Norwegian Wood

Taking its title from the classic Beatles song of the same name, Norwegian Wood is a visually beautiful, elegiac and haunting tale of love, longing, loss of innocence, guilt, sexuality and obsession...
arts review
Any Questions For Ben? Posted 15 Feb 2012 @ 12:57pm 685 views 0 comments   “I think that years go by quicker as you get older,” tells writer and director of Any Questions For Ben? Rob Sitch, the first feature film from the Working Dog team (The Castle, The Dish) in over a decade. When asked why it has taken so long for them to create a new feature, Sitch, who co-wrote the film with his usual collaborators Santo Cilauro and Tom Gleisner, explains that other things...
A Few Best Men Posted 25 Jan 2012 @ 6:50am 691 views 0 comments In the early '70s Australian filmmakers gave the British public a taste of some uniquely Australian larrikin humour with films like The Adventures Of Barry McKenzie and Barry McKenzie Holds His Own, which traded on crude cultural stereotypes and distinctly Ocker humour. Now nearly four decades on, the British have returned the favour, exporting some boorish British boys behaving badly down under...
Flying Swords Of Dragon Gate Posted 5 Jan 2012 @ 12:26pm 691 views 0 comments Flying Swords Of Dragon Gate is a follow up of sorts to Tsui Hark’s 1992 martial arts film New Dragon Gate, which itself was a reworking of King Hu's 1966 martial arts film Dragon Gate Inn. The film is set in ancient China, during the Ming dynasty, a time the country was still divided into separate kingdoms ruled by warlords who were at odds with each other. There were palace intrigues, power...
The Skin I Live In Posted 5 Jan 2012 @ 12:26pm 751 views 0 comments The Skin I Live In is the latest film from flamboyant Spanish director Pedro Almodovar, and it explores some of his usual themes and preoccupations – obsession, sex, sexual identity, transgender issues, love and desire. It also reunites him with Antonio Banderas, whose career he virtually launched with Labyrinth Of Passion. The pair went on to make five movies together including Law Of Desire and...
Tower Heist Posted 5 Jan 2012 @ 12:26pm 809 views 0 comments Slickly directed by Brett Ratner (Rush Hour, etc) and featuring an ensemble cast, this clever comedy thriller is the best comic crime caper movie since the first Ocean’s Eleven. A group of working stiffs who work in menial jobs in one of New York’s most luxurious high rise apartment buildings learn that one of their tenants has ripped off their pension fund. Former high flying stockbroker Arthur...
We Bought A Zoo Posted 5 Jan 2012 @ 12:25pm 482 views 0 comments We Bought A Zoo is a wonderfully saccharine, sweet, cliched and family friendly drama from Cameron Crowe, the former Rolling Stone journalist turned filmmaker, who previously gave us Say Anything, Almost Famous and Jerry Maguire, etc. This is Crowe’s first film in six years, since the failure of Elizabethtown, and it lacks the edge and genuine emotional resonance of his best films. It’s based on...
The Adventures Of Tintin Posted 5 Jan 2012 @ 12:19pm 423 views 0 comments Steven Spielberg’s adaptation of the popular comic book character created by Belgian artist Herge in 1929 is his first foray into animation, and it seems to have rejuvenated him as a filmmaker. He does a brilliant job, and gives the character the blockbuster treatment he deserves. Working in collaboration with Peter Jackson and his WETA effects factory, Spielberg uses the latest in body motion...
Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows Posted 5 Jan 2012 @ 12:19pm 516 views 0 comments The name is Holmes, Sherlock Holmes. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s fictitious sleuth used his considerable powers of deduction, not brawn or violence, to solve crimes. Fans of the detective would have been horrified at the way in which British director Guy Ritchie (Snatch, Lock, Stock And Two Smoking Barrels, etc) has messed with the tone of the character, turning him into an action hero in 2009’s...
Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1 Posted 23 Nov 2011 @ 7:39am 778 views 0 comments As the phenomenally successful Twilight series moves towards its conclusion the tone turns decidedly darker, but everything else remains pretty much the same. The angst-ridden romantic triangle between emo-like vampire Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson), virginal Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) and the angry werewolf Jacob (Taylor Lautner) is still at the crux of the film. But things must change....
The Ides Of March Posted 23 Nov 2011 @ 7:38am 687 views 0 comments Ever since Julius Caesar copped it in the Senate way back in 44AD, the phrase the ides of March has carried with it sinister overtones of treachery and political skulduggery. It’s the perfect title for this cynical look at the power plays, strategies, backroom machinations and deals, and scandals that can make or break a politician. Ideals, dignity, integrity and vision meet political expediency...
Bill Cunningham New York Posted 9 Nov 2011 @ 4:35am 740 views 0 comments Bill Cunningham New York has won the audience award at numerous film festivals, which is not surprising, as this is an engaging, fascinating and thoroughly enjoyable documentary exploring the life of a genuine eccentric. Well into his 80’s, Cunningham is a workaholic maverick photographer who prowls New York on his bicycle, photographing the trends he sees on the city streets for his regular On...
Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark Posted 9 Nov 2011 @ 4:31am 758 views 0 comments Shot in Melbourne in 2009, this is a remake of a 1973 horror film about a couple and their young daughter who move into a big old house that is occupied by malevolent creatures. That scary low budget telemovie apparently was a big influence on Mexican born horror film director Guillermo del Toro (Hellboy, Pan's Labyrinth, who describes it as the scariest movie ever aired on television. It’s...
In Time Posted 9 Nov 2011 @ 4:29am 708 views 0 comments So, what is your time worth? This new sci-fi thriller comes from New Zealand born filmmaker Andrew Niccol, who wrote The Truman Show and directed Gattaca and Lord Of War. It is set in the near future, where everyone is genetically programmed to stop aging at 25, rather like Logan’s Run revisited, which adds a neat twist to the “race against time” thriller device. After your 25th birthday, you...
Paranormal Activity 3 Posted 27 Oct 2011 @ 1:50pm 777 views 0 comments Audiences can expect more of the same from this third instalment of the ultra low budget horror franchise that has kicked goals at the box office. Shot for a paltry $15,000, the first Paranormal Activity was released in 2007 and became a sleeper hit that grossed some $200 million at the box office. The second film was also very successful, but offered little that was fresh or original. ...
Autoluminescent Posted 18 Oct 2011 @ 10:38am 1 view 0 comments No matter the filmic talent behind them, biographical documentaries are largely defined as intriguing or banal by the character they explore. Autoluminescent, directed by Richard Lowenstein and Lynn-Maree Milburn, documents the life of Australian guitar legend Rowland S. Howard, who passed away in 2009. Howard was the guitarist of iconic bands such as post-punks The Boys Next Door and The...
Abduction Posted 30 Sep 2011 @ 5:42pm 575 views 0 comments Abduction is a big budget attempt to present hunky Twilight star Taylor Lautner as an action hero, a sort of high school Jason Bourne. While his legion of fans will probably lap it up, the rest of us remain unconvinced. Lautner and his father Dan have produced the film through his Tailor Made Production company, but the film seems to have been rushed into production with a half finished script....
The Eye Of The Storm Posted 30 Sep 2011 @ 5:40pm 846 views 0 comments This visually rich and literate adaptation of Patrick White’s novel marks Fred Schepisi’s first Australian film since Evil Angels, over 20 years ago. Written in 1973, White’s novel was an exploration of class issues in Australian society in the early 70’s, but much of it still seems relevant today. Elizabeth Hunter (Charlotte Rampling, in fine form) is the imperious, demanding and ailing...
Crazy Stupid Love Posted 30 Sep 2011 @ 5:38pm 1 view 0 comments Life is often messy, and the new romantic comedy Crazy, Stupid Love reflects the darker side of life and the complex nature of relationships. Directors Glenn Ficarra and John Requa agree. “We always wanted to bring the audience in thinking it was a romantic comedy and then take it some place unexpected. We just wanted to show love in all its different manifestations. You have to laugh, and humour...
Fright Night Posted 30 Sep 2011 @ 5:37pm 847 views 0 comments Vampires are popular at the moment, what with the Twilight series, the darker Let The Right One In, and the very sexy bloodsuckers of True Blood on television. So it’s not that surprising that Hollywood has delved into the vault in search of a suitable vampire tale to remake. For some reason they have chosen Tom Holland’s 1985 camp cult classic, which had a special charm of its own as it mixed...
The Smurfs Posted 30 Sep 2011 @ 5:34pm 1 view 1 comment I went into this preview of The Smurfs with low expectations. After all, this is a movie based on the 1980’s cartoon characters featuring a bunch of annoyingly upbeat, perennially happy diminutive blue creatures who live in a far way fantasy land. They are all named after peculiar personality traits (thus we get Brainy, Clumsy, Grouchy, etc). The Hanna Barbera produced cartoon series featuring...
Priest Posted 30 Sep 2011 @ 5:27pm 489 views 1 comment Unlike the recent Cowboys And Aliens, which combined two popular genres in an entertaining mash-up, Priest somehow is a rather dour and visually ugly hybrid of the western and horror genres. It is also an eminently unpleasant, chaotic, disappointing and forgettable piece of cinema. Priest follows the template of the John Wayne classic The Searchers, but this futuristic action film is set in a...
Hobo With A Shotgun Posted 30 Sep 2011 @ 5:13pm 992 views 0 comments Like Robert Rodriguez’s Machete, Hobo With A Shotgun actually began life as one of the fake trailers in the Grindhouse experience. The title basically says all you need to know about this extra-violent take on the vigilante genre. Rutger Hauer (from Blade Runner, etc.) plays the titular nameless hobo, who jumps off a train and ends up in the lawless Hope Town, which has been rechristened “Fuck...
Journey To Mecca Posted 7 Sep 2011 @ 4:51am 1 view 0 comments Based on the journal written by Ibn Battutah, a 14th century law student who made the epic but dangerous pilgrimage to the holy shrine at Mecca. He set out from Tangiers in 1325 and returned to Morocco almost 30 years later, having travelled 4500 miles, across some 40 countries, during his epic journey. Produced under the auspices of National Geographic, this 45-minute semi-documentary film...
Final Destination 5 Posted 7 Sep 2011 @ 4:51am 1 view 0 comments This fifth film in the successful Final Destination series brings the franchise full circle. It is one of the best films in the series as well. The film follows the usual formula, in which a group of people cheat death by surviving a spectacular accident, but then find themselves falling victim to gory accidents. Scriptwriter Eric Heisserer has scripted the remakes of A nightmare On Elm Street...
The Change-Up Posted 7 Sep 2011 @ 4:50am 634 views 0 comments In the classic To Kill A Mockingbird, Atticus Finch (Gregory Peck) says: “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view--until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.” That philosophy has driven a number of role-swapping comedies in which people come to learn some truths about themselves and the people around them when they magically swap identities...
13 Assassins Posted 7 Sep 2011 @ 4:49am 1 view 0 comments The Dirty Baker’s Dozen? Prolific Japanese director Takashi Miike (Audition, etc) leaves behind his preferred milieu of gangster thrillers and horror movies to venture confidently into Kurosawa territory with this sword and samurai action film, set in mid-19th century feudal Japan. 13 Assassins is a remake of Eiichi Kudo’s 1963 black and white samurai movie of the same name, but infused with...
Horrible Bosses Posted 7 Sep 2011 @ 4:47am 902 views 0 comments Revenge of the working stiffs? We’ve probably all fantasised about seeking revenge on our unsympathetic and cruel bosses. But now we get the chance to vicariously experience our various revenge fantasies with this male variation on Nine To Five. Horrible Bosses deals with three harassed, bullied and verbally abused workers who decide to kill their overbearing and cruel bosses. Nick (Jason...
Zookeeper Posted 7 Sep 2011 @ 4:46am 963 views 0 comments Kevin James is one of the least funny men in movies, and has graced some of the lamest comedies of the past decade (I Now Pronounce You Chuck And Larry, etc). But thanks to friends like Adam Sandler he keeps getting work. But his latest effort is easily his least impressive film to date. Zookeeper is a shrill, dull, and laugh free romantic comedy, and is little short of a vanity project for the...
Secretariat Posted 7 Sep 2011 @ 4:45am 488 views 0 comments Australia has already immortalised its champion racehorse Phar Lap on film, and now it’s Hollywood’s turn to celebrate one of its favourite racehorses on screen in this inspiring film. Secretariat was the last horse to win racing’s fabled Triple Crown, way back in 1973, and its winning margin and time in the Belmont Stakes has never been bettered. However, Secretariat is not as much about the...
Misfits Posted 7 Sep 2011 @ 4:44am 1 view 0 comments Misfits is a dark, sexy and badass English drama which is usually described as Skins meets Heroes. While that gives a pretty good idea of the premise, it doesn't do justice to the fact that Misfits has more than just crazy powers and big special effects, but characters that are both believable and relatable. The sci-fi elements are really well done and the effects...