Waste Land - Movie Poster

Waste Land

3.0 Anne Murphy

Contemporary artist Vik Muniz takes us on an emotional journey from the world's largest landfill on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro to an art auction in London.

Beauty is found by engaging with people who create livelihoods recycling garbage picked from a vast waste dump. In working with the artist, the director shows how truly awesome the human spirit is. They respect the subjects of the art project that is central to this documentary. The thoughtful approach and the time taken to encounter people through a lens of humanity, rather than stereotypes, is uplifting. A work of art.


The Good Neighbour - Movie Poster

The Good Neighbour

3.0 Anne Murphy

Two neighbours discover they are lonely kindred spirits until they are involved in a hit and run and events spiral out of control.

A story of a tangled web of deception that gets more convoluted and tense with each scene. The suspense builds, and although tense cinema viewing, it is not quite edge-of-the-seat viewing. As the plot twists and turns and a sense of impending doom builds, it becomes obvious things will not end well. Even so, this well crafted movie holds plot surprises to maintain interest right through to the close. Love thy neighbour.


Get Low - Movie Poster

Get Low

3.0 Anne Murphy

Equal parts folk tale, fable and real-life legend about the mysterious, 1930s Tennessee hermit who famously threw his own rollicking funeral party.

"Get Low" is a good old fashioned hokey folky story with warm understated performances from a big name cast, and a mule. It's deftly crafted and charming to watch. There's a slow build around the themes of guilt and forgiveness before the eventual plot reveal. Although tears are coaxed out during the long awaited climax, this movie will be watched for the dawdling journey rather than the ending. Hard not to like but lacking real highs and lows.


Life During Wartime - Movie Poster

Life During Wartime

3.0 Anne Murphy

Friends, family, and lovers struggle to find love, forgiveness, and meaning in a war-torn world riddled with comedy and pathos.

First up "Life During Wartime" is set in modern day Florida, so don't let expectations be set by the title. Judging by the number of walkouts a few were misled. There is family warfare, every character is a guerrilla and their dark dreadful secrets are the weapons of destruction. This is a difficult drama, in addition to the bleak material the pace is choppy, interactions are stilted, confronting viewing but intriguing nonetheless. Forgive the title and you won't forget the movie.


The Silence - Movie Poster

The Silence

3.0 Anne Murphy

The bicycle of a missing girl is found in the exact place where another girl was killed 23 years ago.

A cold case that mirrors a current crime is reopened, and the dual storyline is effective as each amplifies the loss and despair of the other. Beyond the suspense of the police investigation are stories of suffering by the families of the victims. Not surprisingly, the criminals are revealed as unsettling individuals. It's the depth of the characters, revealing chilling psychological profiles of the transgressors, that sets this movie apart from TV dramas with similar story-lines. Worth talking about.


20 Cigarettes - Movie Poster

20 Cigarettes

3.0 Anne Murphy

An assistant film director working in Iraq finds himself caught up in a suicide attack.

This movie tells the autobiographical story of its director with a lighter touch than a documentary might have allowed. Iraq is shown as a place where soldiers and peace-keepers are wondering what they were doing there. Injury is graphically depicted, providing a palpable experience of the horror of war. A strong but very watchable political statement is made by bringing a personal story to the big screen. The cigarettes provide an interesting device to contrast everyday life with a day in a war zone. Smoking.


Jo's Boy - Movie Poster

Jo's Boy

3.0 Anne Murphy

A well-known retired rugby player who is the son and grandson of well-known rugby players hopes that his son will also play rugby for the big league.

"Jo's Boy" is set a small French village and the film has the rustic feel of a past era when life was simpler. The story moves along with the pace of a good football game, and there are plenty of minor storylines of mateship and a blossoming romance. Light entertaining fare, culminating in an inevitable tense match, its predictability is countered by a humorous directorial touch. Cheers for sports boys.


The Men Who Stare at Goats - Movie Poster

The Men Who Stare at Goats

3.0 Anne Murphy

A reporter in Iraq might just have the story of a lifetime when he meets a former member of the U.S. Army's New Earth Army, a unit that employs paranormal powers in their missions.

"The Men Who Stare at Goats" is goofy and amicably humoured, yet it's disappointing and insufficiently acerbic considering the military parody it aspires to be. The good natured cast are excellent although it's a shame one of them isn't a goatherd as this movie is a little free range. The story is funny enough, but the plot wanders pointlessly, leaving the audience glassy eyed and staring.


The Clink of Ice - Movie Poster

The Clink of Ice

3.0 Anne Murphy

An alcoholic writer is visited by an incarnation of his cancer.

"The Clink of Ice" is as original as it is deeply and darkly humorous. Imagine bantering with your life threatening illness and laughing. The premise of personifying a malignant disease in a suit sets up an intriguing film. Not that there is anything funny about cancer or facing death. Typically we deride perverse situations as being as 'funny as cancer' but the director and cast prove dexterous enough to turn that assertion around. As bleak as the themes of the movie are, the clinking of ice muffles the death knell.


Dog Tags - Movie Poster

Dog Tags

3.0 Anne Murphy

Two displaced and unconventional men discovering what it is to be sons, fathers, and lovers.

This could have been a road movie, if only the car had been more reliable. Geographically, not a lot of distance is covered in small town USA. It is a different story emotionally, however, as the two central characters encounter each other while each is traversing his respective family landscape. The restrained style of the film lends cohesion to a sequence of unlikely events shared by this improbable pair, as they seek to discover themselves. Identity has infinite possibilities once the dog tags are discarded.


Nowhere Boy - Movie Poster

Nowhere Boy

3.0 Anne Murphy

A chronicle of John Lennon's childhood.

"Nowhere Boy" is an almost absorbing bio-pic telling the story of the teen years of the boy who became a member of one of the world's most influential bands. It is the little known background of the subject that makes this movie worth watching. Although apparently historically accurate and crammed with period detail, the film doesn't reveal much of a sense of the singer and song-writer we know from his later achievements. 'Nowhere Boy' becomes one of the writer's of 'Nowhere Man', and it's disappointing that the title suggests something more profound.


The Young Victoria - Movie Poster

The Young Victoria

3.0 Anne Murphy

A dramatization of the first years of Queen Victoria's rule, and her enduring romance with Prince Albert.

This film proceeds at a gentile and regal pace with sumptuous sets and lavish costuming as befits the era. It is to be enjoyed as a love story rather than for revealing any political machinations of the time. Romantic and majestic, "The Young Victoria" is restrained but entertaining, without indulging in any unnecessary frivolity of life at court. Perhaps a sequel with a middle-aged Victoria would deliver more intrigue and drama, or at least some hot flushes... a satisfying and elegant period piece.


Seraphine - Movie Poster

Seraphine

3.0 Anne Murphy

Based on the life of French painter Séraphine de Senlis.

Séraphine's paintings reflect both her simplicity and her deep commune with nature. The artist's life is appropriately rendered with compelling images of rural life in the French village of Senlis before World War 2. Although visually delightful, the characters and story are sketched without sufficient dimension to enthral the viewer. The aesthetic experience would be enhanced by a stronger narrative dimension.


Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil - Movie Poster

Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil

3.0 Anne Murphy

Red Riding Hood is training in the group of Sister Hoods, when she and the Wolf are called to examine the mysterious sudden disappearance of Hansel and Gretel.

Red is a girl who stands up for herself and knocks her opponents out, delivering action before comedy. Still, the snappy dialogue and cracking one-liners are welcome in movies aimed at younger audiences, providing enjoyment for the grown-ups. Annoyingly, there's some not so subtle stereotyping, and you can't help noticing the baddies are all chubby and the goodies fit and trim. Wink, wink, as all in all, it's more good than evil.


My Afternoons with Margueritte - Movie Poster

My Afternoons with Margueritte

3.0 Anne Murphy

An illiterate and lonely man bonds with an older and well-read woman.

A charming little film set in a French village populated by quirky characters. Affectionate and gentle, "My Afternoons with Margueritte" only just avoids saccharine levels of sweetness with some moments of genuine humanity. This is a heart-warming story of love and unlikely relationships that doesn't delve too deeply into the make-up of the various odd couples. The central roles are well acted, creating endearing, if not entirely believable, people. Best summed up as being a whimsical pleasure, and a rewarding way to spend an afternoon.