Anything for Her - Movie Poster

Anything for Her

3.5 Anne Murphy

With no legal means left to him, a high school teacher devises a daring plan to rescue his wrongfully imprisoned wife from jail.

"Anything for Her" is a gripping thriller that will be watched heart pumping, and eyes glued to the screen. Tension is maintained throughout this tightly edited and well acted film that moves credibly between middle-class lives and the underside of the streets of Paris. While it may stretch plausibility, it is an action packed yarn that prompts questions about innocence and guilt, love and desperation.


The Messenger - Movie Poster

The Messenger

4.0 Anne Murphy

An American soldier struggles with an ethical dilemma when he becomes involved with a widow.

"The Messenger" delivers emotional punches in relentless succession in a context of heartbreaking realism. More than a war film, or even a film about the army, this is a movie about loss and grief, mostly expressed by men. Harrowing exchanges made when people are at their most vulnerable are intense to witness, made no less easy by scenes where withheld emotions seethe within the characters. Thankfully there are strands of camaraderie and humour threaded throughout, and they serve to strengthen the compelling messages.


The Loved Ones - Movie Poster

The Loved Ones

4.0 Anne Murphy

When Brent turns down Lola's invitation to the prom, she concocts a wildly violent plan for revenge.

"The Loved Ones" take ingredients familiar to the horror genre, lonely country roads, self-conscious teenagers, power tools and a high school dance, and creatively serves them up in an inventive story. This movie is both frightening and funny, typically the comic moments are more frightening than fun. The recognisably Australian production is all the more macabre for having been achieved without shiny special effects, no gloss. It's crowned with shockingly good performances from actors we'll see more of. There's a haunting message that love hurts.


A Woman, a Gun and a Noodle Shop - Movie Poster

A Woman, a Gun and a Noodle Shop

3.0 Anne Murphy

The owner of a Chinese noodle shop's scheme to murder his adulterous wife and her lover goes awry.

Curiosity is aroused watching the scheming characters play out this tale with pantomime action in a surreal mountainous desert setting. This movie is brightly coloured and visually splendid, a spectacular feast that will leave you a little hungry. More is promised than delivered. The action is slapstick rather than suspenseful, as the goofy cast execute their various self-interested plots and plans. The pace plods a little in this Chinese Cluedo, that's more convoluted than simply a woman, in a noodle shop... with a gun.


Little Deaths - Movie Poster

Little Deaths

3.5 Anne Murphy

Composed of disturbingly sensual and terrifying short narratives, unified by the twin themes of sex and death.

Stories that usually only live in one's imagination emerge on to the screen. The quality production has a dreamlike quality. The narrative is more creative, more hedonistic, and a little more hysterical than everyday ordinary reality; needless to say it is more enjoyable too. There is more suggested than consummated on the screen, and risqué elements are implied rather than explicit. "Little Deaths" is deftly handled so the libidinous tone doesn't sink to lewd. Good Australian film making lives a little.


This Way of Life - Movie Poster

This Way of Life

3.5 Anne Murphy

A lionhearted father struggles valiantly to create a life of idyllic simplicity for his family.

The central character in this engrossing documentary tells us that he lives for a living and we learn that trying to lead a simple life is not so simple. Even so, the contentment revealed when idealistic parents speak from the heart touches a yearning for a different way of life. Creating interest are plenty of children and animals, not to mention the stormy New Zealand coastal setting, which is simply stunning. You mightn't choose this way of life, but don't let that stop you from watching it.


Made in Dagenham - Movie Poster

Made in Dagenham

3.5 Anne Murphy

A dramatisation of the 1968 strike at the Ford Dagenham car plant, where female workers walked out in protest against pay discrimination.

A historically important, political story is related in "Made in Dagenham". The birthing of an important precedent comes alive on the screen with archetypal British humour as an uplifting offering. The demarcation lines are drawn, the bad guys mired in their dark plotting as the determination of the good gals to triumph builds. The film is nostalgic and true to the era, delightfully sentimental and humorous. If they can make good in Dagenham, we can make it anywhere.


4 Black Suits - Movie Poster

4 Black Suits

3.5 Anne Murphy

Four men, down on their luck, are co-opted as pallbearers to walk carrying a man in his coffin from Athens to the village of Boeotia for burial motivated by the promise of rich rewards.

In the best Greek tradition, the journey this film takes is an odyssey of unexpected self discovery. There are a couple of elements that work particularly well - incredibly filmed, surreal scenes the players find themselves in, and the camaraderie that builds among the central characters, including the dead one. Enjoyable for an unconventional story that unfolds with an unexpectedly big heart. As the title suggests this is a well dressed comedy.


Soul Kitchen - Movie Poster

Soul Kitchen

3.0 Anne Murphy

Zinos unknowingly disturbs the peace in his locals-only restaurant by hiring a more talented chef.

A motley collection of likable characters encounter some unlikely events. Scenes reveal darker forces at play and there's adversity to overcome along with unexpected romance whisked together with a slapstick sort of tone. These are good ingredients roughly chopped to make "Soul Kitchen" a rambunctious romp. However, most characters and some storylines are a little undercooked, and the film fails to connect on a meaningful level. This fare is easy to digest and pleasant enough without being truly satisfying for the soul.


Canteen - Movie Poster

Canteen

2.0 Anne Murphy

The events in a night, from dusk to dawn, at a roadside kebab caravan, Kantina.

People come and go throughout the night, what brings them to the canteen is a mystery - most don't drop in for the food. What does happen is a confusion of events and characters. Greek speakers in the audience will chuckle more than the non-Greek speakers, as the subtitles seem to lose something in translation. As the canteen's patrons muddled along throughout the disjointed storyline, it's no surprise the production quality suffered the same fate and was inconsistent from scene to scene. You'll be left hungry after visiting "Canteen".


Sagan - Movie Poster

Sagan

3.0 Anne Murphy

France, 1950s. From the Quartier Latin to Saint-Tropez via New York, a young Parisienne becomes the icon of a whole generation.

"Sagan" is an interesting biography if a little episodic. This happened then that happened, got married, wrote another book, fell in love again; get the picture? This long movie covers an eventful life well lived at the expense of depth or connection. Beautifully filmed and well acted but a series of events even in an interesting person's life, leaves the audience longing for a stronger narrative. The paradox is unforgivable, especially when the central character is a writer.


Eat Pray Love - Movie Poster

Eat Pray Love

3.0 Anne Murphy

A married woman realizes how unhappy her marriage really is, and that her life needs to go in a different direction.

This movie is true to the book, only with the content trimmed back as is expected of best sellers translated for the screen. It's still big with over 2 hours of viewing. A personal story of discovery, with an angst ridden heroine, fantastic shot-on-location scenery, and the obligatory happy ending. "Eat Pray Love" is so eminently watchable you will even pardon the good looking actors for being so immaculately coiffed. Readers will embrace this girls own adventure and love.


The Man Who Will Come - Movie Poster

The Man Who Will Come

3.0 Anne Murphy

In the winter of 1943, Italian peasant families in an Italian village carry on with life while Nazi soldiers seek to wreak revenge on partisan fighters.

Apparently "The Man Who Will Come" is based on historic events, unfortunately that is not learned in the cinema watching the film. The film is lightly narrated leaving the viewer to piece together the story. We're not helped by the sparse dialogue or the fact that much of the action is viewed through the eyes of a child. The war atrocities depicted as the story builds are truly horrifying, stupefying the audience. Shame on mankind, whoever it is we're waiting for.


Marriage and other Disasters - Movie Poster

Marriage and other Disasters

3.5 Anne Murphy

Disillusioned with romance, an unmarried woman finds herself organising her sister's wedding.

"Marriage and other Disasters" has all the elements of a romantic comedy, and then some. There is the likeable cast playing mismatched couples, then there are the requisite independent and romantically available parties, the ubiquitous hopeful parents, the comical disaster-dates, the looming wedding and a certain depth that's often lacking in the genre. This movie is also intelligent, with a sassy savvy woman in the lead, it's delightfully laced with irony and served with breathtaking Italian scenery. Look elsewhere for disasters.


Ten Winters - Movie Poster

Ten Winters

4.0 Anne Murphy

Timing is everything as friends who are drawn to each other miss opportunities to become a couple but keep connecting by chance during a decade.

Winter in Venice looks cold, the back drops are frosty, a stark contrast to the central characters who are warm and real. There is a good deal of restraint exercised, and love-lorn resignation experienced, by the friends as they fail to connect romantically over the ten year period covered by the movie. The unrequited attraction of the couple is understated and compelling to watch as each year passes and fate conspires to keep them apart. "Ten Winters" is one great story.