who adventures out into the world leaving behind comforts to travel and survive on his own smarts. It's a beautiful film, revealing natural and human treasures.
'Into the Wild' tells the story of my favourite kind of people. Self sufficient adventurers, I find very attractive. I highly recommend it.

Sex and the City

Went to see 'Sex and the City' tonight with a couple of girl friends. There was one man in the cinema. I felt sorry for him. It was very much like the TV show, I've watched enough random episodes to know who was who. It was light entertainment and I laughed a fair bit.

Indiana Jones and the Ageist Press

Every review I've read about the latest Indiana Jones film has made comment about the age of Harrison Ford. So what! I haven't seen the film myself, but my son and his mates went last night. They liked it. It was different, he said, possibly due to the aliens.

I find it kind of sad that the media has to make a big deal about the age of an actor in a film. I mean, big deal!

I will probably watch it on DVD in a few months time.

Tropfest Channel

Nine MSN and Tropfest have a site where you can watch this years films online. Watch the winning film "Marry Me" a love story. I liked it.

The Junior Tropfest winner is also accessible on this site.

Entries are open for Tropfest 2009.

Pangea Day

Saturday May 10th is Pangea Day. Watch films made by the world for the world. An amazing range of films that might just change your world. Get behind it.

Queenscliff Early Morning

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Dawn at the Queenscliff, Victoria, Australia back balcony of the Queenscliff YHA.  

The Golden Compass

'The Golden Compass' is based on the fantasy novel 'Northern Lights' by Philip Pullman. It is the first in the trilogy 'His Dark Materials'. The production of the other two will apparently depend on the success of the first. People who have read the book are apparently displeased with the film. I am not one of them. I intend to read the book one day though.

I enjoyed the film. The acting and settings were great. I liked the fast pace and variety of action. I especially loved the song 'Lyra' written and performed by Kate Bush.

Juno

I enjoyed Juno. The characterisations were refreshing. I liked seeing the Paulie character, shy and railroaded by a stronger Juno. It was realistic of many young men at that age. The characters were well written.

The relationships were lovely and not stereotypic, yet more real than many screen relationships we've viewed.

For example the following dialogue:

Ultrasound Technician: I'm an ultrasound technician, maam.
Bren: Well, I'm a nail technician and I think we both ought to just stick to what we know.
Ultrasound Technician: Excuse me?
Bren: Oh, you think you're so special because you get to play Picture Pages up there? Well, my five year old daughter could do that and let me tell you, she's not the brightest bulb in the tanning bed. So why don't you go back to night school in Mantino and learn a real trade.
Juno MacGuff: Bren! You's a dick! I love it!

For once a step mother that doesn't suck!

For more great dialogue IMDB

My Pick for Top Gear Australian Audition

I am not into cars for the record. Quite impressed with Michael's clip. He's come a long way since "Carpark".

Tank Girl 1995

One of my favourite films 'Tank Girl'is based on a comic book by the same name. I showed some parts of it to my students in the last week of term as we were studying another film 'O Brother Where Art Thou' and looking at the similarities between 'The Odyssey' and these derivatives. It was fun, and she's an interesting female protagonist.

'Tank Girl' has a great sound track and is visually interesting. The setting 2033, a future where water has become a big issue was quite plausible to the students as well and the film has much to enjoy and muse upon.

Dan in Real Life

'Dan in Real Life' was an enjoyable romantic comedy about a guy who falls in love with his sisters girlfriend at a family gathering. I loved the family stuff in it most. Large family cultures are wonderful to me. As exasperating and trying as they can be to the family members, there is a real comfort and warmth that I experience in the large families I have belonged to.
I also enjoyed the 'single parent' with teenage daughter interactions. It successfully captured the awkwardness of a parent trying to work out the balance between putting your kids first and managing to have a personal 'grown up' relationship.
It's a truly funny and warm film, I recommend it.

Little Children

I'd heard nothing about this film, yet from the opening scene, I felt drawn into it. The thoughts of this mother and the narrators summation of the situations were effective in creating a remarkable clarity of storytelling. It was at once emotionally engaging and quite human.

I recommend 'Little Children' and I imagine this film will stay with me for quite a duration. It was quite an experience.

Rotten Tomatoes has a range of reviews.

Footy Legends

'Footy Legends' is a light uplifting story about the rise to self esteem for a bunch of unemployed young men. It's another Australian film and I enjoyed it. Urban Cinefile has a good review by Louise Keller. I am not really a football fan and have very little understanding of the game as played in this film. I enjoyed the story though.

Noise

Noise is tense. It's Australian and I liked it a lot. I liked it at the start when I realised it was made in Melbourne. Then the characters made me really intrigued. I thought I knew who was good and bad, then I was confused. Mostly I was surprised and that's what I always like in a film. I want those refreshing surprises in my entertainment. Those glimpses of the ordinary that seem honest if somewhat unattractive.

There are some really interesting scenes, like the conversations between the fiance of one of the victims and the policeman. The film revealed the characters quite thoughtfully and I was frequently startled by the action of the film, the twists and turns of the plot, the emotion shown by the male characters, the language used and the heavy smoking. There was actually a really clear shot of a brand of cigarettes at one point and this surprised me as well. I would love to know what the cigarette company paid for that advertising.

Tinnitus is horrible and if you've never had that annoying ringing in your ears, check out this film to get an idea of how harsh it is.

This film was a 2007 official selection Sundance Film Festival. It was popular,the following are a random sample of positive reviews Stale Popcorn, Aint it Cool and Applebox.

Great Ocean Road

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Driving along Great Ocean Road, Victoria, Australia, January 2008.  

Formats available: Microsoft Video (.avi)

Tags: travel, drive, road, ocean, australia, coast

27 Dresses

Went to flicks with my mum to see '27 Dresses' last night. It was light-hearted entertainment. Typical feel good romantic comedy. As one who has been a bridesmaid only 5 times and had thought that excessive, I could relate more to the cynical journalist than the constant bridesmaid.


I laughed a lot during this movie and that's got to be good for you. The critics may mock and demean such movies as frivolous and fluffy, but laughter is the result I look for. It was a pleasant experience.

About Heath Ledger....

I have no idea how or why. Obviously - I don't know Heath Ledger. I admire and respect his art. I loved the characters and his playing in 'Two Hands', 'Ned Kelly', '1o Things I Hate About You', 'A Knights Tale' and others.

I felt he was a good person as far as I could see from such a great distance. I feel sad about his loss for his family, friends and for film. I appreciate the work he did and am grateful for that. I hope the media is kind to those close to him.

Music and Lyrics

I have to admit Hugh Grant plays characters that I find very likeable. I wasn't expecting much from this film and I was pleasantly surprised. It was true to its genre as a romantic comedy, I felt good after watching it.

I liked the way the 'pop' star was exposed as such a fraud too, with her spiritual 'glitter', yet underneath she thought the Dalai Lama was a llama. I liked the exposure of the 'famous' intellectual author as well.

It was just what I needed to watch last night.

Changes to Media Diet

Two articles today have drawn my attention to the fact that I don't listen to the radio or watch television any more. This statement comes from RIP Radio? an article today about podcasting growth, in 'The Age':

"He sees this streaming of genres, or "Foxtel for radio stations", as the future of radio. "Unless traditional radio stations look at these models, they will quickly find that they are irrelevant because young people just don't listen to the radio any more.""

The second article, Local TV to Profit from Writers Strike from 'The Australian', sounds like a boon for Australian Television Production, but this quote is telling :

"Mr Mitchell said this could lead to an Australian season of "repeats versus repeats", leaving networks with lower costs: "Presumably, they'd charge no less in ad rates." But he cautioned against taking viewers for granted. "People could
gradually drift away from free-to-air TV to pay-TV if it happened over a period of time," he said."

My son dropped our TV whilst I was on holidays. It died. He was stressed and thought I'd be upset, I wasn't. Possibly due to the way he framed the news.

Son: I've got some really bad news.

Me(interstate): Oh no, something really bad has happened....think recent teenage rampage in NarreWarren.... Just spit it out, tell me.

Son: I've killed the TV

Me: What in some freak underage drinking gathering?

Son: No, I was vacuuming and tried to move it and it fell off the stand.

Me: Really, that's it.

Son: True

Me: Thank God.

It could have been some other activity rather than vacuuming I guess, but, I really didn't care. He wanted to rush out and replace it before I got back, but we decided to use his small TV from his room, cause he rarely uses it and do some research before buying another.

He brought the TV downstairs and put it where the old one had been. I've watched a couple of DVDs on it, but I haven't even plugged the aeriel in. I don't listen to the radio in the car now that I have my iPod. I have an adapter I use. I download ABC radio and other podcasts. I buy DVD's of my favourite TV series and watch them as I want. I go to the cinema. I hire DVDs. I watch advertising on Duncans TV AD Land. Come to think of it I don't buy any print media except the occasional specialist magazine, I read enough online. Same goes for newspapers. Anyone else notice a change in thier media consumption?

Atonement

Last night I went to the Cinema with my mum to watch 'Atonement'. When it ended I felt I'd been too emotionally drained. It was an intense film and although the room was packed full, I frequently felt that shifting in my seat was too noisy due to the absolute stillness in the cinema.

I rushed outside and lit a cigarette, the main characters smoked mercilessly throughout the film and my addicted brain craved that kind of interuption to the tragedy unfolding before me.

With a bit of space between the experience and myself I must say it was a very well made film and delivered a real emotional punch. Kiera Knightly's acting with her grace and beauty were breathtaking. The green dress has to be seen. It was vivid and so realistic I had to turn away from many of the war scenes.