tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28903389077513158942024-03-19T18:19:49.541+11:00The Film EmporiumA domain of film news and reviews, covering new releases, film festivals and classics alike, edited by Andy Buckle, a Sydney film enthusiast and reviewer.Andy Bucklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15655573933693289124noreply@blogger.comBlogger1610125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2890338907751315894.post-77725986312839988592015-01-01T19:12:00.000+11:002015-01-01T19:57:09.561+11:00Monthly Round-up: December 2014 Viewing<div style="text-align: center;">
To close out 2014 I watched 27 films, which left me just shy of 400 for the year. Not much else to note this month. Work was stressful and we have been busily getting bits and pieces ready for the wedding in March. We visited family for Christmas and escaped Sydney for Melbourne to see in 2015. <br>
<i><b> </b></i><br>
I will also take this opportunity to inform everyone that this will be my final post on The Film Emporium. I have not had the time to commit to this site as much as I used to, and have been contributing to <b><i><a href="http://www.graffitiwithpunctuation.net/">Graffiti With Punctuation</a> </i></b>and<b> </b><i><b><a href="http://www.anonlineuniverse.com/">An Online Universe</a></b> </i>over the last two years. The latter most recently, and continuing in the future. I am absolutely addicted to film and love writing so I will not be stopping. Rather I will be dedicating my time to just contributing reviews and articles, and hopefully freeing up some time for TV, novels and other passions.<br>
<br>
I wish to thank everyone for supporting The Film Emporium over the years. It has been about five years now since I started it, how fast that time has gone. There are 1600+ posts on the site and 600+ reviews. Thank you to everyone who has shared an article, left a comment, linked to the site from their own page, or voted for me in the LAMMY awards (I once won 'Most Prolific Blogger'). There are many people I have to thank for making The Film Emporium the site it is today, and I hope you all know who you are. Many of you are dear friends I see regularly today, and many others I had the pleasure of meeting this year while I was overseas.<br>
<i><b> </b></i><br>
Now, here is what I saw in December 2014:<br>
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<i><b>-------- </b></i><b>Essential Viewing <i>--------</i></b><i><b> </b></i><br>
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<i><b>Singin' in the Rain </b></i>(Stanley Donen, 1952) - First time. I get it now, guys. Wonderful. <i><b> </b></i></div>
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<i><b><a href="http://www.anonlineuniverse.com/2014/12/birdman/">Birdman</a> </b></i>(Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, 2014)</div>
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<i><b>Virunga </b></i>(Orlando Von Einsiedel, 2014) - Conservation,
capitalism and civil war collide in this vital, thrilling historical
document of a desperate attempt to protect Virunga National Park and the
endangered mountain gorillas within. Some of the footage in this
film is the result of people risking their lives - a journalist meets
with one of the oil company's chief executives, and covertly films their
meeting - with the filmmakers also placing themselves in the thick of
the conflict for the extraordinary content. I was floored by this documentary. </div>
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<i><b><a href="http://t.co/g3fY7LAfs3">Paddington</a> </b></i>(Paul King, 2014)<i><b> </b></i></div>
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<i><b>The One I Love</b></i><b> </b>(Charlie McDowell, 2014) - I have been thinking about this one a lot, even though I snuck it in just before the busy Christmas period. I am a big fan of Duplass and Moss, and what they bring to the film is every bit as commendable as the clever execution of this interesting idea that provokes a lot of consideration about communication in relationships, how much weight we place in who we desire our partners to be (and how different that is from who they actually are/have become) and notions of adultery. Just roll with it. Very funny, but it takes a dark and disturbing turn.<br>
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<b>-------- Essential Viewing --------</b> <i><b> </b></i><br>
<i><b></b></i><br>
</div><a href="https://thefilmemporium.blogspot.com/2015/01/monthly-round-up-december-2014-viewing.html#more">Read more »</a>Andy Bucklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15655573933693289124noreply@blogger.com269tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2890338907751315894.post-63059987605385715982014-12-24T15:17:00.002+11:002014-12-24T15:17:34.838+11:002014 Buckle AwardsThe 2014 Buckle Awards. Not much to say, other than this was hard to narrow down and on another day I might have gone with a different nominee, or even winner.<br />
<br />
But, every film and person and achievement is more than worthy of recognition, even if they don't get it at the Oscars (for the most part, unlikely). <br />
<br />
What is interesting is that <i>Inside Llewyn Davis </i>was considered for last years awards - in fact it was the first film I watched in 2014 - but it received no nominations at all. What was I thinking? I have enjoyed it even more over subsequent viewings but I have not included it here. So, you never know how are you going to feel 12 months, 5 years or 10 years down the track. This is 2014 in review. <br />
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<b>Best American/British Feature Film</b><br />
<br />
Only Lovers Left Alive <b>*WINNER*</b><br />
Under the Skin <b>*Runner Up*</b><br />
Nightcrawler<br />
The Grand Budapest Hotel<br />
Birdman <br />
Snowpiercer<br />
All is Lost<br />
Foxcatcher<br />
Enemy<br />
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes<br />
<br />
<b>Best International/Foreign Language Film</b><br />
<br />
Why Don't You Play in Hell? <b>*Runner Up* </b><br />
Two Days, One Night <br />
Mommy <b>*WINNER*</b><br />
Winter Sleep<br />
Ida<br />
The Great Beauty<br />
Force Majeure<br />
Tom at the Farm<br />
A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night<br />
Girlhood<br />
<br />
<b>Best Australian/New Zealand Feature Film</b><br />
<br />
These Final Hours<br />
Son of a Gun<br />
What We Do In the Shadows <b>*WINNER*</b><br />
The Dark Horse<br />
The Babadook<br />
The Infinite Man <b>*Runner Up*</b><br />
<br />
<b>Best Director</b><br />
<br />
Jim Jarmusch - Only Lovers Left Alive - <b>*Runner Up*</b><br />
Dan Gilroy - Nightcrawler<br />
Wes Anderson - The Grand Budapest Hotel <br />
Xavier Dolan - Mommy/Tom at the Farm - <b>*WINNER*</b><br />
Jonathan Glazer - Under the Skin<br />
Sion Sono - Why Don't You Play in Hell?<br />
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu - Birdman<br />
<br />
<b>Best Lead Male Performance</b><br />
<br />
Antoine-Olivier Pilon - Mommy<br />
Jack O'Connell - Starred Up<br />
Jake Gyllenhaal - Nightcrawler <b>*WINNER* TIE</b><br />
Channing Tatum - Foxcatcher<br />
Robert Redford - All is Lost<br />
Haluk Bilginer - Winter Sleep<br />
Michael Keaton - Birdman <b>*WINNER* TIE</b><br />
<br />
<b>Best Lead Female Performance</b><br />
<br />
Tilda Swinton - Only Lovers Left Alive <br />
Anne Dorval - Mommy <b>*WINNER*</b><br />
Scarlett Johansson - Under the Skin<br />
Marion Cotillard - Two Days, One Night <b>*Runner Up* </b><br />
<span class="st">Essie Davis - The Babadook</span><br />
<span class="st">Julianne Moore - Still Alice</span><br />
<span class="st">Gugu Mbatha-Raw - Beyond the Lights</span><br />
<br />
<b><span class="st">Best Supporting Female Performance</span></b><br />
<span class="st"><br /></span>
<span class="st">Suzanne Clement - Mommy <b>*WINNER*</b></span><br />
<span class="st">Rene Russo - Nightcrawler</span><br />
<span class="st">Carrie Coon - Gone Girl </span><br />
<span class="st">Imelada Staunton - Pride</span><br />
<span class="st">Kristen Stewart - Clouds of Sils Maria <b>*Runner Up*</b></span><br />
<span class="st">Melisa Sozen - Winter Sleep</span><br />
<span class="st"><br /></span>
<b><span class="st">Best Supporting Male Performance</span></b><br />
<span class="st"><br /></span>
Edward Norton - Birdman <b>*Runner Up* </b><br />
<span class="st">Jemaine Clement - What We Do in the Shadows<br />Mark Ruffalo - Foxcatcher <b>*WINNER*</b></span><br />
<span class="st">Pierre-Yves Cardinal - Tom at the Farm</span><br />
<span class="st">Ethan Hawke - Boyhood</span><br />
<span class="st">Ciaran Hinds - The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Him</span><br />
<span class="st"><br /></span>
<b><span class="st">Best Original Screenplay</span></b><br />
<span class="st"><br /></span>
<span class="st">Only Lovers Left Alive</span><br />
<span class="st">Mommy</span><br />
<span class="st">Birdman <b>*WINNER*</b></span><br />
<span class="st">The Grand Budapest Hotel </span><br />
<span class="st">Nightcrawler</span><br />
<span class="st">Foxcatcher</span><br />
<span class="st">Force Majeure </span><span class="st"><b>*Runner Up*</b></span><br />
<span class="st"><br /></span>
<span class="st"><b>Best Adapted Screenplay</b></span><br />
<br />
<span class="st">Snowpiercer <b>*WINNER*</b></span><br />
<span class="st">Under the Skin <b>*Runner Up*</b></span><br />
<span class="st">Tom at the Farm</span><br />
<span class="st">A Most Wanted Man</span><br />
<span class="st">Dawn of the Planet of the Apes</span><br />
<span class="st">Tokyo Tribe </span><br />
<span class="st">Enemy</span><br />
<span class="st"><br /></span>
<b><span class="st">Best Cinematography</span></b><span class="st"> </span><br />
<br />
<span class="st">Violet</span><br />
<span class="st">Birdman <b>*WINNER*</b></span><br />
<span class="st">Only Lovers Left Alive</span><br />
<span class="st">Nightcrawler </span><br />
<span class="st">Mommy</span><br />
<span class="st">Ida <b>*Runner Up*</b></span><br />
<span class="st">Winter Sleep </span><br />
<span class="st">A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night </span><br />
<br />
<b><span class="st">Best Original Score/Soundtrack</span></b><br />
<span class="st"><br /></span>
<span class="st">Only Lovers Left Alive <b>*WINNER* Score</b></span><br />
<span class="st">Under the Skin</span><br />
<span class="st">Mommy</span><br />
The Double<br />
<span class="st">Fury <b>*Runner Up* Score</b></span><br />
<span class="st">Pride <b>*WINNER* Soundtrack</b></span><br />
<span class="st">The Grand Budapest Hotel</span><br />
Tom at the Farm<br />
<span class="st">A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night *<b>Runner Up* Soundtrack</b></span><br />
<span class="st">It Follows</span><br />
<span class="st"><br /></span>
<b><span class="st">Best Documentary</span></b><br />
<span class="st"><br /></span>
<span class="st">20, 000 Days on Earth</span><br />
<span class="st">Jodorowsky's Dune</span><br />
<span class="st">Virunga </span><span class="st"><b>*Runner Up*</b></span><br />
<span class="st">The Possibilities Are Endless <b>*WINNER*</b></span><br />
<span class="st">Tales of the Grim Sleeper</span><br />
<span class="st">Tim's Vermeer </span><br />
<br />
<span class="st"><b>Best Scene </b></span><br />
<br />
<span class="st">'Diamonds' + hotel - Girlhood</span><br />
<span class="st">The stakeout/pursuit - Nightcrawler <b>*Runner Up*</b></span><br />
<span class="st">The beach (of many) - Under the Skin</span><br />
<span class="st">'Nothing's Going to Stop Us Now' - The Skeleton Twins</span><br />
<span class="st">THAT montage - Mommy <b>*WINNER*</b></span><br />
<span class="st">Riggan locked out - Birdman</span><br />
<span class="st">'The sandwich' - What We Do in the Shadows<b> </b></span><br />
<span class="st">Weight loss - Foxcatcher</span><br />
<span class="st">The reunion - Only Lovers Left Alive<b> </b></span><br />
<br />
<span class="st"><b>Top nominations: </b></span><span class="st"><b><span class="st"><b>Mommy (9), </b></span>Only Lovers Left Alive (7), Nightcrawler (7), Birdman (7), Under the Skin (6), Foxcatcher (5), The Grand Budapest Hotel (4)</b> </span>Andy Bucklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15655573933693289124noreply@blogger.com33tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2890338907751315894.post-48802097158086804392014-12-24T07:24:00.001+11:002014-12-24T07:25:35.977+11:0020 Favourite New-to-Me Films in 2014<div style="text-align: center;">
Here are 20 films (from any year) I became obsessed with <i>this</i> year for one reason or another<i>. </i></div>
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How many did you guess? <i>Duck Soup </i>(1933), <i>His Girl Friday </i>(1940), <i>My Darling Clementine </i>(1946), <i>Stray Dog </i>(1949), <i>Singin' in the Rain </i>(1952), <i>On the Waterfront </i>(1954), <i>Rio Bravo </i>(1959), <i>Lawrence of Arabia </i>(1962), <i>Seconds </i>(1966), <i>Thief </i>(1981), <i>The Man Who Planted Trees </i>(1987), <i>Old Joy </i>(2006), <i>Dear Zachary: A Letter To A Son About His Father </i>(2008), <i>The Wolf of Wall Street </i>(2013), <i>Only Lovers Left Alive </i>(2013), <i>Under the Skin </i>(2013), <i>Mommy </i>(2014), <i>What We Do in the Shadows </i>(2014), <i>Birdman </i>(2014), <i>Nightcrawler </i>(2014) </div>
Andy Bucklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15655573933693289124noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2890338907751315894.post-1464974568803735592014-12-22T20:16:00.000+11:002014-12-22T20:16:12.014+11:00My Best Films of 2014I have been more privileged than normal with the sheer number of
films I have been able to see this year. I ventured across the world to
attend the Toronto Film Festival, and made an effort to see at least one
film at each of the festivals that run in Australia. It has been a
terrific year, and I think what is notable is the incredible depth of
excellent films.<br />
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There were a number of titles that had a theatrical release in early
2014, but I saw in 2013 and were considered for last year’s list. They
include <i>Nebraska, The Wolf of Wall Street, Inside Llewyn Davis, Her, 12 Years A Slave, The Great Beauty</i> and <i>Blue is the Warmest Colour</i>. The first four films listed here would have made this short list, had I considered them.<br />
<br />
So, with them exempt, the chosen films have been sourced from
everything else I saw in 2014, whether they had a theatrical release in
Australian cinemas in 2014 (or 2013 internationally), are set to have
one in 2015, screened at a festival or went straight to VOD/DVD.<br />
<br />
I didn’t get the chance to see some of the best-received films internationally, like <i>Citizen Four, Goodbye to Language, Obvious Child</i> and <i>Listen Up Phillip</i>, or some of the films receiving Oscar buzz like<i> Inherent Vice, Selma, A Most Violent Year</i> and<i> The Theory of Everything</i>.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
But, before you say “Where’s ….” here are some honourable mentions (#35-26) that just missed the cut: <i>Jodorowsky’s Dune</i> (Frank Pavich), <i>Of Horses and Men</i> (Benedikt Erlingsson), <i>The Double</i> (Richard Ayoade), <i>Starred Up</i> (David Mackenzie), <i>Tokyo Tribe</i> (Sion Sono), <i>Boyhood</i> (Richard Linklater), <i>Calvary</i> (John Michael McDonagh), <i>Virunga</i> (Orlando von Einsiedel), <i>The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Her</i> (Ned Benson) and <i>Beyond the Lights</i> (Gina Prince-Bythewood).</div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Continue to the Top 25 at <a href="http://www.anonlineuniverse.com/2014/12/the-best-films-of-2014-andy/#more-9938"><b>An Online Universe</b></a>. </div>
Andy Bucklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15655573933693289124noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2890338907751315894.post-4350698645267735082014-12-18T08:31:00.000+11:002014-12-18T08:31:05.137+11:00"Keep the Change, You Filthy Animal!" Home Alone Turns 24<span style="font-size: small;">Guest article by Brandon Engel. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">The fact that the movie <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099785/?ref_=nm_knf_t1"><i>Home Alone</i></a> is soon turning almost a quarter of a century old will certainly date some people. Arguably, though, the subsequent career of director Chris Columbus contributed to a variety of successful, entertaining movies as well. Either way you look at it, Home Alone remains one of the most memorable holiday films of all time. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><i>Home Alone</i> inserts viewers into the chaotic but loving McCallister family. The youngest of the lot, Kevin, played by <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000346/?ref_=tt_cl_t1">MaCaulay Culkin</a>, feels picked on and misunderstood by his boisterous family members. Like many families during the holiday season, the family scrambles to get everyone and everything in place for a trip to celebrate the season. But, in the frenzy of their preparations, little Kevin gets overlooked and ends up alone in a rather large house for an 8-year-old boy.<br /><br />At first, this seems like a gift in disguise, as young Kevin has the chance to engage in all the misbehavior his parents scold him about. He gets to try on some adult activities, like using aftershave, as well as jumping on the bed with impunity. When a couple of burglars show up, though, Kevin has to delve deep into his bag of childhood mischief to protect his house and himself in this comedy of juvenile genius and adult criminal ineptitude. Separated by the Atlantic Ocean in a pre-Internet era, Kevin and his family have very few ways to contact each other at all, so he is left to his own devices.<br /><br />John Hughes, who was already famous for his movies from the previous decade, wrote the script for this hit, giving director Chris Columbus rich material for a blockbuster comedy production. From an estimated budget of about 15 million dollars, the film brought in over 17 million during its first weekend and eventually accounted for well over 200 million in revenue in the US alone. Besides being a financial success, the movie also won over most reviewers to some degree, despite <a href="http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/home-alone-1990">some critics</a> who lamented the more unrealistic aspects of the plot line – even before the advent of automated home monitoring systems like <a href="http://www.securitychoice.com/adt-monitoring-service.html">ADT</a>, forgetting a child at home and failing to contact any authorities isn’t exactly the easiest storyline to believe. The outlandish premise didn’t stop most moviegoers from going to see what damage this young protagonist could inflict on a couple of middle-aged miscreants.<br /><br />It’s hard to believe that MaCaulay Culkin, the actor portraying the movie’s protagonist, has become a grown man with his own projects and interests, aside from wreaking havoc on inept burglars. The movie launched him into almost immediate stardom as a household name all over the world, but the sequels were met only with mixed reviews. In the real world, Culkin’s troubles with his parents (who were entangled in a custody war over MaCaulay and his fortune) made national and international news as he tried to gain more control over his financial future. Eventually, Culkin was able to parlay his skill, fame and resources into other projects, including <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2000/10/25/style/25iht-lon.t_2.html">stints in theater</a> and music.<br /><br />These days, the movie still rates above average on many review sites. The lack of appeal relative to its popularity when it was released can be partially explained by changes in the culture, which involves far more home security awareness, and sensibilities over the years. That being said, kids still seem to love this holiday classic that delivers a dose of adult-directed schadenfreude, as will adults who just want a trip down the path of their childhood reveries.</span>Andy Bucklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15655573933693289124noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2890338907751315894.post-47532185960432395402014-12-18T07:08:00.001+11:002014-12-18T07:08:56.195+11:00Review: Paddington (Paul King, 2014)From the beloved novels by Michael Bond, <i>Paddington</i> tells
the story of the misadventures of a young bear (voiced by Ben Whishaw)
who travels to London in search of a home after his idyllic Peruvian
forest homestead is destroyed in an earthquake. Finding himself lost and
alone, he begins to realize that city life is not all he had imagined,
until he meets the kindly Brown family who take heed of the label around
his neck – “Please look after this bear. Thank you.” – and offer him a
temporary haven.<br />
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This is a fun, clever film and it is exceptionally well made. But, I
take a look at the impressive pedigree working on it and wonder why I am
surprised. Writer/director Paul King is the man behind <i>Bunny and the Bull</i> and <i>The Mighty Boosh</i>, which explains why <i>Paddington</i>
is so funny. King worked with editor Mark Everson on the aforementioned
projects, and this is a sleek, polished cut. Master DP Erik Wilson (<i>The Double</i>, <i>20, 000 Days on Earth</i> and <i>The Imposter</i>)
shoots the film beautifully, while the delightfully rewarding
intricacies of the film’s design (for example, the Brown house reduced
to a dollhouse model and a sequence where Paddington appears to walk
through a projected image into a memory) and CGI/animatronic effects are
seamlessly woven into the film’s fabric.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Continue reading at <a href="http://www.anonlineuniverse.com/2014/12/paddington/#more-9875"><b>An Online Universe. </b></a> </div>
Andy Bucklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15655573933693289124noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2890338907751315894.post-35158303079251655112014-12-11T19:52:00.001+11:002014-12-11T19:52:27.772+11:00Favourite Male and Female Performances of 2014<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Male Performances</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br />
Male Performer of the Year:<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkQKRF-o-EE7939wqaHIyn94NiuhBsdG-NTxtchkfE0hoNhu6ceN8RW251G41_52bOBKQYLk2K2csnXkiX8JxW3gOxlIa2qmyLRHjwwf4moIh5sRqRTFIMaOtYZ9HgyQKMzHD5w85t05xy/s1600/enemy-slice.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkQKRF-o-EE7939wqaHIyn94NiuhBsdG-NTxtchkfE0hoNhu6ceN8RW251G41_52bOBKQYLk2K2csnXkiX8JxW3gOxlIa2qmyLRHjwwf4moIh5sRqRTFIMaOtYZ9HgyQKMzHD5w85t05xy/s1600/enemy-slice.jpg" height="132" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jake Gyllenhaal (for three brilliant performances in two films)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Honourable Mentions (In No Particular Order): Steve Coogan - <i>The Trip To Italy, </i>Jonah Hill - <i>The Wolf of Wall Street, </i>Matthew McConaughey - <i>Dallas Buyers Club,</i><i> </i>Jim Broadbent - <i>Le Week-End, </i>Russell Crowe - <i>Noah, </i>Jeff Goldblum - <i>Le Week-End/The Grand Budapest Hotel,</i><i> </i>Tom Hiddleston - <i>Only Lovers Left Alive, </i>Jesse Eisenberg -<i> The Double, </i>Dominic West and Ben Schnetzer - <i>Pride,</i> Alfred Molina - <i>Love is Strange, </i>James McAvoy - <i>The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Him, </i>Ciaran Hinds - <i>The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Him, </i>Tom Hardy - <i>The Drop/Locke, </i>Bill Hader - <i>The Skeleton Twins, </i>Chris Evans - <i>Snowpiercer, </i>Ben Mendolsohn - <i>Starred Up, </i>Jemaine Clement - <i>What We Do In The Shadows, </i>Andy Serkis and Toby Kebbel - <i>Dawn of the Planet of the Apes,</i><i> </i><span class="st">Mathieu Amalric - <i>Venus in Fur, </i>David Gulpilil - <i>Charlie's Country, </i></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="itemprop" itemprop="name"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Casey Aff<span style="font-family: inherit;">leck<span style="font-family: inherit;"> a<span style="font-family: inherit;">nd </span></span>Chris<span style="font-family: inherit;">tian Ba<span style="font-family: inherit;">le - <i>Out of the Fu<span style="font-family: inherit;">rnace,</span></i><span style="font-family: inherit;"> Cliff Curtis - <i>The Dark Horse, </i><span style="font-family: inherit;">Al P<span style="font-family: inherit;">acino - <i>T<span style="font-family: inherit;">he Humbling, </span></i><span style="font-family: inherit;">Ben Stiller - <i>While We're Young, </i><span style="font-family: inherit;">Aleksei Serebryakov <span style="font-family: inherit;">and <span style="font-family: inherit;">Roman Madyanov - <i>Leviathan,</i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i> </i>B<span style="font-family: inherit;">ill Murray - <i>St Vincent,</i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></i><span style="font-family: inherit;">Ben Affleck - <span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Gone Girl,</i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> Robert Duvall - <i>The Judge, </i>Ewan Mc<span style="font-family: inherit;">Gregor - <i>Son of A Gun,<span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></i><span style="font-family: inherit;">Mile<span style="font-family: inherit;">s Teller<span style="font-family: inherit;"> and </span>J.K Simmons - <i>Whiplash, </i><span style="font-family: inherit;">Johannes Kuhnke - <i>Force Majeure, </i>Brad P<span style="font-family: inherit;">itt<span style="font-family: inherit;"> and </span>Logan Lerman - <i>Fury</i></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>, Eddie Marsan - <i>Still Life, </i>Keanu Reeves - <i>John Wick, </i>Timothy Spall - <i>Mr Turner, </i>Riz Ahmed - <i>Nightcrawler, </i>Pierre-Yves Cardinal - <i>Tom at the Farm, </i>Zach Galifainakas - <i>Birdman, </i>Ethan Hawke - <i>Boyhood </i>and Benedict Cumberbatch - <i>The Imitation Game</i> </div>
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15. Edward Norton - <i>Birdman</i><br />
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14. Haluk Bilginer - <i>Winter Sleep</i><br />
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13. Toni Servillo - <i>The Great Beauty</i><br />
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12. Ralph Fiennes - <i>The Grand Budapest Hotel/The Invisible Woman</i><br />
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11. Brendan Gleeson - <i>Calvary </i> </div>
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10. Oscar Isaac - <i>Inside Llewyn Davis</i><br />
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9. Jack O'Connell - <i>Starred Up </i></div>
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8. Channing Tatum and Steve Carell - <i>Foxcatcher</i><br />
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7. Robert Redford - <i>All is Lost </i><br />
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6. Antoine-Olivier Pilon - <i>Mommy </i></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
5. Joaquin Phoenix - <i>Her/The Immigrant </i></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
4. Leonard DiCaprio - <i>The Wolf of Wall Street</i><br />
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3. Mark Ruffalo - <i>Foxcatcher/Begin Again/Infinitely Polar Bear </i><br />
<br />
2. Jake Gyllenhaal - <i>Nightcrawler/Enemy </i></div>
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<br />
1. Michael Keaton - <i>Birdman</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Female Performances</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br />
Female Performer of the Year:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfRGpK8wv_DnumkKS1w-caEmHNb6lekhhUckwkzqzfsLWHe2fAyiuraogpcVkKE3x5e1onSyRLFDIQ0lJ5LvgZvq4xJJM5-LAfQBM4nh0JpUhKko9PyRUftXvmg8yDEcOeW7KRxa63CVOJ/s1600/30UNDER1_SPAN-master675.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfRGpK8wv_DnumkKS1w-caEmHNb6lekhhUckwkzqzfsLWHe2fAyiuraogpcVkKE3x5e1onSyRLFDIQ0lJ5LvgZvq4xJJM5-LAfQBM4nh0JpUhKko9PyRUftXvmg8yDEcOeW7KRxa63CVOJ/s1600/30UNDER1_SPAN-master675.jpg" height="216" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Scarlett Johansson (she WAS everywhere, and nowhere)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Honourable Mentions (In No Particular Order): Judi Dench - <i>Philomena, </i>Lindsay Duncan - <i>Le Week-End</i>, Paulina Garcia - <i>Gloria, </i>Emmanuelle Devos - <i>Domestic Life, </i>Felicity Jones - <i>The Invisible Woman, </i>Rose Byrne - <i>Neighbours/Adult Beginners,</i> Mia Wasikowska - <i>Only Lovers Left Alive</i>,<i> </i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="itemprop" itemprop="name">Agata Trzebuchowska a<span style="font-family: inherit;">nd<span style="font-family: inherit;"> Agata Kul<span style="font-family: inherit;">esza</span></span></span> - <i>Ida, </i>Patricia Arquette - <i>Boyhood, </i>Marissa Tomei - <i>Love is Strange, </i>Viola Davis<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i> - </i></span><i>The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby<span style="font-family: inherit;">: </span>Her,</i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></i><span style="font-family: inherit;">Sarah Snook - <i>Predestinati<span style="font-family: inherit;">on, </span></i><span style="font-family: inherit;">Keira Knightley - <i>B<span style="font-family: inherit;">egin Again/Laggies<span style="font-family: inherit;">, </span></span></i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Sid<span style="font-family: inherit;">se Babett<span style="font-family: inherit;"> Knudsen<span style="font-family: inherit;"> and </span>Chiara D<span style="font-family: inherit;">'An<span style="font-family: inherit;">na - <i>The Duke of Burgund<span style="font-family: inherit;">y, </span></i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Naomi Watts - <i>Wh<span style="font-family: inherit;">ile We're Young/Birdman, </span></i><span style="font-family: inherit;">Elena Lyadova - <i>Lev<span style="font-family: inherit;">iathan, </span></i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Brit Marling - <i>The Keeping <span style="font-family: inherit;">Room, </span></i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">C<span style="font-family: inherit;">arrie Coo<span style="font-family: inherit;">n<span style="font-family: inherit;"> and </span>Kim Dickens - <i>Gone Girl,</i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i> </i><span style="font-family: inherit;">Reese Witherspoon - <i>Wild, </i><span style="font-family: inherit;">Lisa Loven<span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span>Ko<span style="font-family: inherit;">ngsli - <i>Force Majeure, </i>Emma Stone - <i>Birdman, </i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Alicia Vikander - <i>Testament of Y<span style="font-family: inherit;">outh</span></i> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="itemprop" itemprop="name"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">1<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">5</span>. Imelda Staunton - <i>Pride</i></span></span></span><i><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></i></span></span><i> </i></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<h1 class="header">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="itemprop" itemprop="name"><span class="st">14. Rene Russo - <i>Nightcrawler</i> </span></span></span></span></h1>
<h1 class="header">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="itemprop" itemprop="name"><span class="st">13. Karidja Toure - <i>Girlhood</i> </span></span></span></span></h1>
<h1 class="header">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="itemprop" itemprop="name"><span class="st">12. Juliette Binoche and Kristen Stewart - <i>Clouds of Sils Maria </i> </span></span></span></span></h1>
<h1 class="header">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="itemprop" itemprop="name"><span class="st">11. Emmanuelle Seigner - <i>Venus in Fur </i></span> </span></span></span></h1>
<h1 class="header">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="itemprop" itemprop="name">10. Melisa Sözen and Demet Akbag - <i>Winter Sleep </i></span></span></span></h1>
<h1 class="header">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="itemprop" itemprop="name"><i></i>9. Jessica Chastain - <i>The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Her</i></span></span></span></h1>
<h1 class="header">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="itemprop" itemprop="name">8. Tilda Swinton - <i>Only Lovers Left Alive/Snowpiercer</i></span></span></span> </h1>
7. Margot Robbie - <i>The Wolf of Wall Street</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
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6. Essie Davis - <i>The Babadook</i><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
5. Gugu Mbatha-Raw - <i>Beyond the Lights/Belle</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br />
4. Julianne Moore - <i>Still Alice</i><br />
<br />
3. Scarlett Johansson - <i>Under the Skin/Her/Lucy</i><br />
<br />
2. Marion Cotillard - <i>Two Days, One Night/The Immigrant</i><br />
<br />
1. Anne Dorval and Suzanne Clement - <i>Mommy</i><br />
<br />
<b>Note: There are a few<i> </i>films I won't get the chance to see this year - <i>A Most Violent Year, Inherent Vice, Selma, </i><i>The Theory</i> <i>of Everything, '71 </i>and <i>Unbroken - </i>so those performers will be a part of next year's considerations. </b></div>
Andy Bucklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15655573933693289124noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2890338907751315894.post-44850742488925690782014-12-10T21:47:00.001+11:002014-12-10T21:47:07.376+11:00New Releases 11/12/14In cinemas this week: <i>Paddington, Horrible Bosses 2, </i><i>The One I Love </i>and <i>Folies Bergere</i><br />
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<i><b>Paddington</b> - </i>From the beloved novels by Michael Bond and producer David Heyman (<i>Harry Potter</i>), <i>Paddington</i> tells the story of the comic misadventures of a
young Peruvian bear (voiced by Ben Whishaw) who travels to the city in search
of a home. Finding himself lost and alone, he begins to realize that
city life is not all he had imagined - until he meets the kindly Brown
family who read the label around his neck that says "Please look after
this bear. Thank you," and offer him a temporary haven. It looks as
though
<span id="movieSynopsisRemaining"> his luck has changed until this rarest of bears catches the eye of a museum taxidermist. </span><br />
<br />
<span id="movieSynopsisRemaining"><i><b>Horrible Bosses 2</b> - </i></span><span id="movieSynopsisRemaining">The follow-up to the 2011 hit comedy reunites Jason
Bateman, Charlie Day and Jason Sudeikis as Nick, Dale and Kurt. Jennifer Aniston, Jamie Foxx and Kevin Spacey also reprise their <i>Horrible Bosses</i>
starring roles, while Chris Pine and Christoph Waltz
star as
<span id="movieSynopsisRemaining"> new adversaries standing between the guys and their dreams of success.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span id="movieSynopsisRemaining"><span id="movieSynopsisRemaining"><i><b>The One I Love</b> - </i></span></span><span id="movieSynopsisRemaining"><span id="movieSynopsisRemaining">The highly anticipated debut feature from acclaimed author Charlie
McDowell, <i>The One I Love</i> is an original tale that continues to showcase
McDowell's keen observations of human relationships with a distinct and
comedic voice. Written by Justin Lader, <i>The One I Love </i>was produced by
Mel Eslyn and executive produced by Mark Duplass who stars opposite
Elisabeth Moss. On the brink of separation, Ethan (Duplass) and Sophie
(Moss) escape to a beautiful vacation house for a weekend getaway in an
<span id="movieSynopsisRemaining"> attempt to save
their marriage. What begins as a romantic and fun retreat soon becomes
surreal, when an unexpected discovery forces the two to examine
themselves, their relationship, and their future. </span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">★</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">★★</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">★</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span id="movieSynopsisRemaining"><span id="movieSynopsisRemaining"><i><b>Folies Bergere</b> - </i></span></span><span id="movieSynopsisRemaining"><span id="movieSynopsisRemaining">Brigitte and Xavier are a couple of cattle farmers living and working
together in Normandy. They have always got on well but now that their
two children have left the household routine and weariness have set in.
One night, Brigitte, who has been invited to a party by a group of
Parisians in the house next to their farm, lets herself be wooed by
Stan, a witty, cool attractive young man. Some time later, giving a
visit to a dermatologist as an excuse, she goes to Paris to meet him.
But things do
<span id="movieSynopsisRemaining"> not go according to plan.</span> Stars Isabelle Huppert. </span></span><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span id="movieSynopsisRemaining"><span id="movieSynopsisRemaining">Weekly Recommendation: I have been recommended <i>Folies Bergere </i>and anything with Isabelle Huppert is usually worth watching. I really liked <i>The One I Love. </i>What a clever and fun film that is odd enough to keep you guessing but not so twisted it starts to become indecipherable. Duplass is such a funny guy, but Elizabeth Moss is terrific in an unusual role. It is a very interesting look at a relationship in trouble, and how desiring your partner to change isn't the answer unless you're willing to change too. And then there's <i>Paddington, </i>which is getting very positive reviews. I am now very much looking forward to it. A surprisingly interesting week. December is usually a bit of a graveyard - though last year <i>American Hustle </i>swept in a blew open the box office - in the lead up to the Boxing Day and the new year. </span></span></b><i> </i></div>
Andy Bucklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15655573933693289124noreply@blogger.com43tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2890338907751315894.post-48268238386709324932014-12-10T20:56:00.002+11:002014-12-10T20:56:24.269+11:0015 Favourite Albums of 2014<div style="text-align: center;">
Over the last few months I have spent many hours catching up with some of the best received albums of the year. More time than watching films, I would say. Some didn't take my fancy, but many I enjoyed immensely. My second listen of my #2 ranked album was one of the most rewarding 40 minutes of the year.<br />
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Even though I barely scratched the surface of all of the music out there, here my top picks of 2014 with a Pitchfork rating out of 10.0:<br />
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Just missed the cut: <i>G I R L - </i>Pharrell Williams, <i>Are We There? - </i>Sharon Van Etten, <i>Too Bright - </i>Perfume Genius,<i> Rips - </i>Ex Hes, <i>Pinata - </i>Freddie Gibbs and Madlib</div>
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15. <i>Tough Love - </i>Jessie Ware 8.2 <br />
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14. <i>St Vincent - </i>St Vincent 8.2<br />
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13. <i>Syro - </i>Aphex Twin 8.3<br />
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12. <i>pom pom</i> - Ariel Pink 8.4<br />
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11. <i>Deep Fantasy - </i>White Lung - 8.4 <br />
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10. <i>I Never Learn - </i>Lykke Li 8.5 <br />
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9. <i>Sunbathing Animal - </i>Parquet Courts 8.5</div>
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8. <i>Ploughing into the Field of Love - </i>Iceage 8.6<br />
<i> </i></div>
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7. <i>Atlas - </i>Real Estate 8.6</div>
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6. <i>Benji </i>- Sun Kil Moon 8.8<br />
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5. <i>They Want My Soul - </i>Spoon 8.8</div>
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<i> </i><br />
4. <i>It's Album Time - </i>Todd Terje 8.9</div>
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3. <i>Lost in the Dream - </i>The War on Drugs 9.1</div>
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2. <i>Run the Jewels 2 - </i>Run the Jewels 9.4</div>
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1. <i>To Be Kind - </i>Swans 9.5<br />
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What are your favourite albums of the year? </div>
Andy Bucklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15655573933693289124noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2890338907751315894.post-78100573105301686892014-12-03T20:56:00.001+11:002014-12-03T20:56:50.565+11:00New Releases (4/12/2014)In cinemas this week: <i>Exodus: Gods and Kings, The Captive, The Congress, Alexander and the Terrible Horrible No Good Very Bad Day</i>, <i>Human Capital</i> and <i>The Green Prince.</i><br />
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<i><b>Exodus: Gods and Kings</b> - </i>From acclaimed director Ridley Scott comes the epic story of one man's daring
courage to take on the might of an empire. Using state of the art visual
effects and 3D immersion, Scott brings new life to the story of the
defiant leader Moses (Christian Bale) as he rises up against the
Egyptian Pharaoh Ramses (Joel Edgerton), setting 600,000 slaves on a
monumental journey of escape from Egypt and its terrifying cycle of
deadly plagues. <span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">It's not a good film. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>I felt every one of those 150 minutes trickle by. It is very boring and
unintentionally goofy. Impressive early scale and design swallowed up by
a dull script with horrendous dialogue and character. There's nothing going on here. The key events in the story are all there
- Moses' banishment, the Red Sea, the Ten Commandments - but the lulls
in between are as vacant as Moses himself.<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"> ★</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">★</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<i><b>The Captive</b> - </i>Matthew steps briefly into a diner and comes out to find that his young
daughter Cassandra has vanished without a trace from the back of his
truck. Her unsolved abduction destroys Matthew's once-happy relationship
with his wife, Tina, who, haunted by mementos of Cassandra that appear
mysteriously at her work, suspects her husband of foul play. Years
later, when detectives Nicole and Jeffrey discover recent images of
Cassandra online, Matthew risks everything to ensure his daughter's safe
<span id="movieSynopsisRemaining"> return-and to save himself and Tina from the limbo of unrelenting despair.</span><br />
<br />
<span id="movieSynopsisRemaining"><i><b>The Congress</b> - </i></span><span id="movieSynopsisRemaining">More than two decades after catapulting to stardom with <i>The Princess
Bride</i>, an aging actress (Robin Wright, playing a version of herself)
decides to take her final job: preserving her digital likeness for a
future Hollywood. Through a deal brokered by her loyal, longtime agent
(Harvey Keitel) and the head of Miramount Studios (Danny Huston), her
alias will be controlled by the studio, and will star in any film they
want with no restrictions. In return, she receives healthy compensation
so she
<span id="movieSynopsisRemaining"> can care for her
ailing son and her digitized character will stay forever young. Twenty
years later, under the creative vision of the studio's head animator
(Jon Hamm), Wright's digital double rises to immortal stardom. With her
contract expiring, she is invited to take part in "The Congress"
convention as she makes her comeback straight into the world of future
fantasy cinema.</span></span><br />
<span id="movieSynopsisRemaining"><span id="movieSynopsisRemaining"><br /></span></span>
<i><b>Alexander and the Terrible Horrible No Good Very Bad Day</b> - </i>Follows the exploits of 11-year-old Alexander (Ed Oxenbould) as he
experiences the most terrible and horrible day of his young life - a day
that begins with gum stuck in his hair, followed by one calamity after
another. But when Alexander tells his upbeat family about the
misadventures of his disastrous day, he finds little sympathy and begins
to wonder if bad things only happen to him. He soon learns that he's
not alone when
<span id="movieSynopsisRemaining"> his mom
(Jennifer Garner), dad (Steve Carell), brother (Dylan Minnette) and
sister (Kerris Dorsey) all find themselves living through their own
terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. Anyone who says there is no
such thing as a bad day just hasn't had one.</span><br />
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<b><span id="movieSynopsisRemaining"><i>Human Capital </i></span></b><span id="movieSynopsisRemaining">begins at the end, as a cyclist is run off the road by a
careening SUV the night before Christmas Eve. As details emerge of the
events leading up to the accident, the lives of the well-to-do Bernaschi
family, privileged and detached, will intertwine with the Ossolas,
struggling to keep their comfortable middle-class life, in ways neither
could have expected. Dino Ossola (Fabrizio Bentivoglio), in dire
financial straits, anticipates the birth of twins with his second wife
(Valeria
<span id="movieSynopsisRemaining"> Golino).
Meanwhile, Dino's teenage daughter's relationship with hedge-fund
manager Giovanni Bernaschi's playboy son complicates an already tricky
social dance of status, money and ambition. Paolo Virzi's taut character
study deconstructs the typical linear narrative, observing
transformative events from each character's perspective. The result is a
nuanced account of desire, greed and the value of human life in an age
of rampant capitalism and financial manipulation. I caught this at the Sydney Film Festival, and though it has diminished considerably since the viewing, I got wrapped up in this quite clever screenplay. </span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">★★</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">★</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span id="movieSynopsisRemaining"><span id="movieSynopsisRemaining"><br /></span></span>
<span id="movieSynopsisRemaining"><span id="movieSynopsisRemaining"><i><b>The Green Prince</b> - </i></span></span><span id="movieSynopsisRemaining"><span id="movieSynopsisRemaining">Set against the chaotic backdrop of recent events in the Middle East,
Nadav Schirman's <i>The Green Prince </i> retraces the details of a highly
unprecedented partnership that developed between sworn enemies. In the
style of a tense psychological thriller, this extraordinary documentary
recounts the true story of the son of a Hamas leader who emerged as one
of Israel's prized informants, and the Shin Bet agent who risked his
career to protect him. </span></span><span id="movieSynopsisRemaining"><span id="movieSynopsisRemaining">I admired the way this was film put together - just the two testimonies,
Mosab and his Israeli SS handler - and sat quietly in shock as the
revelations were revealed. </span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">★★</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">★1/2</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><b>Weekly Recommendation: <i>The Green Prince </i>and <i>Human Capital </i>from what I have seen, but I am dying to see <i>The Congress. </i>Been on my radar for 18 months. <i>Exodus </i>is another misfire from Ridley Scott - don't say I didn't warn you. </b> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span id="movieSynopsisRemaining"><span id="movieSynopsisRemaining"></span><br /></span></div>
Andy Bucklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15655573933693289124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2890338907751315894.post-73696366440793979682014-11-30T15:10:00.003+11:002014-11-30T15:12:40.014+11:00Monthly Round-up: November 2014 Viewing<div style="text-align: center;">
I watched <b>30</b> films in November.<br>
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In other news we have completely finished <b><i>Entourage. </i></b>I had never ventured beyond Season 7, because I was disappointed by what the show had stooped too. But, on a re-watch Season 6 is the show's weakest season. Vince going out of control in Season 7 has a much more convincing and authentic progression than I remember, and both Drama and Turtle have interesting arcs. Ari aside, because Piven is so good, Turtle has grown into the show's unlikely MVP. S7 ends with one of the show's greatest celeb references - following Vince's altercation with Eminem at a party he gatecrashes. Drama defends Vince and gets beaten up in the process, despite being held back. He has this to say about this situation:<br>
<br>
"If it wasn't for Jordan Farmar and that guy Kevin Love, I think I would have killed somebody." - Drama.<br>
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Who thought of this? NBA players Farmar and Love (who played for the Lakers and Timberwolves respectively at the time) appear as themselves, but in the mess of bodies it is hard to identify them. Every ep has oodles of references to celebs past and present, and guest involvement, but this might be my favourite of them all. <br>
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Anyway, here's what I saw in November.<br>
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<b>-------- Essential Viewing --------</b><i><b> </b></i><br>
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<i><b>Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father </b></i>(Kurt Kuenne, 2008)<b> </b>-<b> </b>One of the greatest documentaries I have ever seen. I can't believe I didn't hear about this back in 2008. Devastating.</div>
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<i><b>Why Don't You Play in Hell?</b> </i>(Sion Sono, 2013) <i>- </i>The better of the Sono pair I watched this month. How can you not enjoy this? It's a fast and furious ascent into the ridiculous, but you have to admire its manic
energy and ability to fuse informed commentary on the transition into the Digital era, and it's idolization of an era passed, with a story that is so
impressively complex. And the ending is full-on chaos. Sono knows exactly what he is doing - technically genius, it is so well constructed and consistently hilarious. One of the most enjoyable cinema experiences I have had this year.<br>
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<b><i>Thief </i></b>(Michael Mann, 1981) - Hotshot criminal caught between professional allegiance and clean
sanctuary, to the sounds of Tangerine Dream. Caan at his big-ego best and it looks amazing. They don't make them like this anymore. Mann's credible world and characters resemble Cassavetes and <i>The Killing of a Chinese Bookie</i>. Mann's career greatness to follow contained
within his debut.<br>
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<i><a href="http://www.anonlineuniverse.com/2014/11/pride/"><b>Pride</b></a> </i>(Matthew Warchus, 2014)</div>
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<i><b>Tokyo Tribe</b> </i>(Sion Sono, 2014) - I don't know what to say. <i>Tokyo Tribe </i>is one of those experiences you can't believe happened. Amazing. </div>
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<i><b>We are the Best!</b> </i>(Lukas Moodysson, 2013) - The confidence here. Gets that 13-14 year old awkwardness spot on. Forming a band is just a form of antagonistic rebellion to begin with
- until the pair begin to have a blast with the idea, discover that
punk is a real ideal, forge a new friendship and mold their identity and
independence as a result. The three girls, all non pros, are perfect. I had a smile on my face through most of this. Good stuff.<br>
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<i><b>Phase IV</b> </i>(Saul Bass, 1974) - I liked this trippy classic sci-fi, but I don't really know why. The conception and execution of the ant sequences is incredible. How was this even done? Even the human story was fascinating for the most part - the implosion of humanity when threatened by one of the smartest of Earth's creatures, and the aggressive obsession to understand and communicate with a force outside of the claustrophobic lab, when the answers lie within. I watched the alternate ending on Youtube afterwards. WTF. Better than the other one, though. <br>
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<b>-------- Essential Viewing --------</b><br>
</div><a href="https://thefilmemporium.blogspot.com/2014/11/monthly-round-up-november-2014-viewing.html#more">Read more »</a>Andy Bucklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15655573933693289124noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2890338907751315894.post-81788041193337311322014-11-25T20:54:00.002+11:002014-11-25T20:54:41.693+11:00New Releases (27/11/2014)In cinemas this week: <i>Nightcrawler, Men Women and Children, Particle Fever, Fat Pizza Vs. Housos, A Thousand Times Goodnight,</i> <i>Serena </i>and <i>Jimmy's Hall. </i><br />
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<i><b><a href="http://letterboxd.com/andy_buckle/film/nightcrawler/">Nightcrawler</a></b> - </i>A pulse-pounding thriller set in the nocturnal underbelly of
contemporary Los Angeles. Jake Gyllenhaal stars as Lou Bloom, a driven
young man desperate for work who discovers the high-speed world of L.A.
crime journalism. Finding a group of freelance camera crews who film
crashes, fires, murder and other mayhem, Lou muscles into the
cut-throat, dangerous realm of nightcrawling -- where each police siren
wail equals a possible windfall and victims are converted into dollars
and
<span id="movieSynopsisRemaining"> cents. Aided by
Rene Russo as Nina, a veteran of the blood-sport that is local TV news,
Lou thrives. In the breakneck, ceaseless search for footage, he becomes
the star of his own story. Quite simply one of the elite films of the year. Absolutely blown away by this one. </span><br />
<span id="movieSynopsisRemaining"><br /></span>
<span id="movieSynopsisRemaining"><i><b>Men Women and Children</b> - </i></span><span id="movieSynopsisRemaining">Follows the story of a group of high school teenagers and their parents
as they attempt to navigate the many ways the internet has changed their
relationships, their communication, their self-image, and their love
lives. The film attempts to stare down social issues such as video game
culture, anorexia, infidelity, fame hunting, and the proliferation of
illicit material on the internet. As each character and each
relationship is tested, we are shown the variety of roads
<span id="movieSynopsisRemaining"> people choose -
some tragic, some hopeful - as it becomes clear that no one is immune to
this enormous social change that has come through our phones, our
tablets, and our computers.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span id="movieSynopsisRemaining"><span id="movieSynopsisRemaining"><i><b>Particle Fever</b> - </i></span></span><span id="movieSynopsisRemaining"><span id="movieSynopsisRemaining">Imagine being able to watch as Edison turned on the first light bulb, or
as Franklin received his first jolt of electricity. For the first time,
a film gives audiences a front row seat to a significant and inspiring
scientific breakthrough as it happens. <i>Particle Fever</i> follows six
brilliant scientists during the launch of the Large Hadron Collider,
marking the start-up of the biggest and most expensive experiment in the
history of the planet, pushing the edge of human innovation. As they
seek to
<span id="movieSynopsisRemaining"> unravel the
mysteries of the universe, 10,000 scientists from over 100 countries
joined forces in pursuit of a single goal: to recreate conditions that
existed just moments after the Big Bang and find the Higgs boson,
potentially explaining the origin of all matter. But our heroes confront
an even bigger challenge: have we reached our limit in understanding
why we exist? Directed by Mark Levinson, a physicist turned filmmaker,
from the inspiration and initiative of producer David Kaplan and
masterfully edited by Walter Murch (<i>Apocalypse Now, The English
Patient</i>),<i> Particle Fever</i> is a celebration of discovery, revealing the
very human stories behind this epic machine. </span></span></span>It successfully turns the analysis of complex theories into an accessible
and inspiring document of grand, and revolutionary,
scientific breakthrough. <span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">★</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">★★</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">1/2</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<b><i>1000 </i></b><span id="movieSynopsisRemaining"><span id="movieSynopsisRemaining"><span id="movieSynopsisRemaining"><i><b>Times Good Night</b> - </i></span></span></span><span id="movieSynopsisRemaining"><span id="movieSynopsisRemaining"><span id="movieSynopsisRemaining">Rebecca (Juliette Binoche) is one of world's top war photojournalists,
capturing dangerous and chilling images in the most dire landscapes, all
in an effort to shed light on the real cost of modern war. But she's
also a wife and mother, leaving behind a husband and two young daughters
every time she travels to a new combat zone. After a near-death
experience chronicling the ritual of a female suicide bomber, husband
Marcus (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) levels an ultimatum: give up the
dangerous
<span id="movieSynopsisRemaining"> profession or
lose the family she counts on being there when she returns from each
assignment. Yet the conviction that her photos can make a difference
keeps pulling at Rebecca's resolve, making it difficult for her to walk
away entirely. With an offer to photograph a refugee camp in Kenya, a
place allegedly so safe that daughter Steph (Lauryn Canny) is allowed to
join her, Rebecca comes face to face with just how much she risks each
time she steps back into the fray. </span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span id="movieSynopsisRemaining"><span id="movieSynopsisRemaining"><span id="movieSynopsisRemaining"><span id="movieSynopsisRemaining"><i><b>Serena</b> - </i></span></span></span></span><span id="movieSynopsisRemaining"><span id="movieSynopsisRemaining"><span id="movieSynopsisRemaining"><span id="movieSynopsisRemaining">Adapted from the novel by Ron Rash, director Susanne Bier's romantic
period drama <i>Serena </i>details the deteriorating relationship between North
Carolina timber magnate Pemberton (Bradley Cooper) and his fiercely
independent, entrepreneurial-minded wife Serena (Jennifer Lawrence)
following a devastating miscarriage. A woman who isn't afraid to speak
her mind and relishes the opportunity for manual labor in the forest,
the enigmatic Serena subsequently grows intensely jealous of the woman
who
<span id="movieSynopsisRemaining"> previously bore
her husband a son, and quickly begins to unravel over suspicions that
Pemberton is sheltering his illegitimate family.</span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span id="movieSynopsisRemaining"><span id="movieSynopsisRemaining"><span id="movieSynopsisRemaining"><span id="movieSynopsisRemaining"><span id="movieSynopsisRemaining"><i><b>Jimmy's Hall</b> -</i> </span></span></span></span></span><span id="movieSynopsisRemaining"><span id="movieSynopsisRemaining"><span id="movieSynopsisRemaining"><span id="movieSynopsisRemaining"><span id="movieSynopsisRemaining">In 1921 Jimmy Gralton's sin was to build a dance hall on a rural
crossroads in Ireland where young people could come to learn, to argue,
to dream... but above all to dance and have fun. <i>Jimmy's Hall</i> celebrates
the spirit of these free thinkers. The film is set in 1932 and follows
events when Jimmy returned from a decade in New York and re-opened the
hall. The film is freely inspired by Jimmy's life and turbulent times. </span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span id="movieSynopsisRemaining"><span id="movieSynopsisRemaining"><span id="movieSynopsisRemaining"><span id="movieSynopsisRemaining"><span id="movieSynopsisRemaining"><br /></span></span></span></span></span>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span id="movieSynopsisRemaining"><span id="movieSynopsisRemaining"><span id="movieSynopsisRemaining"><span id="movieSynopsisRemaining"><span id="movieSynopsisRemaining"><b>Weekly Recommendation: <i>Nighcrawler </i>is brilliant. If you don't see it, you are seriously missing out. Jake Gyllenhaal's performance is incredible. I fear I have oversold this, having been blabbing about it since I saw it at TIFF, but I hope you enjoy it. <i>Particle Fever </i>isn't essential cinema viewing, but it is a very interesting documentary that makes large volumes of stats and data pretty accessible to an inquisitive viewer. I have <i>Serena </i>and <i>Men Women and Children </i>lined up this week so we will see how they go (reviews are poor), but if I get the chance to see Ken Loach's <i>Jimmy's Hall </i>I won't pass that up either. </b></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span id="movieSynopsisRemaining"><span id="movieSynopsisRemaining"><span id="movieSynopsisRemaining"><span id="movieSynopsisRemaining"><span id="movieSynopsisRemaining"> </span> </span></span></span></span></div>
Andy Bucklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15655573933693289124noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2890338907751315894.post-81606086532328561802014-11-20T19:57:00.000+11:002014-11-20T19:57:22.522+11:00Review: Mr Turner (Mike Leigh, 2014)<em>Mr. Turner</em> is a dense, challenging biographical drama of
ugly sounds and gorgeous visuals, sets and costumes. Veteran British
filmmaker Mike Leigh (Naked, Secrets and Lies and Another Year) canvases
the period spectacularly, while Cannes Best Actor-winner Timothy Spall
(The King’s Speech) completely embodies the vile but fascinating J. M. W
Turner, one of the great 19th Century British painters.<br />
<br />
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</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_LUFXOgbFkOkCNc2wUYusgz8bNHR0iALpV2A6S35OTRYsD9e0hwxSJ4ncVOu-MDuqoRaEdeKO4wbb41gCdvLycGk3zAYO4kEq09UW6rYoA4Sjzkk0EDm7sa6D2z6kvWhzjz6GwpOsv3mN/s1600/Mr.Turner-528x355.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_LUFXOgbFkOkCNc2wUYusgz8bNHR0iALpV2A6S35OTRYsD9e0hwxSJ4ncVOu-MDuqoRaEdeKO4wbb41gCdvLycGk3zAYO4kEq09UW6rYoA4Sjzkk0EDm7sa6D2z6kvWhzjz6GwpOsv3mN/s1600/Mr.Turner-528x355.jpg" height="268" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
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<span id="more-9651"></span><br />
There is essentially very little plot to Leigh’s 12th feature, with
the titular artist’s interactions with others driving the narrative
along, revealing more about the man, the period, how his cumbersome
frame and loathsome attributes fit awkwardly into the world and the
legacy left behind. They are very interesting, despite being accompanied
by Turner’s aggressive grunts and difficult-to-discern oratory. We are
introduced to Turner when he is already at the height of his fame, and
over what I took to be several decades we witness his creative decline,
his emotional suffering over the death of his father, his impaired
health, and the relationships that defined the last years of his life,
in particular with Sophia, a widowed seaside woman he falls in love
with. Turner travels consistently as an inspiration for his work and was
a respected (if unruly) member of the Royal Academy of Arts. There is a
lot to digest in this film.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
Continue Reading at <b><a href="http://www.anonlineuniverse.com/2014/11/mr-turner/#more-9651">An Online Universe</a>. </b> </div>
Andy Bucklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15655573933693289124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2890338907751315894.post-24228875260528879702014-11-18T22:24:00.001+11:002014-11-18T22:24:34.968+11:00New Releases (20/11/2014)In cinemas this week: <i>The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1, The Dark Horse, Maps to the Stars, The Good Lie </i>and <i>Rock the Casbah.</i><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMM8De8Xii1oxvAHRvahUmfDVBIkZKcH51uFy8WGJszaX6P8eghzTrdSKuGYDKiNigZFzrS07z7IdgeJIXyMml7pgbt9Re-KCo7Ea5x7f_hj5OZjyOke3QEY3hWJaaVm0wmRJ0fUVRnSa2/s1600/DARK-HORSE_James-Rollestion-and-Cliff-Curtis.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMM8De8Xii1oxvAHRvahUmfDVBIkZKcH51uFy8WGJszaX6P8eghzTrdSKuGYDKiNigZFzrS07z7IdgeJIXyMml7pgbt9Re-KCo7Ea5x7f_hj5OZjyOke3QEY3hWJaaVm0wmRJ0fUVRnSa2/s1600/DARK-HORSE_James-Rollestion-and-Cliff-Curtis.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i><a href="http://www.anonlineuniverse.com/2014/11/the-hunger-games-mockingjay-part-1/#more-9643"><b>The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1</b></a> - </i>After seemingly destroying the Games for good, Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) finds herself
recovering in District 13, with her mother and sister and leaders of the
Panem rebellion. District 13 is led by President Alma Coin (Julianne
Moore), who along with her allies including Plutarch Heavensbee (Philip
Seymour Hoffman), Katniss’ mentor Haymitch Abernathy (Woody Harrelson)
and publicity representative Effie Trinket (Elizabeth Banks), attempts
to convince Katniss to become the beacon of hope for the rebellion. She
is distraught having learned that her fellow Games competitor Peeta
(Josh Hutcherson) has been captured by the Capitol’s tyrannical
President Snow (Donald Sutherland), and by the horrors she discovers
have been afflicted on District 12 and beyond. Her reactions to the
atrocities and military-escorted contact with enemy forces are then
broadcast around Panem, including the Capitol, who retaliates with their
own propaganda broadcast in an attempt to intimidate Katniss and quash
the strengthening rebellion.<br />
<br />
<i><b>The Dark Horse</b> - </i>Starring an extraordinary NZ cast; Cliff Curtis<i> (Whale Rider </i>and<i> Boy),
</i>James Rolleston<i> (Boy) </i>and Kirk Torrance<i> (Outrageous Fortune) The Dark
Horse </i>is an inspiring true story based on the life of a charismatic,
brilliant but little-known New Zealand Hero and chess champion - Genesis
Potini, aka Gen. It is an emotionally-charged, provocative
drama about a man who searches for the courage to lead, despite his own
adversities - finding purpose and hope in passing on his gift to the
<span id="movieSynopsisRemaining"> children in his community. </span>Curtis is terrific as a bipolar ex-chessmaster who takes some troubled
youngsters under his tutelage and teaches them that the tiny world of
chess offers many paths, and not everyone needs to follow the one
assigned by their circumstances. Really quite affecting. <span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">★★</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">★1/2</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><i><b>Maps to the Stars</b> - </i></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>With this tale of a secret-filled Hollywood family on the verge of
implosion, director David Cronenberg (<i>Eastern Promises, A History of Violence</i>) forges both a wicked social satire and a very human ghost
story from our celebrity-obsessed culture. Meet the Weiss family, who
are making their way in a sun-soaked Southern California rife with
money, dreams, fame, envy, angst, yearning - and relentless hauntings.
Stafford Weiss (John Cusack) is a famed TV self-help therapist, whose
"Hour of Personal
<span id="movieSynopsisRemaining"> Power" has
brought him an A-list celebrity clientele, including Havana Segrand (Julianne Moore, Cannes-winner for her performance). Meanwhile, Cristina Weiss
(Olivia Williams) has her work cut out managing the career of their
disaffected child-star son, Benjie (Evan Bird), a fresh graduate of
rehab at age 13.</span><br />
<br />
<span id="movieSynopsisRemaining"><i><b>The Good Lie </b>- </i></span><span id="movieSynopsisRemaining">They were known simply as "The Lost Boys." Orphaned by the brutal Civil
war in Sudan that began in 1983, these young victims traveled as many as
a thousand miles on foot in search of safety. Fifteen years later, a
humanitarian effort would bring 3600 lost boys and girls to America. In <i>The Good Lie</i> Philippe Falardeau, (writer and director of the
Oscar- nominated Foreign Language film <i>Monsieur Lazhar</i>) brings the
story of their survival and triumph to life. Sudanese actors Arnold
Oceng, Ger
<span id="movieSynopsisRemaining"> Duany, Emmanuel
Jal, and newcomer Nyakuoth Weil, many of whom were also children of war,
star alongside Academy Award-winner Reese Witherspoon and Corey
Stoll. </span> </span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span id="movieSynopsisRemaining"><b>Weekly Recommendation - <i>The Dark Horse </i>is my pick of the two that I have seen, but I can imagine when <i>Mockingjay Parts 1 and 2 </i>are viewed together, they will prove to be much more satisfying. As a once David Cronenberg fan - his last two have been disappointing - I am looking forward to <i>Maps to the Stars, </i>and I adored Falardeau's last film <i>Monsieur Lazhar </i>son I am intrigued by <i>The Good Lie. </i></b> </span><i> </i></div>
Andy Bucklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15655573933693289124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2890338907751315894.post-79851235523452840182014-11-18T07:44:00.002+11:002014-11-18T07:44:31.104+11:00The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 (Francis Lawrence, 2014) <em>The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1</em> is the first cinematic half of the third and final installment in the<em> Hunger Games</em> franchise, based on the best-selling novels by Suzanne Collins. Francis Lawrence, who directed the excellent second film, <em>Catching Fire</em>,
returns to direct, and the story continues to follow Katniss Everdeen
(Jennifer Lawrence) as she becomes a reluctant hero and symbol of hope
for Panem after escaping the Third Quarter Quell Hunger Games.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguhvubExsALOblKCMj_oqdJTHPcTFAXY8-1Y6PZm7iQGf32ec_kqDNsD23RMGgavrJx5U80WedHZjNb_4E0mgzHxCJIeAyHLmk-foo_6JRF-Lub4N_1iYWeqkXBrzVkz3r2ncarf2JGCaY/s1600/MockingjayPart1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguhvubExsALOblKCMj_oqdJTHPcTFAXY8-1Y6PZm7iQGf32ec_kqDNsD23RMGgavrJx5U80WedHZjNb_4E0mgzHxCJIeAyHLmk-foo_6JRF-Lub4N_1iYWeqkXBrzVkz3r2ncarf2JGCaY/s1600/MockingjayPart1.jpg" height="233" width="400" /></a></div>
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After seemingly destroying the Games for good, Katniss finds herself
recovering in District 13, with her mother and sister and leaders of the
Panem rebellion. District 13 is led by President Alma Coin (Julianne
Moore), who along with her allies including Plutarch Heavensbee (Philip
Seymour Hoffman), Katniss’ mentor Haymitch Abernathy (Woody Harrelson)
and publicity representative Effie Trinket (Elizabeth Banks), attempts
to convince Katniss to become the beacon of hope for the rebellion. She
is distraught having learned that her fellow Games competitor Peeta
(Josh Hutcherson) has been captured by the Capitol’s tyrannical
President Snow (Donald Sutherland), and by the horrors she discovers
have been afflicted on District 12 and beyond. Her reactions to the
atrocities and military-escorted contact with enemy forces are then
broadcast around Panem, including the Capitol, who retaliates with their
own propaganda broadcast in an attempt to intimidate Katniss and quash
the strengthening rebellion.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Continue reading at <b><a href="http://www.anonlineuniverse.com/2014/11/the-hunger-games-mockingjay-part-1/#more-9643">An Online Universe</a>. </b> </div>
Andy Bucklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15655573933693289124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2890338907751315894.post-82374480658197518892014-11-11T07:43:00.000+11:002014-11-11T07:43:16.217+11:00New Releases (13/11/14) In cinemas this week: <i>The Drop, Winter Sleep, My Old Lady </i>and <i>Lets Be Cops.</i><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVvcrIehYTo8K0c8NBKQjIIM9u9ZKwKLMLUa6U_qgYW4jv1qgxIG6VuA8Rpibhj3xUhN4u6BBObHtmiARI1j2N2AC2KpLVfTcWGQBhZ6bLMA73uKZ4cxnuttcvSWv_Rup1-4BimLepd3y8/s1600/download-7-are-you-going-to-watch-the-drop.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVvcrIehYTo8K0c8NBKQjIIM9u9ZKwKLMLUa6U_qgYW4jv1qgxIG6VuA8Rpibhj3xUhN4u6BBObHtmiARI1j2N2AC2KpLVfTcWGQBhZ6bLMA73uKZ4cxnuttcvSWv_Rup1-4BimLepd3y8/s1600/download-7-are-you-going-to-watch-the-drop.jpeg" height="280" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i><b>The Drop</b> - </i>A new crime drama from Michaël R. Roskam, the Academy Award
nominated director of <i>Bullhead</i>. Based on a screenplay from Dennis Lehane
(<i>Mystic River, Gone Baby Gone</i>), <i>The Drop </i>follows lonely bartender Bob
Saginowski (Tom Hardy) through a covert scheme of funneling cash to
local gangsters - "money drops" in the underworld of Brooklyn bars.
Under the heavy hand of his employer and cousin Marv (James Gandolfini),
Bob finds himself at the center of a robbery gone awry and entwined in
an
<span id="movieSynopsisRemaining"> investigation that digs deep into the neighborhood's past. </span>This is a strange film. A slow-building, character-driven Brooklyn
underworld-set thriller that feels different, thanks to Roskam's direction. It is <i>always</i> interesting, despite some plot holes on reflection. Hardy is terrific. Gandolfini ditto in his last (?)
role. <span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">★★</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">★1/2</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><i><b><a href="http://letterboxd.com/andy_buckle/film/winter-sleep/">Winter Sleep</a></b> - </i></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">Aydin, a former actor, runs a small hotel in central Anatolia with his
young wife Nihal with whom he has a stormy relationship and his sister
Necla who is suffering from her recent divorce. In winter as the snow
begins to fall, the hotel turns into a shelter but also an inescapable
place that fuels their animosities. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>This year's Palme d’Or winner from Nuri Bilge Ceylan (the extraordinary
<i>Once Upon A Time In Anatolia</i>) is a riveting, beautifully photographed
portrait of middle-age re-evaluation and revelation in historically and
economically crippled Anatolian isolation. Amazing.<span style="font-size: small;"> <span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">★</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">★</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">★</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">★</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><i><b>My Old Lady </b>- </i></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">Mathias Gold (Kevin Kline) is a down-on-his-luck New Yorker who inherits
a Parisian apartment from his estranged father. But when he arrives in
France to sell the vast domicile, he's shocked to discover a live-in
tenant who is not prepared to budge. His apartment is a viager - an
ancient French real estate system with complex rules pertaining to its
resale - and the feisty Englishwoman Mathilde Girard (Maggie Smith), who
has lived in the apartment with her daughter Chloé (Kristin Scott
Thomas)
<span id="movieSynopsisRemaining"> for many years, can by contract collect monthly payments from Mathias until her death.</span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><i><b>Lets Be Cops</b> - </i></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">It's the ultimate buddy cop movie except for one thing: they're not
cops. When two struggling pals dress as police officers for a costume
party, they become neighborhood sensations. But when these newly-minted
"heroes" get tangled in a real life web of mobsters and dirty
detectives, they must put their fake badges on the line. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">Weekly Recommendation: <i>Winter Sleep </i>is one of the best films I saw at the Sydney Film Festival earlier in the year. It is long, but I was riveted the entire way. <i>The Drop </i>features one of Tom Hardy's best performances (think about that) and very much worth your time. They are pretty niche films, though, so I expect they will have their detractors. I enjoy watching Damon Wayans Jr. and Jake Johnson but <i>Lets Be Cops </i>looks abysmal. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></b><i> </i></div>
Andy Bucklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15655573933693289124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2890338907751315894.post-71820315432946401122014-11-11T07:22:00.002+11:002014-11-11T07:22:49.774+11:00Review: Pride (Matthew Warchus, 2014)<i>Pride</i> is British feel-good drama at its very best, featuring
one of the strongest ensemble casts of the year. It is not only an
inspiring and important film about the fight for equality and how
strength in numbers amongst multiple marginalised groups has the
potential to change a nation’s values, but it’s also full of frequent
humour and irresistible energy. Coupled with the charm is an
ever-present feeling of substantiality in its exploration of the period
and the heroes that made such an unlikely union possible. Written by
Stephen Beresford and directed by Matthew Warchus, <i>Pride</i> has understandably been internationally celebrated, including winning the Queer Palm at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOztHgBFMk7f07G_KYNqnSrsk-J3aw-WJvGJpcW6IwlWZCQeN8vAcWwJIzlRTYG62qylK_SXSfVw7FdhTjGf97Zw6_-uy_KA40ygixkucl9U5YV6BLQvrMdyQmWxlgXH4gx3bO5Ydnkgq8/s1600/pride-critique-film-matthew-warchus-bill-nighy-pathc3a9-films-la-critiquerie-2014.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOztHgBFMk7f07G_KYNqnSrsk-J3aw-WJvGJpcW6IwlWZCQeN8vAcWwJIzlRTYG62qylK_SXSfVw7FdhTjGf97Zw6_-uy_KA40ygixkucl9U5YV6BLQvrMdyQmWxlgXH4gx3bO5Ydnkgq8/s1600/pride-critique-film-matthew-warchus-bill-nighy-pathc3a9-films-la-critiquerie-2014.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<i>Pride </i>is based on true events, depicting a London group of
smart and determined gay and lesbian activists, led by Mark Ashton (Ben
Schnetzer, <i>The Riot Club</i>), who raised money to help families
affected by the 1984 British miner’s strike. The nation-wide Lesbian and
Gays Support the Miners (LGSM) campaign was spawned from this, but the
National Union of Mineworkers was reluctant to accept donations due to
their concern about being publicly associated with a gay group. The LGSM
decided to take their donations directly to Onllwyn, a small mining
town in Wales, where their generosity was welcomed by their union
spokesperson Dai Donovan (Paddy Considine,<i> The World’s End</i>).
After overcoming initial conflicts with the community at large,
friendships begin to forge and the alliance began to raise publicity.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
Continue reading at <b><a href="http://www.anonlineuniverse.com/2014/11/pride/">An Online Universe</a>.</b> </div>
Andy Bucklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15655573933693289124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2890338907751315894.post-27954570074266431992014-11-05T07:39:00.000+11:002014-11-05T07:39:04.070+11:00Revew: Two Days, One Night (Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, 2014)<div itemprop="description">
In the latest film from the great Dardenne Brothers (<i>Rosetta, The Kid
With the Bike</i>) Marion Cotillard is wonderful as Sandra, a
still-depressed mother of two who decides to fight for her job by asking
her colleagues to vote in favour of her returning to work and keeping
her salary, over a generous and financially-cushioning bonus.<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX7iEsDkbaL_d5lW-XLrVwcUTMnUlfTO7RUId0rDHFkmqOkOTUHfGHvti7Dp9pY-Lq52D68bv0tzkKBQ-1uROK-NQ0Q3QvARUx-D3b1ZpDM8CcufDdD2ed4IHlL10zFIV5NaxpaPqhPZ2c/s1600/cdn.indiewire.com.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX7iEsDkbaL_d5lW-XLrVwcUTMnUlfTO7RUId0rDHFkmqOkOTUHfGHvti7Dp9pY-Lq52D68bv0tzkKBQ-1uROK-NQ0Q3QvARUx-D3b1ZpDM8CcufDdD2ed4IHlL10zFIV5NaxpaPqhPZ2c/s1600/cdn.indiewire.com.png" height="280" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
On a Friday fourteen of her sixteen colleagues voted in favor of the
bonus, but Sandra is convinced to fight for another chance and manages
to persuade her boss to hold a blind, uninfluenced ballot on Monday.
Over the course of the weekend, barely able to hide her shame and
embarrassment, she pays each of them a personal visit, pleading her case
(the importance of her salary, her improved health), but always with an
understanding of their equally stressful financial situations. She asks
them to make a very difficult decision, to take a sacrifice for her -
for some, a friend - and the passing on a rare economic crutch.<br />
<br />
In this film we see inspiring increases in Sandra's self-worth,
having been sidelined by depression, just as self-pity heartbreakingly
brews with each encounter. Many of her work colleagues are not monsters;
some felt guilty for taking the bonus and claimed to be pressured in,
agreeing to vote in her favor, while others provide sound arguments why
they won't change their minds. There is a profound moral dilemma here,
and an audience is challenged to consider how they would respond. There
are several twists and turns that have huge significance, but save for
one particularly misfitting development with one colleague, the Dardennes are
completely respectful of the sort of person Sandra is to the very end.<br />
<br />
Throughout this film suspense builds whenever Sandra knocks on a
door, or makes a call. We have no idea how this colleague is going to
respond, and despite the repetitious structure there is tension
throughout. This is a small film about a universal crisis.<br />
<br />
The Dardenne Bros use an intimate approach to telling their stories;
lengthy, unbroken takes, a curious camera that eavesdrops on these
conversations and is expertly controlled. The musical accompaniments
work brilliantly too. But it is their script, their core character, the
tenuous conflict that emerges through an unfortunate economic landscape,
that makes this film wholly affecting.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
My Rating: <span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">★</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">★★</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">★1/2</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span> </div>
</div>
Andy Bucklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15655573933693289124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2890338907751315894.post-47674516416863860362014-11-03T21:15:00.001+11:002014-11-03T21:15:41.602+11:00New Releases (06/11/2014)In cinemas this week: <i>Interstellar, Two Days, One Night, Love, Rosie, My Mistress, Finding Vivian Maier</i> and <i>Rise. </i><br />
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<i><b><a href="http://www.anonlineuniverse.com/2014/10/interstellar/">Interstellar</a> </b>- </i>With our time on Earth coming to an end, a team of explorers undertakes
the most important mission in human history; traveling beyond this
galaxy to discover whether mankind has a future among the stars.<br />
<br />
<i><a href="http://letterboxd.com/andy_buckle/film/two-days-one-night/"><b>Two Days, One Night</b> </a>- </i>Sandra (Cotillard) has just been released from the hospital to find that
she no longer has a job. According to management, the only way Sandra
can hope to regain her position at the factory is to convince her
co-workers to sacrifice their much-needed yearly bonuses. Now, over the
course of one weekend, Sandra must confront each co-worker individually
in order to win a majority of their votes before time runs out. With TWO
DAYS, ONE NIGHT, the Dardenne Bros. have turned a relevant social inquiry
into
<span id="movieSynopsisRemaining"> a powerful statement on
community solidarity, once again delivering a film that is simple on the
surface but alive with both compassion and wisdom.</span><br />
<br />
<span id="movieSynopsisRemaining"><i><b>Love, Rosie</b> - </i></span>Rosie and her best friend Alex take a leap of faith, both on life and on
each other, when they decide to go to the US together to attend
university. But fate has other plans for Rosie. Over the next 12 years
their lives change dramatically but the connection remains.
<br />
<br />
<span id="movieSynopsisRemaining"><i><b>My Mistress</b> - </i></span>What starts as a beautiful and strangely innocent affair between a
vulnerable teenage romantic and a French S&M mistress soon becomes
more dangerous.
<br />
<br />
<span id="movieSynopsisRemaining"><i><b>Finding Vivian Maier</b> - </i></span>Who is Vivian Maier? Now considered one of the 20th century's greatest
street photographers, Vivian Maier was a mysterious nanny who secretly
took over 100,000 photographs that went unseen during her lifetime.
Since buying her work by chance at auction, amateur historian John
Maloof has crusaded to put this prolific photographer in the history
books. Maier's strange and riveting life and art are revealed through
never-before-seen photographs, films, and interviews with dozens who
thought they
<span id="movieSynopsisRemaining"> knew her.</span><br />
<br />
<span id="movieSynopsisRemaining"><i><b>Rise</b> - </i></span><span id="movieSynopsisRemaining">A true story about a young nurse falsely accused of rape. Stripped of
his career and his freedom, Will is forced to survive maximum security
jail. The film centers on an unlikely friendship formed with Jimmy, a
hardened armed robber and the legal battle by a prominent lawyer who
must compromise status and wage to prove his innocence.</span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span id="movieSynopsisRemaining"><b>Weekly Recommendation: Unfortunately, I can't go with <i>Interstellar </i>here. The story that drives Christopher Nolan's epic space opera doesn't work, and is poorly told, and his worst tendencies as a filmmaker aren't camouflaged by his often-stunning visuals. Thankfully, one of the year's best films is out this week - the Dardenne Bros' <i>Two Days, One Night. </i> </b> </span> </div>
Andy Bucklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15655573933693289124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2890338907751315894.post-38601089998685302002014-11-03T21:14:00.000+11:002014-11-03T21:14:24.117+11:00Review: Interstellar (Christopher Nolan, 2014)The latest film from Christopher Nolan (<i>The Batman Trilogy, Inception</i>)
is sure to be, for many, the most anticipated film of the year. This is
especially considering the marketing tease of epic intergalactic
exploration, the fact that it is shot in a combination of anamorphic
35mm and IMAX 70mm (and will be projected in both formats), and brings
in the man behind the McConaissance. This may be Nolan’s most ambitious
film yet, as he attempts to balance an intimate existential story about
the power of love and its ability to bind humans and families together
across time and space, with credulous scientific hypothesizing about
cosmic physics and a challenging mission to save the world. At the same
time it is his most intellectually wobbly, narratively goofy and
surprisingly forgettable.<br />
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As fascinating as Christopher and Jonathan Nolan’s ideas are, and as
impressive as the former’s vision as a director is, this doesn’t hold up
to even modest scrutiny. Failing to grasp how the startling final act
revelations work is not a deal-breaker for me, but I can’t forgive the
mediocre writing that plagues this film, in spite of its substantial
visual artistry and the <i>stunning </i>depiction of unexplored regions of deep space.<br />
<br />
Cooper (Matthew McConaughey), a widowed engineer turned farmer, is
living on an Earth that is slowly becoming increasingly environmentally
devastated and uninhabitable. He is living on his farm with his late
wife’s father (John Lithgow) and his two children Murphy (Mackenzie Foy)
and Tom (Timothée Chalamet). He is grooming Tom to follow in his
footsteps, while the inquisitive Murphy shares his love for engineering.
Following a serious dust storm, which frequent the area and are
worsening, Cooper and Murphy are led to mysterious coordinates by a
strange (but easily accepted) gravitational anomaly in Murphy’s bedroom.
She believes she has a ghost, but something has definitely been messing
about with her books.<br />
<br />
They find themselves at a top-secret NASA base run by Professor Brand
(Michael Caine) and his daughter Amelia (Anne Hathaway). As it happens,
a wormhole has been discovered near Saturn that can connect widely
separated regions of space-time and act as a portal into another galaxy.
Brand proposes that Cooper join his team of scientists on a voyage to
find a humanly habitable planet in a parallel galaxy. Cooper struggles
with the decision to leave his two children – Murphy is especially
unforgiving, given the fact that he cannot promise a return – but he
eventually decides to join Amelia, Doyle (an impressively bearded Wes
Bentley), Romilly (David Gyasi) and a robot called TARS (voiced by Bill
Irwin) on the mission.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
Continue reading at <b><a href="http://www.anonlineuniverse.com/2014/10/interstellar/#more-9573">An Online Universe</a>. </b> </div>
Andy Bucklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15655573933693289124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2890338907751315894.post-68573886170965104882014-10-31T20:33:00.000+11:002014-10-31T20:33:12.778+11:00Monthly Round-Up: October 2014 Viewing<div style="text-align: center;">
I have watched a total of 29 films in October. Apart from being very busy with my day job - and transitioning into a new role - I haven't had a lot of time to do much else this month. We have continued to work through <i>Entourage </i>on non-movie nights. We are almost done with season five. <b><i> </i></b><br>
<br>
<span style="font-size: large;">New-to-me Films (In Order of Preference)</span><br>
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<b><i>Force Majeure</i></b> (Ruben Ostlund, 2014) - On the visually striking slopes of the French Alps, bottled-up personal failure tests the strength of a holidaying family, plumbing discontent and a lot of awkward tension. A big, big deal. Technically accomplished and absurdly funny.</div>
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<b><i><a href="http://letterboxd.com/andy_buckle/film/violet-2014/">Violet</a> </i>(</b>Bas Devos, 2014)<i><b> </b></i><br>
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<i><b>In A World</b> </i>(Lake Bell, 2013) - Top marks for originality,
and a fascinating core pursuit/industry.
Great cast. Wins for charm, genuine characters and comic timing. Plus it
is chock full of amusing little details and character quirks.<i><b> </b></i></div>
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<b><i><a href="http://letterboxd.com/andy_buckle/film/whiplash-2014/">Whiplash</a> </i></b>(Damien Chazelle, 2014)<br>
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<br>
<i><b>Big Hero 6</b> </i>(Don Hall, Chris Williams, 2014) <i>- </i>Disney bring a Marvel-y influence to the story of a boy dealing with
loss and his loveable robot pal, and a phenomenal fusion world. Giddying humour/adventure. <i><b> </b></i></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><i><a href="http://www.anonlineuniverse.com/2014/10/zero-motivation/">Zero Motivation</a> </i></b>(Talya Lavie, 2014)<br>
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<i><a href="http://www.anonlineuniverse.com/2014/10/fury/"><b>Fury</b></a> </i>(David Ayer, 2014)<br>
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<i><a href="http://letterboxd.com/andy_buckle/film/john-wick/"><b>John Wick</b></a> </i>(Chad Stahelski, 2014) <br>
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</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><a href="http://letterboxd.com/andy_buckle/film/the-kingdom-of-dreams-and-madness/"><b></b></a></i><br>
</div><a href="https://thefilmemporium.blogspot.com/2014/10/monthly-round-up-october-2014-viewing.html#more">Read more »</a>Andy Bucklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15655573933693289124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2890338907751315894.post-45968230491514635372014-10-27T07:53:00.001+11:002014-10-27T07:53:44.795+11:00New Releases 30/10/14In cinemas this week: <i>John Wick, Kill the Messenger, Pride, The Best of Me, Get on Up </i>and <i>The Young and Prodigious T. S Spivet</i><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
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<i><b>John Wick</b> - </i>An ex-hitman comes out of retirement to track down the gangsters that
took everything from him. With New York City as his bullet-riddled
playground, JOHN WICK (Keanu Reeves) is a fresh and stylized take on the
"assassin genre".<br />
<br />
<i><b>Kill the Messenger</b> - </i>Two-time Academy Award nominee Jeremy Renner leads
an all-star cast in a dramatic thriller based on the remarkable true
story of Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Gary Webb. Webb stumbles onto
a story which leads to the shady origins of the men who started the
crack epidemic on the nation's streets...and further alleges that the
CIA was aware of major dealers who were smuggling cocaine into the U.S.,
and using the profits to arm rebels fighting in Nicaragua. Despite
<span id="movieSynopsisRemaining"> warnings from drug
kingpins and CIA operatives to stop his investigation, Webb keeps
digging to uncover a conspiracy with explosive implications. His journey
takes him from the prisons of California to the villages of Nicaragua
to the highest corridors of power in Washington, D.C. - and draws the
kind of attention that threatens not just his career, but his family and
his life.</span><br />
<br />
<b><span id="movieSynopsisRemaining"><i>Pride</i></span></b><span id="movieSynopsisRemaining"> is inspired by an extraordinary true story. It's the summer of
1984, Margaret Thatcher is in power and the National Union of
Mineworkers is on strike, prompting a London-based group of gay and
lesbian activists to raise money to support the strikers' families.
Initially rebuffed by the Union, the group identifies a tiny mining
village in Wales and sets off to make their donation in person. As the
strike drags on, the two groups discover that standing together makes
for the strongest union
<span id="movieSynopsisRemaining"> of all.</span> </span><br />
<br />
<span id="movieSynopsisRemaining"><i><b>The Best of Me</b> - </i></span><span id="movieSynopsisRemaining">Based on the bestselling novel by acclaimed author Nicholas Sparks, <i>The
Best of Me </i>tells the story of Dawson and Amanda, two former high school
sweethearts who find themselves reunited after 20 years apart, when they
return to their small town for the funeral of a beloved friend. Their
bittersweet reunion reignites the love they've never forgotten, but soon
they discover the forces that drove them apart twenty years ago live
on, posing even more serious threats today. Spanning decades, this
<span id="movieSynopsisRemaining"> love story captures the
enduring power of our first true love, and the wrenching choices we face
when confronted with elusive second chances.</span> </span><br />
<br />
<span id="movieSynopsisRemaining"><i><b>Get on Up</b> - </i></span><span id="movieSynopsisRemaining">In his follow-up to the four-time Academy Award nominated <i>The Help</i>, Tate Taylor directs <i>42</i>'s Chadwick Boseman as James
Brown. Based on the incredible life story of the Godfather
of Soul, the film will give a fearless look inside the music, moves and
moods of Brown, taking audiences on the journey from his impoverished
childhood to his evolution into one of the most influential figures of
the 20th century. Boseman is joined in the drama by a cast that includes Viola Davis and Octavia
<span id="movieSynopsisRemaining"> Spencer</span>.</span><br />
<br />
<span id="movieSynopsisRemaining"><i><b>The Young and Prodigious T. S Spivet </b>- </i></span><span id="movieSynopsisRemaining">T.S. Spivet lives on a remote ranch in Montana with his parents, his
sister Gracie and his brother Layton. A gifted child with a passion for
science, he has invented a perpetual motion machine, for which he has
been awarded the prestigious Baird Prize by the Smithsonian Institution
in Washington. He leaves a note for his family and hops a freight train
to make his way across the United States and receive his prize. But no
one there suspects that the lucky winner is a ten-year-old child with a
<span id="movieSynopsisRemaining"> very dark secret.</span></span><br />
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<b><span id="movieSynopsisRemaining"><span id="movieSynopsisRemaining">Weekly Recommendation: A pretty good week, actually. I am yet to see any but I will make time for <i>John Wick,</i><i> Kill the Messenger </i>and <i>Pride. </i>All three have superb casts. One Nicholas Sparks adaptation - that one with Zac Effron, I can't remember the name - was enough for me. I heard some great things about <i>T.S Spivet </i>from SFF, including the spectacular 3D, but I don't feel like it is my type of film.</span></span></b> </div>
Andy Bucklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15655573933693289124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2890338907751315894.post-78250552974943573352014-10-24T07:47:00.000+11:002014-10-24T07:47:11.561+11:00Review: Fury (David Ayer, 2014)David Ayer’s (<em>End of Watch</em>) WWII-set tank epic is a hulking, mechanical beast of masculine adrenaline that rumbles along to Steven Price’s (<em>Gravity</em>)
incredible operatic score. It does a lot of the heavy lifting in this
rousing drama, that in bursts thematically resembles great war films
like <em>Platoon</em> or <em>Saving Private Ryan</em>, only to fail on a
few fronts – with its stock characters, romanticised machismo and
somewhat extreme depictions. Still, the tanks have heft and character
and <em>Fury</em> is an intense, grueling, visceral and claustrophobic
representation of the sheer horrors of war – the incineration of life,
the loss of innocence, the transformation of an ordinary human being
into a monster– and the authentic mud-drenched combat sequences are very
well done indeed.<br />
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Brad Pitt stars as battle-hardened sergeant Don “Wardaddy” Collier
who commands a Sherman tank (Fury) and its five-man crew, including Boyd
Swan (Shia LaBeouf), Trini Garcia (Michael Pena) and Grady Travis (Jon
Bernthal). When their other regular member is killed, Collier is
assigned a fresh rookie in Norman Ellison (Logan Lerman). Under the
orders of Captain Waggoner (Jason Isaacs), Collier leads his men on a
series of deadly missions behind German lines. He tries his best to get
Norman combat-ready, but their consistent contact with the enemy fast
tracks his lessons. The unit camaraderie becomes strained when they find
themselves outgunned and facing overwhelming odds. Forced to reconcile,
they must call upon every reserve of heroism and courage in order to
survive.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Continue reading at <b><a href="http://www.anonlineuniverse.com/2014/10/fury/#more-9541">An Online Universe</a>. </b> </div>
Andy Bucklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15655573933693289124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2890338907751315894.post-72040962640303565132014-10-21T18:36:00.003+11:002014-10-21T18:36:50.208+11:00Review: Zero Motivation (Talya Lavie, 2014)Screening at the upcoming <strong>Jewish International Film Festival</strong>, <em>Zero Motivation</em>,
the excellent début feature from Israeli writer/director Talya Lavie,
won the top prize for narrative world cinema at the Tribeca Film
Festival. A black comedy addressing the mundanity of Israeli Army base
HR management and secretarial duties, it focuses on a unit of female
conscripts who find their camaraderie tested by the base’s comings and
goings, and are willing to do anything to make their service bearable –
while keeping their sanity and dignity.<br />
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Set in a remote desert military base, we are introduced to a platoon
of female soldiers forced into compulsory office service; including the
reckless and insubordinate Zohar (an excellent Dana Ivgy, <em>Cupcakes</em>, <em>Jaffa</em>), her closest rebel-in-arms Daffi (Nelly Tagar, <em>Footnote</em>),
the ‘Paper and Shredding NCO’ who has long been conspiring to get a
transfer to Tel Aviv, and their commanding officer Rama (Shani Klein),
trying hard to rise the ranks but continually foiled by the behaviour of
her unit. While deep in paperwork, and continually serving coffee to
the men who run the show, these subordinates pass the time by trying to
beat their Minesweeper record on the PC, and causing general mischief,
while dealing with an array of personal issues that could cause them to
combust at any moment.<br />
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Continue reading at <b><a href="http://www.anonlineuniverse.com/2014/10/zero-motivation/">An Online Universe</a>. </b> </div>
Andy Bucklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15655573933693289124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2890338907751315894.post-70594814727442593132014-10-21T08:05:00.001+11:002014-10-21T08:05:35.792+11:00New Releases (23/10/14)In cinemas this week: <i>Fury, Whiplash, This is Where I Leave You, Hector and the Search For Happiness, Living Is Easy (With Eyes Closed) </i>and <i>Decoding Annie Parker.</i><br />
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<i><b>Fury</b> - </i>April, 1945. As the Allies make their final push in the European
Theatre, a battle-hardened army sergeant named Wardaddy (Brad Pitt)
commands a Sherman tank and her five-man crew on a deadly mission behind
enemy lines. Outnumbered and outgunned, and with a rookie soldier
thrust into their platoon, Wardaddy and his men face overwhelming odds
in their heroic attempts to strike at the heart of Nazi Germany.<br />
<br />
<i><b>Whiplash</b> - </i>Andrew Neyman is an ambitious young jazz drummer, single-minded in his
pursuit to rise to the top of his elite east coast music conservatory.
Plagued by the failed writing career of his father, Andrew hungers day
and night to become one of the greats. Terence Fletcher, an instructor
equally known for his teaching talents as for his terrifying methods,
leads the top jazz ensemble in the school. Fletcher discovers Andrew and
transfers the aspiring drummer into his band, forever changing the
young
<span id="movieSynopsisRemaining"> man's life. Andrew's
passion to achieve perfection quickly spirals into obsession, as his
ruthless teacher continues to push him to the brink of both his
ability and his sanity.</span><br />
<br />
<span id="movieSynopsisRemaining"><i><b>This is Where I Leave You</b> - </i></span>When their father passes away, four grown siblings are forced to return
to their childhood home and live under the same roof together for a
week, along with their over-sharing mother and an assortment of spouses,
exes and might-have-beens. Directed by Shawn Levy and self-adapted by Jonathan Tropper from his own best-selling novel.<br />
<br />
<i><b>Hector and the Search for Happiness </b>- </i>Hector (Simon Pegg) is a quirky psychiatrist who has become increasingly
tired of his humdrum life. As he tells his girlfriend, Clara (Rosamund
Pike), he feels like a fraud: he hasn't really tasted life, and yet he's
offering advice to patients who are just not getting any happier. So
Hector decides to break out of his deluded and routine driven life.
Armed with buckets of courage and child-like curiosity, he embarks on a
global quest in hopes of uncovering the elusive secret formula for true
<span id="movieSynopsisRemaining"> happiness. And so begins a
larger than life adventure with riotously funny results. Based on the
world-wide best-selling novel of the same name. Toni Collette, Stellan Skarsgard, Jean Reno and Christopher Plummer co-star.</span><br />
<b><br /></b>
<span id="movieSynopsisRemaining"><i><b>Living is Easy (With Eyes Closed)</b> - </i></span><span id="movieSynopsisRemaining">It is 1966 in Albacete, Spain. English teacher and die-hard Beatles fan
Antonio decides to go on a road trip to Almería in the hope of meeting
John Lennon, who is shooting a film there. On the way he picks up two
hitch-hikers, Juanjo and Belén. This unlikely trio form a bond and
decide to follow their dreams in hopes of finding their freedom.</span><br />
<br />
<span id="movieSynopsisRemaining"><i><b>Decoding Annie Parker</b> - </i></span><span id="movieSynopsisRemaining">Based on true events, <i>Decoding Annie Parker</i> tells the life affirming
story of two remarkable women; the irrepressible Annie Parker, a three
time cancer survivor and the geneticist Mary-Claire King whose discovery
of the breast cancer BRCA gene mutation is considered one of the most
important discoveries of the 20th century. </span><br />
<br />
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<b><span id="movieSynopsisRemaining">Weekly Recommendation: <i>Whiplash </i>may have settled to leave me with a troubling feeling in the pit of my stomach, but its technical achievements are notable and the performances by Miles Teller and J.K Simmons are outstanding. How far would you be willing to go to achieve perfection? It is something everyone strives for in their life at some point. This is the story of two men (a terrifying teacher-pupil bond) driven by their entangled obsessions. <i>Fury </i>is another film with lofty ambitions that doesn't quite get it all right. The authenticity of the brutal combat sequences, and the immense work that has gone into their construction and the recreation of the period, is undoubtedly impressive. It also features an incredible score by Steven Price (<i>Gravity</i>) and Logan Lerman's performance is a stand out. But, the film's forced core camaraderie, which I felt was essential to its success, felt off. I have been looking forward to <i>This is Where I Leave You </i>for a while now, but reports have been less than positive. I had not even heard of<i> Living is Easy </i>until this week, but as it is Spain's foreign language entry at the upcoming Oscars it should be worth a look. </span></b><i> </i></div>
Andy Bucklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15655573933693289124noreply@blogger.com0