Red State

Writer/director Kevin Smith takes a decidedly different and much darker turn with his latest film. Turning on fundamentalist evangelicals.

I am a big fan of Kevin Smith. I admit that not all his films are great but they are still really cleverly written. I seem to gravitate towards writers who can write great dialogue, which is Kevin's greatest strength. So I had high expectations for this film.

The film has not been very well received. Kevin has decided to make a film which is radically different to what he has previously done. He has not always been a hugely successful film maker financially or critically but he has a big cult following. The tone of this film is really different to what we've come to expect from Kevin, which is why I think it has not done that well.

The story is a fairly conventional horror plot with a group of teens being captured and tortured by a nasty family. What makes this film different is that this family is religious fundamentalists. There are many groups like this around but generally they don't kidnap and kill people. That we know of. These people are very radical in their approach to God, so you can see how it is not that far for them to go in making sure people believe like they do. They make the perfect villains.

Kevin has certainly grown up as far as his film making techniques are concerned too. He freely admits that he is not a very visual film maker but he has done an excellent job here. He uses the camera better and moves it around a lot more creating frenetic visuals which add to the thrills of the story.

I attended one of Kevin Smith famous Q & A talks last year and he spoke of his casting for this film he told a story of how he wanted Michael Parks and it is perfect casting. Michael gives a brilliant performance. He is suitably creepy and despite playing someone who is supposed to be promoting love he come across as pure evil. The centre piece of the film is a speech he gives explaining how his branch of fundamentalism works. It is frightening stuff. His assistant in this evil crusade is played by the brilliant Melissa Leo. She plays the wackiness of her character so well. John Goodman rounds out the trio of excellence with his put-upon agent who must stop this religious group from expanding. He is good as showing the exasperation his character feels at not being able to run the operation in the way he'd like to.

You know Kevin Smith for his crazy comedies so don't be put off by the fact that this is a hardcore horror film. Americans are worried about extreme branches of Muslims overseas, but they should be just as scared of those right in their own backyard.

Take Shelter

The human mind is a fragile thing. Cinema has explored this uncharted terrain many times. This is the latest.

Dreams are also a region of the human mind that has been explored a lot. Dreams are one of those things that don't always make sense and so need interpretation. Cutis's dreams in this film are fairly obvious and point to some cataclysmic natural disaster. However, because they are dreams he has trouble convincing anyone else that something is coming. Jeff Nichols has crafted an excellent psychological thriller where we witness a man slowly loose his mind. The dream sequences are really well integrated into the film as you never know if they are real or not. They are also very intense too so that you come to feel the tension that Curtis does. What is interesting is that Curtis does not go about screaming about the impending Armageddon. Instead he just goes about building a shelter and getting his family really. They soon realise his unusual behavior and ask for an explanation. The ordinariness of the films setting also means that it could happen anywhere and to anyone. The characters feels real and you come to care for them.

Michael Shannon has been giving brilliant performances in films for a few years now. Mostly in the back ground but here he takes centre stage and you can't take your eyes off him. He has one scene towards the end which showcases his characters sanity nicely and Michael is awesome. I'm sure he will get a lot more notice after 'Man Of Steel' next year. Jessica Chastain just keeps popping up in films all this year. Here she plays the dutiful wife once again. Supporting her husband and his fragile mental state.

A brilliant psychological thriller about how fragile the human mind can be. Dreams can be interpreted in many ways but it you just need someone to believe you.

The Eye Of The Storm

For many years now we have seen films with dysfunctional families from America. But we in Australia have families that are just as weird.

A familiar story in films is that of family members returning home to care for or be with an elderly relative as they are about to die. Normally it means old feelings are bought up and people must confront the ones they love. This film is not different. But it is told in an interesting way. The film is beautifully shot and has a poetic quality to it. I've not read Patrick White's book on which this film is based but Judy Morris has written an excellent screenplay. It is full of clever and witty lines which makes it a lot of fun to watch. There is however the exemplary direction of Fred Schepisi. He handles everything so skillfully. You know you are in the hands of a master storyteller.

It is the characters though that make the film its most interesting and entertaining. Rich people are always more interesting because they are full of strange quirks. This film features three great characters. At the centre we have the matriarch Elizabeth Hunter. A women who is not all there but has still has a great deal of grace. She may not have behaved well in her life and treated her kids the way a mother should. Which explains why her children are the way they are and why it has taken them so long to get home. They have become successful in their lives I think as a way of gaining their mother's approval. Basil is probably the favourite as Elizabeth gets dressed up when he arrives. Dorothy is the most fragile emotionally because of a past experience with her mother. Then there are the servants. All have their own weird little quirks too. Which makes for a most entertaining household.

I have a great deal of respect for Aussie actors who return home to support the local industry. Geoffrey Rush, I'm sure, could not have pasted up the opportunity to play such a great character. Geoffrey plays his foppishness so well. Judy Davis we sadly do not get to see all that often on film but she is so brilliant here. The imported Charlotte Rampling is wonderful as the unstable mother. Her fragile mind is just as fragile as her emotions. Fred's daughter Alexandra plays the feisty vixen very well. Helen Morse is also very good as the put upon housekeeper.

A wonderful Aussie film that has a great deal of intellect and beauty. Dysfunctional families come in all shapes and sizes.

Crazy, Stupid, Love.

The romantic comedy is usually the domain of younger people. However occasionally Hollywood will recognise older people and the romantic problems they go through.

It is not uncommon for films and TV shows to explore the issue of a divorced person re-entering the dating scene. Most of the time they depict a person who has been with only one person their whole lives so they have trouble knowing how the dating scene works. This film film puts a bit more emotion into that situation and therefore makes it seem more realistic. Being an ensemble film the story is more character based. So while the story is familiar, writer Dan Fogelman has created some wonderful characters to make the story seem fresh.

I love a good romantic comedy and this is one of the best. After watching this film I was on such a high from having seen such a quality film. Most romantic comedies these days have been a bit dirty and crude, so it is nice to see something cleaner. In saying that though, the ending does spoil that by having a very creepy aspect. The only bad point in an otherwise brilliant film.

The best part of the film is the performances of a top notch cast. Steve Carell is a comedy actor who has managed to prove himself to be just as good dramatically as he is with comedy. While he once again plays a nerdy, looser type but he plays it so well that you don't mind. Julianne Moore sort of plays the bad guy in the film in the way that she leaves Steve's character. However you don't blame her. She becomes a sympathetic character as you come to understand why she did what she did. Emma Stone is so delightful once again. Marisa Tomei is hilarious as a crazy woman Steve's character dates. Kevin Bacon brings the charm to his character as well. Analeigh Tipton and Jonah Bobo are excellent as the younger characters trying to deal with their feelings of love. The best thing about the film though is Ryan Gosling. Is there no role this man can't do? He is hilarious right from the moment he appears on screen and continues to delight throughout the entire film.

A different type of romantic comedy to what you maybe used to. A group of characters that you come to care for and become emotionally involved with. One of the best films that I've seen this year.

The Hunter

Earlier this year writer Julia Leigh made her directorial debut with 'Sleeping Beauty'. Now we get a film version of one of her books.

The Tasmanian tiger has become an Australian legend. Kind of like an animal version of Elvis. Although it is supposed to be extinct, there are still people out there looking for it. This story purposes that the tiger has medicinal purposes which is why Martin is sent to look for it. However there is a lot more going on here than just a man looking for an animal.

Director Daniel Nettheim has managed to create a brilliant sense of dread with this film. Every character and situation carries with it a sense of suspicion. You wonder what is really going with these people. Almost all of them hide some sort of secret. The political atmosphere of the area is nicely woven into the plot with adds to the suspense. My only problem with the film is the character of Martin and his background. In the promotional material he said to be a mercenary but no where in the film is that mentioned. He is just a mysterious man come to do a job. It would have been nice if the film told us about his experiences and what made him qualified to do this job.

It seems Wilem Dafoe loves to come to Australia to make movies. He is perfectly cast as this mysterious figure sent to do a mysterious job. Most of the screen time is taken up with him walking through the bush and despite that he can make it interesting. Francis O'Connor plays the role of a fragile women Martin helps very well. Sam Neil is also great as a very shifty character. The film however is once again stolen by the child actors. Young Morgana Armstrong is a brilliant young actress who gives a wonderful performance. She does however get some strong competition from Finn Woodlock in a non-speaking role.

Australia is having a really good year for films. This is further proof of that. While not a happy fun film like some of recent successes this is still worth seeing for good, quality entertainment.

Real Steel

Possibly as a direct result of the success of the 'Transformers' trilogy we get another movie about fighting robots. With Steven Spielberg being involved in that series and this film it might be a trend he's starting.

Sporting movies is a hard genre. There does not seem to be many ways of telling that type of story so they all seem pretty much the same. They follow pretty much the exact same plot points and no one has yet been able to successfully make it different. That's why I was not all that enthusiastic about going to see this film.

I was pleasantly surprised though that while it is a sporting film that is not the main point. It is primarily about a man and his relationship with his son. While that in itself is nothing new it is still done in a good way. The film has so many cliches that you know exactly where the story is going. But is has a certain charm about it that you don't seem to mind. I found myself enjoying the film a lot more than I expected. It does run a little bit long and there were some points I thought unnecessary. But over all I got swept up in the emotion of the story. I was also worried about the robots themselves. It's hard to get emotionally involved with creatures that have no emotions themselves. But they manage to do this with Atom. He has personality despite not doing very much.

The best bit of casting for this film is Hugh Jackman. As mentioned above the film is very much a stock standard film about a father/son relationship with a sporting undercurrent. However the charm of Hugh really makes the film a lot more enjoyable. I think he is one of the best performers working today. I've had the chance to see him live on stage and he is phenomenal. His film career, while good, has not lived up to the greatness of his stage presence. He has generally played it safe with big blockbuster type films that don't always stretch his skills. I think he needs to do a smaller independent type film to show what he can really do. Evangeline Lilly does a nice job but I think her role could have been a bit bigger and it would have been nice to see her more involved in the action. The real star of this film though is Dakota Goyo. I spoke of Hugh's charm making the film bearable but this kid makes it watchable. The kid is amazing in this film and makes it well worth seeing. Hopefully he has some sensible parents to manage his career properly.

It does not break any new ground as far as the sporting movie genre goes. But the core of the film is a nice father/son story that is made enjoyable by the charm of the two leads.

Tabloid

Documentary film maker Errol Morris is famous for making tough thought provoking films about more politically minded issues. Now he presents a more light hearted story

The phenomenon of a person becoming famous for not doing much is not a new thing. Back in 1977Joyce McKinney became famous for a bizarre scheme. Joyce fell in love with a Kirk Anderson who was a Mormon. However as part of Mormon tradition they must do work as a missionary. So when Kirk suddenly left for England without telling her, Joyce hunted him down. With the help of a friend Joyce was able to kidnap Kirk and take him to a secluded house where she tied him up and spent the weekend with him.

This film presents events from the view of Joyce as she is the one who was willing to speak to Errol. I'm quite sure that the Mormon church would not let Kirk be involved in the film which is my only problem with it. It would have been nice to hear Kirk's side of the story and how he felt about Joyce. She feels that Kirk was brain washed and that's why he was taken away from her. She feels that if he was not 'rescued' after their weekend together that they would still be together. But as we see in the film Joyce can be be quite a character.

After the 'kidnapping' Joyce's career as a model and escort was dug up by the British tabloids and a war developed between the two major papers over who had the better story. It was 'The Mirror' who found an ex-boyfriend of Joyce's who gave them some quite salacious pictures. It is a really funny story and goes to prove that people becoming famous for doing very little is not a new thing. When you add in sex and religion then you get some really juicy details.

You would think that after that after that big event in her life that she would want a quiet time. However she recently became famous again for paying to have her dead dog cloned. I'm not sure where she gets all the money for these schemes but obviously she made lots from modeling.

Not all documentaries are doom and gloom. sometimes you get to find out about hilarious stories from the past. This one proves tabloids love a scandal involving sex and religion.

The Whistleblower

An issue that seems to be gaining popularity, as far as publicity is concerned, is sex trafficking. We now get new film that looks at the issue once again.

The UN is an organisation that we have a great deal of respect for around the world. They help out many places when they get into trouble. However, this film will not help win them any fans. If what this film presents is true then this is an appalling event that should put the UN to shame. After the war in Bosnia the UN were sent in to help clean up the country. As part of the peacekeeping force Kathryn Bolkovac uncovered a sex trafficking ring in Bosnia that was being covered up by UN forces. It is hard to imagine that anyone would let this sort of thing go on. Even the people in authority seem to have little understanding about the situation. Kathryn being a woman would have meant she'd be the ideal person to do something.

Sex trafficking is not something that I completely understand. I don't know how men can treat women in this way. The women obviously look sick and miserable so I don't know what pleasure a man could get from a woman in this situation. I understand that there is some pleasure from having a woman be in a subjective position but that is when a woman is willing, not when she is being forced into it.

As a film it works in presenting a story that we may not have heard all that much about. The story is interesting but may not have been told in the most thrilling way. The inclusion of a subplot which focuses on two girls caught up in the sex trafficking ring was a nice way of making the situation seem more personal.

Rachel Weisz has proven herself to be an excellent actress. You can see that she made this film as an issues role. Which is fine as she is good at what she does. The rest of the cast have less to do as Rachel goes on her crusade. David Strathairn and Vanessa Redgrave make good authority figures and lend a great deal of dignity to their roles. Monica Bellucci has a small role too which proves effective.

A good film that uncovers a story you may not have heard of. It does not great favours to the UN though.

Project Nim

Documentaries seem to be very popular in cinemas at the moment. This is the latest from the Academy Award winner of 'Man On Wire'.

The most fascinating thing about this film is how similar the story is to 'Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes'. If you take out the fact that the ape in this film is not on an experimental drug then the stories are virtually identical. I wonder if the writers of 'Planet' realise that the doctor in charge of Nim had the number plate 'CSR', Caesar in 'Planet'.

The other interesting thing about the story is the lack of knowledge these people had about what they were doing. You would think that if you're going to take on a significant experiment such as this that you would prepare yourself a little better. The family chosen to look after Nim did not have any experience of chimps and how they would develop. There was also very little recording taken of Nim's development with sign language, although there was research done at a lab the home life was not recorded. Nim being an animal does not behave in a civilised way so he attacks some of his human carers. I can see lawsuits happening if this project was conducted today. I admit that the intention of communicating with an animal is fascinating but you need to be better prepared.

As is typical with stories like this, the person or animal in this case, at its centre is the victim of human abuse. It is clear that Nim is being exploited and that once the project is finished he is rejected. Over the coarse of the film we come to care for Nim and his plight. There are a few humans who truly care for him but most don't seem to understand that they are using a living creature for their experiment.

For fans of 'Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes' this is a must see film. It shows how close we are to that film coming true.

Cabaret

There is a trend developing in cinemas at the moment which I'm really loving. Finally they are realising that older films can bring an audience back to the cinema.

A few years ago I was the stage production of this story and really enjoyed it. I had been meaning to hired out the film version to compare and contrast. The stories are similar but some events are different.

Most musicals are very glamorous with lots of lighting. However this film has a certain amount of grittiness to it which suits the down and dirty nature of the story. You can see how 'Moulin Rouge' was heavily influenced by the story. It is not very unique to have a straight-laced man fall in love with a free-spirit women. So it is how you present the story that gets you in. The story here has a love triangle element that takes a different sort of twist which makes it great. It is not an obvious twist too and suits the dirtiness of the story. Being set in 1936 there is also the threat of Nazis lurking in the background. We see them occasionally but they do not make a big impression. It kind of makes them a sinister presence.

The film has lots of music in it but presents it in a different way. The characters do not burst into song but instead the songs which reveal the emotion of the what's happening. These songs are really well staged at the Cabaret club. Being in a small night club it gives them a more intimate look and so while not grand like most musical numbers are still excellent.

Liza Minnelli has not had much success lately except in her private life. This however is probably the highlight of her film career. She deservedly one an Oscar for her role as Sally Bowls and definitely deserves it. Liza cannot only sing and dance brilliantly but bring out the emotions of her character so well. While you get the impression that Sally is a fairly similar character to Liza it is still a wonderful performance. Michael York is known to many audiences these days for his role in the Austin Powers movies. But in the 70's he was hugely popular. Being British he plays the uptight character of Brian really well. Helmut Griem does a nice job as the third part of our love triangle. A nicely played rich man who shares his love around. The real stand out though is Joel Grey as the MC. He performs most of the musical numbers and has such a brilliantly manic spirit that you can't help but love him.

One of the great musicals that should be seen on the big screen if you get a chance. If not them you can still delight in the story and music at home.

Abduction

The cast of the 'Twilight' series are trying to branch out of the series and prove that they are more than just a pretty face and can act beyond playing a vampire, a werewolf or the girl in love with them.

Due to his muscular physique Taylor has chosen to expand his skills with an action film. In some ways it is a good move as it does not require much serious acting.

I'm not entirely sure why this film is called 'Abduction'. This might be a spoiler but Nathan (Taylor) has not been abducted. I admit that he 'thinks' he has been abducted but ultimately we find out that he has not. So to me the title is a bit misleading.

The plot as it is, is very ordinary. Young man trying to uncover the truth about his life when he finds out his parents are not his real parents. He gets pursued by mysterious figures until he finds the truth. You know where the plot is heading and so there are not real surprises. Normally this is not a problem but I found the plot bland and while some action scenes were decent there were no great thrills. I sometimes feel in situations like this that the character should have been different. Nathan has been groomed by his fake parents to fight. But in some ways I think it would have been more thrilling if he did not know how to fight and had to use his brains and wits to get out of all the difficult situations he gets into. But I also know that is not what this film is about. It is disappointing too for director John Singleton considering his pedigree. His films of late have been fairly ordinary.

As mentioned above this is not the type of film to expand Taylor's acting range. While there is an emotional element to it, it does not require him to do much. He mostly is running and fighting. So he is adequate at the role in this sense but if he wants to be taken seriously he needs to expand his horizons more. His support cast is very good though. Jason Isaacs and Maria Bello are very good as the fake parents. Alfred Molina and Sigourney Weaver make nice agents who want to help our hero. They don't do all that much and I feel are only there to add a bit of dignity to proceedings. It was nice to see Michael Nyqvist from the Norwegian version of 'The Millennium Trilogy'. I hope he does not get stuck doing bad guys though.

Not the type of film to make audiences outside fans of the 'Twilight' series sit up and take notice of Taylor Lautner. It is a safe film for him and matches his acting in ordinariness.

Page One: Inside The New York Times

Director Andrew Rossi takes a look at the changing face of newspaper publishing through the prism of one the world's most highly respected newspapers.

It is no big secret that people are not reading newspapers as much as they do anymore. With social networking and the Internet people can get their news at a much faster rate than newspapers can publish. They are still worthwhile for exposing larger stories about on going problems but quick news they can't compete with the Internet. As a result there are a lot of newspaper publishing companies that are going bankrupt. Admittedly these are usually smaller papers in smaller cities but it is still sad. Many of the issues explored here were touched on in the film 'State Of Play' but it is still interesting to see how a newspaper works. It explores recent events like Wikileaks and how The New York Times was one of the few newspapers that information was released to. There is also a look at events from the Iraq War. This incident also puts into perspective an interesting occurrence. How newspapers have more time to check their facts but TV and Internet must rush to get their information out and so can sometimes get their information wrong. Newspapers also have more interesting characters like David Carr. Old style journalists who like to really investigate a story and get all the information right. I also found it interesting how the ipad is bringing back the newspaper but in a digital form. Maybe all this new technology will help save the planet because we will be cutting down less trees for paper for newspapers and books.

A fascinating look at the way we receive our information about the world around us. It is disappointing that newspapers are less popular but hopefully journalists will at least try to get the information correct when publishing stories.