Reviews

I saw The Bet in Sydney last night. Wow! It is a brave film from a first time film maker. Brave for several reasons. The writer/producer Caroline Gerard raised the funds entirely from the private sector and then set about assembling a top rate team of cast and crew who have delivered a remarkable ensemble effort.

The story appears at the outset to be fairly a standard Sydney Harbour based yuppie drama but by the closing moments you realise that the story is anything but pedestrian. I wont give the game away but suffice to say it is quite a powerful and unique result. The casting is wonderful and Matt Newton manages to pull off a character that is believable, likable, trapped, in love and great looking all in the space of 90 minutes. Aden Young almost scene steals with his Machiavellian portrayal as Newton's friend/foe.

Mark Lee directs his first feature here and has a great command of the medium. I guess when you have 40 plus film credits under your belt and have worked under Peter Weir, Russell Burton, Chris Noonan and John Duigan among others you tend to pick up a thing or two!

The music is another triumph here. The original music is symphonic and deftly enhances the emotion of each moment in a way that is sometimes lacking in modern Australian cinema. The use of Bach in the apartment scenes and the doof doof tracks in the night club are very well placed. I heard some critic banging on about how the music score was overly romantic and inappropriate but don't these folks remember Chinatown or Lolita or After the Deluge?

Go and see the film before it closes and if you miss it at the cinemas get the DVD!

Has anyone noticed the 1/24th frame of a man moving from screen left to right in the opening minutes of the film. As the cross fade from James Mason's car driving up the driveway and the first internal shot of the mansion happens you see the blurred image of a man walking. Kubrick must have known it was there because he was such a meticulous editor. Anyone know what I am talking about? As I need ten lines to qualify for this on-line comment I am just wasting space and filling up the box so that my stunning thoughts and revelations can be known, read and appreciated the world over. Hopefully this will satisfy the powers that be. There, that should be long enough!

I keep coming back to Barry Lyndon as my favourite, all-time film. It is magnificent in every department. The pacing is superb, the humour is subtle, the story is engrossing, the performances are understated yet brilliant, the art direction is impeccable, the music is sublime, the cinematography is faultless and the overall result is an epic masterpiece that gets better with each viewing. For these reasons the film is lost on many a film lover. It is an intellectual piece and I'm so glad he made it such. (People who find it boring, stale and unintelligible should quietly retire to Video Ezy and rent out Die Hard, buy some popcorn and coke, invite a view buddies over and enjoy a rowdy night in.) Any way, back to Barry Lyndon. Stanley Kubrick never repeated himself, which even the greatest directors do some of the time. All of his films, which he had artistic and financial control over bear, a strikingly original note. Compare the uniqueness of Dr Strangelove to Lolita, or Clockwork Orange to The Shining, or Full Metal Jacket to Eyes Wide Shut. The differences in subject matter and content are vast yet a similar vehicle is visited in four of his films. The military is used in Paths of Glory, Dr. Strangelove, Barry Lyndon and Full Metal Jacket. This military theme in his films seems to throw some light on man's proclivities towards violence and human debasement. There are a further 176 comments made about this film. Not many other films on IMDb have that many comments. Testimony to the stature of the film. Barry Lyndon's kindred spirits are Radiohead, Mozart, Picasso, and Cormac McCarthy.

What a disappointment. After The Pledge and About Schmidt, our Jack was looking invincible. This latest serving confirms that forgiveness is a necessary part of everyone's lives. Dont get me wrong, I love a light comedy as much as the next guy, but filling a movie with luminaries such as John Turturro, Jack Nicholson, Luis Guzman and Harry Dean Stanton and throwing in Heather Graham, Adam Sandler and Marisa Tomei (the only one who leaves the movie with dignity intact) for good measure and having them all submit to such a woeful, heavy handed script, which could have easily sunk the Titanic and the Olympia was bound to be a disaster of, well, Titanic dimensions. Endless cameos from the likes of Rudolph Guilliani and John McEnroe only added to the high level of viewer discomfort. It promised so much in the trailer but delivered nothing more than an hour and a half of tripe. Hey, here's an idea, lets get a really good script together FIRST and then get the stars and shoot the movie.

I dont mind a few small holes in a story. Often they are not holes at all but just choices that a flawed character makes at a point of desperation. However, after James shot Zac under the train with blanks, as Burke insisted, how was James' same gun then filled with real bullets, that eventually went through Burke's car window? I think this the only real flaw in the movie. The movie is a very taught thriller. I like it alot. Remember, Colin Farrell is disguising on of the thickest Irish accents you're ever gonna here and he sounds just like an all American boy. I think he did very well. Al is always watchable and great. The girl was good too. Go easy on them guys, they're only actors, writers and directors. Not world changers.

Just saw Catch me if you Can. After laughing my head off through the book I was reluctant to see the film. I was expecting the movie to be scant and painfully shallow, as many cinematic recreations are. This was a total surprise. Leonardo was so good as the conflicted con man but the best performance by far was from Christopher Walken. His crying scene in the restaurant was superb. You can see why he was Oscar nominated for this one, and you can see why he won one for The Deer Hunter. Tom Hanks was good. Always watchable and pretty likeable, but back to Leo. When I first heard he was cast I was disappointed. I thought Robert Downey would have been the better choice. Frank Abagnale was 16 who looked 26. Leo is 26 who looks 16, but somehow he pulls it off. I have never seen an actor change so comprehensively via a haircut. His change of looks are very convincing and carries the role perfectly. His charm and wit are excellent for the role and the cat and mouse themes from the book are perfectly represented in the film. See it. It's great.

The Cat's Meow is a very funny movie. Full of 1920's, Noel Cowardesque and Oscar Wilde type one-liners such as. Elwes: Can I be Frank with you? Herrmann: You can be who ever you like wth me. Edward Herrmann as Hearst almost steals the show from Eddie Izzard as Chaplin. Izzard doing Chaplin is so unselfconsciously brilliant your jaw will be on the ground for all of his scenes. Kirsten Dunst (as ever) is very likeable as Marion Davies. The cinemaphotography is a bit dizzying at times and there are alot of extreme close ups in cramped cabins, which caused me a few headaches. Watch out for Edward Herrmann showing his appreciation for sea gulls. It's a scream. Despite being a laugh a minute bedroom hopping murder mystery the film also packs a real moral punch. The movie finishes and leaves you feeling like you've just sat through a documentary rather than a comedy. It is close to the truth (as close as it can be. No one alive today really knows what happenned that weekend) and that leaves you feeling very heavy hearted and sober towards Hollywood and big business. Joanna Lumley's character also narrates and speaks as a conscience to the audience. I thought the film was going to be a poor man's Woody Allen but I was gladly mistaken. I loved it. The music is rip roaring twenties Charleston classics.

The Nugget is a very funny film. There is a laugh every minute and the three male leads have some golden moments. Their mateship, which is threatened by greed, survives the turmoils wrought by the prospect of instant wealth. Line of the film is when Steven Curry says of his mates to his wife.'They dont judge me' The film opens with the most impressive crane shot you've ever seen. It looked like a small helicopter did the it but they dont make them that small. The wives of the three mates are all great individual characters. Likeable but not cliched. Producer, Writer and Director Bill Bennett really knows how to make a great film. Go and see it.

A good movie. Very moving. I don't think there are any Academy Awards for acting here though. Paul Newman is majestic in his stillness, but that's what you expect from him. Tom is Tom- Very good at what he does. The boy is great. You really get under his skin and see his turmoil. Jude is probably the best and most under-used actor in the film. His role is fleshed out by a genuine character actor's performance, whereas Tom and Paul play different angles of themselves. Even Jude's gait and stance are unique from any of his previous roles. The score is unmistakably Tom Newman. How can a man use mandolins in every movie and still get away with it? The film is shot very well and totally transports you to 1930's rural America. It is darkly shot and moody. The father and son bond is dealt with compassion and humour- A great balance. The diner scene with Jude and Tom is excellent and way too short. Just like Al and Bob in Heat.

Peter Sellers best with out a doubt. A controlled comedic masterpiece. The most boring, depressing movie I've ever seen. These two descriptions preceded my viewing of Being There. I have seen the film twenty times since and I definitely agree with the former. What Peter Sellers does is so wonderful you may miss the point if you don't look closely. He took years to convince the writer Jerzy Kosinski that he should play the part. The role was a kind of summary of whom he had wanted to become towards the end of his life. His annihilation of all things involving responsibility and accountability had a deep resonance with the ailing, impatient actor. He believed it was his best role as did many of his friends and colleagues. Chauncey Gardener's reactions and reasoning are so simple and minimalistic; and that's where the comedy comes from. It isn't really a funny movie but it is hilarious. It is a serious movie but not to be taken seriously. Shirley MacLaine and Richard Dysart are also magical. Look out for a scene in an elevator with a very serious valet. He loved gags in elevators didn't he?

A totally enrgrossing film. Intelligent, spunky and has you asking the question,what is going to happen next. A very complex tale of misunderstandings and missed opportunities. I had to see it about four times to fully appreciate all the nuances. The cast is magic and the women are completely gorgeous. The cinematography is beautiful and the design of the actual apartment is mesmerising. The screen play never talks down to its audience and really makes you think you through plot developments and to question the logic of events. There are many jumps in time which are thankfully made easy to pick by the use of, what appears to be older film stock, or over exposed lighting. (I'm not sure which technique)You see the anguish, vulnerability, stupidity and humour in Vincent Cassells's character in every scene. Romane Bohringer gives an equally perspicacious performance. Don't miss it

A great story yes but the real winner here is the photography. Even on a 23 year old video tape the sunsets, beach colours and water shots still look magnificent. John Waters is understated but nonetheless powerful. Nick Tate is rock solid as usual. Geraldine Turner never looked better!