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The Company Men
Wendy Slevison
Centres on a year in the life of three men trying to survive a round of corporate downsizing.
This movie is informed by the global financial crisis, which dramatically affected the world economy. Initially, the characters in the film are difficult to connect with. They are executives who earn big bucks and live the big life... until the crash comes, and along with it, radical changes to everything they have known and cherished, ultimately exposing the very core of who they are as men. The high quality of performance in this film evokes a surprising empathy and admiration, and you end up feeling that you have indeed been in good company.
The Concert
Anne Murphy
Thirty years ago, Andrei Simoniovich Filipov, the renowned conductor of the Bolshoi orchestra, was fired for hiring Jewish musicians.
"The Concert" is a wonderful, formulaic, crowd-pleaser. Of course, formulaic can be wonderful if you can forgive the sense of knowing what's going to happen before it unfolds. As the story builds, the many farcical sequences notwithstanding, there's a sense that something other than the music is being orchestrated. By the time the final concerto is played there is not a dry eye in the house. The magnificent crescendo plays shamelessly to our sentimentality yet it's still uplifting. Bravo.
The Conspirator
Anthony Macali
Mary Surratt is the lone female charged as a co-conspirator in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.
"The Conspirator" is a peculiar story of injustice, made more rewarding to those with very little knowledge of its origins. We switch sides in historic pace to Mary, and mother of the unquestionable killers. The rest of the film unfolds in an enthralling manner, cutting between the prison, court-room and flashbacks to reveal the truth as our forsaken lawyer does. The period is faithful, the soft-light irksome, and the cast stellar, best epitomized by witnessing one of the best case summaries put to screen. Poorly executed title, good film.
The Counterfeiters
Andrew O'Dea
The Counterfeiters is the true story of the largest counterfeiting operation in history, set up by the Nazis in 1936.
"The Counterfeiters" presents a completely different sort of holocaust story. Saloman Sorowitz is captured and forced into a concentration camp to produce fake banknotes for the Nazi's. It challenges us through Saloman's quandary by raising provocative moral dilemmas. The movie doesn't impose a right or wrong, instead the viewer is subtly invited to ascertain their own beliefs. This brilliant film is surely no fraud, it's near enough a masterpiece.
The Damned United
Andrew O'Dea
A look at Brian Clough's 44-day reign as the coach of Leeds United.
A compelling and often humorous biopic, this movie is a football fan's delight, and they will revel in the nostalgia and seamlessly intertwined archival footage. However, you don't necessarily have to enjoy football to enjoy this film. Essentially character-driven, most of the drama occurs off the pitch. Fantastic storytelling, rich and engaging dialogue, and a superb man-of-the-match performance from the lead actor manage to separate "The Damned United" from your typical sports flick. GOOOOOOALLL!!!
The Day I Saw Your Heart
Anne Murphy
Justine is an x-ray technician with a youthful-minded father who plays golf with her ex-boyfriends.
"The Day I Saw Your Heart" is an amusing and off-beat film about family ties. The plot follows the complex relationships of fathers, daughters, sisters, wives and babies. The story is original and told in an anecdotal style, a bit like skimming through someone's diary. This French movie provides interesting viewing, if slight, as it bubbles along with a light touch. It lacks any depth or real insight into the characters themselves, but their eccentricities more than compensate for their shallowness. Watch to see some big hearts.
- Genre » Drama Comedy
- Release » Limited 07 Mar 2012
- Festival » French Film Festival 2012
The Day I Was Not Born
Anne Murphy
During a stopover in Buenos Aires, Maria recognises a nursery rhyme being sung in Spanish.
The storyline of "The Day I Was Not Born" is original and disquieting. Hefty political themes are narrated through a personal lens of family and identity, and the Buenos Aries setting is perfect in capturing a city with an atmospheric sense of the recent past - it looks both foreign and familiar, balancing the disoriented characters. Sensitively told with an assured minimalism, the movie is understated and the acting is restrained, creating compelling viewing. A tale of dislocation that carries both wounds and warmth.
- Genre » Drama
- Release » Limited 07 Apr 2011
- Festival » Festival of German Films 2011
The Debt
Anthony Macali
Retired Mossad secret agents learn of some shocking news about one of their colleagues.
A curious remake, "The Debt" is the American production of an Israeli story with Israeli agents. There is no problem translating the narrative, as our main characters live in the present day with a large burden from their past. Their history unfolds through flashbacks, but it's difficult to engage with the younger selves who seem suitably miscast. A sample of their fate is revealed in the beginning, and it does thwart a lot of the suspense. The rest of the history is captivating enough, as our spies execute a mission tainted with emotion. A film that owes much to its story.
The Descendants
Tom Jones
A land baron tries to re-connect with his two daughters after his wife suffers a boating accident.
The depiction of suburban life in Hawaii adds some interest to this film, but the central dramas are not particularly compelling or original. The moments of potential intrigue don't last long enough, so the stakes for the hero character are never raised high enough to set your heart racing. The narrative voice-over is unwarranted, something the director obviously worked out a third of the way into making the film, as it's nowhere to be heard in last two thirds. Descending in more ways than one.
The Descent
Anthony Macali
A group of six woman organize an adventure trip to go cave exploring. Things start to go wrong when they venture down unchartered caverns.
This is a classic genre movie exploiting the chilling atmosphere of murky caves and uncomfortably claustrophobic tunnels. As our adventures descend into the dark, the tension increases and the Gollum-like creatures come out to play. These predators are vicious, predictably narrowing our crew one victim at a time... with excessive blood so thick, it forms pools. A delight for horror fans who don't plan to delve into the sub terrane in the near future.
The Disappearance of Alice Creed
Andrew O'Dea
Two men fortify a nondescript apartment so it can serve as a prison before kidnapping a woman.
"The Disappearance of Alice Creed" sets the tone from the outset, with a dialogue-free opening act that is as methodical and gripping as the film itself. Shot almost entirely in a confined space, excellent camera work and direction help to maintain its claustrophobic nature and sustain an air of tension. It moves from confrontation to revelation with doses of dry humour in just the right places to lace the suspense. With superb acting performances from the cast (all three of them) and a tight focus, you won't need to search any further than this if you're looking for a smart, engaging thriller.
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Anthony Macali
The true story of Elle editor Jean-Dominique Bauby who suffers a stroke and has to live with an almost totally paralyzed body; only his left eye isn't paralyzed.
"The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" is both a beautifully inspiring and tragic story. With clever use of the medium, the director throws us into the perspective of our unfortunate patient. Elle's cynical outlook provides more laughs than sympathy, as he serves his imprisonment and takes the opportunity to seek closure and follow his dreams - such a task our able-bodied selves often find too difficult. A wonderful film, and a celebration of life.
The Eclipse
Anne Murphy
In a seaside Irish town, a widower sparks with a visiting horror novelist while he also begins to believe he is seeing ghosts.
There's a dose of horror, a hint of romance, a touch of drama, some grieving, and a lot of mystery as we wonder where the plot of this film went. "The Eclipse" begs for a stronger narrative thread as the story plays out as a mish-mash of underdeveloped elements. The moody and uneven Irish coast is scenically captured as a backdrop, however moody and uneven are only gratifying when delivered by nature, not the director. An eclipse of coherence.
The Extra Man
Tom Jones
A man who escorts wealthy widows in New York's Upper East Side takes a young aspiring playwright under his wing.
Louis Ives travels to New York city to discover who he is. Is he a gentleman? An escort? A writer? Or... a woman? Much like the central character, this film suffers from its own identity crisis; it has no identity. The characters are not relatable on any level and this undermines the film's realistic base to the point where it's hard to take it seriously at all. Set in the city that never sleeps, this film may actually send you to sleep.
The Eye of the Storm
Wendy Slevison
A woman used to controlling everything in her life chooses her time to die.
If you've ever doubted what Australian cinema is capable of producing, see "Eye of the Storm". Adapted from the book of the same name, every facet of the crafting of this film is of the highest quality. Featuring a cast of acting nobility who deliver their roles with meticulous insight, superb cinematography and assured direction, the story unfolds with unrelenting potency. As the complex relationships and palpable tensions intensify, you are left feeling that you have indeed been through the eye of a storm, but there is also the exhilaration of having been a witness to the tempest.