Movie Review – Manchester By The Sea

Kenneth Lonergan dissects human emotion and delivers an elegy to loved ones past, in which no route to acceptance is easy.

⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ½
Zachary Cruz-Tan

Lee Chandler – who works as a handyman in Boston servicing a few apartment blocks – returns to his home town of Manchester-by-the-sea because his big brother Joe has died of a rare illness. In the immaculately disciplined hands of Casey Affleck, Lee hibernates his emotions, leaving a cold, rock-solid façade against reality. This is the character he has become, and remains, for the duration of Kenneth Lonergan’s subtle gem, Manchester by the Sea.

Why is he so stoic? There is an unspeakable horror that befell his family many years before. How he handled the aftermath of that tragedy explains his exile to Boston and invariably sets up the relationships he has with every other person in his life as he comes back to oversee his brother’s funeral preparations. This is a sad story, one that is deeply rooted in the impact of loss and the unstable bond many families share in the wake of such sorrow. It is also masterfully played, soothingly scored, and heart-breaking in its candid immediacy.

It is not by accident that much of the movie takes place during a chilly winter in which the trees are bald, the roads are slippery and the characters complain a lot about freezing their butts off. Joe (Kyle Chandler) is to be buried, but the cemetery soil is too stiff to be excavated, and so he is preserved in a freezer to see out the season. This is a clever plot device that allows the human drama to defrost in the meantime, as Lee comes to realise there is still much to be done before he can return to the sanctity of his solitude in Boston.

This sees the introduction of Patrick (Lucas Hedges), Joe’s only child and fervent defender of his legacy. Patrick is a complicated fellow, half decent, half rebellious. At 16, he is torn between his fond memories of his dad and Uncle Lee and the tumultuous warzone of his adolescence. He’s a tough nut to crack, demonstrating the upheld truth that teenage kids in the movies undergoing severe personal trauma would rather recoil and lash out like provoked cobras than seek a sympathetic shoulder. Patrick’s tendency to whip between affection and hatred becomes a little jarring, especially when he starts boasting about his two girlfriends in the midst of a temper tantrum. For once I’d like a family to unite in a time of crisis.

 

Michelle Williams makes a solid turn as Lee’s ex-wife Randi, who doesn’t appear very often but breaks our hearts when she does. She’s one of a handful of supporting players with problems of their own to deal with, while Lee remains on the verge of self-destruction.

Manchester by the Sea coasts along at a pace that invites an uneasy comfort. We settle into the groove, observe helplessly, and are carried from one scene to the next, even as the plot shifts into flashback. It is a film that deals with loss as intricately as Elle (2016) dealt with rape. Every so often we get a glimpse into the life of a true character like Lee, and it is a treat. Elle was one of those moments. Manchester by the Sea is another.

Manchester By The Sea is available in Australian cinemas from February 2

Image (c) Universal Pictures 2017

Does winning an Oscar actually matter?

Winning an Oscar is great and all, but is it really all that it’s cracked up to be?

 Rhys Graeme-Drury 

The annual awards circus is upon us once again. Numerous red carpets are being rolled out to receive reams of bedazzled famous faces, all of whom are hoping to drive home with a gilded statuette resting on their laps.

We place a lot of value on those who have walked away a winner on Oscar night – just ask Leonardo DiCaprio. For years the Internet yearned for Leo to finally nab one – and then he did in 2016 so we all collectively rejoiced and laid the dank memes to rest.

Apparently, an actor or filmmaker can’t claim to have truly arrived until they score an Oscar statue of some kind. Right? Eh, not exactly.

Even though it’s all very exciting and generates a lot of gossip, the Oscars aren’t actually good for all that much (and this is coming from someone who gets invested every year and is genuinely still upset that Eddie Redmayne beat Michael Keaton back in 2015).

Across its history, the Academy Awards have made a habit of routinely shunning some of the best and brightest talents and minds of the era – which sort of defeats the purpose of rewarding those who produce the best films, surely?

Filmmakers like Stanley Kubrick, Brian De Palma and Alfred Hitchcock have famously never won anything for their directorial efforts, with the latter losing out in the Best Director category on five separate occasions. Kubrick’s entire catalogue only took home a single Oscar win; 2001: A Space Odyssey won Best Visual Effects in 1969. For those of you playing along at home, that’s the same number of Oscars as Tim Burton’s 2010 remake of Alice in Wonderland and Michael Bay’s Pearl Harbour. So it’s not like the Academy is a great barometer of quality and lasting legacy, huh?

The same could be said for actors; Bill Murray has never won an Oscar, but do we view his filmography with any less reverence? The same can be said for umpteen actors and actresses from across the decades. For many people, Harrison Ford is the literal embodiment of sharp and sophisticated Hollywood stars. He is Han Solo, Indiana Jones and Jack Ryan in the flesh – we don’t need the Academy to tell us Ford is a living legend, he has crafted that legacy without their adulation.

The same goes for Gary Oldman, Edward Norton or Joaquin Phoenix; they’re back catalogues speak for themselves. Amy Adams, Glenn Close, Annette Benning and Sigourney Weaver have all been denied Hollywood’s highest honour – but that hasn’t hindered their standing as some of the most talented actresses to grace our screens.

Some may think that winning an Oscar is also guaranteed to usher in a string of professional riches for the lucky winners, but too often that isn’t the case. Hunger Games sensation Jennifer Lawrence has racked up a surprising number of nominations (four) and one win at the tender age of 26 but it wasn’t until recently with Passengers that she was given a bigger slice of the pie than her male co-stars, financially speaking.

You only have to glance at the list of the highest paid actors across the industry today to see that those raking in the most cash aren’t necessarily those who took home the most awards. Robert Downey Jnr routinely makes in excess of $50 million for each Avengers performance whilst Johnny Depp is still throwing on funny hats and making bank despite never winning an Oscar. Meanwhile I don’t see Disney or Marvel throwing $10 million at Mark Rylance or JK Simmons, the two most recent winners in the Best Supporting Actors category.

Essentially, what I’m trying to say is, it doesn’t matter whether La La Land scored four, fourteen or zero nominations; what matters is how it is making audiences feel. The same goes for Moonlight or Manchester by the Sea or any of the other films nominated this year.  After the cameras inside the Dolby Theatre have gone out on February 26 and all the very famous people have gone home, regardless of who won or not, these films will continue to captivate and enthral audiences long afterward.

Films like Sing Street, The Witch, Hunt for the Wilderpeople and Midnight Special all characterised my cinema experiences in 2016 but didn’t get a look in at the Oscars. Should I feel any less moved by their characters or narratives because they can’t claim to have been ‘Oscar nominated?’ No, of course not. Films mean so much more than just handing out trophies and racking up stats; we can leave that sort of thing to sports thank you very much.

Rather than taking a snub personally, just brush it off with a shrug. So what Amy Adams didn’t get nominated for Arrival? That doesn’t change how moving and powerful her performance was. Who cares that Sing Street didn’t get any love for Best Original Song? It doesn’t mean I don’t still love that soundtrack to pieces.

Don’t get me wrong; awards season is a lot of fun. But it’s also a lot of meaningless and banal bullshit that ultimately shouldn’t change how we view art or place value on what something made us think or feel.

Enjoy the Oscars, lap up the glamour and laugh at all the gaffes – but don’t forget that there is a whole myriad of wonderful films out there whose enduring qualities don’t change regardless of who wins or loses on the night.

Image courtesy of Roadshow Films 

Movie Review – Moonlight

A remarkable story, spectacular performances and not a single white person in sight – ladies and gentlemen, welcome to your safe bet for Oscar frontrunner.

⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ½
Corey Hogan

The life of a black American named Chiron is chronicled over three periods of time in his life. As a shy young boy (Alex Hibbert), he has a troubled home life with his abusive crack-addict mother (Naomie Harris), but finds solace in his best friend Kevin, and a sympathetic man named Juan (Mahershala Ali). As a teenager (Ashton Sanders), Chiron finds himself frequently bullied at school and his relationship with Kevin becomes complicated. And as a hardened adult (Trevante Rhodes), he leads a life of riches as a successful drug dealer, but finds his past catching up to him when both Kevin and his mother attempt to re-enter his life.

Writer/director Barry Jenkins’ (Medicine for Melancholy) astonishing second feature Moonlight is a film that never feels like it reaches a level of greatness. This isn’t to say it’s not a great film – it is – but it avoids grandeur almost entirely. It’s uniquely intimate for a film of such high calibre. To say it’s a film about a young black man coming to terms with being gay would be an accurate, but insufficient summary. Likewise, it wouldn’t be right to categorise it as a film about the short and long term effects of bullying, drug abuse or isolation. This is a film about moments, those little happenings in life; learning to swim, a first kiss, sharing a meal with an old friend. Put simply, it’s poetry.

Keeping it real is Jenkins’ game, and a bleak reality would seem to make Chiron a tragic character, yet there’s a constant hopefulness that hangs over him like an aura. Like real life, good things come for Chiron as unexpectedly as the bad, washing back and forth like bittersweet waves. The endgame is how everything connects, how every person in his life and every tiny experience subtlety shapes who this man will become. Boyhood springs to mind at times, but whereas that only covered the experiences themselves, Moonlight gives us the long term consequences; for once, they’re as unpredictable as the paths our own choices take us on.

A film of true beauty is what best defines Moonlight. It’s a visual beauty to behold; cinematographer James Laxton takes the title of the play upon which this is based – In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue – as a basis to let his creativity run rampant with vibrant hues that turn the ghetto into a wonderland. Even more beautiful is the acting; it’s impossible to single out one incarnation of Chiron as all three make the man, each forming a personal part of a massively complex and thought-out character.

Moonlight’s impact is unlikely to register with you straight away. Instead, it’s one that creeps into your thoughts and haunts you, like the memories of times that have long since passed, and that, though seemingly insignificant in the moment, has shaped everything that you are. It lacks the immediate dazzle and punch of your typical awards contender, but that’s what separates it from the pack; a magnificence that lingers. And given the racial trajectory of the times, it seems likely that Jenkins and company could be seeing the light of Oscar gold before too long.

Moonlight is available in Australian cinemas from January 26

Image courtesy of Roadshow Films

Top 5 Australian Films of 2016

Corey Hogan

If you’re still one of those people who writes off Australian film out of “cultural cringe” or fear that you’d simply be paying for big screen versions of Packed to the Rafters, then boy, are you missing out. Every year our local industry is increasing its repertoire with better and better releases; lately, much of it is even surpassing cinema from the rest of the world. Why bother with the disappointment of countless Hollywood sequels, remakes and reboots when there’s so much original content being made in our own backyard?

That said, what better way to celebrate Australia Day than to check out some of 2016’s best Aussie films? Last year was a colossal showcase for the great things our filmmakers are capable of, and if we keep releasing such excellent films it won’t be long until the industry is a force to be reckoned with across the globe.

5. Girl Asleep

Australia’s own Wes Anderson emerged last year in the form of writer/director team Matthew Whittet and Rosemary Myers, though the pair somehow managed to out-eccentric even Anderson with their bizarre coming-of-age oddity Girl Asleep. It’s basically Moonrise Kingdom on meth. Like a feature-length Tame Impala music video, every single shot is a dreamy, perfectly framed visual marvel that proves more than ever that our home-grown technical prowess can easily rival international counterparts, even on a micro-budget. The characters may be stereotypes, but they’re perfectly cast, especially young Bethany Whitmore, making a breakthrough as the titular girl. It’s awfully quirky, almost overbearingly so, but for anyone who can deal with this it’s a short and sweet sensory delight, and likely a new favourite for the alternative crowd.

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4. Red Dog: True Blue

Red Dog is probably one of the last films you’d expect to get a follow-up – with its titular pooch tragically biting the dust at the end, where else is there left to go? Director Kriv Stenders’ answer is backwards – to the days when Red was just a pup named Blue, up to all sorts of mischief with his young owner (Levi Miller). Unlike most prequels, True Blue actually feels worthwhile, cleverly narrowing its focus to a single setting and just a couple of characters. It’s great fun, highly entertaining and once again ultimately heart wrenching, but in an uplifting way; one for dog lovers everywhere.

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3. The Daughter

The quarrelling family drama is a long-time staple of Australian cinema, and in some ways Simon Stone’s debut does channel classics like Lantana and Jindabyne. But the sheer operatic volume of strife, contorting twists and juicy secrets breathe a new life into the genre, and make The Daughter a familial storm for the ages. Stone rewards patience, with a brooding unease hanging overhead throughout the film’s slow build as a man (Paul Schnieder) returns to his rural Australian home to witness his father (Geoffrey Rush) remarry to a younger woman, culminating in explosive showdowns and a bleak finale as he unearths some deep, dark secrets. The cast is to die for too, also including Sam Neill, Miranda Otto and breakout star Odessa Young.

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2. Down Under

Divisive is certainly one way to put Abe Forsythe’s pitch-black comedy Down Under. To some critics and audiences, it was making light of a taboo event (the 2005 Cronulla riots), and many found it difficult to follow an ensemble of such violent, hate-filled characters fuelled by xenophobic impulses. But they missed the point – Forsythe wants us to step back and deduce these characters and their actions, and deconstruct the abhorrent beliefs that are stilled ingrained in Australian culture; boldly, he shows that both sides of the coin are both equally capable of brutality. On top of its strong messages, it’s suspenseful, shocking and incredibly compelling – and it’s bloody funny. A biting and timely satire.

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1. Goldstone

Indigenous writer/director/editor/composer/cinematographer Ivan Sen must be some kind of filmmaking miracle worker. Pulling off all of the above simultaneously on his sequel to Mystery Road, Goldstone is a rip-roaring blend of neo-Western, mystery thriller and balls-out action, all under the guise of an art film. Australia has a new icon in the form of Detective Jay Swan (Aaron Pederson), whose investigation of a missing woman in a desolate town far removed from reality stirs up massive repercussions. David Wenham and Jacki Weaver have an absolute ball as the sinister inhabitants of Goldstone, as does Alex Russell as Pederson’s buddy cop. Darkly comical, beautifully shot, and packing more punch than most major Hollywood releases of last year, it’s a true crime that Sen was so largely ignored at the last AACTAs – but then again, how often do awards shows really get it right?

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Images courtesy of Umbrella Entertainment/Kojo Group, Roadshow Films, StudioCanal and Transmission Films

 

Movie Review – Split

A powerhouse performance from James McAvoy keeps Split from sinking – but only just.

⭐ ⭐ ⭐
Rhys Graeme-Drury

There was a point during the mid-noughties (roughly around the time that Lady in the Water sunk like a stone) that M Night Shyamalan’s less than favourable critical appraisals were something of a punchline. A series of duds that began with 2004’s The Village and ended with 2013’s After Earth certainly washed away any goodwill the world collectively felt towards Shyamalan for his impeccable work on 1999’s The Sixth Sense and 2000’s Unbreakable.

Since then, Shyamalan has retreated from the spotlight and returned to his forte; crafting grungy B-movie horror/thrillers that are dark, twisted and a little humorous. 2013’s The Visit showed promising signs; and his new movie Split continues this upward trajectory.

The movie concerns itself with Kevin (James McAvoy), a man who suffers with dissociative identity disorder – or a split personality to you and me. Kevin has 23 distinct personalities rattling around inside his noggin, from flamboyant fashionista Barry and violent OCD sufferer Dennis to prim and proper Patricia and 9-year-old kid Hedwig. Dennis decides to abduct Casey (The Witch’s Anya Taylor-Joy) and two of her classmates, locking them in an underground room where they are to await a grisly fate – being eaten by a mysterious entity only known as ‘The Beast’.

A solidly crafted psychological thriller, Split has at least one deadly arrow in its quiver in McAvoy. The Scottish actor brings menacing and nuanced emotion to the film, which allows the audience to distinguish between identities through something as small as a curled lip or head tilt.

McAvoy often has to switch personalities mid-conversation and on a couple of occasions in the same take; it might sound trivial but there is power in his ability to switch so effectively, darkening his brow when Dennis bubbles to the surface or summoning childlike innocence in Hedwig. It’s a committed role that requires a lot of physicality and he absolutely aces it.

Taylor-Joy is pretty good too, even if her character is too often forgotten about. Casey and her friends mainly just act as props for most of the movie, devoid of the urgency we saw in Mary Elizabeth Winstead’s character in 10 Cloverfield Lane or the emotion of Brie Larson’s in Room. Betty Buckley plays Dr Karen Fletcher, Kevin’s physiatrist, and her role is essentially to provide jargon that drives the plot forward – she might as well be called Dr Janet Exposition.

It’s also hard to ignore Split’s inherent flaw, which is that it uses mental illness as a byword for villainy. Granted, there is at least a vague attempt at framing Kevin as redeemable and Shyamalan does make an effort to comment on the lasting impacts of trauma and abuse – but it doesn’t resonate as strongly as it could have, sadly.

At the end of the day, Split will probably divide (or split, har har) opinions. It’s far from Shyamalan’s best work, but it does dish out some decent thrills and I wouldn’t dissuade fans of the director or genre from going to see it. Just strap yourself in for a good film plagued with problems (and a really dumb twist right at the end – but c’mon, it’s Shyamalan, what did you expect?)

Split is available in Australian cinemas from January 26

Image (c) Universal Pictures 2017

Movie Review – XxX: Return of Xander Cage

Xander Cage is back in action – but should you care? The short answer is no; the long answer is hell no.

⭐
Rhys Graeme-Drury

Remember 2002’s xXx? Yeah, me neither. Apparently there was a sequel with Ice Cube too. Who knew? Well, turns out they went and made another one – only this time, Vin Diesel is back in the lead role as Tony Hawk meets James Bond wannabe Xander Cage.

I’m not going to bore you with the plot details – mainly because there aren’t any. You think I’m joking, but I’m really not. This movie has no plot. It has fragments of exposition that masquerade as plot – but nothing actually resembling a narrative, character development or emotional arcs. Who needs that when you can have lots of totally rad stunts, bro?

So this random MacGuffin called ‘Pandora’s Box’ is dangerous and dangerous people have stolen it. Apparently the only person with enough charisma and balls to stop them is this bloke Xander Cage, who was dead but now he isn’t (bored yet?). Except he can’t do it alone, he needs an entourage of equally braindead friends to tag along; you’ve got a sharpshooter (Ruby Rose), a guy who likes crashing cars (Rory McCann), a two-dimensional love interest (Deepika Padukone) and a DJ who is so awesome that he distract baddies with his sick DJ powers (Kris Wu). I’m not kidding, that’s all he does in the entire movie.

Return of Xander Cage is the kind of film where every female character immediately disrobes the instant Diesel walks into a room; it’s the kind of film where motorbikes seamlessly transform into jet skis and no-one bats an eye; it’s the kind of film where someone can leap from one skyscraper to another with nothing but forward momentum to break their fall and they totally survive.

In fact, that’s not entirely accurate. Return of Xander Cage isn’t a film at all; it’s a string of increasingly ludicrous action sequences conjoined by the thinnest plot imaginable. It’s what you would get if you gave a six-year-old boy lots of Red Bull, made him watch the X-Games and then asked him to write a story about spies, skateboards and martial arts. In crayon.

Diesel does his best but just comes across as an insufferable douchebag with a handful of marbles jammed in his mouth. Not once did I buy into the fact that this guy was an elite daredevil/stuntman/super spy.

The supporting cast are an equally tiresome conveyer belt of irritating characters competing for attention with increasingly cartoonish and over-the-top performances. Nina Dobrev plays a quirky IT girl called Becky (of course) who immediately fangirls over Diesel when they first meet, transforming into a blithering mess of babbling techno jargon and expectant doe-eyes that is enough to make you feel queasy. Toni Collette and Donnie Yen are wasted; cameos from Samuel L Jackson and Brazilian football superstar Neymar are throwaway gags.

Terrible on every conceivable level, xXx: Return of Xander Cage is destined to spend an eternity buried at the bottom of the bargain bin. Spend your time and money elsewhere.

XxX: Return of Xander Cage  is available in Australian cinemas from January 19

Image courtesy of Paramount Pictures

To Those We Lost In 2016

2016 was a tragic year that saw the loss of many legends across a variety of industries, from Prince to Muhammad Ali. We’d like to take a moment to honour those who lit up the silver screen and remember their greatest career achievements.

Gene Wilder (1933-2016)

Zachary Cruz-Tan

The manic genius of comedy; Wilder’s career was built on the solid foundation of just a handful of key performances that established his greatness and ensured his lasting presence in Hollywood, even if his grip threatened to weaken as the 1980s rolled in.

Roles like Leo Bloom, Willy Wonka, Dr. “Frunkenshteen” and The Waco Kid have become synonymous with Wilder’s distinct mannerisms – and they’re probably the parts we remember the easiest – but his career began as a serious minor character in a serious film, playing a hapless hostage in Bonnie and Clyde (1967). I’m not sure what Mel Brooks saw in that performance, but he cast Wilder in The Producers just a year later as the squealing, obsessive-compulsive accountant Leo Bloom. And just about all at once, Wilder’s comedic entourage was on the road.

It is true he never quite managed to top the brilliance of his fruitful collaborations with Brooks; Young Frankenstein (1974) was his last charge before smaller, more peripheral roles became the norm. And while he is known far and wide as a comedian, quieter, more intimate films like Quackser Fortune Has a Cousin in the Bronx (1970) displayed his range as an entertainer of immense empathy. You can see his influence now, in roles like Frasier Crane and those of Jim Carrey and Will Ferrell. Wilder introduced a new kind of comedy, one far crazier and simply of better class than his peers.

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David Bowie (1947-2016)

Corey Hogan

David Bowie’s colossal career as a musician needs absolutely no introduction, though it is little known that his songwriting breakthrough is in fact predated by his work as an actor. His early roles were mostly limited to brief appearances in British television series, then following his success on the charts, the Starman took his first lead, quite fittingly, as an alien in Nicolas Roeg’s surreal cult classic The Man Who Fell to Earth. Since, he’s appeared semi-regularly on the silver screen, unquestionably with much more finesse and grace than most fellow singers/actors.

Bowie’s been a go-to supporting star for some of cinema’s most prolific directors, lending his eccentric attributes to Pontius Pilate in Martin Scorsese’s The Last Temptation of Christ, Agent Phillip Jeffries in David Lynch’s Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me and Nikola Tesla in Christopher Nolan’s The Prestige. Not above self-deprecation either, he’s done cameo performance several times; most amusingly in Zoolander. Bowie’s most beloved character, however, is the mystical Jareth, the Goblin King of Jim Henson’s classic Labyrinth. Bowie admitted in an interview that kids would still approach him every year and recognise him as “the one from Labyrinth”.

Before his death, quite some time had passed since his last on-screen appearance, though he had expressed interest in reprising his role in Lynch’s upcoming Twin Peaks revival. Bowie will be remembered as the voice of a generation to many; perhaps the most prestigious voice to ever guest star in an episode of Spongebob Squarepants.

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Alan Rickman (1946-2016)

Corey Hogan

An actor of fine talent , Alan Rickman was presented with his best opportunity  at a ripe age. Starring as the sinister Hans Gruber in John McTiernan’s Die Hard (1988), the role enveloped Rickman’s penchant for deep tones and snide asides. It remains his strongest performance among many strong performances, and is notable for his cool control of a character who’s not meant to carry John McClane, but accompany him.

Rickman was forty-two by the time Die Hard crashed into his career, having spent many of his younger years traipsing about the curtains and modest cameras of British stage and television. And yet his career in acting seems fully formed, robust and everlasting, as if he had been a Hollywood mainstay for eons.

Rickman is most remembered now for his long-enduring turn as the wizard Severus Snape in the Harry Potter films (which may account for his ubiquitous popularity), but my favourite performance of his has to be from Galaxy Quest (1999), a role of tremendous versatility and personal depth. He was also downright hilarious.

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Anton Yelchin (1989-2016)

Rhys Graeme-Drury

Tragically, the list of talented actors and actresses taken long before their time grew even longer in 2016, with Russian-born actor Anton Yelchin passing away aged just 27, leaving behind a body of work that brimmed with potential and, sadly, unfulfilled promise.

Having worked regularly across both TV and movies since his early teens, Yelchin had forged a diverse and admired filmography. Most of us, myself included, would be most familiar with his work in the three rebooted Star Trek films kickstarted by JJ Abrams back in 2009. Yelchin played Chekov and brought warmth, energy and earnestness to the role. He also rose above the murkiness of 2009’s Terminator Salvation, eagerly reviving the iconic role of Kyle Reese.

His work in mainstream blockbusters series’ allowed him to expand and diversify his range as an actor on the side; roles in independent critical darlings such as Only Lovers Left Alive, Like Crazy and most recently Green Room won him a lot of fans from film buffs the world over; a group that Yelchin would have no doubt considered himself a part of.

He was one of those rare actors who had quietly been making a name for himself since childhood, seemingly on the brink of a breakthrough at any given moment. For a young child actor (check out his performance in Steven Spielberg’s 2002 miniseries Taken), he was grounded, talented and certainly would have continued to impress in the years and decades to come.

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Carrie Fisher (1956-2016)

Cody Fullbrook

Just as our wounds began to heal, the end of 2016 gave us the biggest sucker punch we could imagine by snatching Carrie Fisher away.

The 60 year old actress, author and activist, best known for her role as Princess Leia in the original Star Wars trilogy, continued to star as magnetic supporting characters in films such as Drop Dead Fred, When Harry Met Sally, Fanboys, as well as voicing Peter Griffin’s boss, Angela in Family Guy.

Books like Wishful Drinking and The Princess Diarist detailed her fascinating life, especially her mental issues and drug use. She was very open about her life and supported others with similar issues, so much so that she was awarded the Annual Outstanding Lifetime Achievement Award in Cultural Humanism. In recent years, Fisher was often seen with her support dog, Gary, now in the care of her daughter, Billie Lourd.

What may have been most shocking about Fisher’s passing is that it was quickly followed by her mother, Debbie Reynolds.  The multiple award winner, known for such films as Singin’ In The Rain, Charlotte’s Web and The Unsinkable Molly Brown, was 84 when she died just one day after her daughter.

Carrie Fisher’s inevitable appearance in Star Wars: Episode VII will be bittersweet for millions, but with her snarky humour and grounded outlook on both life and herself, she gave us the exact same thing her iconic Star Wars character did.  Hope.

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Images courtesy of United International Pictures, BEF Film Distributors Australia, Roadshow Films, Paramount Pictures, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, Lucasfilm 

Rooftop Movies – Program 3

Chantal Victor

Summer is always the best time of year in Perth and with all the heat, visits to the beach and backyard BBQ’s also comes the outdoor cinema experience. Rooftop Movies in Northbridge offers the perfect set up for everything from that first Tinder date to a night out with your mates. So, grab a drink and a pizza and enjoy the city skyline before you settle onto a comfy beanbag for your movie of choice.

The team at Rooftop have created the ultimate program for those wanting to catch all the latest blockbusters like Rogue One and Passengers, but if you feel like a cult classic, don’t worry -they’ve got you covered; The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert and Mighty Ducks are all on the agenda as well.

Program 3 runs until February 5, but don’t fret, a new program will be announced on their website on January 24: https://www.rooftopmovies.com.au/program/

For your chance to get free tickets to Program 3, check out our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/hookedonfilm 

Image courtesy of Rooftop Movies & Sebastian Photography 

Movie Review – Lion

Where in the world is Saroo’s family? It seems like an insane miracle, but the true story of how an Indian boy found his long-lost family using Google Earth is extraordinary stuff.

⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
Corey Hogan 

Five-year-old Indian boy Saroo (Sunny Pawar) follows his older brother Guddu to work one day, determined to help out his poor family in any way that he can. While awaiting Guddu’s return, Saroo accidentally winds up on a decommissioned train that strands him in Calcutta, 1500 miles from his home. Saroo spends several months trying to survive on the streets, until he is sent to an orphanage and eventually adopted by a Tasmanian couple (Nicole Kidman and David Wenham). 20 or so years later, an adult Saroo (Dev Patel) lives a happy life with his adoptive parents and attends a Melbourne university with his girlfriend Lucy (Rooney Mara); but there he learns of Google Earth, a tool that could finally help him put to rest the memories that haunt him and locate his long-lost family.

Garth Davis’ (Top of the Lake) big-screen debut Lion isn’t the most substance-heavy contender this awards season. In fact, a film about anyone clicking around a map on their computer screen in a seemingly futile attempt to find their place of birth doesn’t sound all that compelling on paper. Lion’s beauty is in its simplicity though, and smartly, Davis’ sharp centre of focus is on one universally spoken language – emotion, and human connection. The primal need to belong runs through it like a current of raw empathy, while the younger Saroo gives it its heart and the older Saroo its soul.

The first half of the film, set in India, is utterly fascinating, thanks mainly to the casting of young Sunny Pawar. There’s a natural whimsy in his big, expressive eyes; the perfect balance of fear and curiosity as he’s whisked away to lands far from anything he’s familiar with. Since his only spoken language is Hindi, Davis apparently had to develop a kind of sign language to communicate with the young actor.

Davis doesn’t stave away from the harsh reality of the situation Saroo finds himself in; forced to scrounge in the trash for food and sleep on cardboard in filthy subways. And yet, his vision of India is never not without an enchanted quality. A kind of romanticism is captured in Grieg Fraser’s sparkling cinematography, making it truly believable that Saroo would hunger to return here later in his life.

The second half, twenty years on from Saroo’s adoption and new life in Hobart, does admittedly falter compared to such an intriguing setup. Though Davis and his team have done their best to split up Saroo’s Google Earth-hopping and inject as much dramatic weight to it as possible, there’s no denying the loss of pacing. That’s not to say Lion isn’t still gripping, though. A scruffy-haired Dev Patel is the best he’s been since Slumdog Millionaire, with a spot-on Aussie accent and a complex blend of desperation to tie up the loose ends that have lasted a lifetime, and fear of seeming ungrateful to his adoptive parents. Any of his scenes shared with his loved ones (especially Nicole Kidman, back on truly fine form) are top grade. The ending, though manipulative, is heartfelt, uplifting and well-earned.

What could have been a cynical ploy for Google Earth is instead a tender, investing experience; one that will find big things for everyone involved.

Lion is available in Australian cinemas from January 19th 

Image courtesy of Transmission Films

Movie Review – Ballerina

Did you see the trailer for that animation about the orphan who wants to do ballet? You didn’t? Well you’re not the only one…

⭐ ⭐ ⭐
Chantal Victor

Ballerina, also known as Leap! in some countries, is a beautiful little animation about two best friends who break out of an orphanage to pursue their dreams. Félicie’s (voiced by Elle Fanning) passion is to be a prima ballerina in Paris and Victor (Dane DeHaan) wants to become the next best inventor, so the two escape using one of Victor’s crazy winged contraptions and set off on an adventure. Think Annie meets Centre Stage for children.

There’s nothing particularly ground-breaking about this film. The story is fairly stock standard and the animation quality is decent. There is a beauty in the visuals depicting Paris, however; from the Eiffel Tower under construction in the 19th century era, to the creative colour palettes in the Opera House where Félicie hopes to perform.

All the usual themes are on display here as the two leads try to defeat the odds and push themselves to reach their full potential. The film preaches that you can be good at anything you put your mind to and that dreams do come true… not the most realistic message, but neither is a clown fish talking to sharks, so who am I to judge?

Having said that, Ballerina does what it needs to do for its audience. All the children in the cinema were laughing and seemed to enjoy every minute on screen; never losing interest or becoming distracted, which is an achievement for any family movie these days. Although it’s definitely aimed at the younger ones, us adults do occasionally need a ‘believe in yourself’ boost, so it’s uplifting in that respect.

Overall, I genuinely enjoyed this film. It was great to sit back and disappear into this sweet little world for 89 minutes and to actually walk out of a cinema in a positive frame of mind for once.

Ballerina is available in Australian cinemas from January 12th 

Image courtesy of Studiocanal